Clio vs Gavel (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 1.8.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Clio grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
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
Gavel
Document automation for Word and PDF, plus AI contract review
Which one is for you
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
Pick Gavel if
- Fits if you draft the same documents over and over and want them automated
- Works for firms that already run cases in Clio and need document building
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for running a practice: no cases, billing or trust accounting
- Tight if you want more than 10 templates: that needs Standard at $210
- Pricey if you want payments, your own domain or DocuSign: those are Pro at $290
- Watch out: the page's billing toggle may show different prices from the ones read here
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAClioGood | 1.8GPAGavelWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | D$83 a month for one builder seat and 10 templates, at the top of the category against a $59 middle. Standard is $210 and Pro $290. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day trial of Clio Manage with no card. No free plan, so a week is all you get before paying. | C7-day trial on Lite, Standard and Pro with no card. No free plan. |
| Features | 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. | DWord and PDF document automation, client forms and a template library. It is one narrow job and does not run cases, billing or trust accounts. |
| Ease of use | AClio rates 4.8 on the US App Store from 9,084 ratings, which puts it at A on our ease ladder. | CNo store rating on record. You build the templates yourself before it is useful, so it is a C. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Outlook, Gmail, Word, QuickBooks, Xero, TrustBooks and Affirm, and a developer API. No desktop app on record. | BWeb only, with Clio Manage, Zapier, DocuSign and Stripe listed. |
| Best for | small firms that want legal accounting built in | building legal documents from templates |
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: Clio and Gavel. How we grade
Price against what you get
Clio starts at $49 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Gavel starts at $83 a month and scores 2.0.
Clio scores higher and starts $34 a month lower. Of the other law practice software on the chart, none scores higher than Clio for less, and 9 score higher than Gavel for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Clio also covers time tracking, invoicing, bookkeeping, case management and trust accounting.
- Gavel also covers templates, workflow automation, documents and forms.
At a glance
| Clio | Gavel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per user / month (Starter); billing basis not stated | $83 per month, billing basis not shown |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Clio Manage, no credit card required | 7-day free trial on Lite, Standard and Pro. |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Themis Solutions Inc. (Clio) | Gavel |
| Price read from | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) | gavel.io |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Gavel
- The pricing page shows a Billed monthly and a Billed annually toggle, and the figures read here may not match the toggle you see; check before buying.
- Template caps apply: 10 on Lite, 50 on Standard and 100 on Pro.
- Gavel Exec contract review has its own pricing tab, which is not covered here.
- The site says Gavel was acquired by Relativity.
Key features
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.
Gavel
- Word document automation
- Templates are built from your own Word documents with custom rules.
- PDF form automation
- Fillable PDFs are filled from the same questions and data.
- Client-facing forms
- Workflows collect client information and produce documents, and can be embedded on a website from the Pro plan.
- Legal template library
- Pre-built legal templates and court forms come with the Pro plan.
- Online payments
- The Pro plan can collect payments through Stripe, for selling online legal services.
- Gavel Exec
- A separate contract review product that drafts, reviews and redlines inside Word, priced on its own tab.
Plans
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.
Gavel
Lite$83
per month, billing basis not shown beside the figure
1 builder seat, 10 document templates, Word and PDF automation and the Clio Manage integration.
Standard$210
per month, billing basis not shown beside the figure
1 builder seat, 50 templates, saved and reusable data, your logo, Zapier integration and phone support.
Pro$290
per month, billing basis not shown beside the figure
2 builder and 3 organization user seats, 100 templates, legal template library, Stripe payments, custom domain, DocuSign integration.
Scale$417
per month and up, billed annually
Sold through sales: per-seat pricing, custom limits, API access, single sign-on and an account manager.
Ways to pay less
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%.
Gavel
- Annual discount
2 months free on annual plans
Annual plans, billed upfront, get 2 months free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Clio or Gavel?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Clio starts at $49 per user / month (Starter); billing basis not stated, and Gavel starts at $83 per month, billing basis not shown. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Clio or Gavel?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Clio nor Gavel has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Clio and Gavel run on?
As of Nov 12, 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.