SpotDraft vs Ironclad

Ditch the expensive, legacy CLM and switch to the CLM that's easy to use and save money today.

Looking for an all-in-one CLM solution? SpotDraft is the better alternative to Ironclad for your contract management needs.
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Why choose SpotDraft over Ironclad?

Here are 6 compelling reasons.

User-interface

Ironclad is difficult for users to adopt due to its complicated and clunky interface. Users prefer SpotDraft because it is intuitive and easy-to-use for the legal team and business teams across the organization.

Best-in-class editor

Organizations prefer SpotDraft because of its custom editor. SpotDraft built Microsoft Word right into the product. The real MS Word, not a clone, because your work is easier when you’re working in a familiar interface. When you send contracts to a counterparty with SpotDraft, it automatically generates an external word version, which is an actual word document, not a ‘clone’ like other CLM solutions.

Implementation and customer support

SpotDraft’s implementation program is industry-leading, getting you on the platform from day one and fully set up in just 4-6 weeks. Much faster than the 3-6 month industry standard. Also, Ironclad charges extra for implementation. SpotDraft is the better choice because we offer free implementation, a dedicated success manager, unlimited trainings and a customer success team that goes the extra mile.
“Great product with an outstanding team! Spotdraft is a very agile company who is hungry to build a category leading product. As a customer, I truly believe the product has huge potential

Affordability and pricing

Price is the biggest blocker for Ironclad customers. SpotDraft offers better functionality, for lower prices than Ironclad. With customized pricing options, no hidden fees and clear pricing tiers, you can plan your business expenses a lot better with SpotDraft.

Native eSignatures & Reporting

With SpotDraft, you get an exclusive native eSignature tool, which is not available on Ironclad. You also have unlimited eSignatures, which are compliant across all major geographies.This allows counterparties to sign contracts instantly.

The reasons don’t stop there. SpotDraft is also the more efficient choice because we offer data-driven insights to optimize the contracting lifecycle. Users have found that on Ironclad, more standard reporting could be available. SpotDraft offers a more standard reporting and it’s easier to create new reports from scratch.

Integrations

Another reason to pick SpotDraft? Because the breadth and depth of SpotDraft’s integrations will go perfectly well with your existing tech stack. SpotDraft supports integrations with CRMs, HRMs, eSignature platforms, cloud storage platforms and much, much more. SpotDraft can also be integrated with Slack, the popular messaging platform and send out automated reminders via Slack. This integration is not available on Ironclad.
Great product with an outstanding team! SpotDraft is a very agile company who is hungry to build a category leading product. As a customer that comes across very positively. The product has a huge potential.
Ani Bhat | General Counsel at HealthEC

Make the best decision for your legal team and your whole business

SpotDraft vs Ironclad

Functionality Comparison Table

Functionality Comparison

Connectors
To transfer data from platform to warehouse
Counterparty Collaboration
Counterparties can seamlessly contribute and add inputs to contracts without having to sign up
Document Versioning
Access all versions of a document
Campaigns
Sending bulk contracts at once
Comparison
Sophisticated in-built comparison capability
Auto Redlining/Blacklining
AI-assisted review and redlining of documents
Native eSign Tool with unlimited eSignatures
Exclusive Native eSignature tool with unlimited eSignatures, compliant across all major geographies. Allow counterparties to sign contracts instantly
External eSign Integration
Pairs with external eSignature apps of your choice
Contract Editing
An inline editor that allows you to customize templates
Supports tables, images, and 
complex formatting
Not a 100% Word Compatible Editor
Storage
Central storage for all contracts
Reminders
Reminders for expiry dates in stored contracts
Third-party Integrations
Integrate with work management tools/CRMs
Slack Integration
Integrates smoothly with the Slack platform. Automated Slack notifications for comments, 
approvals, signatures and task reminders
Phone + Chat + Video Support
Offer multi-channel support services
Available at an extra cost
Dedicated Account Manager & Unlimited Training
Guide you through implementation and ensure 
product adoption.
Available at an extra cost

SpotDraft FAQs

Why should I choose SpotDraft for contract management?
SpotDraft’s end-to-end contract management platform will help your organization streamline contract creation, negotiation and tracking. It is suitable for companies of all sizes. If your legal and business teams want to,
A) Save time
B) Minimize errors
C) Enhance efficiency
Then SpotDraft is the tool for you!
How long does setting up take?
The great part about SpotDraft is that you can get started in 6 weeks instead of 6 months. You reap the benefits in no time. What’s more, with SpotDraft, you also get:
• Create a contract playbook with user-specific guidelines tailored to your needs.
• Quick adoption across all your teams
What if I have questions about the product after implementation?
With SpotDraft, you can benefit from our exceptional customer support team, available round-the-clock to provide:
• Dedicated CSM for every customer
• 24/7 access to support at no additional costs
• Multiple channels for contact: chat, email, or Slack
How many people use SpotDraft?
We currently have 12,000+ clients using SpotDraft. SpotDraft is renowned for its user-friendly solution.
• Create, edit, and manage contracts effortlessly
• Intuitive interface for seamless user experience
• Robust document management and collaboration
How does pricing work?
At SpotDraft, we understand that one size does not fit all. Purchasing SpotDraft means,
• Bespoke pricing options
• No hidden fees or surprises
• Refine business predictability with clear pricing tiers
I use a CRM, Slack/MS Teams and Gmail and Google Drive.
Can SpotDraft be integrated?
SpotDraft integrates seamlessly with your favorite tech stack, including CRMs, HRMS, and storage solutions, so your entire team - Legal, Sales, HR, or anyone else - can manage contracts effortlessly wherever they’re most comfortable.
SpotDraft vs Ironclad

Why businesses prefer SpotDraft over Ironclad and competitors

Ironclad was built to help companies streamline “every part of their contract process”. But is it truly an all-in-one CLM solution? Read on to learn why people choose SpotDraft over Ironclad and similar alternatives for their contract management needs.
TRUSTED BY

As rated by real users.

Why do companies choose SpotDraft over Ironclad?

We are not prohibitively expensive.

A major reason companies look for Ironclad alternatives is because of its prohibitive pricing. Many Ironclad competitors, including SpotDraft, offer better functionality at a lower price.

SpotDraft offers a quality, end-to-end contract management solution that doesn’t become a burden on your pocket, even as you scale.
SpotDraft has the best mix of functionality and reasonable pricing. We've been using SpotDraft for most of our contract flow and signing. It has made getting agreements out for signature much easier.

We offer continued support every step of the way — at no additional cost.

Ironclad charges for both implementation and anything beyond email support, and implementation usually takes a minimum of two months.

At SpotDraft, we provide free implementation and support through a dedicated success manager with every license and offer instant ROI. From implementation and setting up integrations to unlimited training sessions and swift ongoing support, we go the extra mile for our users.
I love working directly with their customer success/onboarding team. They have been incredible partners and so easy to work with.

SpotDraft’s intuitive interface looks like an everyday app.

To prevent CLM failure and ensure adoption, especially from non-legal users, it’s imperative that the CLM is easy to use and understand. However, many users report that Ironclad’s interface can be quite confusing and complicated, especially for tracking review or signature requests.

SpotDraft is built for agility and quick adoption, with thoughtful design and unlimited live training sessions to help your team get started with the platform as quickly as possible.
SpotDraft’s system is straightforward, intuitive, and easy to use, both for administrators and users, who have adapted to it very quickly.

SpotDraft has the superior editor.

While Ironclad supports basic word formatting, any edits beyond that must be made after downloading the contract, making the changes on Word, and reuploading, which can make version control a risky affair.

SpotDraft’s Editor, on the other hand, is purpose-built for lawyers and does everything Word does — and beyond. This includes scoped comments, checking for errors, quickly looking up definitions within context, and more.
Learn more
SpotDraft has massively reduced our turnaround time for creating and approving contracts. The ability to go from template contracts to a fully-functional Editor really helps manage our end-to-end contracting workflow. We spend a lot of time reviewing third party papers and the SpotDraft Editor's AI features such as definition extraction and error generation are a time-saver.

You start using SpotDraft from day one.

Implementation with Ironclad can take a minimum of 2 months and adoption may take longer depending on your implementation plan.

SpotDraft’s implementation program is industry-leading, getting you on the platform from day one and fully set up in just 4-6 weeks instead of the 3-6 month industry standard. Moreover, we work with you to get all your business users trained and on the platform to ensure adoption within the organization.
The easy-to-use functionalities added with SUPERB customer support and implementation made the transition to SpotDraft a smooth process.

Get insights into every aspect of your contract process.

SpotDraft goes beyond the functionality of traditional contract management tools to offer you deep insights into your contracting workflow with our custom-built insights dashboard.

This data helps you mitigate risks, identify areas of improvement, improve productivity, showcase the legal team’s value, and answer questions like “On average, how many negotiation rounds were there to a contract type?
Learn more
Besides improving our contract creation process, SpotDraft has helped us automate our pain points and gain new insight, oversight, and awareness of our legacy agreements.

Ironclad does not support e‑signature natively.

Gathering e-signatures is a crucial step for digital contracting. However, Ironclad still does not offer native e-signature support and depends on third-party integrations.

For companies who want an all-in-one solution, SpotDraft is a much better option as it offers the flexibility of integrating with popular e-signing solutions as well as an in-built e-signature workflow.
Learn more
SpotDraft's focus on being the best CLM tool in the market is very apparent in the care and thoughtfulness of the solution's design. Their e-signature functionality stands up to any of the best-known e-sig tools out there.

Make the best decision for both legal and business

Request a demo now

SpotDraft vs Ironclad — Feature Comparison

SpotDraft
Ironclad
Contract templates
Templatize high-volume contracts so your business team can work independently of the legal team.
5/5
3/5
Conditional language generation
SpotDraft templates allow for more than just form-filling values into a template. With our proprietary templating language, you can use if/else conditions and even compute values to generate contracts that meet your requirements.
DocX generation
Support for tables + images
-
Support for company’s brand guidelines
-
Self-serve contract templates
Contract workflows
Define contract-specific workflows to streamline contracting and business processes.
6/6
4/6
Configurable workflows
Pre-configured approvals
Ad hoc approvals
Counterparty collaboration
-
Audit trail
Bulk-send contracts
Trigger contracts to a large set of counterparties in one-go. Think of it as a mail-merge for your contracts.
-
Contract editor
Purpose-built editor for reviewing contracts that is fully interoperable with MS Word.
9/9
4/9
100% Word compatible editor
-
Support for basic word formatting
Support for tables, images + more complex formatting
-
Scoped comments
Definition service
-
Error service
-
Comparison on demand
Auto-versioning
Automatically create new contract versions when edits are made or when approvals are collected.
Clause library
Easily insert the best version of clauses that have been drafted in the past.
-
Contract review
Assign contracts for legal review when needed.
3/3
2/3
In-browser review
Contract review and redlining can happen on the browser itself.
Assign for legal review
Tracking review requests
-
Contract execution
Collect signatures on a contract.
2/2
1/2
In-built e-signature solution
Documents on SpotDraft are cryptographically encrypted on execution and fully-compliant across India, Europe, US, Singapore, and Australia.
-
Integrations with popular e-sign solutions
Supports integration with DocuSign, Adobe Sign, Hello Sign, etc.
Search
Run custom queries to find relevant contracts.
3/3
3/3
Search by pre-defined metadata
Allows for users to search by metadata common to all contracts such as the execution date, counterparty name, etc
Search by custom metadata
Search by contract language
Post-execution contract management
Stay on top of the rights and obligations associated with executed contracts.
5/5
5/5
Contract-specific key pointers
Key terms associated with the contract are available so users don’t have to go through the contract over and over again.
Renewal reminders
User-defined contract notes
Automated metadata extraction
Historical contract import
Easily import contracts executed outside the platform.
Access control
Specify team-level and user-level access on contracts.
3/3
1/3
User-level access control
Team-specific access control
-
Organization entity-specific access control
Specify access to contracts based on the organization entity associated with the contract.
-
Analytics and insights
Access deep insights into your contracting workflow to discover bottlenecks and showcase performance.
2/2
1/2
Contract workflow analysis
Insights on how long it took for the contract to move through the various stages of the contracting lifecycle.
-
Team performance analysis
Insights on the number and types of contracts being processed by different members of the legal team.
Implementation
Get your CLM up-and-running in your organization.
Best in class
Time to first workflow
2 weeks
6 weeks
Cost
Free with SpotDraft license
Additional cost above license cost
Performed by
Internal Team
Internal Team
Support
Best in class
Email support
Phone + chat + video support
Available at an
additional cost
Dedicated customer success manager
Available for all SpotDraft Customers
Available at an
additional cost

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Set up a call with us to learn how we can help.
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Need more reasons to choose SpotDraft?

Ironclad doesn’t allow you to batch-send contracts
There is no solution for sending contracts in bulk at the same time with Ironclad. If you need to send the same contract, such as vendor or employee agreements, to multiple parties at the same time, you will need to manually repeat the process.

SpotDraft solves this with our campaigns feature, which allows you to send personalized standard-form contracts to multiple counterparties instantly.
Learn more
Integrate with your entire tech stack
Adopting a new tool should never mean redundancy in processes due to overlapping software functionalities. We help you integrate with all the tools your team may be using, which leads to faster adoption and greater efficiency across the entire organization.
Learn more
SpotDraft allows for flexible hosting across geographies
SpotDraft is the ONLY modern contract management solution in the market that allows companies to pick the region where they want their data hosted. Stay fully compliant and meet the regulatory requirements of wherever your company is based.
Batch-send contracts
Ironclad doesn’t allow you to batch-send contracts
There is no solution for sending contracts in bulk at the same time with Ironclad. If you need to send the same contract, such as vendor or employee agreements, to multiple parties at the same time, you will need to manually repeat the process.

SpotDraft solves this with our campaigns feature, which allows you to send personalized standard-form contracts to multiple counterparties instantly.
Learn more
Custom integrations
Integrate with your entire tech stack
Adopting a new tool should never mean redundancy in processes due to overlapping software functionalities. We help you integrate with all the tools your team may be using, which leads to faster adoption and greater efficiency across the entire organization.
Learn more
Data-driven insights
SpotDraft allows for flexible hosting across geographies
SpotDraft is the ONLY modern contract management solution in the market that allows companies to pick the region where they want their data hosted. Stay fully compliant and meet the regulatory requirements of wherever your company is based.

Why companies look for Ironclad alternatives

“The workflow builder is a bit complex.”
“...not at all intuitive.”
“Our data in the system is largely inaccurate.”
“I don't think they can justify some of the things they charge for, or at least how much they charge for them.”
“Their license model is inadequate, making growth nearly impossible without paying too much.”
“…limited ability to notify signees…”
“I've had entire requests just get ignored or forgotten.”
“Ironclad needs to work on providing better reporting.”
“I guess I really underestimated how basic the [ability to make] edits would be.”
“I wish I could get same-day tech support.”
“I’d like more personalized support without having to pay a premium for it.”
“I don't like some of the immaturity in its functionality and UX.”

Why you should consider SpotDraft as your Ironclad alternative

“I was most impressed by their incredibly professional and organized implementation process.”
“SpotDraft is solving a complicated Salesforce integration for us and built a custom UI for us.”
“​​Having used multiple contract management tools in the past, SpotDraft has been a game changer.”
“Contract and task management has become so much easier since we started using SpotDraft.”
“The editor feature is definitely a differentiator that our legal team enjoys the most.”
“I really like the key pointers feature. It helps us easily track the important business terms we use extensively to organize our contractual obligations.”
“I love how enthusiastic they are about improving the product. If we make a suggestion, they run with it. Every week it gets better and better.”
“SpotDraft has gone above and beyond in supporting our company.”
“They are very responsive to any changes or suggestions to our workflow that have been requested. Really great experience.”
“SpotDraft's focus on being the best CLM tool in the market is very apparent in the care and thoughtfulness of the solution's design.”
“The best part with SpotDraft has been the level of customization the tool offers. Our agreements get kinda complicated yet we have them all well set within the platform.”

See the difference, try SpotDraft

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How to Buy a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Platform that Actually Works for You
Selecting the right CLM for your team is imperative to ensuring your investment sees value rather than failure. Our buyer’s guide will take you through the process of evaluating your team’s needs, choosing a CLM that fits those needs, and implementing your CLM strategically.
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