Common Paper vs CooleyGO
A side-by-side comparison of Common Paper and CooleyGO — two options for legal & compliance. Pricing, features, and honest pros and cons.
Category
Legal & Compliance
Legal & Compliance
Rating
4.4 / 5
4.5 / 5
Pricing
Free; paid plans
Free
Best for
Portfolio companies speeding up sales contracts; funds standardizing NDAs
Founders and emerging managers producing standard docs at zero cost
Key features
- Open-source standard agreements (NDA, CSA, DPA, pilot, design partner)
- Structured cover-page format separating business terms from legal boilerplate
- Send, negotiate, and e-sign contracts on platform
- Contract tracking and repository
- Standards maintained with a committee of technology lawyers
- Incorporation package generator (Delaware)
- Series Seed equity financing document generator
- SAFE and convertible note generators
- Board consent and equity document tools
- Library of venture-law explainers and term guides
Pros
- Standardization genuinely shortens negotiation cycles
- Free templates are high quality and widely accepted
- Cover-page structure makes terms legible to non-lawyers
- Completely free, from a top-tier venture law firm
- Documents track current market standards
- Excellent educational resource for first-time founders and new GPs
Cons
- Standards are strongest for B2B SaaS contracting, narrower elsewhere
- Counterparties unfamiliar with the format sometimes redline from scratch anyway
- Generators cover standard cases only — anything bespoke still needs counsel
- No document management, storage, or workflow layer