According to the Institute for Supply Management, 60-80% of all business-to-business transactions are governed by written agreements. Given their vital role in conducting business, getting a handle on your contracts is a must. The sooner you can automate how you collect, process and finalize contracts, the greater the efficiencies you’ll benefit from.

A cloud-based contract management system is your fast track to achieving just that. Incorporating cloud technology into your contract lifecycle you can collaborate on documents and negotiate in one centralized location, compared to various disparate and offline methods. Research suggests that automating contract processes can accelerate your negotiation cycles by a massive 50%.

What’s the best cloud-based contract management software on the market today?

While we’ve established the importance of cloud-based software in providing automated and seamless contract lifecycle management, the next step is deciding which platform is best for you.

Luckily, we’ve analyzed the top 15 platforms so that you can find the perfect match for your company’s maturity, goals and budget.

Let’s take a look at each in turn:

Avokaado

Avokaado is a cloud-based contract management software that lets businesses manage contracts and related workflows in one place to improve operational efficiencies. With Avokaado, businesses can store documents, create contracts, collaborate, and execute all forms of legal document management on one central platform.  

Key Features

1) A central cloud-based repository featuring automated legal forms.

2) Advanced real-time collaboration tools including document sharing, in-document discussion, reminders and dynamic approval processes.

3) Mobile responsive dashboard to track and visualise all collaboration steps in one single location.

Pricing 

Avokaado has a number of pricing options to suit all business needs. The type of plan is dependent on your number of users, and can be paid on a monthly or annual (-20%) basis:

• Freemium: One user and access to 100+ free pre-lawyered templates
• Starter: One user can draft, sign and manage documents. €29/month/user.
• Standard: Up to 15 users enjoy all Starter features plus collaborative drafting and user roles. €49/month/user.
• Premium: Automation and personalization for teams with a legal department (minimum of 10 users). €60/month/user.
• Custom: Fully customizable plans for large teams and API users. Contact Avokaado for a custom quote that features reduced rates as you scale. 

Pros 

• Access to a global pre-lawyered template ecosystem
• Unlimited external collaborators and online signatures
• Integrated eSignature functionality without the need to pay for external digital signature providers
• Customizable pricing plans to suit all business types, including the Freemium option

Cons

• Currently, in-doc discussion must be used to request changes, but tracked changes are due to be introduced shortly.

PandaDoc

With PandaDoc, businesses can improve document workflows, insights, and speed while delivering for their clients. PandaDoc offers an all-in-one document automation software to streamline the process for creating, approving, and eSigning proposals, quotes, contracts, and more. 

Key Features

1) Signature drag-and-drop editor and one-click uploads to create proposals, interactive quotes and contracts in minutes.

2) Cloud-based collaboration for internal and external reviewers with approval flows, redlining, version tracking, commenting and general chat functionality.

3) Instant email and mobile app notifications tell you when your document was opened, viewed, or signed, and when it’s time to renew an agreement. 

Pricing 

PandaDoc offers four pricing plans depending on your specific requirements. Plans can be paid monthly or annually, with up to a 24% saving for annual payments. 

• Free eSign: Upload, send for eSignature and collect payment for as many documents as you’d like. Free.
• Essentials: Create documents with templates or the built-in editor. Collect eSignatures and track docs in real-time too. $19/month/user.
• Business: Connect your CRM and automate your document workflows from creation to eSignature. $49/month/user.
• Enterprise: This option is for teams that require greater capabilities including Salesforce and API integrations. You’ll need to contact PandaDoc for a custom quote. 

Pros 

• Contract templates combined with a library of pre-approved clause choices
• Centralised, cloud-based contracts offer smart search functionality
• Real-time notifications (when recipients open, view, comment, or complete actions) helps your team to better manage contract negotiations at speed.

Cons

• Some users have spoken about the limitations of the in-built editor and template formats. 
• It’s been reported that creating documents from scratch, even with the templates in place, can be tedious. 
• Prices increase substantially if you need extra users.

Gatekeeper 

Gatekeeper is an AI cloud-based contract management platform that enables businesses to manage vendor information and contracts, track workloads, store documents, and monitor risks better. The platform provides a centralized, information hub where users can securely store and manage details of their contracts and vendors to make the contract management process more efficient. 

Key Features

1) Automated workflows to manage and optimize your contract processes and to provide an auditable record of actions.

2) eNegotiate — Gatekeeper’s MS Word-compatible redlining solution for fast and efficient contract negotiations.

3) Integrated electronic signature solution, which is compliant with ESIGN, UETA and European eIDAS standards and speeds the time to signature.

Pricing 

Gatekeeper’s pricing model differs to many other suppliers by offering a fixed higher price for unlimited users and eSign. Here’s a rundown of the different plans available:

• Essentials: Includes 150 suppliers and 150 contracts. $775/month (paid annually).
• Pro: Includes 500 suppliers and 500 contracts. $1855/month (paid annually). 
• Enterprise: 1000 suppliers and 1000 contracts. $3325/month (paid annually).
• Enterprise custom: 1001 to unlimited suppliers and contracts. This is a fully bespoke plan and you’ll need to contact Gatekeeper for a quote. 

Pros 

• With unlimited users, you’ll be able to involve more members of your team (whether for short or long periods) without worrying about escalating costs. 
• Gatekeeper’s AI Extract™ is the fastest, most accurate and highly trained AI solution on the market today, designed specifically for contract data and clause analytics. 
• Gatekeeper’s Touchless Contracts let you create fully compliant contracts without the need to push a button.

Cons

• While the pricing plan might be a pro for some, it won’t be a viable option for smaller businesses where budgets are tight. It also doesn’t make sense for those businesses who will only ever require a small number of users. 
• Some users have reported that workflows can be challenging to set up if your objectives are not clearly defined in advance.

ContractWorks

ContractWorks is cloud-based contract management software that streamlines executing, storing, and tracking corporate agreements. With quick implementation, an easy-to-use interface, and transparent pricing, ContractWorks makes contract management software accessible to businesses and teams of all sizes.

Key Features

1) Centralized cloud-based repository with robust security features to keep your data safe, organized and accessible — anywhere, anytime. 

2) AI-powered OCR and advanced search features help you find specific language and clauses quickly. 

3) Tailored reporting gives you valuable insight into your agreements by building tag-based custom reports to save, schedule, and share with your stakeholders. 

Pricing 

ContractWorks offers three pricing plans that all come with unlimited users:

• Standard: 2500 documents and 5 electronic signature licenses. $600/month (paid annually).
• Professional: 10,000 documents and 10 electronic signature licenses. $800/month (paid annually). 
• Enterprise: Unlimited documents and 20 electronic signature licenses. $1000/month (paid annually).

Pros 

• Unlimited users means you can grant access to everyone who needs it without additional costs — potentially helping you to share responsibilities and save time.
• Intuitive and easy-to-use interface makes it easy to onboard staff and get up and running immediately.
• Implementation support included with every plan and 24/7 support from a ContractWorks representative.

Cons

• No content creation or contract authoring features means this isn’t an end-to-end contract management platform.
• A lack of in-built collaboration features makes real-time contract negotiation difficult. 
• The unlimited users pricing structure will not suit small teams and companies who require minimal users.
• Users have found that the AI functionality does not always work and that this then requires manual data input as a result. 

Concord

Concord is a cloud-based contract management platform offering a range of applications to automate  and connect the entire contract management process, from authoring to the final signature — all in one place. 

Key Features

1) Template building lets you create reusable templates from previous contracts and save pre-approved clauses for unique situations.

2) A central contract repository that features unlimited electronic and scanned contracts that are tagged and searchable.

3) Custom approval workflows let you route contracts to the right people in the right order for timely approval and signing.

Pricing 

Concord’s four pricing options can be billed monthly or annually, and all include onboarding within 3 weeks to get your team up to speed.

• Free: Create, edit, design and store unlimited documents for up to 3 users. $0 forever.
• Standard: Control access across your organization and bulk send documents for eSignature. $17/user/month (paid annually). 
• Pro: Connect Salesforce and other applications, and automate arrivals and reporting. $49/user/month (paid annually).
• Enterprise: Boost your efficiency with a clause library, subsidiary management, and SSO. You’ll need to contact the Concord Sales team for a bespoke quote. 

Pros 

• You can work with the tools that are best for you, your team, and your collaborators — Concord, Word, or even Google Docs.
• Every change made to a document is automatically saved, ensuring that you will never lose any version. 
• Invite as many colleagues or guests as you need to sign your document.

Cons

• Users have reported that after uploading documents, they’ve had formatting issues which have wasted time.

ContraxAware

ContraxAware is a cloud-based contract management solution designed to help small to large businesses create, edit and store contracts and related documents. The platform comes with a centralized database, which allows users to provide permission-based access and search contracts using custom criteria.

Key Features

1) A contract document template library where you can create unlimited contract document templates using MS Word and upload them into the ContraxAware contract library.

2) Built-in task lists, graphs, and reports provide users with a 360-degree view of their assigned tasks and workload, plus custom alerts.

3) A secure cloud-based database that can be accessed from anywhere, on any device, at any time, including permission-based user access.

Pricing 

CotraxAware offers three pricing plans depending on the number of users and features you need plus a 14–day free trial. Let’s take a closer look:

• Starter: 3 users included and up to 10 users maximum. $299/month.
• Team: 5 users included and 20 users maximum. $399/month
• Enterprise: 20 users included and the opportunity to add unlimited users. $999/month.

Pros 

• The ContraxAware REST API gives you the functionality to integrate and share data with other systems.
• Step by step guidance and smooth UI means that even the most novice user can get up to speed on configuring workflows.
• Users have praised the platform’s ability to track the entire contract renewal process, which is especially useful where you have many people using the platform.

Cons

• Despite the free trial, there are no free plans, and the pricing structures are ridgid compared to other platforms.
• The number of features can be overwhelming for those businesses without dedicated legal teams and little contract experience.  

Contract Logix

Contract Logix is a data-driven contract lifecycle management software platform that provides the ability to automate and digitize the drafting, negotiation, approval, execution, and management of contracts and related documents. It addresses all phases of buy-side and sell-side contracting, from contract creation to post-execution management. 

Key Features

1) Automated contract processes using configurable workflows based on your dynamic business rules and compliance requirements.

2) Cloud-based technology provides visibility from anywhere, anytime, so you never miss a beat.

3) Automatically capture internal and third-party edits, redlines, and comments throughout the negotiation process with a complete history all in one place.

Pricing 

Contract Logix, does not have the customizable pricing plans that many other platforms have. It offers two versions of its data-driven contract lifecycle management software: Premium CLM and Express CMS, which start at $59/month/feature. But for specific prices, you’ll need to get in touch with the sales team. 

Pros

• The user-friendly interface means your team can start using the platform immediately.
• Flexible REST API lets you bi-directionally send, receive, and sync your data between applications.
• Use out-of-the-box forms to get up and running quickly or set-up the system to be simple or as sophisticated as needed

Cons

• Pricing structures are not fully transparent (and are based on a per feature model), so it’s difficult to judge exact costs without getting a quote.
• Users report that though customization options exist, these typically take a long time and require extra technical assistance.
• For the full end-to-end contract management experience, you’ll need to sign up for the Premium CLM package.

Trackado

Trackado is a cloud-based solution designed to help organizations streamline the entire contract lifecycle and make it easy. Trackado stores your contracts in one place so you access them instantly from anywhere, and get automatically notified of key dates and tasks and uncover insights about the financial health of your contracts.

Key Features

1) A cloud solution that’s accessible with a web browser from anywhere in the world without the need for on-premise installations.

2) Search, find and retrieve your contracts by e.g. category, department, business partner or your custom properties.

3) The business partner module shows you all your business partners and contact persons in one place, including all contract activities related to those particular people. 

Pricing 

Trackado has four pricing tracks which include a 20% discount if paid annually. In each case, an additional user costs $10/month. 30–day free trial available. 

• Free: 1 user and 15 contracts. $0 forever.
• Starter: 3 users included and 60 contracts. $39/month.
• Business: 8 users included and 300 contracts. $99/month.
• Enterprise: 25 users included and unlimited contracts. $199/month.

Pros 

• Cloud-based technology means there’s no need to install any additional complicated programs.
• The easy-to-use platform allows teams to start using it straight away without extensive training.
• Automatic reminders of important dates and contract milestones let you monitor the contract journey with ease.

Cons

• The platform is focused on document management, and as such, there’s no functionality for creating contracts or eSignatures and it doesn’t have a template library. 
• Lacks the contract authoring and signature features to make it full end-to-end contract lifecycle management software

Onit

Onit Contract Lifecycle Management is a cloud-based contracts repository with automated functionality that supports all phases of the contract lifecycle from capture and creation, through negotiations and approvals, to execution and post-execution management. Onit CLM streamlines the entire contract lifecycle and provides ease of use for all parties involved while reducing risk.

Key Features

1) A cloud solution that’s accessible with a web browser from anywhere in the world without the need for on-premise installations.

2) Search, find and retrieve your contracts by e.g. category, department, business partner or your custom properties.

3) The business partner module shows you all your business partners and contact persons in one place, including all contract activities related to those particular people. 

Pricing 

Prices start at $3,000 per month according to various sources, but specific packages will require an Onit quote. 

Pros 

• Onit’s cloud-based technology means there’s no need to install any additional complicated programs.
• The easy-to-use platform allows teams to start using it straight away without extensive training.
• Automatic reminders of important dates and contract milestones let you monitor the full contract journey with ease.

Cons

• The platform is focused on document management, and as such, there’s no functionality for creating contracts or eSignatures and it doesn’t have a template library. 
• Lacks the features to make it full end-to-end contract lifecycle management software

Ironclad

Ironclad’s contract lifecycle management software is built for in-house legal teams and tackles the complexity of clause-level collaboration and lets companies deploy their own contracts at speed.

Key Features

1) The cloud-based Ironclad Editor is a collaboration and negotiation tool designed to help legal teams manage the contract redlining and revision process in one place.

2) Workflow Designer tool that features a drag-and-drop user interface letting users generate contract and approval processes in minutes.

3) A dynamic storage repository that brings in contracts from anywhere and features intuitive search and data reporting.

Pricing 

Prices start at anywhere from $500 per month with a free trial available, but you’ll need to contact Ironclad for a quote.

Pros 

• Proprietary contract AI models in partnership with Google Cloud AI (the only CLM to do so).
• Get started immediately with the self-service drag-and-drop Workflow Designer.
• Collaborate with colleagues in real-time on a shared platform.
• Seamless integrations with different electronic signature systems and cloud storage services

Cons

• Users have commented that those with a non-legal background can struggle to get used to the software and that it takes up time to build new workflows.
• Lacking an assortment of pricing plans for different business circumstances 

Contractbook

Contractbook is an end-to-end contract management platform that enables you to manage your contracts throughout the entire lifecycle in a single streamlined flow, and that provides data-driven document automation. 

Key Features

1) Collaborate in multiple teams with defined hierarchies to gain a better grip of your legal situation, and invite external guests and negotiate seamlessly with third-parties.

2) The editor lets you create contracts directly in its machine-friendly format to leverage the contained data and prepare for future situations.

3) Smart reminders and task management tracked on the Activity Dashboard to help you keep on top of contract developments. 

Pricing 

• Free: Get access to simple contract management features for 1 user. $0 forever.
• Core: Create, sign and store unlimited contracts for 3 users (+$12/month per extra user). $115/month.
• Automate: Automate every part of the contract lifecycle with 3000+ integrations for 3 users (+$12/month per extra user). $420/month.
• Enterprise: For companies using large scale tech solutions for 3 users (+$12/month per extra user). $1445/month.

Pros 

• Access to an extensive template gallery
• Secure digital signature featuring national ID, two-factor verification or single-click signature.
• Collaborate in multiple teams with defined hierarchies.
• Integration with 3000+ apps

Cons

• Weak when it comes to complex legal documents automation and its DocX generator
• Users experienced some problems with Contractbook’s editing capabilities and UX.

ContractSafe

ContractSafe offers safe and secure cloud-based contract management software for businesses that need to better organize their contracts and avoid missing key dates. The easy to use platform offers an alert system for approaching contract deadlines, automatic OCR and a centralized search engine to help you manage your documents more efficiently. 

Key Features

1) A shared web portal lets internal and external users collaborate with messaging features.

2) Two-way DocuSign integration for electronic signatures allows contracts to be electronically signed within minutes.

3) ContractSafe’s [AI]ssistant functionality offers sophisticated search options and lets you set up and organize documents, eliminating manual tasks in the process.

Pricing 

A number of plans are available depending on your business size, and all come with a free trial. Save 20% on paid yearly plans.

• Basic: For up to 500 contracts. $299/month.
• Standard: For up to 1000 contracts. $499/month.
• Professional: Up to 2500 contracts. $699/month.
• Enterprise: Up to 2500 contracts. $899/month.

Pros 

• Customizable dashboards allow employees to create unique views containing only the information they need.
• User-friendly interface with intuitive navigation
• A range of customizable alerts and reminders helps you keep track of contract progress at all times.

Cons

• No contract authoring or built-in editing functionality means it’s not an end-to-end contract management solution compared to other platforms listed.

Contract Hound

Contract Hound is a cloud-based contract lifecycle management software that organizes your contracts so you can find details quickly and keep on top of renewal dates. 

Key Features

1) The Folders feature lets you organize contracts by department, vendor, type, customer, or any way you’d like to view key information easily. 

2) Conversations and activity among team members are saved for each contract. The Activity Feed serves as a digital paper trail for all of your company’s contracts.

3) Notifications and reminders can be set for expiry and other key events to help reduce the risk of overspending and take advantage of savings for your organization.

Pricing 

Contract Hound’s pricing model is different to those we’ve seen so far. There’s one pricing option, but with the ability to add extra contracts for a fee (and no per user fees). You’ll also get a 14–day free trial when you sign up. 

Prices start at $95/month for 50 contracts, with the option to purchase additional contracts at $2 each. Here’s what’s included in the plan:

• Unlimited revisions
• Unlimited storage
• No per user fees
• No annual contract
• Cancel any time

Pros 

• Intuitive mobile optimized user interface with drag-and-drop approval workflows
• Automatic eSignature syncing with DocuSign
• Unlimited users

Cons

• No contract creation capabilities mean this is more suited to those businesses looking for storage and collaboration functionality only. 
• Categorization is limited to basic folders and custom fields.
• Although tags can be used to sort similar contracts, there’s no OCR search feature that many of the other platforms have. 

SpringCM, a DocuSign Company

SpringCM, a DocuSign Company helps you generate, automate, manage, and store your documents and contracts in a secure cloud and includes the DocuSign CLM.

Key Features

1) Create preconfigured templates that auto-populate contracts with data from other systems and approved language.

2) Store, tag and organize contracts in one central repository with granular permission controls to increase oversight and find contracts faster — including customizable AI models to extract key clauses. 

3) Send contracts for review, track changes across multiple versions, and maintain a single source of truth for who did what, when.

Pricing 

No pricing plans available for contract lifecycle management, so you will need to contact DocuSign Sales for a bespoke quote. It’s important to remember, though, that the additional DocuSign eSignature is $25/month/user for the Standard plan.

Pros 

• Includes DocuSign Insight which lets you enhance your analysis with pre-trained, customizable AI models
• One of the most secure CLM solutions on the market: SOC 2, HIPPA, TRUSTe, and FedRAMP
• DocuSign has more than 350 pre-built integrations with other products.
• Fully integrates with e-signature apps like DocuSign, Adobe Sign and eSignLive to capture signatures from any device

Cons

• Not only are there no transparent pricing plans, but you’ll need to sign up for DocuSign eSignature separately, which incurs extra costs.

Precisely

Precisely lets you optimize your contract management lifecycle, all the way from initial request to the renewal of contracts. The cloud-based contract management solution provides you with all the means for both compliant and resource-efficient contract management. 

Key Features

1) Cloud-based central repository that lets you gather all of your legal documents in one place, and includes smart search.

2) Produce templates that enable contract creation based on smart questionnaires.

3) Automated approval workflows, you keep all communication in one place, and make sure those involved get notified when needed. 

Pricing 

Precisely offers two pricing plans that you can save 10% on if billed annually. In addition, there are two add-on products (contract automation API and contract conversion) which would need to be purchased separately. 

• Professional: $62/user/month (paid annually) with a 14–day free trial available. This option includes automated templates, approval workflows, intelligent metadata extraction, negotiation and collaboration and chat and video support. 
• Enterprise: $89/user/month (paid annually). This plan also includes OCR full-text search, reporting API, entity management, signing integrations, dedicated customer success.

Pros 

• Templates enable automated document creation for anyone, making the contract creation process faster than ever.
• With automated approval workflows, you keep all communication in one place, and make sure those involved get notified when needed. 
• Users praised its sophisticated access rights and user role structure, which lets you customize Precisely to the needs of your business.

Cons

• If you need access to certain functionality like OCR search, you’ll need to upgrade to the enterprise package.
• No free pricing plans, and only 2 available — lacks a ‘starter’ or ‘beginner’ level plan at a lower price.

Ready to take your contract processes to the next level? Choose the cloud

As more and more businesses wake up to the power of cloud-based contract management systems, you can’t afford to be left behind. Ineffective contract management can lead to a whole host of issues including lost revenue, wasted time and in some cases, reputational damage.

The risk isn’t worth it. 

Make the switch to cloud contract management today to get complete control of your legal documents under one (electronic) roof. No more worrying about contracts and wasting time chasing them in different locations — it’s time to let your legal documents work for your business and drive its success. 

Choosing the right platform will depend entirely on your requirements and budget. If you’re an SMB looking to manage all contracts and related workflows in one place, then Avokaado is here to help. Avokaado takes the hassle out of every step of the contract process no matter your level of legal knowledge. 👉 And what’s more, you can sign up for a 7–day free trial and start benefiting from Avokaado’s easy-to-use platform immediately. Get started today!