A Head-to-Head Comparison of the Best CLM Tools for 2026

Despite the abundance of software solutions, companies have less control and oversight over their contracts than before. Administrative burden has overwhelmed lawyers, while slow contract negotiations have frustrated sales teams. Static PDF contracts prevent CFOs from seeing each contract's financial obligations.

Delays and disorganization in contract management lead to lost revenue, with companies losing an average of 9% annually. The problem with CLM solutions today is not a lack of functionalities but how each was built. Most were designed to replace paper filing cabinets and do not provide structure for existing data and contract processes.

In 2026, the highest-performing contract lifecycle management software solutions will not simply store documents but convert them into contract data that businesses can use for strategic decision-making. This article provides an in-depth comparison of the top solutions available today, identifying legacy systems as traditional filing cabinets versus newer platforms that deliver contract intelligence.

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Where Traditional Contract Management Falls Short

The first step in choosing the right contract management software is to understand why many traditional solutions result in inefficient contract management. Most traditional applications serve mainly as digital file storage for contracts. Users upload contracts, attach a few dates, and expect to find the contract later. This creates three major inefficiencies:

• Dead Files: Information with strategic implications, such as liability limits or renewal terms, is not available in a dynamic format but is instead locked in a static digital file.
• Manual Bottlenecks: Legal personnel must review and approve all contract modifications before execution. Legal review becomes a roadblock instead of a strategic resource.
• Disconnected Workflows: Business teams manage their contracts outside the software that supports their business operations (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, and more).

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What is Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Software?

Contract Lifecycle Management CLM software automates every phase of a contract’s lifecycle, from creation to renewal. It provides an integrated approach to contract management, rather than using separate software programmes for each phase. This single source provides all the necessary support from the Legal, Sales, HR, and Procurement teams.

With CLM software, modern contract management processes are completed on no-code platforms, allowing business users to generate contracts from pre-approved templates while maintaining control over the contract language and complex workflows. The end goal is to speed up time-to-contract without increasing compliance risk.

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Who Actually Uses CLM Tools?

In the past, CLM tools were used only by legal professionals, but today the best CLM tools support users across an organization with different contract management needs.

1. Legal Teams were originally responsible for all contract management processes. For in-house legal teams, a comprehensive contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform automates contract drafting and review, enabling them to focus on strategic work. Automating contract review and tracking key terms and obligations to maintain regulatory compliance are necessary functions of modern legal teams.
   
   
2. Sales Teams use CLM tools to close sales more quickly. The faster a Sales Team can draft, negotiate, and execute a contract, the sooner they recognize revenue. A CLM solution that integrates with a CRM system and provides templates for common deal structures helps reduce friction in the sales process and shortens sales cycles.
   
   
3. Human Resources Teams use CLM software to store and manage employee contracts, track compliance with local labour laws, and manage contract renewals and terminations. HR teams can easily access employee contracts, which are essential for hiring, termination, and auditing.
   
   
4. Procurement Teams reduce vendor compliance and breach-of-contract risk through effective vendor agreement management. Contract management tools with source-to-pay workflow capabilities help the procurement team gain visibility into vendor risk, contain costs, and establish accountability.
   
   
5. Finance and Operations Teams benefit from the analytics and reporting capabilities of modern CLM. Finance uses contract data to forecast, recognize payment terms, and identify obligations and liabilities to mitigate disputes. Operations uses this data to find production bottlenecks, fulfill client service terms, and streamline processes.

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A Deep Dive Into Top Contract Management Software

Here is our in-depth review of the top platforms, designed to help you find the best fit for your organization's contract management processes.

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1. Avokaado

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Avokaado has a unique perspective on Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM). While most CLMs treat contracts as documents, Avokaado treats them as structured data from the start. This data-first approach makes Avokaado ideal for organizations that want to move beyond storing contracts and realize contract intelligence.

Avokaado was built for organizations seeking both contract automation and compliance, which is why it has found its niche in regulated industries such as banking, financial services and insurance, telecom, and healthcare. By treating every agreement as a dynamic data asset, Avokaado gives business teams a unified workspace to safely self-serve on routine contract creation. At the same time, the legal department provides ongoing oversight, risk, and compliance monitoring.

Avokaado addresses the inefficiencies of manual contract management, which can lead to poor practices and financial impacts, by creating a scalable, intelligent, and collaborative environment that enables organizations to manage the complete contract lifecycle more effectively.

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Governed AI Agents (Avo)

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Avokaado’s Avo AI transforms NDAs, MSAs, and other contracts into structured, independent AI agents using its 5D Engine™. These agents manage the entire contract lifecycle by combining deal context, document structure, data models, decision rules, and dialogue strategies.

Unlike traditional CLM platforms that add AI tools to existing workflows, Avokaado is built for AI from the start. Each contract becomes a system that can draft, review, negotiate, and manage itself based on your rules. What's more, Avokaado's agents operate within clear contract boundaries and perform specific actions in line with your organization's rules, such as playbooks, policies, and workflows.

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aDoc 

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The core of Avokaado is the aDoc format, developed as its proprietary document format. It is not a template; aDoc is a dynamic, clause-based structure that connects the document content, data variables, and automated workflow.

Each clause in aDoc has reusable version control stored in the clause library, so all contracts generated from aDoc are standardized and compliant from the start, eliminating risks from manual drafting. In-house legal teams can create a library of pre-approved language to use across thousands of contracts without concern that unauthorized parties will modify it.

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Workflow Automation Powered By Data

Since every contract contains structured data, Avokaado's no-code workflow automation is highly flexible. Any data field in the contract can trigger an approval route, such as contract amount, counterparty jurisdiction, included clauses, or risk score, creating configurable and complex workflows without IT assistance.

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Effortless Collaborative Experience

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Avokaado provides an easy-to-use, modern interface that enables team collaboration, both internally and externally, on the same platform.

All stakeholders can negotiate and redline contracts within a secure, web-based environment, with a full audit trail that logs each change, ensuring complete transparency throughout the process. The platform works with existing tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and email, enabling stakeholders to collaborate in the way that feels most comfortable to them.

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Centralized Intelligence and Contract Analytics

The platform provides centralized contract management resources and serves as a smart contract database. All metadata, clauses, and obligations in each contract are captured, indexed, and stored, providing a comprehensive, searchable database of the entire organization's contracts for real-time analytics and risk management.

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EU-Grade Security and Compliance

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Avokaado was built from the ground up with the stringent requirements of the EU's data privacy legislation as its foundation, including GDPR compliance. It is an ideal solution for companies with strict compliance and data-sovereignty requirements. It also implements granular access controls, audit logs, and encryption at rest and in transit, providing strong protection of sensitive contract-related data.

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Speedy Implementation and Time to Value

Unlike traditional CLM providers that require extensive professional services and complicated customization, Avokaado is designed for rapid implementation. An organization can implement its first use case in days rather than months, creating a short time-to-value and momentum for further adoption across the organization.

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Best for

This platform is best suited for enterprises in regulated industries such as fintech, telecom, and insurance, as well as for scale-ups managing over 100 contracts a month. 

It is ideal for those needing integrated contract intelligence, e-signatures, approval workflows, and compliance tracking in one place. Legal teams can also use it to move from being cost centers to strategic business partners by using data-driven insights.

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2. Ironclad

Ironclad is a digital contracting platform for digital-first companies. It has a simple, intuitive UI for legal and business professionals. Many users report satisfaction through customer reviews, G2 ratings (4.5/5), and a 94% would recommend rating. Recently, it launched Clickwrap, which lets businesses create, execute, and manage online agreements with a single button or checkbox.

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Core Features

Digital workflows, real-time collaboration, compliance capture, automated contract data tagging, a central repository, custom approval flows, and AI-based contract drafting speed.

Pros

• Ironclad has a modern look/feel and provides an easy-to-use platform to work within.
• Great reporting tools and customized dashboards provide insight into contract status and potential bottlenecks.
• Integration with Salesforce, DocuSign, and other enterprise tools is great.
• Good fit for technology-focused legal teams that want a professional front-end experience.

Cons

• Basic tier plans ($60,000/year) are adequate, but the Enterprise plan ($150,000+) costs significantly more.
• AI functionality and advanced integrations add to the price, so plan for higher overall costs.
• Implementation typically takes 3-6 months before the platform is fully operational, and for new users with complex workflows, onboarding may seem daunting.
• In-app editing is not compatible with MS Word, and renewal dates do not display on calendar views.

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Best for

Ironclad is best suited to mid-to-large technology companies with their own legal ops teams that desire a user-friendly interface, robust Salesforce Integration, and organizations willing to spend on premium price tiers to reduce training/overhead and achieve rapid user adoption.

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3. Icertis

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Icertis is recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for its comprehensive CLM capabilities and integration with enterprise systems. With a G2 rating of 4.2/5, it is the CLM provider of choice for large Fortune 500 companies using SAP, Dynamics, and Oracle integration. 

Core Features

AI-driven contract creation, automated contract management, proposal management, compliance tracking, and analytics. It also offers advanced tools to manage and align performance obligations with payment. It provides risk, compliance, and governance tools, along with dashboards, to analyze risk from internal and external data sources.

Pros

• Icertis offers extensive features that cover all key contract elements, strong enterprise connectivity, a digital transformation vision, superior customer service, and broad customization capabilities.
• Organizations can improve source-to-pay processes and prevent the loss of ERP inventory data.
• Icertis provides robust compliance frameworks to help organizations in regulated industries demonstrate compliance with industry bodies.

Cons

• Icertis is primarily designed for large enterprises, which may pose challenges for smaller or less critical teams.
• The interface can be challenging to navigate and may slow user response.
• Customization can require significant time and resources.
• Full implementation can take 6-18 months, and costs start at $50,000 annually, excluding customization fees.
• Icertis can be difficult for casual end-users.

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Best for

Enterprises operating in highly regulated industries are heavily dependent on deep integration with ERP/CRM systems and require comprehensive compliance-tracking capabilities.

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4. Agiloft

Agiloft is a no-code customization platform that lets users design configurations like workflows, forms, dashboards, and access levels without developer assistance. This flexibility and ease of use have earned Agiloft a G2 rating of 4.6/5, making it a leading vendor for organizations needing customized workflows.

The platform meets military-grade security requirements and includes features like automatic data backups, antivirus and malware protection, and measures to prevent unauthorized access. These features support organizations that handle sensitive information.

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Core Features

Workflows, contract management, and approvals with no-code functionality, AI-powered metadata extraction, and risk assessment. The platform offers automated workflow approvals for contracts with unlimited options, as well as unlimited customizable reports and dashboards. It integrates with Salesforce, MS Teams, DocuSign, Adobe Sign, and other enterprise-level applications. It also provides compliance support for regulations such as SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR.

Pros

• Unmatched flexibility for organizations with complex workflows and unique business needs
• Strong security features to protect user information and support regulated industries
• Organizations with unique security configurations and the ability to customize security to fit their needs
• Strong integration hub for widely used enterprise applications

Cons

• The user interface is not as modern as many newer CLM platforms, but it remains visually appealing and easy to use.
• Implementing Agiloft can take four to eight months due to customization.
• The onboarding process can be lengthy for users with limited technical experience.
• While Agiloft allows users to create custom workflows, many feel overwhelmed by the number of options.
• Users in EMEA or APAC countries face certain limitations when using Agiloft.

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Best for

Organizations with highly customized internal business processes. Mid-market to enterprise organizations in regulated industries with flexible security configurations, willing to invest in lengthy implementation for process alignment.

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5. Sirion

Sirion effectively analyses and manages over five million contracts in more than 70 countries using Artificial Intelligence, generating new insights about post-signing administration. Sirion uses advanced analytics to help all parties involved in each contract maximise its value by aligning performance with payment and preventing disputes.

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Core Features

The Sirion platform includes contract document creation and maintenance, AI-based contract performance analysis, automated workflows using AI data extraction, and auto-generated clause libraries to support team-based contract creation.

It also offers automated monitoring and tracking of compliance with laws and regulations, as well as vendor and spend management toolsets. Users gain visibility into contracts through AI-powered conversational tools that answer questions in plain language and provide AI-based redlining recommendations to shorten deal flow and improve efficiency.

Pros

• The Sirion platform's AI and analytics capabilities allow users to analyse the performance of their contracts after they are signed.
• The Sirion platform lets users monitor vendor performance and manage supplier obligations after signing, with governance tools and support through Smart Contracting capabilities.
• The Sirion platform features a robust, extensible, modular data architecture with over 300 suppliers in one system of record.
• Through its powerful analytical capabilities, the Sirion platform enables users to identify opportunities to reduce supplier risk and realise cost savings across their entire supplier portfolio.

Cons

• Limited support for additional languages limits Sirion's global availability.
• Limited UI-based configuration creates a dependency on external support.
• Implementation takes longer than expected, typically 6 to 12 months.
• The learning curve is steep for teams unfamiliar with advanced analytics platforms.

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Best for

Large corporations with complex supplier relationships require post-signing governance and performance analysis. Procurement departments need AI-powered insights to optimise performance and mitigate supplier risks. Corporations that prioritise realising financial value from contracts over simply automating workflow.

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6. Evisort

Evisort is a software-as-a-service agreement intelligence solution. Its founders are graduates of Harvard Law School and MIT. Evisort delivers ROI within 30 days by centralizing your entire contract library with no migration required. Its AI automatically searches the contract library for metadata and specific terms, allowing users to create new contracts from that information without manual data entry.

Users can also create, review, approve, sign, and report through intelligent dashboarding. Intelligent Dashboarding provides self-populating dashboards that instantly present comprehensive visual contract metrics derived from metadata across multiple Word documents or PDFs.

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Core Features

AI Contract Analytics, Contract Automation, centralized contract repository, full enterprise software integration, risk mitigation approval processes, immediate file and folder synchronization, automatic metadata extraction with real-time display, and comprehensive contract visibility without custom dashboards.

Pros

• 30-Day ROI with Rapid Implementation
• No migration of Contracts required
• Auto-generated dashboards providing instant visual insights
• AI capabilities without costly add-ons
• Evisort starts at $15,000/year, making it an attractive middle-market price point.

Cons

• Despite claiming rapid ROI, Evisort may require 2-4 months for full implementation.
• Evisort provides limited information on the depth of customization available compared to other market players.
• The level of integration for ERP systems may be less robust than other solutions.
• Evisort may lack advanced governance features for contracts after signature.

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Best for

Large organizations with many legacy contracts need immediate digitization. Legal departments are more interested in AI Contract Analytics than in developing workflows. Companies between mid-market and large enterprise seeking quick ROI without long implementation delays.

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7. ContractPodAi

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ContractPodAi is recognized in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for its GenAI-driven CLM through Leah Intelligence. Its Agentic Architecture enables users to manage contracts intuitively and interactively, thereby improving efficiency and accuracy. ContractPodAi helps legal departments shift from cost centers to strategic growth enablers.

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Core Features

ContractPodAi's main features include Leah GenAI for contract drafting and review, support for over 40 languages, flexible pricing, AI-driven risk assessments, and automated compliance tracking. It integrates with enterprise systems to improve governance and risk visibility. ContractPodAi also has a diverse partner network and multiple implementation options.

Pros

• Ease of use helps drive adoption across legal and business teams.
• ContractPodAi offers comprehensive language support, enabling global organizations to deploy and manage multiple languages easily.
• ContractPodAi's Leah AI provides an easy-to-use conversational interface for asking questions and obtaining insights regarding contract management.
• Its flexible, modular pricing lets organizations pay only for what they need, breaking down silos for faster, more effective data-driven decisions.

Cons

• It is best suited for mid- to large-sized organizations and enterprises, so it may not fit small organizations.
• Organizations should dedicate resources to implementing ContractPodAi, especially if they have complex workflows.
• Additionally, while ContractPodAi provides various AI features, organizations should also expect to provide onboarding for their employees to maximize their use of those capabilities.
• Compared to larger competitors like Icertis and DocuSign, ContractPodAi has limited public information about the depth of its integrations.

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Best for

Mid- to large global enterprises that require multilingual support for their products, as well as organizations that would like to access conversational AI capabilities to reduce training overhead, and ContractPodAi enables legal departments to leverage agentic AI to assist with strategic business decisions rather than simply automating routine tasks.

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The Future of Contract Management

Digital transformation is reshaping contract management. Leading contract lifecycle management (CLM) solutions now provide strategic value by enabling deeper contractual insights. With advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and a data-first approach, contracts can become intelligent, automated agreements that support your company's objectives.

Whether you work in Legal, Sales, or Procurement, modern platforms can transform your contract management processes. When choosing a contract lifecycle management platform, assess its compatibility with your existing systems and its ability to leverage AI and ML for greater value.

To learn more about transforming your contract processes with contract intelligence, visit us to see how a modern Contract Intelligence Platform can provide your team with greater visibility, control, and efficiency. 

Request a demo to discover how a data-first approach supports effective contract management and drives your organisation's success.