Aderant vs Clio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Clio: it is first in our ranking of law practice software, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 1.6.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Clio grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Clio
Practice management, legal accounting and legal AI for law firms
Which one is for you
Pick Aderant if
- Fits if you run a large firm and need time capture and billing compliance
- Works for firms that want docketing and finance from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you're a small firm needing intake and a client portal
- Skip it if you want a price first, as the site only offers a demo
- Watch out: products are sold separately, so you build the set yourself
- Watch out: the pages don't list supported desktop or mobile platforms
Pick Clio if
- Fits if you want trust reconciliation and the firm's books in the same tool as billing
- Works for firms that plan to add intake and legal AI from the same vendor later
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: only Starter has a published price, and Core, Signature and Elite are quoted on request
- Tight if you're on Starter, which has no client portal, texting, conflict checks, document templates, custom fields or integrations
- Pricey if you want workflows, custom reports or SSO, which need Signature or Elite, and Clio Grow intake is an add-on on Core and Signature
- Watch out: card payments cost 2.95% (3.75% for Amex), eCheck 1% and Affirm 4.95%, and court e-filing is paid per filing
- Skip it if you want a long trial, as it's 7 days and there's no free plan
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAAderantWeak | 2.8GPAClioGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published, and the site routes visitors to a demo request. | CStarter is $49 a user a month, the price this category mostly starts at: its cheaper quarter and middle are both $49. The listing doesn't say if that's billed monthly or yearly, and Core, Signature and Elite are priced on request. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no free trial are listed anywhere on the pages we read. | CA 7-day trial of Clio Manage with no card. No free plan, so a week is all you get before paying. |
| Features | CFinancial management, time entry and billing compliance, docketing and people management. But it's firm operations only, with no intake or client portal, and the products are sold separately. | BMatters, unlimited documents, calendars, hourly, flat and contingency billing, online payments, trust accounting and legal accounting with bank sync, plus a client portal from Core and Clio Work for AI research and drafting. The listing shows no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A firm assembles and configures the set of products it needs. | AClio rates 4.8 on the US App Store from 9,084 ratings, which puts it at A on our ease ladder. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on the listing, with Harvey and Teams as the only integrations named. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Outlook, Gmail, Word, QuickBooks, Xero, TrustBooks and Affirm, and a developer API. No desktop app on record. |
| Best for | finance, billing and time tools for large law firms | small firms that want legal accounting built in |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Aderant and Clio. How we grade
Where they differ
- Aderant also covers calendar, reports and applicant tracking.
- Clio also covers bookkeeping and case management.
At a glance
| Aderant | Clio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $49 per user / month (Starter); billing basis not stated |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of Clio Manage, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Aderant | Themis Solutions Inc. (Clio) |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Aderant
- No prices are published, and the site routes visitors to a demo request, so costs cannot be compared in advance.
- Aderant is aimed at firm operations: it lists Am Law 200 and global firm customers, and is not a small-firm intake and client-portal product.
- Several of its products are sold separately, so a firm assembles the set it needs.
- The product pages read do not list supported desktop or mobile platforms; Expert Sierra is described as hosted on AWS and mobile-friendly.
Clio
- Clio publishes a price only for Starter; Core, Signature and Elite are quoted on request or after a demo.
- Starter leaves out the client portal, texting, conflict checks, document templates, custom fields and third-party integrations, which start on Core.
- Card payments cost 2.95% (3.75% for Amex), eCheck and ACH 1%, and Affirm pay-later 4.95%; court e-filing is paid per filing.
- Automated workflows, custom reports and SSO need Signature or Elite, and Clio Grow intake is an add-on on Core and Signature.
Key features
Aderant
- Financial management
- Expert Sierra covers conflicts checks, client and matter management, work in progress, billing, rates, collections, accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, tax and trust accounting.
- Time entry and billing compliance
- iTimekeep captures time, and Aderant lists outside counsel guideline compliance and eBilling among its products. It cites more than 100,000 monthly active users for time entry.
- Docketing and calendaring
- Milana is a cloud docketing product with a court rules library that the vendor says covers more than 3,000 rule sets and is monitored for changes daily. CompuLaw is a second docketing product.
- People management
- The viRecruit, viEval, viSkills and viLMS+CLE products cover recruiting, evaluations, skills tracking and learning for professional services firms.
- AI features
- Expert Sierra is described as AI-enabled through MADDI on the Stridyn platform. The site also announces Aderant Agents and an integration of iTimekeep with Harvey.
Clio
- Matters, documents and calendars
- Every plan stores contacts, matters and unlimited documents, with calendaring, tasks, a firm dashboard and Clio's iOS and Android apps.
- Billing and online payments
- Hourly, flat-rate and contingency billing, payment plans, UTBMS and LEDES codes, and online payment by card, eCheck, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- Legal accounting built in
- Bank sync, a chart of accounts, trust and operating reconciliation, check printing and cash or accrual reports on every plan, with a free licence for the firm's accountant.
- AI inside Clio Manage
- From Core, AI drafts bills on a schedule, writes client updates from matter activity, turns documents into calendar events and tasks, and ranks tasks.
- Clio Work
- A legal AI workspace that reads a matter's files to build timelines and spot gaps, finds jurisdiction-matched authority checked by a citator, and drafts in Clio Work or Microsoft Word.
- Client portal and texting
- From Core, clients use the Clio for Clients portal and app to message, share documents, pay and follow their matter, and the firm can text reminders.
Plans
Aderant
Pricing could not be confirmed. See aderant.com.
Clio
Starter$49
per user / month; monthly or annual billing not stated
Matters, contacts, unlimited document storage, time and billing, online payments, trust accounting and built-in legal accounting. Three eSignatures.
CoreCustom
Adds AI billing and client updates, conflict checks, client portal and texting, document templates, integrations and 15 eSignatures. Price on request.
SignatureCustom
Adds matter stages, automated workflows, split and multi-currency billing, custom reports, SAML SSO and unlimited eSignatures. Price on request.
EliteCustom
Signature plus the Clio Grow intake suite: AI lead handling, intake forms, online booking, review requests and a website builder. Price on request.
Ways to pay less
Aderant
No public discounts listed.
Clio
- Other savings
Elite bundle saving
Clio's pricing page labels Elite, which bundles Signature with the Clio Grow intake suite, as saving over 17%.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Aderant or Clio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Aderant has no price we could confirm, and Clio starts at $49 per user / month (Starter); billing basis not stated.
Which has a free plan, Aderant or Clio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Aderant nor Clio has a free plan. Clio has a free trial.
Which platforms do Aderant and Clio run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Clio lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.