# Base vs a virtual data room

A dedicated virtual data room is the right tool for a formal transaction: managed Q&A between buyers and sellers, watermarking, print and download controls, and a complete audit trail. Base is a lighter way to share deal documents when the reader's main problem is understanding them. It reads every document into cited facts and a timeline, shows figures that disagree across documents, and lets the reader's own AI query it directly.

Updated October 7, 2026. Canonical page: https://createbases.com/compare/virtual-data-room

## At a glance

|  | Base | Dedicated virtual data room |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Built for | Sharing a set of documents that readers need to understand and question | Running a formal transaction with many parties |
| Questions | Readers ask the Base directly; answers quote the source | A managed Q&A module that routes buyer questions to the sell side |
| Watermarks and print controls | Downloads can be turned off; no watermarking | Dynamic watermarks, with print and download controls |
| Activity record | Opens and AI connections; who opened, on Pro | A full audit trail of every user and document |
| Reading the documents for you | Overview, cited facts, timeline, people and organizations, and conflicting figures | Varies by provider |
| The reader's own AI | Connect Base in Claude, ChatGPT or any MCP app | Varies by provider |
| Getting started | Self-serve. Free for 2 Bases with 500 credits; Pro is $29 a month | Usually a sales process |

## When a virtual data room is the better choice

- A sell-side M&A process with several bidders, where questions and answers must be tracked and released deliberately.
- Regulators, auditors or counsel expect a complete activity record and watermarked documents.
- Your procurement requires a provider with specific security certifications.

## When Base is the better choice

- Early diligence, an investor update, or a smaller deal where a full data room is more process than the moment needs.
- Advisors and analysts on the other side will put the documents through their own AI anyway. Base gives them a connector with sources, instead of a pile of downloads.
- Numbers have to reconcile. Base flags when documents disagree and shows each figure with its quote.
- You want to be sharing today, without a sales call.

## Setting a Base up for diligence

Use invite mode so only named people can open it, turn downloads off so readers cannot save the original files, set an expiry date for the end of the process, and on Pro choose which files each party sees. The full steps are in [how to set up an AI-ready data room](https://createbases.com/guides/ai-data-room).

## Questions

### Is Base a virtual data room?

It does the core of one: permissioned sharing of a document set, with revocation and expiry checked on every request. It does not offer watermarking, NDA gating or a managed Q&A workflow, which formal transactions often require.

### Can the other side's AI read a Base?

Yes, if you allow it. AI access is a switch on each Base. When it is on, readers can connect Base to Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, and every request is checked against the access you set.

## Sources checked on October 7, 2026

- [Firmex: virtual data room](https://www.firmex.com/virtual-data-room/)
- [Firmex: what makes a virtual data room secure](https://www.firmex.com/resources/blog/what-makes-a-virtual-data-room-secure/)