PracticePanther vs Rocket Matter (2026): which should you pick?

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

Pick Rocket Matter if

• Fits if your firm's main need is time capture and billing
• Works for firms that want document assembly, conflict checks and a client portal on the entry plan

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you'd rather pay monthly: prices are yearly only, and Essentials at $59 a user is the dearest published start here
• Tight if you're on Essentials: 25 GB of documents, and no eSignatures, LEDES billing, matter templates or Google Calendar sync
• Watch out: built-in business accounting is Elite only at $145 a user, and then the QuickBooks Online link can't be used
• Watch out: the Legal CRM add-on, for Pro and Premier only, is $39 a user billed yearly plus a $399 setup fee, with a 3-user minimum
• Watch out: eSignatures start on Pro with a monthly allowance per user, and extra envelopes are $2 each

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.

Rocket Matter

• Prices are for annual payment; the pricing page lists no monthly-billed rate.
• Essentials stores up to 25 GB of documents and has no eSignatures, LEDES billing, matter templates or Google Calendar sync.
• Built-in business accounting is on Elite only, and the QuickBooks Online link cannot be used alongside it.
• The Legal CRM add-on, for Pro and Premier only, is $39 per user / month billed annually plus a $399 setup fee, with a 3-user minimum.

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.

Rocket Matter

Time tracking and billing

Multiple timers, a desktop time tracker and an automatic time card, with flat-fee, batch and evergreen retainer billing and paperless prebills on every plan.

Trust accounting

Matter-based trust accounts with automatic trust transfers on every plan. Elite adds reconciliation of operating, trust and credit card accounts with compliance reporting.

Rocket Matter Pay

Online card and eCheck or ACH payments for US firms, with payment links and optional card surcharging, included on every plan.

Matter workflows

From Pro, matter templates set up tasks, events and custom fields, with dependent task logic, status-driven automation and a matter status board.

Documents, portal and eSignature

Document assembly and a client portal on every plan. Secure file sharing and eSignatures start on Pro, with extra envelopes at $2 each.

Mobile apps

Native iPhone and Android apps for checking matters, messaging clients and viewing documents, secured by fingerprint, face or PIN.

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.

Rocket Matter

• Essentials$59

  per user / month, paid annually

  Time and expenses, batch billing, trust accounting, Rocket Matter Pay, document assembly, conflict checks, client portal and 25 GB of storage.

• Pro$95

  per user / month, paid annually

  Adds unlimited storage, LEDES e-billing, matter templates and workflows, Google and Office 365 calendar sync, and 5 eSignatures per user a month.

• Premier$115

  per user / month, paid annually

  Adds split billing, fee allocation, full financial reports, unlimited dashboards, Zapier and NetDocuments, and 15 eSignatures per user a month.

• Elite$145

  per user / month, paid annually

  Adds built-in business accounting: a legal chart of accounts, bank feeds, payables, reconciliation of all accounts, compliance reports and matter budgets.

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.

Rocket Matter

No public discounts listed.