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Part of the DecoverAI Legal Intelligence Platform. Working on a deal? Contract review · Due diligence
eDiscovery for Small & Mid-Size Firms
What is the best eDiscovery platform for small to mid-size law firms?
The best eDiscovery platform for small to mid-size law firms combines AI-powered review, published pricing, and no vendor onboarding requirements. DecoverAI is purpose-built for firms processing 5–500 GB per matter — with plans from $299 per seat per month and no seat minimum on Advanced.
What does it actually cost?
Small Team · Advanced
3 seats
$147/mo
Fits a single-custodian commercial dispute or employment matter. No seat minimum.
Litigation Team · Advanced
5 seats
$495/mo
HIPAA coverage included. Multi-custodian litigation or regulatory response.
Practice Group · Advanced
10 seats
$2,990/mo
Complex multi-party disputes with large document sets and multiple productions.
Seat prices from our published plans. AI usage is billed per token ($5 per million input, $20 per million output), and additional storage is $60/GB/month. No onboarding costs. See full pricing details.
The enterprise problem
Why Enterprise eDiscovery Platforms Don't Work for Small Firms
Relativity, Everlaw, and CS Disco were designed for large litigation departments with dedicated litigation support staff, IT teams, and annual budgets in the hundreds of thousands. For a 10-attorney firm taking on a commercial dispute or white-collar matter, these platforms create more overhead than they solve.
- High per-seat pricing and seat minimums force firms to pay for capacity they may not use. A 10-user minimum at $200–$400/seat means $2,000–$4,000/month before a single document is processed.
- Vendor onboarding takes weeks, not hours. Enterprise platforms require a sales cycle, a statement of work, dedicated project managers, and configuration by a litigation support vendor — none of which is practical when opposing counsel serves a request with a 30-day response window.
- Annual minimum commitments assume predictable, high-volume caseloads. For firms with variable matter volume, paying for capacity you don't use every month makes no economic sense.
- Dedicated IT requirements — user provisioning, SSO configuration, data hosting agreements — assume you have an internal IT department. Most small and mid-size firms do not.
Requirements that matter
What Small Firms Actually Need
eDiscovery requirements for a small or mid-size firm are fundamentally different from those of BigLaw. The platform that works is one that fits the matter, not one that requires the matter to fit the platform.
- Published, predictable pricing — no hidden processing fees or prepaid credits that expire. Know your cost before you upload a single file.
- No seat minimum — add attorneys one seat at a time instead of buying a 10-user block. Review shouldn't require paying for seats nobody uses.
- Self-serve setup in minutes — create a matter, upload documents, and begin review the same day. No vendor configuration, no project manager required.
- AI document review without a litigation support team — automated relevance tagging, privilege detection, and privilege log generation that any associate can operate, not just a certified Relativity administrator.
- SOC 2 compliant hosting — attorney-client privilege and work product protection require enterprise-grade security. Every matter on DecoverAI is hosted on SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA-compliant infrastructure.
Platform comparison
How DecoverAI Compares
| Feature | DecoverAI | Relativity | Everlaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Published per-seat | Per-seat + per-GB | Per-seat + per-GB |
| Seat fees | $299/user/mo, published | $150–$400/user/mo | $100–$300/user/mo |
| Setup time | Minutes | 2–6 weeks | 1–3 weeks |
| Minimum commitment | No seat minimum on Advanced | Annual contract | Annual contract |
| AI document review | Built-in, self-serve | Add-on (extra cost) | Included (complex setup) |
| Privilege log generation | Automated | Manual / vendor | Semi-automated |
| SOC 2 Type II | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IT team required | No | Yes | Recommended |
From the field
What Small Firm Attorneys Say
"We had a white-collar matter drop in our lap on a Thursday. In 40 minutes we had 30,000 documents uploaded, tagged for relevance, and a draft privilege log. That would have taken two weeks to set up with our prior vendor — if they could even turn around the contract in time."Partner, White Collar Criminal Defense Practice
"We ran the same 30,000-document matter through DecoverAI that we had previously managed through a traditional litigation support vendor. Our all-in cost was 98% lower. The AI caught privilege issues our reviewers had missed on the first pass."Managing Partner, Boutique Litigation Firm
Frequently asked
Common Questions from Small Firm Attorneys
How much does eDiscovery cost for a small law firm?
DecoverAI publishes seat-based plans: Advanced is $299 per seat per month with no seat minimum, and Enterprise is priced on request with a 50-seat minimum. A three-attorney team on Advanced pays $297 per month. AI usage is billed per token, additional storage is $60 per GB per month, and there are no vendor onboarding costs — unlike traditional enterprise eDiscovery platforms that bundle per-user licensing minimums, processing fees, and professional services.
What is the best eDiscovery software for solo and small firm attorneys?
DecoverAI is purpose-built for small to mid-size law firms. Unlike Relativity or Everlaw, which require dedicated litigation support staff and long vendor onboarding cycles, DecoverAI is self-serve — attorneys can upload documents and begin AI-powered review in minutes, with no IT team or platform certification required.
Can small law firms use AI for document review?
Yes. DecoverAI brings enterprise-grade AI document review to firms of any size. The platform automatically classifies documents for relevance, privilege, and confidentiality, and generates privilege logs — without requiring a litigation support department. Firms processing 5 to 500 GB per matter are the primary use case. No Relativity certification or litigation support background needed.
How long does it take to set up eDiscovery for a new matter?
With DecoverAI, setup takes minutes, not weeks. There is no vendor onboarding, no contract negotiation, and no dedicated IT configuration required. Upload documents, configure your matter, and begin AI-assisted review immediately — the same day you create the matter. This is particularly valuable when you receive a document request with a short response deadline.
Is DecoverAI secure enough for privileged legal documents?
Yes. DecoverAI is SOC 2 Type II certified and HIPAA compliant. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest using AES-256. The platform includes built-in privilege detection and is designed for the security requirements of legal practice, including white-collar criminal defense, civil litigation, and regulatory investigations. See our Trust Center for documentation.
Does DecoverAI require a contract or minimum commitment?
Advanced has no seat minimum, so a firm can start with a single seat at $299 per month. Enterprise requires a minimum of 50 seats, and on-premise deployment requires a minimum annual commitment of $20,000. AI usage is billed per token with no prepaid credits. This makes it ideal for firms with variable matter volume — or firms that want to evaluate the platform on a single matter before making it a firm standard.
How does DecoverAI compare to Relativity for small law firms?
Relativity is built for large litigation support departments with per-user licensing, dedicated administrators, and vendor-managed hosting. Total cost of ownership for a small firm typically runs $50,000–$200,000 per year when you include per-seat fees, processing costs, and professional services. DecoverAI is self-serve with published pricing from $299 per seat per month and no seat minimum on Advanced, with no onboarding delay.