What lock-in traps are hiding in this renewal?
The renewal quote is where lock-in gets priced and enforced, and it's written in language designed to be skimmed. Paste yours below and this checklist flags the clauses that quietly keep you captive, and, just as important, the protections that should be there and aren't. For each one you get the reason it matters and the exact language to send back. Nothing you paste leaves your browser.
🔒 Runs entirely in your browser. The text is matched against a checklist locally and is never uploaded or stored.
Educational checklist, not legal advice. This tool matches your text against common contract patterns to help you spot questions worth raising; it does not read the whole document, understand your jurisdiction, or replace a lawyer. Have material agreements reviewed by qualified counsel before signing.
The clauses that quietly keep you captive
Most enterprise software lock-in isn't technical, it's contractual. A migration is possible, even affordable, right up until the paperwork removes your ability to act on it. These are the recurring patterns this tool looks for, grouped by what they do:
- Term & renewal traps (3) reset the vendor's leverage automatically, auto-renewal, long notice windows, and product bundling that makes you cancel everything at once.
- Pricing traps convert a predictable cost into an open-ended one: "then-current" renewal pricing, no cap on uplifts, and minimum commitments you owe whether you use them or not.
- Exit-rights gaps are the protections whose absence is the point, no termination for convenience, non-cancelable fees, no SLA remedy.
- Data & portability is where an exit is won or lost: whether you're guaranteed your data back in a usable format, and whether getting it out carries egress fees.
- Control clauses let the deal change under you, unilateral term changes and one-sided assignment rights that turn an acquisition into a repricing.
The tool detects both directions: clauses that are present and problematic, and protections that appear missing given what the document otherwise discusses. Missing protections are often the more valuable finding, they're the asks you'd never think to make.
How to use the result in a negotiation
Each flag comes with a concrete ask, not a vague warning. The move is to bundle them into a single redline reply: acknowledge the renewal, list the specific clauses you want changed, and propose the replacement language. Vendors expect this from prepared buyers, and the ones who won't cap an uplift or guarantee data return are telling you something useful about the relationship.
Two asks carry the most weight for keeping an exit open: a cap on renewal increases (turns the scariest number into a known one) and a data-return guarantee (keeps leaving physically possible). If you win only those two, you've materially reduced your lock-in. When you're ready to put numbers to the decision, model the move with the Switching Cost Calculator, check the timeline against your renewal with the Renewal Planner, and watch the Price Hike Tracker for the licensing moves that change your leverage.
Frequently asked
Do you store or read my contract?
No. The scan runs entirely in your browser: your text is compared against a local checklist and is never uploaded, logged, or stored. Close the tab and it's gone.
Is this legal advice?
No. It's an educational checklist that surfaces common patterns worth raising with the vendor or your lawyer. It doesn't read the whole document or account for your jurisdiction. Get material agreements reviewed by qualified counsel.
What kinds of clauses does it catch?
15 patterns across term and renewal, pricing, exit rights, data portability, compliance, and control, including both clauses that are present (like auto-renewal or "then-current" pricing) and protections that appear to be missing (like a renewal price cap or a data-return guarantee).
It found nothing, am I safe?
Not necessarily. A clean scan only means none of our patterns matched the text you pasted. Paste the full term, termination, pricing, and data sections, and remember that risky terms can be worded in ways no keyword list will catch.