With 60-80% of business run by contracts, contracts are an integral part of most organizations’ work – and probably not the most enjoyable one.
So, who oversees contracts? The old paper trail of contract management is full of issues in the modern digital age (ie. it’s error-prone, needs more personnel, is labor-intensive, and it’s hard to track changes for distributed teams across different time zones), but there is an answer – contract lifecycle management software.
According to a Research and Markets study, the global market for contract lifecycle management software increased to $2.1 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $5.2 billion by 2032.
According to Goldman Sachs, contract management automation decreases 75–90% of erroneous payments, speeds up sales negotiation cycles by 50%, and lowers the processing and operating expenses related to contract management by 10-30%. These are all great reasons why you must have a digital solution to track and manage your different business contracts. You risk so much more than you benefit without an automated solution.
Contract managing doesn’t need to be intimidating, however, with the appropriate solutions that keep you on track, save time, and mitigate stress. With so many options for contract management software, however, how can you ensure you choose the correct one for your company?
The following lists 10 Best Contract Lifecycle Management Tools for 2025 and what sets them apart, explaining their most prominent features, positives and negatives.
What Is CLM Software?
CLM software is a kind of software used to automate the contract process, and it enables other teams to develop their own contracts with templates. As the global CLM market develops 3.5x from 2020 to 2030, and with a CAGR (compound yearly development rate) of 13%, the general adoption rate for CLM software rate is growing exponentially.
How does it assist other teams?
Suppose your engineers require a standard contract for a task that they have performed numerous times in the past. Lawyers write and sign off the standard wording for this activity. They then make a list of standard questions to pose to the engineers. The engineers respond to these questions electronically, and an automated standard contract with pre-approved wording is generated.
Features of CLM Software
1. Contact audit and change history
CLM software can generate a version history, so you’re always working with the latest version of a contract — but it also enables you to see what changes have been made, when they were made, and by whom.
2. Collaborative contract editing
Having the ability to edit and administer contracts digitally and asynchronously is a requirement. You need a collaborative editing feature in your CLM solution. For example, an East Coast law office can edit a contract that can be instantly accessed and commented on by a law office in Germany.
3. Compliance
A lot of caution should be exercised at this stage because compliance can be a deal-breaker. Additionally, your program must be able to automatically track compliance for you.
4. Searchable contract library
Aberdeen Group reports 78% of leading companies maintain their contracts within a searchable, central repository, which also saves both money and time when looking for specific items.
5. E-signature capabilities
Your contracts are less likely to be duplicated or altered when you use digital signatures. Accepting digital signatures requires a legally binding feature in your CLM solution. Since the digital signature requirements differ between federal and international standards, your CLM software must be capable of recognizing and modifying these requirements automatically.
6. Workflow management
Automation and synchronized contract management can free up to 82% of a lawyer’s time, as stated by Thomson Reuters. It takes more than one party and several steps to manage a contract from start to finish, such as issuance, negotiation, execution, and renewal.
7. Contract change alerts and notifications
While monitoring who’s updating, all concerned should be notified ASAP in the event there is an error that must be corrected or a revision that must be added. Notifications can also be filtered by your CLM software to only alert you to changes that interest you.
10 Best Contract Lifecycle Management Software Tools
1. DocuSign CLM
DocuSign, another household name in the world of e-signatures, also provides a contract lifecycle management product. It is targeted towards ease of accessibility and is meant to be user-friendly even for non-technical users. Nonetheless, DocuSign is perhaps not the most feature-rich product when it comes to contract management. Its inability to handle contract edits, absence of advanced features for legal departments, and an arguably lengthy implementation period are potential sources of pain for companies.
With one billion users globally and more than one million paying clients, DocuSign is well-known in CLM groups. It supports the leading Fortune 500 companies in technology, finance, and healthcare as well as more than 3,000 federal, state, and local government agencies.
Key features
- Configurable workflows
- Centralized dashboard of contract repositories
- Contract document generation
- AI-powered contract analytics
- Clause library
- Customized workflow templates
- Renewal tracking
- Rich scoring
- Collaboration & sharing
Pros
- Complements other software
- Adequate basic features for small businesses
- Established name in e-signing
Cons
- Price structure can get costly quickly
- Not as full-featured as other contract management solutions
- Limited legal team features
- Poor editing of contracts
- Does not include search features
- Long implementation process
Price :
- $25/mo per user
2. LinkSquares
LinkSquares is a three-product type contract management system powered by AI: Finalize, emphasizing the creation of contracts; Sign, which allows for e-signatures; and Analyze, using AI to extract information from contracts and provide insights from them. Yet its expensive deployment, more than optimal setup time, and inability to edit contracts can be potential issues for some organizations.
More than 400 law firms at medium and large firms, such as notable brands such as TGIFridays, Cogito, and Wayfair. Additionally, it also has LinkSquares Finalize that pulls primary data from all of your agreements, provides up-to-date reporting throughout your overall legal portfolio, and stores all your contracts in an online warehouse.
Key features
- Contract analysis powered by AI
- Review and execution at scale, automated
- Library of contract clause templates
- Customized workflows
- Native integrations with top CRMs and other business apps
Pros
- AI tagging and AI-powered insights
- Scale metadata extraction
- Designed for legal and finance teams
Cons
- AI is not always correct and takes ages
- Search does not function if there’s a typo
- Some modules aren’t user-friendly
- Implementation takes a long time
- Price structure is opaque
Price :
- Contact for pricing details
3. Evisort
The contract intelligence platform from Evisort was developed by MIT and Harvard Law alumni, and drastically simplifies the process for teams to draft, redline, approve, sign, report on, and renew contracts! The contract intelligence platform utilizes artificial intelligence to help teams monitor and search metadata and provisions, and only requires the physical documents – no data entry! Evisort’s platform includes Intelligent Dashboarding, the first self-populating dashboards in the world, which allows teams to use their scanned (Word or PDF) documents to view data automatically and then a summary of the most important metrics without human data entry. They can also make a 30-day return on investment (ROI) on contract centralization alone without the need for migration!
Evisort’s roster of clients is packed with household names like Microsoft, Western Union, and Workday, which might lead one to believe that the platform is best for larger, better-capitalized companies. If you’re a smaller business or startup company, Evisort’s complexity and lack of price transparency may make it an unsuitable choice for startups or smaller businesses.
Key features
- Contract linear repository
- Contract automation
- AI-powered contract analytics
- Risk mitigation approval processes
- A high number of enterprise software integrations
Pros
- Enterprise-level contract drafting
- Wide-ranging integrations
- AI-powered tagging system
- Powerful contract data extraction
Cons
- No bulk document uploading
- Weak search functionality
- Sometimes inaccurate AI
- Price transparency is nonexistent
- Not intended for daily contract management, but rather for enterprise teams
Price :
- Starts at $15,000/year
4. CobbleStone Contract Insight
CobbleStone is a feature-rich CLM solution, including, financial tracking, e-signature compliance, and unlimited storage of contracts. It also comes with VISDOM® AI technology that analyzes contracts through internal or external data to convert that information into building blocks of risk avoidance, realizing opportunity in advance, and improved contract management.
While its rich functionality, such as AI-driven contract drafting and OCR data mining, is breathtaking, the highly advanced design of the platform and high entry barrier could be a barrier to entry for some.
Key features
- Secure online storage of contracts
- Custom contract reporting and search functionality
- Financial tracking tools
- Real-time collaboration and contract versioning
- Automated workflows
- Clause and contract library of templates
Pros
- Base level has template creation
- Vendor management features
- OCR for simple data extraction
Cons
- Base level has template creation
- Vendor management features
- OCR for simple data extraction
- Dedicated support has an added cost
- Navigation may be difficult for some users
- Some users experience difficulty with reporting
- Base tier has no bulk imports
Price:
- Begins at $59/month
5. Agiloft Contract Management Suite
Agiloft has been in existence for some time, providing an end-to-end contract management solution with great customizability. Yet, its grid-based structure and relatively old-fashioned user interface have been characterized as cumbersome and complicated, for ease of setup.
Mil-spec security capable of safeguarding documents through discouragement of illegal internal access and outside data break-in and buttoned-down security entry and controls for user accesses in order to avoid operational risks.
The CLM solution based its platform on security-first steps in the form of automated backup, robust antivirus and malware defense, as well as defense against external users or even internal power users.
Key features
- Limitless templates for clauses and automated workflows
- Customizable reports and dashboards
- Centralized repository of contracts
- Text-rich contract search
- Approval automation
- Streamlined contract reviewal process
Pros
- Vendor and compliance management
- Custom analytics
- Contract assistant for Microsoft products
- Employee portal
- Strong workflow automations
Cons
- Outdated user interface
- It may be difficult for non-technical users to fully utilize the software’s functionality.
- Time-consuming implementation
- Does not have common integrations
- Price not displayed on the site
- No dedicated customer success manager
Price:
- Starts at $65/month
Suggested Blog: Top Contract Management Software
6.Contractbook
Contractbook is a contract lifecycle management tool with a primary focus on creating contracts. Its “Save the Trees” sustainability initiative and compatibility with numerous other business programs make it a winner. It stumbles, however, with limited reporting capabilities, vague pricing, and third-party contract problems.
Key features
- Secure centralization of contracts
- Dynamic clauses and template libraries
- Versioning, e-signature, and other real-time collaboration features
- Automated workflows
- Compliance alerts
Pros
- Approval workflows
- Unlimited digital signatures
- Template library for easy contract drafting
- 14-day free trial
Cons
- Fewer reporting and analytics capabilities than other contract management tools
- Limited pricing for small businesses
- Does not publish exact price on the site
- Caps implementation services by tier
Price
- Begins at $59/month
7. Outlaw
Outlaw is a robust contract management system with several capabilities, including advanced templates and bulk contract creation. It is designed for in-house counsel and features a special “Deal Room” to negotiate contracts. While it is great, the system is imperfect in the form of stiff editing capabilities and limited customization, slowing down contract monitoring and auditing. It allows you to produce a large number of contracts quickly but is not descriptive and configurable to manage live contracts effectively.
Key features
- Smart archive
- Calendars & reminders
- CRM & HR integrations
- Collaboration & customizable permissions
- Contract metadata
Pros
- Good-looking user interface
- Produce a large number of templated contracts very easily and quickly
Cons
- Sharing external stakeholders in documents is hard
- Rigid editing process
- Limited possibilities for customization
- Not transparent with pricing
Price
- Outlaw does not publish price information publicly on its site.
8.Concord
Concord is a contract management software with an emphasis on electronic signature, contract formation, and contract editing features.Although it provides a variety of capabilities, the software’s complexity is overwhelming, unintuitive, and even glitchy. Concord has templates for creating contracts and automated approvals, but formatting of the documents gets modified while uploading, which proves to be tricky.
Key features
- Contract lifecycle automation and management
- Process automation
- Workflows
- Transactional contract execution
- AI-driven data extraction for opportunity management and risk monitoring
Pros
- Intuitive pre-signature features
- Contract creation templates
- Robust contract editing functionalities
Cons
- Terrible repository and contract management functionality
- Alters format of documents while uploading
- Initiation of users can be exhaustive
- Per-user pricing model can be too expensive for big team.
Price
- begins at $49/mo per user.
9. Ironclad CLM
Ironclad is prolific in the CLM solutions market, and Ironclad just announced a new offering, Clickwrap, which focuses on managing online agreements. Ironclad describes Clickwrap agreements as “Digitally native legally binding online agreements that do not require a signature.” It is enacted when you click a button or check a box to accept. The use of Clickwrap contracts is increasing, with billions of agreements done in a given year.
Ironclad provides a number of capabilities, including AI, workflow automation, negotiation capabilities, and a customer success team, however it also features a steep learning curve and a price tag to match.
Key features
- Digital workflows
- Real-time collaboration on contracts
- Compliance capture features
- Central repository of contracts
Pros
- AI-powered contract reading software and robust legal software with redlining and negotiation features
- Integrates well with other software
- No limits to users
Cons
- High cost and extra fees for extra implementation assistance
- Setup and configuration process can be problematic and might involve extra technical assistance
- Hard to use for non-legal professionals
- Complex setup of workflows and triggers
- Fewer user permissions
Price
- Get a quote from Ironclad
10. SpotDraft
SpotDraft is a contract lifecycle management application that specializes in contract creation and template management. As such, it is an appropriate option for companies handling high numbers of boilerplate contracts. It boasts natural language processing abilities and integration with certain CRMs, although it has a clumsy and slow interface, and several of its processes are inflexible.
Key features
- Sales and legal contract creation.
- Library of pre-approved contract templates.
- Easy redlining and revisions of contact.
- Integrations to CRM.
- Data analysis of contracts.
Pros
- Ideal for big volumes of contracts
- Utilizes natural language processing
- Provides ample integrations
Cons
- Slow user interface
- Not intuitive for document storage
- Inflexible templatization and process mapping
- Not transparent in pricing
- Only the first year is available for customer success managers.
- No free trial available
Price
- Pricing not available
Conclusion
Contracts are a production, and props to the teams that built them by hand before Contract Lifecycle Management Tools existed. CLM software eases your workload by cutting down on the time and effort invested in creating contracts. CLM software might be the boost your legal team’s ever needed but never had the budget for. With these ideas in mind, find out what CLM software fits your requirements and get a demo in a hurry.
But CLM software only functions well when users are familiar with the platform. Companies need to empower their CLM end-users with the training and support they require to get the most out of it.
Frequently asked questions
1. How are contract lifecycle management tools included into business operations?
Implementing a CLM successfully involves adhering to a structured process. Begin by thoroughly evaluating your requirements, knowing your business issues, and defining your CLM implementation goals. You need to take into account aspects such as integration needs, training requirements, and implementation duration in advance. In this manner, you can implement the selected CLM in your business processes smoothly.
2. What are the key considerations when choosing a contract lifecycle management tool?
Features, cost, user count, interaction with other systems, complexity, scalability, data security, and legal compliance are all important factors to consider when selecting and deploying a contract lifecycle management platform. You may choose the best CLM for your company by taking all of these factors into consideration.
3. Which specific industries stand to gain the most from specific CLM tools?
The sectors that maximize the benefits from some CLM tools are sectors like finance and healthcare, which have strict regulation compliance requirements; manufacturing and procurement, where one needs to efficiently manage a huge number of contracts using sophisticated automation; and startups and technology, which focus on fast growth and nimble contract management processes.
4. Can we pilot a contract lifecycle management tool before buying it?
The majority of CLM applications provide a free trial to the users prior to buying a subscription. This way, they can test the capabilities of the CLM and check if it works in your specific business setting. We trust that you will utilize it for free before subscribing.
5. We have a collection of old contracts. Do we manually enter every piece of data into the CLM?
In most cases, you won’t need to manually enter the information for your existing contracts into the CLM. These days, contract lifecycle management software includes automatic metadata extraction and mass upload capabilities.
