ShareVault is built for life sciences.Peony is built for M&A deal teams.
ShareVault starts at $199/month with AI limited to redaction, a dated interface, and page-level analytics gated behind sales calls. Peony gives boutique M&A teams AI-powered Q&A, screenshot protection, page-level analytics, and built-in e-signatures — at $40/admin/month with 5-minute self-serve setup.
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Side-by-side comparison
ShareVault is a VDR optimized for life sciences and regulatory workflows since 2006. Peony is a modern data room with AI, transparent pricing, and M&A-focused features ShareVault does not prioritize.
PeonyWhy M&A teams choose Peony over ShareVault
ShareVault excels in life sciences with BIO endorsement and regulatory templates. For M&A advisory teams, Peony delivers more relevant features at a lower cost with a modern interface.
Full AI suite, not just redaction
ShareVault's only AI capability is batch redaction. Peony Business includes AI document chat, Smart Q&A, AI Rooms with completeness scoring, and auto-indexing — the AI features that accelerate M&A diligence.
60% lower cost for small teams
ShareVault Express starts at $199/month with limited features. Peony Business is $40/admin/month with AI, analytics, and full security — a 2-person team pays $80/month versus $199/month.
Native e-signatures
ShareVault relies on a DocuSign integration for e-signatures — adding a separate subscription and workflow. Peony has built-in e-signatures with AI field detection on Pro and above.
Modern interface
ShareVault reviewers call the UI "old and very basic" with "tags and icons that are very difficult to identify." Peony was designed in 2025 with intuitive drag-and-drop and AI-generated folder structures.
Pricing comparison
Peony publishes all pricing. ShareVault publishes Express only.
Peony
Business
$40/admin/mo
1 TB — data rooms, AI, full security
Pro
$20/admin/mo
200 GB — e-signatures included
Free
$0
2 GB — for evaluation
Business includes data rooms, AI chat, screenshot protection, watermarks, NDA gating, and custom branding. Analytics on all plans.
ShareVault
Express
$199/month
Core features, watermarks, basic analytics
Pro
Quote
Page-level analytics, advanced protection, Q&A
Enterprise
Quote
SSO, API, offline viewing, BYOK
Storage-based billing. Page-level analytics on Pro+ only. 7-day free trial. AI limited to batch redaction.
What Peony gives M&A teams that ShareVault does not
Let bidders ask your documents questions directly
ShareVault offers AI-powered batch redaction — useful for masking PII in clinical documents. But for M&A deal teams, the AI gap is document intelligence. Peony Business ($40/admin/month) includes AI document chat, Smart Q&A for structured diligence workflows, AI Rooms with completeness scoring, and auto-indexing with OCR — turning your data room from a static file repository into an intelligent deal platform.
Know which bidders are serious before your follow-up call
ShareVault offers page-level analytics with heat maps and time-on-page tracking — but only on the Pro plan, which requires a sales call. Peony includes page-by-page analytics on every plan, showing which pages each bidder read, how long they spent on your financial projections, and which counterparties are engaged enough to warrant a follow-up.
NDA signing without a separate tool
ShareVault integrates with DocuSign for e-signatures — adding a separate subscription, login, and workflow to your deal process. Peony has built-in e-signatures with AI-powered field detection on Pro ($20/admin/month) and above. Your bidders sign your NDA and access the data room in a single seamless flow — no third-party tool required.
"Peony is a standout for data rooms and gated file sharing — intuitive, secure, and beautifully designed. The AI actually adds value, not just a checkbox feature."
Michael Hui
Managing Director, Piton Partners
Frequently asked questions
I run a 5-person boutique M&A advisory firm handling six $30M-$150M sell-side mandates per year — is Peony a better fit than ShareVault?
Yes. For your $30M-$150M mandates, Peony Business ($40/admin/month) gives your 5-person team unlimited data rooms with AI document chat, Smart Q&A, screenshot protection, dynamic watermarks, NDA gating, built-in e-signatures, and page-by-page analytics — for $200/month total. ShareVault starts at $199/month for its Express plan, which does not include page-level analytics or advanced protection features — those require the Pro plan at an undisclosed price. ShareVault is purpose-built for life sciences and biotech, with templates for CTD and IND regulatory submissions that your M&A practice does not need. Peony was built for deal teams like yours — mid-market advisory firms that need a modern data room without paying for life-sciences-specific infrastructure.
Our 3-person deal team just won a $90M sell-side mandate and needs the data room live by Thursday — how fast can we set up Peony versus ShareVault?
Your team can have a Peony data room live in under 5 minutes — verified median setup time is 4 minutes 19 seconds from account creation to first document shared. Sign up, create your room, drag in your CIM and diligence files, configure NDA gating and watermarks, and share a branded link with your bidders. ShareVault offers a 7-day free trial with self-serve setup for the Express plan, but Pro and Enterprise plans require contacting sales. Multiple reviewers note the interface has a steeper learning curve for non-technical users, with tags and icons that are 'not that much intuitive.' For your $90M mandate with a Thursday deadline, Peony's self-serve setup means your bidders are in the room the same hour you win the mandate.
We're running a $180M competitive auction with 15 bidders — ShareVault has screenshot protection too. Why would I choose Peony?
Both platforms block screenshots — that is table stakes for your $180M auction. The difference is what comes with it. Peony Business ($40/admin/month) includes AI document chat so your bidders get instant cited answers from your CIM 24/7, Smart Q&A with a structured workflow for managing the volume of diligence questions a 15-bidder process generates, AI Rooms that score your data room's completeness before you launch, and built-in e-signatures for NDA gating. ShareVault has screenshot protection but only AI-powered redaction — no document chat, no Smart Q&A, no auto-indexing, no completeness scoring. ShareVault also requires DocuSign for e-signatures, adding a separate subscription and workflow. For a competitive auction, the AI and native e-signature gap matters more than the security features both platforms share.
ShareVault is endorsed by BIO and 50+ life science associations — should our biotech licensing team use ShareVault instead of Peony?
If your primary workflow is regulatory submissions — filing INDs, managing CTD dossiers, or organizing ETMF repositories — ShareVault's life sciences templates and BIO endorsement are genuinely valuable. No other VDR matches that specialization. But if your biotech team is sharing licensing packages, out-licensing data rooms, or running partnership due diligence in the $50M-$200M range, Peony Business ($40/admin/month) gives you AI document chat so your potential partners can query your clinical data and get instant answers, page-level analytics showing which sections of your data package each partner studied, and screenshot protection for proprietary formulation data — at a fraction of ShareVault's cost. For deal-oriented biotech workflows, Peony delivers more for less. For regulatory compliance workflows, ShareVault has the edge.
Our mid-market PE fund runs 4 portfolio exits per year averaging $120M each — is Peony or ShareVault better for our deal volume?
For your fund's four $120M exits, Peony Business ($40/admin/month) gives you unlimited data rooms at a flat per-admin rate — so your cost is the same whether you run one exit or four simultaneously. ShareVault's Express plan starts at $199/month but limits you to core features; the Pro plan with page-level analytics and advanced protection requires a sales call with undisclosed pricing. For four concurrent exits, you are looking at multiple ShareVault rooms at opaque per-room pricing versus a single flat Peony subscription. Your LPs and co-investors get AI document chat for self-serve answers, page-level analytics showing which bidders are seriously engaged, and screenshot protection — capabilities ShareVault either does not offer (AI chat, Smart Q&A) or gates behind higher tiers (page-level analytics).
ShareVault charges $199/month for Express — what does Peony cost for the same workflow on a $75M sell-side mandate?
Peony Business is $40/admin/month. For a 2-person advisory team running your $75M mandate, that is $80/month — less than half of ShareVault's $199/month Express plan, which does not include page-level analytics or advanced document protection. To get ShareVault's Pro features (page-level tracking, advanced security, Q&A workflows), you need to contact sales for pricing that is not published. Peony Business includes everything at $40/admin/month: unlimited data rooms, AI document chat, Smart Q&A, screenshot protection, dynamic watermarks, NDA gating, built-in e-signatures, page-level analytics, and custom branding. No per-MB storage charges, no duration fees, no sales call required.
Our law firm manages 10 active M&A matters in the $40M-$100M range — ShareVault's UI looks outdated. Is Peony actually easier to use?
Yes. ShareVault reviewers consistently flag the interface as dated — 'needs bringing up to date, the pages and buttons are quite old and very basic,' 'tags and icons are very difficult to identify,' and 'comes off as overwhelming at first.' For your 10 concurrent matters, usability is not a nice-to-have — your associates and paralegals manage permissions, upload documents, and configure access daily. Peony was designed in 2025 with drag-and-drop uploads across 100+ file types, AI-generated folder structures, intuitive buyer-group permissions, and a modern interface your bidders and counsel navigate without training. Peony Business ($40/admin/month) includes all security and AI features without the steep learning curve that ShareVault reviewers describe.
We need 12 bidders to sign NDAs before accessing our $100M carve-out data room — how do Peony and ShareVault handle NDA gating?
Both platforms offer NDA gating — but the implementation differs. Peony has built-in e-signatures with AI-powered field detection, reusable templates, and tamper-evident audit trails on Pro ($20/admin/month) and above. For your $100M carve-out, each of your 12 bidders signs your NDA within the Peony interface before accessing a single page — no separate tool needed. ShareVault offers clickwrap NDA acceptance (legally enforceable under UETA and ESIGN) and integrates with DocuSign for full e-signatures. The clickwrap is simpler for basic NDAs, but if your carve-out requires customized confidentiality agreements or LOI execution, you need the DocuSign integration — adding a separate subscription and workflow. Peony handles the full signing workflow natively.
Our deal team fields 40+ buyer diligence questions per week on two concurrent $60M mandates — does Peony have AI features ShareVault lacks?
Yes. ShareVault's only AI capability is batch redaction of PII and PHI — useful for life sciences but narrow for M&A diligence workflows. Peony Business ($40/admin/month) includes four AI capabilities ShareVault does not offer: AI document chat that lets your bidders ask questions about your CIM and get instant, cited answers 24/7, Smart Q&A with a structured workflow where your counterparties submit diligence questions and AI drafts responses for your team to approve, AI Rooms that score your data room's completeness and flag missing materials, and auto-indexing with OCR across every file. For your two $60M mandates with 40+ weekly questions, Peony's AI turns a manual email burden into a streamlined process — something ShareVault's redaction-only AI cannot address.
We had a CIM leak on our last $85M deal — both Peony and ShareVault have screenshot protection. What else differentiates their security?
Both platforms block screenshots and apply dynamic watermarks — the baseline security your $85M process requires. The differentiation is in the layers around it. Peony Business ($40/admin/month) includes NDA gating with native e-signatures (no DocuSign dependency), AI-powered redaction that scans for sensitive terms before you share with buyer counsel, page-level analytics showing exactly which bidder viewed which pages (so you narrow the leak investigation to specific individuals), and controlled redaction for permanently blacking out deal terms. ShareVault adds remote document shredding — the ability to revoke access to files already downloaded to a viewer's device — which is a genuine capability Peony does not offer. If post-download revocation is critical for your practice, ShareVault has the edge there. For everything else in the security stack, Peony delivers more at a lower cost with a simpler workflow.