Centerbase vs Filevine (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Centerbase and Filevine share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features, where Centerbase grades higher, or the free plan, where Filevine does.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Centerbase
Practice management, billing and firm accounting for midsize firms
Paid
Filevine
Case management and the LOIS legal AI system, sold by quote
Free trial
Which one is for you
Pick Centerbase if
- Fits if you run a midsize firm that has outgrown small-firm practice management
- Works for managing partners and administrators who track profitability and work in progress
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: there's no published price or trial, and licences, onboarding and add-ons come in a quote after a demo
- Skip it if you need to be up and running soon, as onboarding typically takes 12 to 14 weeks
- Watch out: SecureChat, for calling and texting clients from the phone app, is a premium feature
- Watch out: the Centerbase Payments transaction fee isn't published, though you can keep your own processor
- Not for you if you're a solo or small firm, as it's built and priced for midsize firms
Pick Filevine if
- Fits if your firm runs heavy caseloads, such as personal injury or mass torts
- Works for prosecutors, public defenders and other government legal offices
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before a demo, as every package is quoted by the sales team
- Watch out: intake, depositions and signatures are separate packages, and analytics, court deadline rules and the client portal are extensions
- Not for you if you want to try case management first, since the free LOIS Explore trial is AI only and closed to existing customers
- Not for you if you'd rather set it up yourself, as setup runs through Filevine's certified partners
- Skip it if you need phone apps, as the listing has it as web only
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACenterbaseFair | 2.0GPAFilevineFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published. Centerbase gives a price only on a sales call: licences, onboarding and add-ons are set out in a quote after a demo. | CNo price is published. Filevine gives a price only on a sales call, after a demo, and intake, depositions and signatures are separate packages on that quote. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial, only a demo. | DThe only free thing is LOIS Explore, a no-card trial of the AI research and drafting. It leaves out case management and is closed to existing customers, so the main product can't be tried before a demo. |
| Features | BMatters, documents in SharePoint, tasks, two-way calendar sync, ePre-bills, a client portal, intake, trust and firm accounting, three kinds of timekeeping and Centerbase IQ reporting. The listing shows no gap in the core job. | CMatters, unlimited documents, document assembly, LOIS AI, deposition tools, intake, timekeeping, LEDES billing and payments. The gaps the listing shows: no trust ledger on record, and analytics, court deadline rules and the client portal are paid extensions. |
| Ease of use | CWe have no store rating on file for it. Onboarding is included but typically takes 12 to 14 weeks, with implementation packages scoped and priced to the firm. | CWe have no store rating on file for it. Setup goes through Filevine's certified implementation partners rather than a sign-up you run yourself, so there's a project before the first matter. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Outlook, Word, SharePoint, Stripe, Billables.ai and AvidXchange. No desktop app of its own on record. | BWeb, with Outlook, Word, Gmail, Zoom, Dialpad, Workato and Domo. The listing has no desktop or phone apps, so away from a browser it can't follow you. |
| Best for | midsize firms that want billing and books together | firms with heavy caseloads, like personal injury |
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: Centerbase and Filevine. How we grade
Where they differ
- Centerbase also covers bookkeeping and trust accounting.
- Filevine also covers business texting.
In commonWebAI featuresTime trackingInvoicingReportsCase management
At a glance
| Centerbase | Filevine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | LOIS Explore: a free trial of its AI research and drafting for verified legal professionals, without case management |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Centerbase, Inc. | Filevine, Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Centerbase
- Centerbase publishes no prices: licensing, onboarding and add-ons are all set out in a quote after a demo.
- Onboarding is included but typically takes 12 to 14 weeks, with implementation packages scoped and priced to the firm.
- SecureChat, for calling and texting clients from the mobile app, is described as a premium feature.
- Centerbase Payments' transaction fee is not published; firms may keep their existing payment processor instead.
Filevine
- Filevine publishes no prices: every package is quoted by its sales team after a demo.
- Intake, depositions and signatures are separate packages; analytics, court deadline rules and the client portal are extensions to Matters.
- The free LOIS Explore trial covers AI research and drafting only, not case management, and is closed to existing Filevine customers.
- Setup is handled by Filevine's certified implementation partners rather than self-serve onboarding.
Key features
Centerbase
- Matters inside Microsoft 365
- Matter, document, task and calendar management. Outlook emails and attachments file to the right matter, calendars sync both ways, and SharePoint can hold the documents.
- Billing and ePre-bills
- Bills go through electronic pre-bill review before they are sent, and a client portal and client intake are included with the plan.
- Trust and firm accounting
- Trust and firm accounting with online banking and automatic trust reconciliation, so the books close in the same system as billing.
- Three levels of timekeeping
- Built-in timers and timesheets, Automated Time Capture that logs client calls, texts and emails from the mobile app, and Billables AI as a partner option.
- Centerbase IQ
- Ask questions about profitability, work in progress or AR aging in plain English and get charts and tables with links back to the records behind each number.
- Centerbase Payments
- Card, debit and ACH payments and automatic trust replenishment, powered by Stripe, with no platform fee; a standard transaction fee applies to each payment.
Filevine
- Matter management
- Each matter collects tasks, contacts, deadlines, calendar events, emails and notes, with custom reports and dashboards built from any field in Filevine.
- Document management and assembly
- Unlimited document storage with search, PDF splitting and combining, and document assembly that fills templates from matter data.
- LOIS legal AI
- Ask LOIS answers questions about a matter with cited sources, AI Drafting writes from case facts, LOIS for Word works inside Microsoft Word, and LOIS Legal Research checks case law.
- Deposition tools
- Schedule depositions and book court reporters, get live transcription and follow-up suggestions from Depo Copilot, and keep summarized transcripts in a searchable library.
- Intake with Lead Docket
- Captures and qualifies leads, tracks referral fees, takes online payments and moves signed clients into case files, with AI lead summaries as an option.
- Timekeeping, billing and payments
- Multiple timers, time tracked from email, LEDES billing codes and bulk invoicing, with Filevine Payments for online payment that it says is IOLTA compliant.
Plans
Centerbase
Pricing could not be confirmed. See centerbase.com.
Filevine
Pricing could not be confirmed. See filevine.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Centerbase or Filevine?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Centerbase has no price we could confirm, and Filevine has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Centerbase or Filevine?
As of Oct 24, 2026, neither Centerbase nor Filevine has a free plan. Filevine has a free trial.
Which platforms do Centerbase and Filevine run on?
As of Oct 24, 2026, only Centerbase 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.