Firmex
Markets itself on transparent pricing while publishing none, and is owned by Datasite.
- Headquarters
- Toronto, Canada
- Founded
- 2006
- Segment
- Lower mid-market and SME deals, with sector depth in life sciences and resources
- Hosting
- Amazon Web Services with customer-selectable document storage in the EU (Germany), Canada or the United States
- Encryption
- Encryption at rest and in transit
- Free trial
- Not offered
The assessment
Firmex is a Canadian virtual data room provider founded in 2006 and headquartered in Toronto, with an EMEA headquarters in London. It targets the lower mid-market and has particular depth in life sciences, mining, oil and gas and renewables.
It was acquired by Datasite on 26 July 2021 and now runs as a business unit within it. This matters for anyone building a shortlist: Firmex and Datasite are frequently compared as alternatives to one another, and they are not. Firmex's own sub-processor list names five Datasite entities.
On data location it offers something useful and something awkward. Customers select document storage in Germany, Canada or the United States, with an explicit guarantee that documents do not reach the US unless chosen. But there is no UK region, and metadata and user information sit in Canada whatever you pick. Its UK GDPR language is among the clearest here, with a published DPA and sub-processor list, which makes the absence of a UK region more conspicuous rather than less.
A credible lower mid-market platform with better document controls than its price bracket suggests, and its UK GDPR posture is clearer than most. Two things should shape how you use it. There is no UK storage region and your metadata sits in Canada regardless, so ask what transfer mechanism covers that before you assume it is fine. And if Firmex is on your shortlist alongside Datasite, you are comparing a company with its own parent.
Acquired by Datasite on 26 July 2021 and run as a business unit within it, so Firmex and Datasite are not independent alternatives.
EMEA headquarters at The Leather Market, 11-13 Weston Street, Unit 12G2, London SE1 3ER. Firmex International Limited is a listed sub-processor.
Strengths
- Customer-selectable document storage region with an explicit guarantee that nothing goes to the United States unless chosen
- An explicit commitment to UK as well as EU GDPR, with a published DPA and a public sub-processor list
- Strong document controls including rights management, IP and device locked viewing, expiry and remote revocation
- A real UK presence with a registered support entity
- Genuinely aimed at the lower mid-market rather than large-cap deals
Limitations
- No UK data residency, and metadata always sits in Canada regardless of the document region chosen
- ISO 27001 is claimed for the data centres rather than for Firmex as an organisation, and the version cited is inconsistent across their pages
- Their dedicated security page omits ISO 27001 entirely
- No published prices and no trial, despite marketing on transparent pricing
- Owned by Datasite, so it is not an independent alternative to it
Pricing, hosting and certification
Not published. Per-project or annual subscription, both quote-only. Firmex markets itself on the claim that the price is always transparent while publishing no figures.
✗ No price published
Amazon Web Services with customer-selectable document storage in the EU (Germany), Canada or the United States. No UK option. Metadata and user information is stored in Canada regardless of the document storage choice. No document data is transferred to the United States unless it is chosen as the storage location.
- SOC 2 Type II
- HIPAA
- GDPR, EU and UK
Counted only where named publicly by the provider.
Typical use cases
- Lower mid-market M&A
- Due diligence
- Biotech and pharmaceutical licensing
- Mining, oil and gas
- Renewables
Sources consulted
Last reviewed 26 July 2026
What we could not confirm
Published openly, because a gap in the evidence is information too. Anything listed here could not be verified from a primary source, so we have not scored Firmex as though it were true.
- Any pricing figure
- Whether a free trial exists at all
- Whether ISO 27001 covers the company or only the data centres, and which version is current
- The transfer mechanism covering Canada-hosted metadata under UK GDPR
- UK company registration number