Legal Billing Software Compared: Prices, LEDES and Online Payments

Legal billing software turns a law firm’s time and expenses into invoices, collects payment online and, in most products, sends client deposits to the trust account. The lowest published cost for a five-user firm is LawPay’s, $228 a year for 5 users on LawPay Monthly Pricing [1–4], and the lowest per-user plan is TimeSolv’s, $2,580 a year for 5 users on TimeSolv Pro [5, 6].

Seven of the eight products publish a price. Smokeball quotes every plan through sales.

Legal billing software: cost a year for 5 users

Legal billing software: cost a year for 5 users

Vendor	Cost a year, 5 users	Label	Plan and price	General ledger	Best for
LawPay	$228 [1–4]	Published	LawPay Monthly Pricing $19 per firm per month, billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online	Firms that take card or eCheck payments into a client trust (IOLTA) account and need processing fees kept out of that account. [3, 7]
TimeSolv	$2,580 [5, 6]	Published	TimeSolv Pro $43 per user per month, billed annually; or $45 billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online; or Via Xero	Solo and small firms that want hourly time tracking and billing with trust accounting, LEDES and ABA task codes on the Legal plan, at a published per-user price, while keeping their books in QuickBooks or Xero. [5]
CosmoLex	$2,940 [8, 9]	Published	CosmoLex Launch $49 per user per month, billed annually; or $59 billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online	Firms that want trust accounting and their own books (general ledger, payables, financial statements) in the same system as billing, without a separate QuickBooks file. This needs the Pro plan. [8, 10]
PracticePanther	$2,940 [11–13]	Published	PracticePanther Solo $49 per user per month, billed annually; or $59 billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online	Small firms that want practice management, time tracking, billing and a trust ledger in one subscription with a published per-user price on every plan; full operating accounting (general ledger, bank feeds, bill payment) needs Business Pro, and lower plans rely on the QuickBooks Online sync for the firm's books. [11, 14]
Clio	from $2,940 [15, 16] a	Published	Clio Manage Starter from $49 per user per month, billing term not stated	Built in	Firms that want practice management, billing, trust accounting and bookkeeping in one subscription instead of pairing a billing tool with QuickBooks or Xero. [15, 17]
MyCase	$3,000 [18–20]	Published	MyCase Basic $50 per user per month, billed annually; or $60 billed monthly	None	Solo, small and mid-sized US firms that want case management, billing, trust ledgers and card or eCheck payments in one subscription, with published per-user prices [18, 21]
LeanLaw	from $3,756 [22–32] a,b	Published	LeanLaw Core + QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user) from $55 per user per month, billing term not stated + QuickBooks Online Simple Start $38 per firm per month, billed monthly	Via QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user), included in the cost	Firms that already keep their books in QuickBooks Online (or want to) and need legal time tracking, billing and client trust ledgers added on top, with their bookkeeper continuing to work in QuickBooks Online. [27, 33]
Smokeball		Not published	Smokeball Bill [34, 35]	Via QuickBooks Online	Small firms that want billing and trust accounting with three-way reconciliation and keep their general ledger in QuickBooks Online. [36, 37]

LawPay is first because it charges one fee per firm rather than per user.

Legal billing software, product by product

LawPay

LawPay is a payment processor whose flat fee includes invoicing for unlimited users [1]. It sends matter-based invoices by email or text with automated reminders, issues Quick Bill payment requests [38], and lets a firm add a trust request to a bill [39]. It keeps trust and operating payments apart but leaves trust reconciliation to the firm [7]. See LawPay fees and rates.

TimeSolv

Both TimeSolv plans include billing templates, flexible rates, and split, batch and recurring invoicing [5]. TimeSolv Pay takes cards, ACH, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with optional card surcharging and next-day funding [40]. See TimeSolv pricing.

CosmoLex

Invoicing, retainers and recurring payments are on every CosmoLex plan; split billing starts at Core [8]. Evergreen retainers are on every plan too [9]. CosmoLex Pay takes cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Affirm [41], and LawPay can be connected instead [9]. See CosmoLex pricing.

PracticePanther

Invoicing and PantherPayments come with all four plans. Automated payment reminders, recurring payment plans and batch billing start at Essential [11]. PantherPayments takes cards, eCheck and ACH into operating or trust accounts [42]; card network and gateway fees are passed through on top of the card rate when they apply [43]. See PracticePanther pricing.

Clio

Clio lists hourly, flat-rate and contingency billing and payment plans on every plan, Starter included; split billing needs Signature or Elite [15]. Clio Payments takes cards, eCheck, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Pay Later for both invoices and trust requests [44]. Only Starter’s price is published. See the Clio pricing breakdown.

MyCase

Every MyCase plan invoices and takes LawPay payments, with no monthly LawPay fee [18]. Basic, the plan in the table, leaves out batch billing and payment plans, which start at Pro [20]. Pro also adds automatic interest; split billing and rate plans need Advanced [18]. See MyCase pricing and the Clio and MyCase comparison.

LeanLaw

LeanLaw bills on top of QuickBooks Online: every invoice posts there as a receivable [27], so its row includes the cheapest QuickBooks Online plan. Custom invoice templates start at Pro [22]. Split billing, in early access, is on Pro and Elite [45]. Payment links for card and ACH, including trust deposit requests, run through Confido Legal, which the firm must sign up with, and trust accounts are never charged fees [46]. See LeanLaw pricing.

Smokeball

Every Smokeball plan includes legal billing; split billing is Prosper+ only [34]. Smokeball bills hourly, fixed-fee and contingency work and offers payment plans [47]. It produces LEDES 1998B invoices [47], but its pricing page does not say on which plans. Smokeball Payments takes cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and eCheck into operating retainer and trust accounts [48]. Members of some state bar associations get the Bill plan free [49]. See Smokeball pricing.

Legal billing features compared

Legal billing software: what each product includes

Legal billing software: what each product includes

Feature	LawPay	TimeSolv	CosmoLex	PracticePanther	Clio	MyCase	LeanLaw	Smokeball
Billing	Yes [2, 39]	Yes [5]	Yes [8]	Yes [11]	Yes [15]	Yes [18]	Yes: Core, Pro, Elite [27, 45]	Yes [34, 47]
LEDES billing	Not stated [38]	Yes: TimeSolv Legal [5]	Yes: Core, Pro [8]	Yes: Business, Business Pro [11]	Yes [15, 50]	Yes: MyCase Pro, MyCase Advanced [18]	Yes: Pro, Elite [22, 51]	Yes [47]
Built-in payment processing	Yes [2]	Yes [5, 40]	Yes [9, 41]	Yes [11, 42, 52]	Yes [44]	Yes [18]	Yes [22, 46]	Yes [48, 53]
Trust accounting	Partly [7]	Yes: TimeSolv Legal [5, 54]	Yes [8, 9]	Yes [11, 55]	Yes [15, 56]	Yes [18]	Yes [22, 57]	Yes [34, 58]
Client portal	Partly [4]	Yes [5]	Yes [8]	Yes [11]	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [15, 59]	Yes [18]	Not stated [60]	Yes: Boost, Grow, Prosper+ [34]
QuickBooks Online integration	Yes [2]	Yes [5, 61]	Yes [8–10, 62, 63]	Yes [11, 64, 65]	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [15, 66, 67]	Yes: MyCase Pro, MyCase Advanced [18, 68]	Yes [25, 26]	Yes [34, 37]
Xero integration	Partly [38, 69, 70]	Yes [5]	Not stated [71]	No [72]	Yes: Core, Signature, Elite [15, 73]	Not stated [74]	Not stated [26, 75]	Not stated [37]
Free trial	Not stated [76]	Yes [5]	Yes [8, 77]	Yes [11, 78]	Yes [15, 79]	Yes [18]	Yes [22, 80]	Yes: Bill, Boost [35, 81, 82]

Online payments and trust requests on bills

Every product here takes card and bank payments from inside its invoices. Where a bill asks for an advance deposit, the payment has to land in trust: under the ABA model rule, fees paid in advance stay in the client trust account until earned ABA Model Rule 1.15(c) [83], and each state sets its own version. LawPay [7] and LeanLaw [46] take their processing fees from the operating account, never from trust.

Processing fees come on top of the subscription and grow with what a firm collects.

Card processing cost a year in three scenarios

Card processing cost a year in three scenarios

Product	Card rate	Bank transfer rate	$5,000 a month in 10 card payments	$25,000 a month in 25 card payments	$100,000 a month in 50 card payments	Also needs
Smokeball Payments	2.9% + $0.20 Published [48, 84, 85]	0.8%, capped at $8 (ACH)	$1,764 [48, 84, 85]	$8,760 [48, 84, 85]	$34,920 [48, 84, 85]	Requires a Smokeball plan
Clio Payments	2.95% Published [15, 44, 86–88]	1% (eCheck)	$1,770 [15, 44, 86–88]	$8,850 [15, 44, 86–88]	$35,400 [15, 44, 86–88]	Requires a Clio Manage plan
LeanLaw Payments (E-Payments)	2.95% Published [46, 60, 75, 89, 90]	1%, capped at $30 (ACH)	$1,770 [46, 60, 75, 89, 90]	$8,850 [46, 60, 75, 89, 90]	$35,400 [46, 60, 75, 89, 90]	Requires a LeanLaw plan
PantherPayments	2.95% Published [13, 42, 43, 91, 92]	1% (eCheck)	$1,770 [13, 42, 43, 91, 92]	$8,850 [13, 42, 43, 91, 92]	$35,400 [13, 42, 43, 91, 92]	Requires a PracticePanther plan
LawPay Payments (in MyCase)	2.99% + $0.30 Published [1, 3, 18, 93–95]	1% (eCheck)	$1,830 [1, 3, 18, 93–95]	$9,060 [1, 3, 18, 93–95]	$36,060 [1, 3, 18, 93–95]	Requires a MyCase plan
LawPay Monthly Pricing	2.99% + $0.30 Published [1–4, 7, 76, 96]	1% (eCheck)	$2,058 [1–4, 7, 76, 96]	$9,288 [1–4, 7, 76, 96]	$36,288 [1–4, 7, 76, 96]	Nothing else
CosmoLex Pay	Not published [8, 41, 97, 98]					Requires a CosmoLex plan
TimeSolv Pay	Not published [5, 40, 99]					Requires a TimeSolv plan

TimeSolv and CosmoLex do not publish card rates. LawPay and MyCase charge the firm for Pay Later client financing, and that fee cannot be passed on to the client [100] [101].

What drives the cost of legal billing software

Per user or per firm

LawPay charges one monthly fee per firm with unlimited users [1]. Every other product with a published price charges for each user, so the bill grows with every lawyer and paralegal who logs time or sends invoices.

LEDES and e-billing on higher plans

A firm whose clients require LEDES invoices often needs a higher plan. Clio lists LEDES on Starter, but TimeSolv, CosmoLex, PracticePanther, MyCase and LeanLaw do not include it on their entry plans.

Cheapest plan with LEDES billing: cost a year at three team sizes

Cheapest plan with LEDES billing: cost a year at three team sizes

Plan	Cost a year, 1 user	Cost a year, 5 users	Cost a year, 20 users
Clio Manage Starter Published a,b	from $588 [15, 16]	from $2,940 [15, 16]	from $11,760 [15, 16]
TimeSolv Legal, billed annually Published c,d	$696 [5, 6]	$3,480 [5, 6]	$13,920 [5, 6]
TimeSolv Legal, billed monthly Published c,d	$720 [5, 6]	$3,600 [5, 6]	$14,400 [5, 6]
LeanLaw Pro + QuickBooks Online Simple Start (1 accounting user) Published a,e	from $1,356 [22, 23, 25–32, 45, 106]	from $4,956 [22, 23, 25–32, 45, 106]	from $18,456 [22, 23, 25–32, 45, 106]
PracticePanther Business, billed annually Published f	$1,068 [11–13]	$5,340 [11–13]	$21,360 [11–13]
PracticePanther Business, billed monthly Published f	$1,188 [11–13]	$5,940 [11–13]	$23,760 [11–13]
CosmoLex Core, billed annually Published g	$1,188 [8, 9]	$5,940 [8, 9]	$23,760 [8, 9]
CosmoLex Core, billed monthly Published g	$1,308 [8, 9]	$6,540 [8, 9]	$26,160 [8, 9]
MyCase Pro, billed annually Published h	$1,200 [18, 19, 112]	$6,000 [18, 19, 112]	$24,000 [18, 19, 112]
MyCase Pro, billed monthly Published h	$1,440 [18, 19, 112]	$7,200 [18, 19, 112]	$28,800 [18, 19, 112]

LeanLaw’s row includes QuickBooks Online Simple Start for one accounting user, which LeanLaw requires.

Billing services

TimeSolv also sells billing as a service: its team can handle routine invoicing or LEDES e-billing for a monthly fee per user [114].