What’s the Difference Between Bilateral and Unilateral Contracts?

Individuals and businesses get into contracts on a daily basis for multiple reasons. Depending on the requirement, different types of contracts, such as unilateral contracts and bilateral contracts, are drafted by businesses. Such documentation helps in clearly establishing the contractual obligations of the parties.

In a unilateral contract, only one party promises to perform obligations without getting reciprocal assurance from the other party. A bilateral contract is formed when both parties agree on the terms and conditions and promise to fulfill their obligations.

Knowing the difference between the commonly used unilateral and bilateral contracts can help you navigate through the entire deal term with much more confidence and better understanding.

Keeping a record of such business contracts is important, but it is also crucial to know the types of contracts you must enter into. How does it affect your legal obligations? What will be your responsibilities? Can the contract be revoked?

What is a unilateral contract?

This is a business contract where the document is drafted by one party – the offeror. The offer is made to the general public or can be specific to a few people. But the other party to the contract, i.e., the offeree, is in no way obligated to act upon such an offer. But when the offeree fulfills the ask, the offeror needs to act pursuant to the contract and fulfill their party’s promise.

One thing to know about unilateral contracts is that just acting upon the offer won’t be considered as acceptance of the offer. Only when the offeree completes the task as mentioned in the agreement will the contract be accepted. This will oblige the offeror to return the promise as specified in the contract.

These contracts are used in cases where the offeror is willing to pay for the specified act.

The most common example of a unilateral contract is a reward contract for a lost pet. You see a flyer for a lost dog, with a promised reward of $100 to whoever returns the lost dog to its owner. Here, the offeror promises a reward of $100 to the offeree only upon the completion of the task (i.e., to find the dog) and not just for acting upon the offer.

Another example of a unilateral contract can be an insurance contract. Here, the insurance company promises to pay a specified sum of money only if the agreed-upon event occurs. If the event does not happen, then the company is not obligated to pay.

Can unilateral contracts be revoked?

Revocation of unilateral contracts can happen at any time before the promisee starts performing the obligation. Whether or not the contract can be revoked after the performance has started depends on the action specified by the promisor.

• If the contract is a performance type – where, for example, the promisor offers $500 to anyone who climbs thirty floors – and the promisee acts upon it, then the contract cannot be revoked.
• If the contract is a reward contract, such as the lost pet flyer, the contract can be revoked before the task is completed as long as the promisor communicates the revocation.

The older business law allowed the revocation of a performance-type contract even after the promisee had acted upon it. But that does not hold true anymore. Once the performance starts and the obligee fulfills the task, then payment needs to be made, or else it will be a breach of contract by the promisor.

What is a bilateral contract?

A bilateral contract is an agreement between two parties. The terms and conditions of this business contract are agreed upon after consultation with both parties. The exchange of value is based on the mutual promises made during the negotiation phase.

Bilateral agreements are the most common contract type where both parties promise to perform their contractual obligations. All business contracts are mostly bilateral.

For example – A real estate agreement where you get into a contract with a real estate company to buy a house. Here, both parties have certain obligations to fulfill. The company needs to provide you with a house as per your requirement and in return, you pay them a fixed amount of money to purchase it.

Here are some key elements that make a valid bilateral contract –

• The promisor’s offer
• Acceptance of the offer from the promisee
• Exchange of value or consideration
• Acceptable legal capacity of both the parties
• These elements are also applicable to unilateral contracts for them to be enforceable in a court of law

These elements are also applicable for unilateral contracts for them to be enforceable in a court of law.

Some examples of bilateral contracts are –

• Employment agreements
• Lease agreements
• Non-disclosure agreement, etc.

Click here to learn from a step-by-step guide on how you can automate the drafting process of bilateral contracts like NDA.

Difference between a unilateral and bilateral contract

The most basic difference between a unilateral and a bilateral contract is the reciprocal obligation of both parties. This is the basic foundation of these two types of contracts.

How are unilateral and bilateral contracts alike?

There might be many differences but these two contracts also are similar in a few things. Some of the similarities are –

• Both contracts are considered to be legally binding and are enforceable in a court of law
• There is a promise and consideration element in both the contracts

Unilateral contract vs bilateral contract – Which is better?

Both unilateral and bilateral contracts are enforceable in a court of law, but bilateral contracts are more widely used from a business perspective. It is because bilateral contracts safeguard the interests of both the offeror and offeree and create a sense of confidence as all the provisions are negotiated, discussed, and agreed upon by both parties.

Whereas unilateral contracts might have the risk of the offeror not fulfilling their promise. That is why unilateral contracts are widely used for informal agreements such as a notice for a lost wallet or lost pet, etc. Selecting one as better would be unfair, but it could be said that bilateral contracts are preferred more over unilateral contracts when it comes to formal business dealings.

Unilateral and bilateral contracts – DIY

Understanding contracts is one thing, but drafting them is another challenge. It includes different terms and multiple clauses that have to be incorporated in order to make it valid and enforceable.

Revv is an intuitive document-building platform where you can draft, manage, store, and e-sign any business document. You can also leverage the template library that consists of ready-to-use templates for different types of business documents – quotes, proposals, contracts, agreements, and letters.

Drafting a contract – What you can do with Revv?

• Get a head start with templates. A template for every business need is available in Revv’s extensive template library.
• Customize and modify your business documents with our feature-rich document editor.  
• Collaborate with other teams (irrespective of their geographic location) in real-time with the Notes feature. All you have to do is tag the person in question with @mentions and add a public or private comment stating what you want the person to do, such as whether they need to review the document, add their inputs, or address any other issues. The tagged person will receive email notification of the same.  
• Make your contracts legally binding with our safe and compliant eSignatures that adhere to global and local laws such as the E-Sign Act, UETA in the US, and eIDAS Regulation in Europe. 
• Any number of signers can be added to the same document. And, recipients or signers can also personalize their signatures with Revv. You can draw signatures, scan and upload signatures, choose from pre-formatted text styles, and even connect your crypto-wallet such as MetaMask to complete the signing process.  
• Effortless data mapping from your existing business platforms using Data Studio.
• Integrate with business applications like Zapier, Google Sheets, Box, HubSpot, and more.
• Real-time and transparent tracking system. Revv’s Activity feature helps the user to track any activity that happens on the contract, such as: who opened it, when it was opened, the device from which the document was assessed, who signed it, etc.
• Our legally enforceable audit trail will shield you from any legal problems. Every eSigned contract from Revv comes with an Evidence Summary certificate. 
• Enjoy a seamless payment integration option with Stripe.
• Understand your contract better under the metalens view.

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