Centerbase vs iManage (2026): which should you pick?

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 iManage if

• Fits if you run a firm that needs documents, records and conflicts in one platform
• Makes sense if you want AI search over your firm's own documents

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're a solo practitioner, as it's aimed at firms
• Skip it if you need a price first, since only a demo is offered
• Watch out: Work, Share, Records Manager and Tracker are separate modules
• Skip it if you want a trial, because none is listed

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.

iManage

• No prices are published; the site offers a demo request instead.
• The platform is sold as separate modules such as Work, Share, Records Manager and Tracker, so what a firm gets depends on what it licenses.
• The mobile app's platforms are not named on the page read, so the iOS and Android entries are inferred from the smartphone and tablet description.
• It is aimed at firms and knowledge-work organizations, not solo practitioners.

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.

iManage

Document and email management

iManage Work files documents and email, Share supports file sharing, and Drive stores files from multiple sources in one place.

Mobile access

The Mobility app lets users access, edit, search and share documents from a smartphone or tablet, with device access controlled through Microsoft Intune or other vendors.

Security and governance

Products named on the site include Security Policy Manager, Threat Manager, Records Manager and Disposition Manager for retention and defensible disposition.

Conflicts, intake and transactions

Conflicts and Intake handles business onboarding, and Closing Folders is aimed at legal transaction closings.

Knowledge search and AI

Insight+ covers knowledge search. iManage AI includes AI Enrichment for classification and extraction, the Ask iManage assistant and a Model Context Protocol connection to outside AI tools.

Task and workflow management

Tracker offers project-centric task and checklist management.

Centerbase

Pricing could not be confirmed. See centerbase.com.

iManage

Pricing could not be confirmed. See imanage.com.