Comparison
ClientGather vs Content Snare
Content Snare’s published pages last checked on
In short
Both tools replace the email thread with a client portal, reusable request templates and automatic reminders. ClientGather is the UK-hosted option: requests and answers sit on our own servers in Erith and uploaded files in Bunny.net's London storage region, uploads are scanned before storage, and read-only Auditor logins are free — which matters if a compliance consultant or regulator reads your files.
Content Snare is a well-established document collection tool with a broad customer base across accounting, legal and agency work. If you are comparing it with ClientGather, you are almost certainly weighing the same two or three things: where your clients' documents physically live, who in your practice — and outside it — is allowed to read them, and what the whole thing costs at the size you actually are.
This page covers those points only. Content Snare publishes plenty we have not reproduced here, so read their pages as well as ours.
| ClientGather | Content Snare | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your files are stored | Our own servers in Erith, United Kingdom; uploaded files in Bunny.net's London storage region, encrypted with our own key. Nothing is replicated outside the UK. | Amazon Web Services. The region is not stated on their security page. source |
| Malware scanning on upload | Every upload is scanned on our own infrastructure before it is stored. Anything that fails is refused at upload and never reaches your storage. | Not mentioned on their security page. source |
| Read-only seats for a compliance reviewer | Free read-only Auditor logins — 2 to 8 depending on plan — that do not count against your users. | Plans are counted in team members: 2 on Basic, 5 on Plus, 10 on Pro. source |
| Entry plan | £25/month billed annually (€29 charged) — 20 active requests, 2 users, 10 GB, 14-day trial with no card. | US$35/month billed annually — 20 active requests, 2 users, 20 GB, 14-day trial with no card. source |
| Starter templates for UK regulated work | Eleven UK starter packs built in: Home Office evidence bundles, specialist finance packaging, and Companies House incorporation, onboarding and confirmation statements. | Industry pages for accounting, legal, mortgage and finance, digital agencies and education. source |
Where the documents actually sit
For most software this is a detail. For a practice collecting passports, bank statements and proof of address it is the question the client asks, the question a compliance consultant asks, and the one you have to be able to answer in a sentence.
ClientGather runs on our own servers in Erith, United Kingdom — your requests, answers and audit logs live there. Uploaded files are stored in Bunny.net's London storage region, encrypted with our own key before they leave our servers. Nothing is replicated outside the UK. The malware scan on every upload runs on our own infrastructure before the file is stored, so files are never sent to an outside scanning service either.
- One answer to “where is my passport scan stored”, and it names a town.
- Uploads are scanned before they are stored, not after.
- On the Scale plan you can point us at your own S3 bucket instead, if the answer needs to be your infrastructure rather than ours.
Built for the person who checks the file, not just the person who sends it
In a regulated practice the document collection tool has a second audience: whoever reviews the work. A compliance consultant, an external examiner, a principal firm supervising an appointed representative, or the partner who signs it off.
That is why the Auditor role exists and why it is free. It reads requests, files, templates and the whole review history, sees the audit log for the workspaces you add it to, and can pull an export — and it cannot approve an item, reject one, comment, send a request or edit anything. Whoever checks the file cannot change it, and inviting them does not cost you a seat.
Templates that already know the job
Both tools let you build a request template once and reuse it. The difference is what you start from. ClientGather ships eleven UK packs you can apply and edit: Skilled Worker, Appendix FM, ILR and Form AN for immigration advisers; bridging, buy-to-let SPV, development and commercial packaging for specialist finance brokers; and incorporation, client onboarding and confirmation statement packs for company formation agents and ACSPs.
They are starting points rather than advice — routes, lender criteria and Companies House requirements all change — but they mean the first request you send is an edit rather than a blank page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move my existing requests across?
There is no automated import. In practice most practices rebuild their two or three most-used checklists as templates, which takes an afternoon, and run new work through ClientGather while existing requests finish where they are.
Do my clients need an account?
No. Recipients open a secure portal link, fill in what you asked for with autosave as they go, and never create a login or a password. Clients and recipients are unlimited on every plan.
Is ClientGather cheaper than Content Snare?
At the entry level they are close: £25 a month billed annually against US$35, both for 20 active requests and 2 users, with Content Snare including more storage. The reason to choose on price alone is weak — choose on where the files sit and who needs to read them.
What happens when I hit the active-request limit?
You cannot send a new request until a slot frees up. Closing requests you have finished frees them at no cost, and you can add packs of 50 during a busy month and drop them again afterwards.