Lawcus vs PracticePanther (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Lawcus if

• Fits if you run a small firm and want cases, billing and trust accounting together
• Works for firms that want a mobile app for the team

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you want workflow or marketing automation: that is Elite at $79 a user
• Tight if you e-sign a lot: 3 a user a month on Essential and 5 on Growth
• Watch out: two-way texting is an add-on at $10 per attorney a month
• Watch out: Enterprise needs at least 10 users and shows no price

Pick PracticePanther if

• Fits if you're a solo lawyer who wants a published per-user price
• Works for small firms that want card and eCheck payments in the same tool as billing

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're on Solo, which has no email or calendar sync, batch billing, payment plans or automatic payment reminders
• Pricey if you need texting, intake forms, eSignature, LEDES billing, Zapier or the API, all on Business at $89 a user
• Watch out: the general ledger and operating accounting are on Business Pro only, at $114 a user billed yearly
• Watch out: PantherPayments takes 2.95% on cards and 1% on eChecks, and court-rules calendaring needs LawToolBox
• Skip it if you want more than a week to try it, as the trial is 7 days and there's no free plan

Lawcus

• Prices are per user; Enterprise needs at least 10 users and has no published price.
• Text messaging is an add-on on the three paid tiers, and the pricing page does not give its price.
• E-signatures are capped per user each month (3 on Essential and 5 on Growth, per the plan table).
• Workflow automation, marketing automation and the custom report builder need the Elite plan.

PracticePanther

• Two-way texting, intake forms, eSignature, LEDES billing, Zapier and the API all need Business at $89 per user / month, billed annually.
• Solo has no email or calendar sync, batch billing, payment plans or automatic payment reminders; they start on Essential.
• Operating accounting, the general ledger and the guided trust reconciliation come only with Business Pro.
• PantherPayments charges 2.95% on cards and 1% on eChecks. Court-rules calendaring also needs a LawToolBox subscription.

Lawcus

Matter and contact management

Matters link to people and companies, with statute-of-limitation alerts, private matters and kanban-style pipelines.

Billing and trust accounting

Timers, expenses, invoices, retainers and trust accounting are included from the Essential plan; online payments accept ACH, eCheck and card.

Client intake and portal

Lead management, branded intake forms and a client portal for messages, invoices and document sharing.

Document automation

Templates generate pleadings and contracts, with storage integrations for Google Drive, OneDrive, Box and Dropbox.

Workflow automation

The Elite plan can auto-create tasks, send emails and move matters forward, with up to 100 workflows listed.

Mobile app

An app for the App Store and Google Play signs in with an existing Lawcus account.

PracticePanther

Contacts, matters and workflows

Matters link contacts, notes, documents and invoices. Workflows apply a set of tasks and events to a matter in one click, and conditional steps can trigger checklists.

Time, billing and PantherPayments

Multiple timers and invoices on every plan, with batch billing, payment plans and automatic reminders from Essential. Clients pay by card, eCheck or ACH, or through a OneLink payment link.

Trust and operating accounting

Every plan has a trust ledger with a three-way reconciliation report. Business Pro adds a general ledger, chart of accounts, expense tracking and a step-by-step reconciliation wizard.

Client portal, texting and eSignature

A secure two-way messaging portal on every plan. Business adds texting from a business number, unlimited eSignature sends and text reminders for events and deadlines.

Intake forms and legal CRM

Unlimited custom intake forms that feed new contacts and matters, which can be embedded on the firm's website, plus a CRM for following up with prospects.

Mobile apps and sync

iPhone, iPad and Android apps for time and billing on every plan. From Essential, Outlook and Gmail add-ons sync email, and calendars sync with Google Calendar, Outlook and Exchange.

Lawcus

• Essential$39

  per user / month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)

  Case and matter management, billing and invoicing, and trust accounting. Includes 3 e-signatures per user per month.

• Growth$59

  per user / month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)

  Adds QuickBooks and Xero integration, Google and Office 365 integration, Nova AI and custom fields.

• Elite$79

  per user / month, billed annually ($89 billed monthly)

  Adds workflow automation, marketing automation, advanced dashboards and a custom report builder.

• EnterpriseCustom

  For firms with at least 10 users: dedicated onboarding and account manager, custom feature development, private cloud and SLA options.

PracticePanther

• Solo$49

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

  Matters, time and expenses, client portal, PantherPayments, document templates, task and event workflows, internal chat. One live training.

• Essential$69

  per user / month, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)

  Adds custom fields and roles, batch billing, payment plans and reminders, email and calendar sync, multiple bank accounts and check printing.

• Business$89

  per user / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)

  Adds two-way texting, intake forms, unlimited eSignature sends, LEDES billing, Zapier and the API, court-rules calendaring and VIP support.

• Business Pro$114

  per user / month, billed annually ($124 billed monthly)

  Adds PantherAccounting Plus: trust and operating accounting, a general ledger, expense management and guided three-way reconciliation.

Lawcus

• Annual discount

  Annual billing is $10 less per user

  Annual prices are $39, $59 and $79 per user per month against $49, $69 and $89 billed monthly.

PracticePanther

• Annual discount

  Save $120 per user a year with annual billing

  PracticePanther's pricing page shows every plan $10 a month cheaper per user when billed annually, a saving it states as $120 per user a year.