Deal negotiations are the onus of several commitments: faster vendor contract approvals, contract editing and revisions, compliance audits, and a centralized repository of documents.Earlier, I was under the impression that deals are a handwork of sales, marketing and finance teams.
But that was before I understood the importance of legal teams who utilize contract lifecycle management software to reduce compliance risks, tackle limited visibility into legal documentation, and manage manual approvals that slow down velocity.
To interpret legal operations and commitments, I spoke to the legal team in my company and understood the who's who of legal contract management.
In this listicle, I have explored the top 7 contract lifecycle management tools that automate contract revisions, track contract negotiations and compliance requirements, and aid in faster and more efficient contract approvals.
According to G2 Grid Reports, these contract lifecycle management software programs are top-rated in their category.
Whether browsing through old contracts to relook at termination or renewal clauses, getting visibility into financial metrics with centralization, or getting approvals for faster audits and negotiation, the best contract management lifecycle software automates these needs for enterprises, thus expediting deal cycles with legal flair.
Now, I am not a contract connoisseur, but throughout the course of my professional career, I have been actively engaged in sales deals, vendor negotiations, account renewals, and client deboardings as a part of the sales and marketing team. While legal teams are heavily focused on automating contract renewals, redlining and revisions, and fast approvals to scale processes, this list is aimed at describing features, pros, cons, and pricing details of the top CLM tools today.
Now is the time to invest in appropriate CLM solutions. With this personalized evaluation of CLM tools for legal and finance teams, you will never lose sight of a valuable and profitable deal, mess up your compliance auditing, or ignore bottlenecks within vendor contracts.
I spent weeks trying and evaluating the best contract lifecycle management software and its features, pros and cons, integrations, pricing, implementation, and post-implementation workflows to provide a complete picture that eases the software decision-making process.
This list of software eliminates delays in deal closures due to legal back-and-forth and the hassle of generating multiple contracts quickly and accurately. It offers a set of unique features that help fact-check contracts and automate clause creation, allowing you to get faster approvals and close deals.
In cases where I couldn't test software due to legal or access-based restrictions, I referred to professionals who have had hands-on experience working with it. I also used AI-powered tools to narrow down key sentiments, stand-outs, and differentiators outlined in real-time G2 user reviews to give a unique angle derived from real-time buyer experiences.
Please note that the screenshots added in this article might be a mix of those taken from vendor profiles and G2 product pages. If you are looking for validation, searching for new comparison charts, or diving deep into features, this list is a fit for your step-wise evaluation.
Personally, I feel that there are times when neither the vendor nor the closer pays attention to the sensitivity, expiration date, and advisory regulations of a contract and does not notarize or attest it. When you check a contract lifecycle management software, you need to ensure that it offers financial exposure, visibility into contract status and negotiations, and information regarding active contracts or terminated contracts to invest your legal resources wisely and not track billables for void contracts.
Also, it goes without saying that a contract lifecycle management should ease the daily manual workflows of writing and editing contracts, revising new changes and getting faster approvals to help negotiate deals better and maintain legal frameworks for sensitive financial transactions.
Below are some details that you must be aware of before investing in or signing up for a contract lifecycle management software:
Out of the 40+ tools in my initial research dataset, I evaluated the top 7 contenders, which stood out in terms of automating contract approvals, proactive renewal, and obligation management, and pre- and post-e-signature flexibility.
As far as my research and market evaluation are concerned, these tools are beneficial for legal, procurement, finance, and sales teams to optimize compliance audits, gather financial intel, add or remove clauses, and get faster approvals to negotiate and review client contracts better and reduce churn.
The list below contains genuine reviews from the contract lifecycle management category page. To be included in this category, a software must:
*This data was pulled from G2 in 2025. Some reviews may have been edited for clarity.
Conga CLM helps you design and streamline your entire contract lifecycle management process across hundreds and thousands of contracts. It also helps automate contract revisions, pre-run compliance audits, and gather faster approvals that support new deals.
If you've ever been stuck in an endless chain of back-and-forth emails just trying to finalize a single contract, you'll understand why I genuinely appreciate what Conga brings to the table.
From the get-go, it handles the entire contract lifecycle end-to-end, including drafting, collaboration, version control, e-signatures, and even compliance tracking, all in one tidy platform.
One of the biggest selling points for me is how well it integrates with Salesforce. I can generate contracts directly from Salesforce data in just a couple of clicks. I didn't feel the need to hop between systems or duplicate entries.
I also appreciated the automated workflows. Because approvals and notifications happen automatically, we've cut down on so much admin workload. And even the version tracking was seamless. I can instantly see who changed what and why, which is huge for legal audits.
However, there were some limitations of the platform. The UI was a bit clunky to operate. It can feel unintuitive at times, especially when I first started out. Navigating between templates, clauses, and contract records isn't always as smooth as it should be.
A lot of users I've talked to had the same issue that the interface could be cleaner and more modern. It also took me a while to figure out some of the bulk-edit options and report-generation workflows. It's the real power, but you need to dig a little to unlock it. It’s one of those tools where the learning curve is front-loaded, but once you learn about things, everything is a smooth sail.
In terms of pricing, while the basic tiers give you essentials like document storage, e-signature capabilities, and workflow routing, the premium subscriptions unlock advanced features like clause libraries, granular user permissions, AI-powered risk analysis, and more configurable automation.
The analytics dashboard in higher plans also gives visibility into bottlenecks and turnaround time, which helps our teams optimize how we work with legal and procurement.
But one of my biggest gripes was flexibility, especially around configuration. There are moments when you want to do something outside the norm, but Conga's rigidity prevents you from doing so.
If you like to tinker with layouts, workflows, or UI customizations, be prepared to temper your expectations or call an admin. Depending on your subscription tier, some features, like advanced reporting or integration extensions, may feel like gated content.
Overall, Conga surprised me with its ability to offer version control, content creation, e-signature, and compliance audit trails all in one defined platform to maintain the status quo between vendors and clients.
"As a Consultant, I am using Conga CLM for Managing contracts. We are using this software to manage our contracts in different regions of the world. By using this tool, we are managing it efficiently."
- Conga CLM Review. Kanchan T.
"Some users are a bit worried about the UI being a bit clunky and not very user-friendly. When working on a larger number of contracts or documents, the application sometimes slows down."
- Conga CLM Review, Ravi V.
Apart from managing contracts, tracking client outstanding billables, and remunerating your attorneys, consider checking out the best legal billing software in 2025.
Salesforce Revenue Cloud streamlines contract creation and revision, digitizes signatures, and ensures accurate versioning and clause revisions for legal and finance teams to make necessary pre-deal negotiations and deal arrangements.
What impressed me the most was how it manages the entire revenue lifecycle in one place. From product catalog management and quoting to order management and billing, everything just flows. I am talking real-time configure, price, quote (CPQ) capabilities tied directly to automated invoicing.
It felt like Salesforce had finally cracked the code on unifying revenue workflows without any clunky back-and-forth that consumes more time of enterprise teams.
One of my favorite parts is how seamlessly the Salesforce CPQ and Billing modules integrate. When I generate a quote, it instantly syncs across the platform, so billing and finance don't need to chase me down for updates. This really cuts down on manual errors.
I especially appreciate the automation behind invoice generation and revenue recognition, which is a godsend for anyone working in SaaS or subscription-based models. It ensures compliance and accuracy without the need to micromanage every line item.
I also want to highlight data centralization. Having sales ops, finance, and customer data all in one ecosystem makes reporting and forecasting useful, not just a checkbox task. This kind of visibility has helped my team reduce time to cash and optimize renewals better.
This said, it is not all on the up and up. You would need some skills to navigate the platform, as it isn't completely plug-and-play. The UI has improved a lot, and it’s generally user-friendly, but if you're not already familiar with Salesforce’s ecosystem, there’s definitely a learning curve.
There were moments when I had to dig through several tabs just to find one piece of information, and that kind of clunkiness is always uncomfortable. Also, the customization can be tricky unless you are pretty hands-on with sales development tools.
In terms of pricing, Salesforce Revenue Cloud can get expensive, especially if you are a smaller business or operating on a tight budget. More premium features like guided selling, advanced approvals, and multi-dimensional quoting are hidden behind locked paywalls.
I was also a bit disappointed that it doesn’t integrate as smoothly with some of our other tools, like Oracle or SAP, without significant customization. Out-of-the-box connectors are hit-or-miss, which feels like a missed opportunity given how interconnected today’s tech stacks need to be.
Overall, Salesforce Revenue Cloud is the go-to contract management solution for small businesses or enterprise teams. It automates version control, proactively seeks renewals or terminations, and tracks audit trails to optimize time to cash deals.
"As an Admin, I really loved the Salesforce Revenue Cloud because of its comprehensive tools for managing the entire revenue lifecycle. Most importantly, it connects with other third-party applications seamlessly without any Lag."
- Salesforce Revenue Cloud Review, Balamurugan P.
"There are a few reasons why I might not like Salesforce: It is difficult to set up and use. It requires a team of experts to set up and maintain, and it can be difficult to customize to fit the needs of a specific business. It is expensive."
- Salesforce Revenue Cloud Review, Pranavi M.
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Docusign CLM aims to automate all stages of a contract lifecycle, provide intelligent agreement features, and automate signature processes to streamline pre- and post-signatory requirements, all in one place for better contract management.
When I first started using Docusign CLM, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But I’ll tell you this, getting rid of paper-based processes was a major shift. The platform makes it easy to manage contracts, from drafting to signing and everything in between. It stopped me from chasing down signatures or email reminders anymore.
Docusign CLM automates a big chunk of that process, so contracts just move, smoothly and without bottlenecks. What also won me over is how accessible and mobile-friendly the experience is. I've approved documents right from my phone during a coffee break. The most crucial functionality is the e-signature functionality.
Whether I am sending something to a client or reviewing a vendor agreement, the workflow is intuitive. The interface is generally easy to use, even for someone who is not particularly tech-savvy.
That said, the platform does have its share of drawbacks. I've noticed that viewing all folders at once isn't possible, and that can be annoying when I am managing a large volume of contracts. Also, you cannot export and download an entire folder of documents, which would have saved time if it were possible.
I also want to discuss issues with clause automation and searchability. It's a relief to search for a clause without manually browsing through five contracts. With version history and audit trails, I can view the changes and restore things if needed. But there is a pain point. Depending on your plan, some features seem limited.
For instance, we were restricted in how many envelopes we could use monthly. This felt like a roadblock, especially during a busy quarter.
I also felt that while the tech is solid, it can feel a bit clunky when you are onboarding. The learning curve isn't steep, but it exists, especially if you are prone to automated workflows. If you are banking on real-time customer support, you might need to prepare in advance for delays or refer to help documentation.
That said, Docusign CLM helps you edit, review, and alter your contracts from any device, fasten approvals, and control digital signatures across several contracts to maintain client satisfaction and optimize deals.
"Docusign has proven to be an effective tool for managing contracts, particularly thanks to its functionality that allows others to prepare documents for me, leaving me responsible only for the signing. This significantly streamlines the process, saving time and reducing complexity.
The platform is user-friendly, even for team members who aren't especially tech-savvy. The ability to delegate document preparation and then quickly review and sign fits seamlessly into our workflow."
"All the features could seem overwhelming when you first use it, but if you only need it for a handful of documents, this is the platform for you! For us, it's the right amount of customization, but I could see many firms only need maybe 3 or 4 things this platform offers."
- Docusign CLM Review, Ryan C.
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LinkSquares offers predictive and generative AI capabilities, known as the LinkAI engine, to modify and review contracts, fact-check, streamline collaboration with internal and external teams, and check the accuracy of clauses or legal language within contracts.
From the moment I got onboarded, the experience felt smooth. The customer success folks were responsive, the training sessions were genuinely useful, and within a week, we were up and running with our contract repository completely set up.
One of the things I love most is the AI engine, especially the OCR tool. I’ve uploaded legacy PDFs that would usually take hours to process manually, but LinkSquares reads, indexes, and tags everything accurately.
The smart tagging and metadata extraction have saved me and my team countless hours of manual review. The search tool is also helpful. I can type in a clause or keyword and instantly pull up every related document. It even supports fuzzy matching and clause variants, which helps when terminology differs across contracts.
I also rely heavily on the reporting dashboard. It gives me visuals and summaries of renewal dates, termination clauses, and obligations across hundreds of agreements. The customization here is underrated. Whether I want high-level trends or line-item data, it's all exportable and easy to interpret. We’re on a premium plan, and I genuinely think the analytics tools alone are worth it.
Also, the UI is crisp and user-friendly, which I didn't expect from a CLM tool. However, I did stumble a bit during the first week. It took me a little bit of time to understand all the features, and I wish there were more contextual tooltips early on.
However, I did grapple with some challenges too. The AI sometimes gets contract names wrong, especially when the file names are ambiguous. It's a small issue, but I often found myself manually correcting those labels now and then. Also, some features like advanced clause comparisons or bulk actions required a bit more clicking around than I like. There is definitely room to streamline the workflow.
Pricing-wise, if you're a large team managing hundreds of contracts, LinkSquares offers great ROI. But, for smaller teams, some modules may feel too advanced or pricey if you are only looking for basic repository functions.
Overall, LinkSquares is one of the most modular, user-friendly, and flexible tools for easing contract version control, reviews, and approvals, improving compliance audits, and obligation tracking to assist legal teams.
"What I like the best about Link Squares is its AI-powered contract analysis. It helps legal teams to quickly extract key data from contracts, streamlining the entire contract cycle.
This saves time, reduces errors, and provides better insights, all within a centralised, easy-to-use platform."
- LinkSquares Review, Oviya M.
"LinkSquares offers a variety of customizations, but if I had to pick something to dislike, it's that one particular feature hasn't been given that kind of attention yet. Event notifications for contract dates can only be set up system-wide, but we're hopeful for the ability to apply filters for multiple configurations soon."
- LinkSquares Review, Laura B.
Dealhub.io offers multiple features, such as spend management, billing management, subscription management, digital sales rooms, and CPQ, to centralize the entire deal negotiation and contract approval process for sales, legal, and finance teams.
What initially drew me in was how seamlessly it integrates with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot. The synchronization between platforms means I’m not wasting time toggling between systems, and I can pull deal data directly into quotes and contracts without juggling multiple platforms.
One of the standout features was DealHub's CPQ engine. It's surprisingly intuitive and allows me to build quotes with real-time pricing logics, even for complex configurations.
I've used it to set up tiered pricing models, subscription billing structures, and even run discount approvals, which normally require a lot of back-and-forth with finance.
I also want to call out DealRoom, a shared digital space where internal teams and customers can collaborate, negotiate, and redline documents in real time. Compared to old-school email attachments and chaos, the experience feels modern and dynamic.
I also appreciated the built-in e-signing and approval workflows. They automated everything from quote generation to signature capture. DealHub didn't skimp on analytics either. There is a solid analytical dashboard where I can monitor pipeline velocity, engagement scores, and the stage-by-stage progress of my deals.
It even lets me track buyer behaviour, like which section of DealRoom got the most views, so I can tweak my approach based on engagement data.
However, the tool has its drawbacks. While the initial onboarding was fairly quick, the platform has nuances that take a bit to master, especially when it comes to customizing templates or workflows.
Some users on my team found the DealRoom permissions and deletion logic a bit confusing. Certain approver routing workflows added more time than expected.
Also, while the analytics are robust, I wish there were more advanced reporting filters or drill-downs available out of the box.
In terms of pricing, the premium plans unlock more advanced features, like deeper CRM integrations, contract redlining, advanced guide selling, and so on. While the basic plan offers features like CPQ, e-signature, and DealRoom access, enterprise plans have more customization capabilities.
Overall, DealHub engages in careful contract analysis, redlining, and revision and enables cross-functional collaborations to ensure the contents of your agreement are up to date and deals don't suffer.
"DealHub has a great UI and is easy to set up and implement compared to Salesforce CPQ. I really appreciate their great account managers and very responsive support team. Of all the vendors I've worked with, they have the fastest and most thorough support system. I also really appreciated their DealHub University tutorials that have you build out a sandbox environment while following a step-by-step tutorial."
- DealHub.io Review, Andrew E.
"Updating versions while handling multiple changes at once can be quite challenging, even if it’s not something we encounter regularly. We’ve also run into some issues with discount setups in certain instances. However, these are relatively minor concerns and not significant drawbacks overall."
- DealHub.io, Dmitrii N.
Juro is an intelligent contract automation platform that analyzes incoming contracts, automates revisions and reviews, and tracks active and terminated contracts for potential renewals to help with deal negotiations.
What impressed me was how Juro stood out for being incredibly intuitive. I didn't have to sit through hours of onboarding; it just worked. The interface is clean and modern, and navigating through templates, clauses, and approvals felt surprisingly human for a legal tech platform.
What absolutely blew me away was how much of the process Juro automates. The templating engine is powerful, seriously. You can embed logical rules directly into contract templates to create contracts that adapt based on answers in a form-style questionnaire.
It is a game-changer if you are trying to empower non-legal teams to self-serve contracts without breaking compliance or missing any details. Form view basically walks users through contact creation, easing the process of contract management.
One of my favorite features is the "ease of functionality." It allows us to tag contracts with custom metadata, assign approvers automatically, and build workflows that reflect how our business actually runs. It also offers the timeline feature that shows who viewed, signed, and opened your document.
I also want to call out its integration with Salesforce, which helps auto-generate contracts from CRM data and saves time for our sales teams.
It also offers top-notch collaboration, like real-time editing, version history, and the ability to comment directly on sections within the contract. As someone who constantly edits and approves contracts, this tool can save you hours of weekly labor.
The CSM and support teams are also pretty responsive. They don’t just answer your tickets; they guide you on how to use the tool better and roll out regular improvements based on feedback.
That said, there are a few issues with the platform. The advanced redlining and track-changing functionalities are a bit underwhelming. When we deal with complex, heavily negotiated contracts, teams sometimes have to export the contracts to Word to finalize changes.
Formatting issues can also crop up when exporting the files to Word. The paragraph breaks are completely messed up, and the layout settings are also changed in a cluttered way.
Another thing that bugs me is template creation. It’s not exactly smooth. Small adjustments require a surprising number of clicks, and moving elements around is a bit clunky. You almost feel like you're working against the app instead of with it. Also, the mobile optimization wasn't really up to par.
But, even apart from that, Juro offers the best in industry contract formatting, clause libraries, and review and revision services to analyze your agreements, optimize compliance audits, and automate your contract lifecycle without breaking a sweat.
"Juro has a really wide array of features, contract rules, and customization that really help streamline the contracting process and save time from both legal and sales teams. We use it as our own source main legal tool, and its templates are easy to use for our sales teams while allowing good control of contracts by legal and finance."
- Juro Review, Nahan T.
"Choosing to be an online editor can be challenging when dealing with someone who is resistant to these types of tools. Thankfully, gradual improvements have been introduced that allow you to work with traditional Word documents in Juro. Some features may still be basic, but the constant pace of improvements compensates for it. Often, you just need to be patient and wait for the implementation of the desired feature."
- Juro Review, Alejandro A.
Ironclad provides digital contracting services to highlight, review, and tag incoming documents or agreements in a seamless and error-free way to scale your contract approval process and speed up deal negotiations.
What stood out immediately was how intuitive and user-friendly the platform was. I could get a workflow up and running in less than a day because of a drag-and-drop builder. I didn't need to loop in IT every time I needed to tweak something. That kind of autonomy felt rare.
The integration with Salesforce was particularly impressive. It made launching forms and syncing contract data seamless. If you are in sales or legal operations, you'll appreciate not having to constantly jump between platforms. Plus, the workflow customizability also helps me set new and conditional logics, assign approvals, and loop in stakeholders without relying too much on manual dependencies.
Another favorite was the ability to centralize all contracts in a digital repository. This made it easy to search, tag, and track contract status. Everything from version control to e-signatures (powered by integrations like DocuSign) to audit trails was automated, making compliance and internal reviews seamless.
However, it wasn't that perfect. One pain point I ran into was the search functionality. It felt a little clunky when I was trying to locate older or niche documents. And onboarding processes could have been smoother. I felt like the learning curve was steeper, especially when customizing templates or setting cloud libraries.
In terms of pricing, the Essentials plan gives you the basics, which is great if you are starting with it. But the Business and Enterprise tiers are the real deal, with features like advanced integration, deeper analytics and reporting features, and an analytical dashboard. For larger teams, especially those in heavily regulated industries or with international operations, these premium plans are worth it.
Customer support was sort of a mixed bag. While some reps were incredibly helpful and walked through advanced configurations, others took a lot of time to resolve the ticket escalations.
Overall, Ironclad is tailor-made for legal and business teams to keep track of impending contract redlines and revisions, track active renewals and terminations, and make alterations to clauses across several contracts and automate signature workflows.
"Ironclad is simple and straightforward (it is also very effective out of the box), BUT it has significant power and capability beyond that. The interface for our end users is intuitive, and the legal team is doing more by doing less."
- Ironclad Review, Chris W.
"The only downside I can think of is getting new users to take the time to do the training offered in Ironclad Academy and learning how to use the tool. When we did our initial launch, we held several training sessions; however, now that we have been using Ironclad for almost 2 years, it is tough to get new sales executives to leverage the training resources. Once they learn it, they generally love it."
- Ironclad Review, Georgina M.
Best CLM software: Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Top CLM platforms use AI to automatically flag risky clauses and check contracts against regulatory standards like GDPR or HIPAA. You can set custom risk rules and clause libraries, with real-time scoring to highlight issues before approval. Some tools even sync with compliance databases to keep your policies up to date.
The best CLM software connects easily with tools like Salesforce, SAP Ariba, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Look for platforms with pre-built integrations and secure APIs that let you manage contracts directly from your existing systems, triggering approvals, syncing data, and keeping all teams in the loop without extra manual work.
Leading CLM tools offer role-based access, SSO, and MFA to keep your data secure. You can control who sees what, down to the clause level, while providing external partners with secure, time-limited access portals. Every action is logged in an audit trail, and data is encrypted both at rest and in transit.
DocuSign CLM, PandaDoc, and Concord are excellent picks for small businesses. DocuSign offers robust automation and integrations, PandaDoc excels with easy document creation and CRM connections, and Concord provides unlimited e-signatures with real-time collaboration. All three offer free trials
The best free CLM tools include Concord, Agiloft Free Edition, and Zoho Contracts. Concord offers unlimited e-signatures, Agiloft provides customizable workflows, and Zoho includes template management. All three offer free plans suitable for small teams to get started.
Most CLM software starts around $20 to $50 per user/month for basic plans. Advanced enterprise solutions with AI, integrations, and security features can cost $500+ per month or require custom quotes based on user count and features.
Before you invest your time and manpower into choosing the right contract management lifecycle software, evaluate the actual issues like compliance, redlining, obligation, and client relations that you want to solve. Further, while this research outlines the main parameters to look for, you need to factor in your company requirements, attorney manpower, and the number of contracts received across your client base to really choose a solution that benefits your company, the vendor, and the external client.
While you are at it, also focus on removing bottlenecks, navigating to contract renewals, and maintaining high transparency with sales and finance teams to score more deals.
Scale your legal business operations more effectively by checking out the best legal software in 2025 to optimize your legal, compliance, and regulatory processes efficiently.
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