CosmoLex vs CARET Legal (2026): which should you pick?

Pick CosmoLex if

• Fits if you're a solo or small firm that holds client money in trust
• Works for firms in the US or Canada that want billing and the books in one app

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're on Launch, which has no bank reconciliation, LEDES or split billing, intake forms, document assembly or AI
• Pricey if you want the general ledger, bank feeds, calendar sync or the open API, which are Pro only at $129 a user
• Watch out: the CRM, websites, Google Ads management and LexShare and LexSign are paid add-ons, and eSignatures may carry fees
• Not for you if you're in Canada and want card payments on invoices, which the pricing page marks as US only
• Skip it if you want a full trial, as the 10 days come with one bank feed and no CRM, LexShare or LexSign

Pick CARET Legal if

• Fits if you want matters, billing and accounting in one cloud product
• Works for firms that live in Outlook and Word on Windows

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you want dashboards, workflows or custom permissions, which start at $99 a user a month
• Tight if you hate fees on top: a one-time implementation fee applies and the amount isn't published
• Skip it if you want a clear trial, since its length isn't stated
• Watch out: zolasuite.com now redirects to caretlegal.com and the vendor doesn't explain how the names relate

CosmoLex

• Launch leaves out bank reconciliation, LEDES billing, intake forms, document assembly and the AI tools, which start on Core at $99 per user / month.
• The general ledger, bank feeds, calendar sync with Outlook and Google, intake automation and the open API are on Pro only.
• The CRM, websites, Google Ads management and LexShare and LexSign are paid add-ons; eSignatures may carry extra fees.
• Card payments on invoices are marked as US only on the pricing page; eCheck is the other option listed.

CARET Legal

• Pricing is per user plus a one-time implementation fee whose amount is not published.
• The zolasuite.com address now redirects to caretlegal.com, and the vendor's pages do not say how the two names relate.
• Dashboards, automated workflows, custom permissions and AI document summaries start at Enterprise Plus ($99 per user / month).
• The Outlook and Word plugins are listed for Windows only, and the free trial length is not stated.

CosmoLex

Trust and business accounting

Trust ledgers with automatic transfers and holds and built-in compliance reports on every plan. Pro adds a general ledger and payables across trust, operating and business accounts.

Time, billing and payments

Capture time and expenses, bill against retainers or recurring payments, and take card and eCheck payments on invoices. LEDES and split billing start on Core.

Matters and client portal

Matter management and a secure client portal on every plan. Core adds per-matter budgets, document editing and assembly, and dashboards.

Intake forms

Logic-based intake forms capture leads and turn them into matters from Core; Pro automates intake workflows. A CRM add-on adds email and text drip campaigns.

AI tools

From Core, AI writes summaries of documents, answers plain-English questions to filter matter data, and drafts client intake forms.

Growth add-ons

Paid extras include a firm website built and hosted by CosmoLex, managed Google Ads campaigns, and LexShare and LexSign for document sharing and eSignatures.

CARET Legal

Matters, email and calendars

Matter management with automated workflows, tasks and a calendar, plus email that syncs with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or any IMAP account.

Billing and accounting

Time tracking, LEDES and split billing, pre-billing and legal accounting in one system. The vendor's billing page says it follows ABA and IOLTA guidelines.

Payments

Clients can pay retainers and invoices by credit card, ACH or e-check through the client portal, using the vendor's CARET Pay processing.

AI features

Quick Summary condenses long documents, and the vendor lists Capture for suggesting billable time, Command for flagging items that need attention and Court Rules for deadline calculation.

CARET Analytics

Standard dashboards and reports come with Enterprise Plus. Enterprise Insights lets a firm configure its own dashboards and metrics.

Mobile app

Native iOS and Android apps for tasks, contacts, calls and texts, with Touch ID protection and a business card scanner.

CosmoLex

• Launch$49

  per user / month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly)

  Time and billing, retainers, online payments, trust ledgers with compliance reports, matter management and a client portal.

• Core$99

  per user / month, billed yearly ($109 billed monthly)

  Adds bank reconciliation, LEDES and split billing, matter budgets, intake forms, document assembly, dashboards and the AI tools.

• Pro$129

  per user / month, billed yearly ($139 billed monthly)

  Adds the general ledger and payables, bank feeds, advanced compliance reports, intake automation, calendar sync and the open API.

CARET Legal

• Enterprise$79

  per user / month, billed annually

  Email, documents, calendar, tasks, billing, accounting, client portal, LEDES invoicing, integrated payments and 24/7 phone support. Implementation fee extra.

• Enterprise Plus$99

  per user / month, billed annually

  Adds CARET Analytics standard dashboards, automated workflows, custom permissions, department-based accounting, native document editing and AI document summaries.

• Enterprise Insights$119

  per user / month, billed annually

  Enterprise Plus plus configurable CARET Analytics reports and dashboards, with custom visualizations and metric selection.

CosmoLex

• Annual discount

  Save $120 per user with yearly billing

  CosmoLex's pricing page shows each plan $10 a month cheaper per user when billed yearly, which it states as a $120 saving per user.

• Other savings

  Lifetime discounts for bar association members

  CosmoLex says members of its state and regional bar association partners get lifetime member discounts; the page does not give the amounts.

CARET Legal

No public discounts listed.