# Gavel review (2026): is it worth $83 a month? > Document automation for Word and PDF, plus AI contract review Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Gavel, formerly Documate, automates legal documents from client-facing forms and internal data, in Word and PDF. It also sells Gavel Exec, an AI contract review product that works inside Word. The site says Gavel has been acquired by Relativity. - **Category:** Law Practice Software - **Made by:** Gavel - **Website:** https://www.gavel.io - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Too light for running a practice: no cases, billing or trust accounting. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Gavel is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $83 per month, billing basis not shown. - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** 7-day free trial on Lite, Standard and Pro. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | Read from https://www.gavel.io/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Gavel before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **2 months free on annual plans** (Annual discount): Annual plans, billed upfront, get 2 months free. Source: https://www.gavel.io/pricing ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Firms that want to turn intake answers into finished documents - Practices that sell document-based services online - Teams already using Clio Manage or Zapier ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Gavel turns Word and PDF forms into automated documents, from $83 a month with one builder seat and 10 templates. That is a different job from case management, so you will need other software too, and the template caps push you up to $210 and $290 plans. - **Value for money: 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: C.** 7-day trial on Lite, Standard and Pro with no card. No free plan. - **Features: D.** Word 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: C.** No store rating on record. You build the templates yourself before it is useful, so it is a C. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, with Clio Manage, Zapier, DocuSign and Stripe listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Gavel's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among law practice software - Gavel's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 4 of the 25 other law practice software we grade, and level with 8. - It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 4 of 25) and worst on value for money (D, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $83 a month, against a middle price of $59 for the category: 9 of the 10 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 9 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/law-practice ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Gavel you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 13 of the 25 other law practice software grade higher. It costs $996 a year. - You could make: Documents, templates and forms: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Clio Manage, Zapier, DocuSign, Stripe **Tags:** Documents, Templates, Forms, Workflow automation, Public API ## Alternatives - [Lawmatics](https://toolgpa.com/tools/lawmatics): Client intake, legal CRM and marketing automation for law firms. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gavel-vs-lawmatics) - [Clio](https://toolgpa.com/tools/clio): Practice management, legal accounting and legal AI for law firms. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/clio-vs-gavel) - [MyCase](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mycase): Case management, billing and client portal for small law firms. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gavel-vs-mycase) - [PracticePanther](https://toolgpa.com/tools/practicepanther): Law practice management with built-in payments and accounting. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gavel-vs-practicepanther) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://www.gavel.io/pricing - https://www.gavel.io Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/gavel Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).