Gatekeeper vs Ironclad (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Gatekeeper and Ironclad share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gatekeeper
Vendor and contract management with unlimited eSign licences
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick Gatekeeper if
- Fits if you manage many suppliers and their contracts together
- Makes sense if you want signing included for everyone on the team
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want signatures only, since it is a vendor and contract platform
- Watch out: no price is published, and plans are sized by third-party count
- Tight if you want SSO, SCIM or role-based access, which need Enterprise
- Not for you if you need the MCP connector without Enterprise Plus
Pick Ironclad if
- Fits if a legal team runs many contracts through the same stages
- Makes sense if you want signing inside a wider contract system
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you only want signatures, since it is a full contract suite
- Watch out: no price is published, and the cost depends on what you buy
- Watch out: some integrations are included and some are add-ons
- Not for you if you want to try it first, because no trial is listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAGatekeeperFair | 2.0GPAIroncladFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published. Plans are sized by third-party count and quoted after a demo, so it sits in the middle with no evidence either way. | CNo price is published, only a custom quote, so it sits in the middle with no evidence either way. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is listed on its pages or in the listing, so nothing is free. | FNo free plan or trial is listed on its pages or in the listing, so nothing is free. |
| Features | BContract lifecycle, included eSign, vendor risk and compliance, AI agents and integrations. No gap in the contract job shows in the listing. | BContract stages, a no-code workflow designer, an AI assistant, a repository, analytics and APIs. It covers the whole contract job, well beyond signing. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and vendors and contracts have to be loaded first. | CNo store rating on record, and the workflows have to be designed before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with NetSuite, Jira and AWS Marketplace listed. | BWeb only, with Salesforce, Slack, Box, Dropbox, Word, NetSuite, SAP and Zapier. |
| Best for | contracts and vendor risk in one platform | contract management for large legal teams |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Gatekeeper and Ironclad. How we grade
Where they differ
- Gatekeeper also covers reports.
- Ironclad also covers templates.
In commonWebAI featuresWorkflow automationDocuments
At a glance
| Gatekeeper | Ironclad | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Gatekeeper | Ironclad |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Gatekeeper
- No prices are published; Pro, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus plans are sized by third-party count and quoted after a demo.
- Pro covers up to 250 third parties, Enterprise up to 750, and Enterprise Plus more than 750.
- SSO, SCIM and role-based access need Enterprise, and the MCP connector needs Enterprise Plus.
- It is a vendor and contract platform, more than a team that only needs signatures requires.
Ironclad
- No prices are published; the pricing page offers only a custom quote based on products, users and workflows.
- The page describes product, partner and add-on choices, so cost depends on what is bought.
- Some integrations are included and some are add-ons, according to the pricing FAQ.
- It is a full contract management suite, so it is more than a standalone signing tool needs.
Key features
Gatekeeper
- Contract lifecycle management
- Contracts, renewals and obligations live on a unified record with vendor due diligence, so each stage feeds the next.
- eSign included
- The plan comparison lists unlimited eSign licences and senders on every plan, including Pro.
- Vendor risk and compliance
- Vendor onboarding, risk and compliance checks and performance tracking sit alongside contracts.
- Gatekeeper AI agents
- AI agents handle administrative work such as intake and renewals, with people kept in control of decisions, per the vendor.
- Interconnect integrations
- Gatekeeper Interconnect connects to 1,700+ applications, including NetSuite and Jira, according to the integrations page.
Ironclad
- Contract lifecycle stages
- The site organizes the product around creating, reviewing, signing, storing, analyzing and fulfilling contracts, in one platform.
- No-code workflow designer
- Approval and routing workflows are built in a no-code Workflow Designer, which the vendor says can handle any contract type.
- AI assistant
- Ironclad Agent and other AI features work from a company's contracts, deal history and negotiation knowledge, per the vendor's site.
- Repository and analytics
- Signed contracts go into a central searchable repository, and contract data can be extracted and analyzed.
- Clickwrap and CLM APIs
- The site lists a Clickwrap API and a CLM API for developers, plus a connector for automation platforms.
Plans
Gatekeeper
Pricing could not be confirmed. See gatekeeperhq.com.
Ironclad
Pricing could not be confirmed. See ironcladapp.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Gatekeeper or Ironclad?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Gatekeeper has no price we could confirm, and Ironclad has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Gatekeeper or Ironclad?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Gatekeeper nor Ironclad has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.