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The legal industry is undergoing a rapid transformation with the adoption of AI-powered tools for research, contract drafting, document review, and eDiscovery. If you're trying to choose between Harvey AI, CoCounsel, Spellbook, and Everlaw for your legal practice, you've come to the right place. We used QBack to analyze G2 reviews, Reddit discussions, and current pricing across all four platforms to give you a clear picture of which one might work best for your firm.
This comparison covers everything from legal research and contract drafting to eDiscovery and document analysis. Whether you're a Big Law firm with a large budget, a mid-sized firm focused on transactional work, or a litigation team needing eDiscovery tools, we break down the strengths, weaknesses, and true costs of each platform so you can make an informed decision.
Overview of Each Platform
Harvey AI
What it is: Harvey provides a domain-specific AI platform designed for legal work. It offers an "Assistant" for asking questions, analyzing documents, and drafting, a secure "Vault" for storing and bulk-analyzing legal documents, a "Knowledge" research capability, and configurable Workflows and Microsoft integrations.
Target customers: Large law firms (Big Law), corporate legal departments in Fortune 500 companies, professional services firms, and other enterprise legal operations teams.
Key differentiators: Domain-specialized models and training on legal data, positioned as a legal-native solution rather than a generic chatbot. Suite approach (Assistant, Vault, Knowledge, Workflows) that covers multiple legal workflows end-to-end. Enterprise focus with emphasis on security, integrations (Word/Outlook), and custom workflows for firms.
CoCounsel Legal
What it is: CoCounsel Legal (Thomson Reuters) is an AI legal assistant that accelerates legal research, document analysis, and drafting by combining agentic generative AI with Thomson Reuters' trusted Westlaw and Practical Law content. It provides end-to-end workflows (Deep Research, document review, drafting, and Microsoft Word integration) designed to produce verifiable answers and clickable citations tied to authoritative legal sources.
Target customers: Law firms (solo to enterprise), in-house legal teams, and other legal professionals who need secure, citation-backed AI assistance for research, document review, and drafting, particularly organizations that already subscribe to Westlaw/Practical Law or desire an integrated enterprise solution.
Key differentiators: Integration with Westlaw and Practical Law content (verifiable citations and authoritative legal materials); agentic AI workflows (Deep Research) designed for legal contexts, plus Microsoft Word / Microsoft 365 and DMS integrations; enterprise/security posture, including data protection and claims that customer data is not used to train public models.
Spellbook
What it is: Spellbook is an AI legal assistant and Word add-in that helps transactional lawyers draft, review, and benchmark contracts faster. It provides drafting, redlining/AI-assisted review, clause libraries and playbooks, benchmarking against common market standards, an Ask/assistant feature for questions, and a multi-document agent (Associate) for more complex transactions.
Target customers: Transactional lawyers, law firms of varying sizes, and in-house legal teams—especially teams that work in Microsoft Word and focus on contract drafting and negotiation.
Key differentiators: Deep Word integration (works directly in Word), legal-specific playbooks and benchmarks, the Associate multi-document agent for multi-document workflows, enterprise security and privacy (SOC 2 Type II, zero data retention options), and training/support for teams. Spellbook emphasizes legal-tuned AI rather than generic LLM chat tools and positions itself for transactional contract efficiency.
Everlaw
What it is: Everlaw is a cloud-native eDiscovery and litigation platform that integrates document ingestion, processing, advanced search, review, analytics (such as clustering and visualizations), and Storybuilder for case narratives. It also includes generative AI tools to accelerate document review and case development.
Target customers: Law firms (from small to large), corporate legal departments, government agencies, and eDiscovery service providers who require cloud-based solutions for document review, investigations, and litigation support.
Key differentiators: Cloud-native architecture offering fast uploads, integrated analytics, and Storybuilder for narrative development. Strong emphasis on ease-of-use and an intuitive user interface. Integrated generative AI tools, with single-document actions included at no extra cost and batch actions available via credits. Transparent, usage-based pricing model (per GB) that includes unlimited users.
G2 Ratings and Reviews Comparison
| Platform | G2 Rating | Review Count | Top Pros | Top Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey AI | 4.9/5 | 15 | Strong domain-specific legal capabilities, Time-savings/efficiency, Word/Outlook integrations, Enterprise security | Opaque pricing, Onboarding/customization overhead, Model hallucinations/accuracy concerns, Variable adoption post-purchase |
| CoCounsel Legal | 4.8/5 | 74 | Speed on document review/drafting, Deep Research with Westlaw content, Microsoft Word integration, Clickable citations | Pricing is sales-driven, Research answers sometimes weaker than expected, Perceived quality decline post-acquisition |
| Spellbook | N/A | 0 (on G2) | Works directly in Word, Time-savings, Redlining assistance, Benchmarks/playbooks (from Reddit/community) | Cost/price opacity, Occasional hallucinations, Gated free-trial, Noisy suggestions (from Reddit/community) |
| Everlaw | 4.7/5 | 690 | Ease of use (70), Customer support (47), Intuitive design (29), Intuitive UI (28), Features (27) | Difficult learning curve (41), Steep learning curve (31), Search functionality issues (19), Performance/search issues (16) |
What Users Are Saying
Harvey AI receives praise for its brand, product execution, and success in landing large enterprise law firms. Supporters highlight the product's domain-specific legal capabilities and ability to onboard large customers. However, recurrent community concerns include opaque pricing, high and inconsistent quotes, procurement friction for smaller firms, concerns about hallucinations and factual accuracy, and variable post-purchase adoption/utilization.
"I think that Harvey is overrated and overhyped and yet Big Law continues to adopt Harvey because Harvey has spent so much time and effort at building a presence in the Big Law space." — Reddit user Legal_Tech_Guy
CoCounsel Legal users find it useful for large-scale document analysis, discovery summaries, creating timelines, or quickly comparing documents. Integration with Westlaw content and the Word plugin are praised. However, some users report research answers as weaker or inconsistent, with comparisons to ChatGPT sometimes favoring ChatGPT for simple drafting (though ChatGPT lacks Westlaw citations/confidentiality). Cost/value concerns are common among small firms and solos.
"Great for massive discovery review." — Reddit user
Spellbook receives strong praise for Word integration and workflow fit from Reddit and community discussions (note: Spellbook has no G2 reviews yet). Users appreciate significant time savings for drafting and redlining, along with Playbooks, Benchmarks, and the new Associate multi-document agent. However, some users report hallucinations or factual errors in AI outputs, pricing is not transparent, and some perceive it as expensive or gated behind a sales process.
"it HALLUCIATED a result -- indicating that a particular local code section prohibited the language in the lease and citing a section of that Code... it had made-up both the proposition of prohibition and the citation." — Reddit r/legaltech
Everlaw users frequently praise its user interface and ease of use, along with its clustering, timeline features, and effective handling of email families. Many find the training resources helpful and consider it easier to navigate compared to other platforms like Relativity. However, common concerns include a learning curve for advanced features, minor UI quirks, and the necessity for training. Some users suggest that Everlaw might be more expensive for very large reviews involving terabytes or millions of documents.
"Once you understand how to use the search features... it will help with understanding how Everlaw works compared to Disco, Rel or even Reveal... We like the ease of use, security, innovative add ons that are included; storybuilder, concept clustering and prediction models." — Reddit r/ediscovery
Pricing Comparison
| Platform | Entry Point | Mid-Tier/Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey AI | Custom (No public pricing) Est. ~$1,000-$1,200/lawyer/month or $1,200/seat/year | Est. annual contracts ~$30k-$150k, plus onboarding $10k-$50k | Custom pricing Multi-year contracts, bespoke workflows, implementation fees |
| CoCounsel Legal | Starting: ~$225/user/month (Lawyerist estimate) Or ~$110/month for basic research tier | Mid-tier: ~$415-$519/month (Westlaw Advantage + CoCounsel Essentials bundle) | Custom pricing Multi-seat discounts, multi-year contracts, add-ons for Practical Law |
| Spellbook | Custom (No public pricing) Est. ~$179/user/month (third-party estimate) | Same Suite features for all tiers Pricing scales with team size | Custom pricing Dedicated support for teams 10+ users, academic discounts available |
| Everlaw | Usage-based (per GB) No public pricing Unlimited users included | Core Platform Features included in per-GB rate Single-document AI actions at no extra cost | Custom pricing Batch AI actions charged via credits, unused credits expire |
Pricing Insights
- Harvey AI does not publish pricing publicly. Community estimates suggest $1,000-$1,200/lawyer/month with minimum annual contracts of $30k-$150k and onboarding fees of $10k-$50k.
- CoCounsel Legal pricing varies significantly based on product variant, jurisdiction, number of attorneys, and bundling with Westlaw/Practical Law. Entry points range from ~$110-$225/user/month to $415-$519/month for bundled options.
- Spellbook does not publish fixed pricing publicly. Third-party estimates suggest ~$179/user/month, with pricing structured around team size.
- Everlaw uses a transparent, usage-based pricing model (per GB) that includes unlimited users and numerous features. Exact rates are gated behind sales conversations.
Cost considerations:
- Harvey AI: Premium enterprise pricing; high upfront costs and custom contracts; best for Big Law with large budgets.
- CoCounsel Legal: Mid-range pricing with Westlaw/Practical Law integration; cost-effective for firms already in Thomson Reuters ecosystem.
- Spellbook: Mid-range pricing focused on transactional lawyers; cost scales with team size.
- Everlaw: Usage-based pricing (per GB) best for eDiscovery and litigation; cost scales with data volume, not user count.
Positioning Map: Research/Litigation vs Transactional Focus
The positioning map below illustrates where each platform falls on two key dimensions: Research/Litigation Focus (eDiscovery, case law research, document review) and Transactional Focus (contract drafting, M&A, deal support).
LITIGATION
Key Takeaways:
- Harvey AI and Spellbook are best for transactional work, with Harvey targeting enterprise/Big Law and Spellbook targeting mid-sized firms and in-house teams.
- CoCounsel Legal offers a balanced approach, serving both litigation and transactional needs with Westlaw/Practical Law integration.
- Everlaw is specialized for eDiscovery and litigation, with a strong focus on document review, analytics, and case narratives.
Reddit Sentiment and User Feedback
Harvey AI
Positive:
- Some users and observers praise Harvey's brand, product execution, and its success in landing large enterprise law firms.
- Coverage notes strong ARR and high-profile partnerships/clients, indicating market validation.
- Supporters highlight the product's ability to deliver domain-specific legal capabilities and to onboard large customers.
Negative:
- Recurrent community concerns include opaque pricing, high and inconsistent quotes, procurement friction for smaller firms.
- Concerns about hallucinations and factual accuracy on complex/legal tasks, variable post-purchase adoption/utilization, and worries about vendor lock-in for bespoke deployments.
- Several Reddit comments characterize the product as 'overhyped' or warn about low ongoing utilization after purchase.
Notable quotes:
"I feel like every time I talk to someone about Harvey they've gotten a different quote... I'm willing to pay more for something that works but they are spread so thin that it's not clear what they're actually good at." — Reddit user Dramatic_Resource_73
Reddit discussions:
CoCounsel Legal
Positive:
- Users find CoCounsel useful for large-scale document analysis, discovery summaries, creating timelines, or quickly comparing documents.
- Integration with Westlaw content and the Word plugin, along with secure, confidential handling, are praised.
- When effective, users appreciate its citation features (clickable citations) and time-saving capabilities on document-heavy tasks.
Negative:
- Some users report research answers as weaker or inconsistent, with comparisons to ChatGPT sometimes favoring ChatGPT for simple drafting (though ChatGPT lacks Westlaw citations/confidentiality).
- Reports of slower performance or perceived quality decline post-acquisition by Thomson Reuters are also present.
- Cost/value concerns are common among small firms and solos, with many finding it expensive and questioning ROI.
- Occasional hallucinations or inaccurate outputs necessitate human verification.
Notable quotes:
"We've gone down this rabbit hole. Used cocounsel extensively for 3 months, and found that Westlaw Precision was perfectly fine. Their AI within cocounsel was worse than GPT." — Reddit r/LawFirm comment
"CoCounsel is really disappointing... It just seems like a 2023 version of ChatGPT that can't handle more than simple tasks of proofreading and comparing documents." — Reddit r/Lawyertalk
Reddit discussions:
Spellbook
Positive:
- Strong Word integration and workflow fit (users like the Word add-in).
- Significant time savings for drafting and redlining; praised for being tuned to transactional contract needs.
- Useful features such as Playbooks, Benchmarks, and the new Associate multi-document agent are valued by early adopters.
Negative:
- Some users report hallucinations or factual errors in AI outputs (must be double-checked), raising trust concerns for litigation or filed documents.
- Pricing is not transparent and some perceive it as expensive or gated behind a sales process; a few reviewers report trouble accessing the advertised free trial.
- Occasional noisy/irrelevant suggestions and limitations with handling multi-document imports were flagged by users.
Notable quotes:
"Spellbook ok but overpriced and often gave me surface level edits that captured the essence but often missed some of the missing clauses that Gavel Exec found." — Reddit r/paralegal
Reddit discussions:
Everlaw
Positive:
- Users frequently praise Everlaw's user interface and ease of use, along with its clustering, timeline features, and effective handling of email families.
- Many find the training resources helpful and consider it easier to navigate compared to other platforms like Relativity and Disco.
Negative:
- Common concerns include a learning curve for advanced features, minor UI quirks, and the necessity for training.
- Discussions about the cost of AI features, the complexities of prompt engineering, and skepticism regarding whether vendor-provided AI efficiency metrics translate to real-world benefits.
- Some users suggest that Everlaw might be more expensive for very large reviews involving terabytes or millions of documents.
Notable quotes:
"Everlaw is more accessible but also pricier... if there's a large review component (millions of documents / terabytes of data)..." — Reddit r/ediscovery
Reddit discussions:
Key Features Comparison
| Feature | Harvey AI | CoCounsel Legal | Spellbook | Everlaw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Research | ✅ Yes (Assistant, Knowledge) | ✅ Yes (Deep Research with Westlaw) | ⚠️ Limited (Ask feature) | ⚠️ Limited (eDiscovery focus) |
| Contract Drafting | ✅ Yes (Assistant) | ✅ Yes (Drafting module) | ✅ Yes (Word Add-In, Draft) | ❌ No |
| Document Review | ✅ Yes (Assistant, Vault) | ✅ Yes (Document analysis) | ✅ Yes (Review, Redline) | ✅ Yes (Review platform) |
| eDiscovery | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (Core feature) |
| Microsoft Word Integration | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (Deep integration) | ❌ No |
| Westlaw/Legal Database Integration | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (Westlaw, Practical Law) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Playbooks/Benchmarks | ⚠️ Custom workflows | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (Playbooks, Benchmarks) | ❌ No |
| Multi-Document Agent | ✅ Yes (Vault) | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Yes (Associate) | ⚠️ Limited (Batch AI) |
| Analytics/Visualization | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (Clustering, Storybuilder) |
| Citation Verification | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Yes (Clickable citations) | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ No |
| Enterprise Security (SOC 2, HIPAA) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (SOC 2 Type II) | ✅ Yes |
| Unlimited Users | ❌ No (Per-seat pricing) | ❌ No (Per-user pricing) | ❌ No (Per-user pricing) | ✅ Yes (Usage-based pricing) |
Use Case Recommendations
Choose Harvey AI if:
- You're a Big Law firm or Fortune 500 legal department with a large budget.
- You need a comprehensive suite (Assistant, Vault, Knowledge, Workflows) for complex, multi-step legal workflows.
- You value domain-specialized models trained on legal data and require custom workflows.
- You're willing to invest in consultative enterprise sales, onboarding, and bespoke implementations.
- Best for: Big Law, Fortune 500 legal departments, complex M&A and due diligence.
Choose CoCounsel Legal if:
- You're already in the Thomson Reuters ecosystem (Westlaw, Practical Law).
- You need legal research with verifiable citations and authoritative legal sources.
- You want balanced support for both litigation and transactional work.
- You value Microsoft Word/Office 365 integration and secure, confidential AI assistance.
- Best for: Law firms and in-house teams already using Westlaw, mid-sized firms, litigation and transactional practices.
Choose Spellbook if:
- You're a transactional lawyer or in-house team focused on contract drafting and review.
- You work primarily in Microsoft Word and want deep integration.
- You value playbooks, benchmarks, and clause libraries for contract efficiency.
- You need a multi-document agent (Associate) for complex transactions.
- Best for: Transactional lawyers, mid-sized law firms, in-house legal teams, contract-heavy practices.
Choose Everlaw if:
- You're focused on eDiscovery, document review, and litigation support.
- You need advanced analytics (clustering, visualizations) and Storybuilder for case narratives.
- You want a cloud-native platform with fast uploads and intuitive UI.
- You prefer usage-based pricing (per GB) with unlimited users.
- Best for: eDiscovery, litigation, government agencies, large document reviews, corporate investigations.
Potential Drawbacks and Limitations
Harvey AI
- Opaque pricing: No public pricing; community reports inconsistent quotes and high costs.
- Enterprise focus: Not suitable for small firms or solos due to high minimums and complex sales process.
- Adoption variability: Some users report low utilization post-purchase; bespoke deployments may lead to vendor lock-in.
- Hallucinations: Concerns about factual accuracy on complex legal tasks.
CoCounsel Legal
- Cost concerns: Expensive for small firms and solos; ROI questioned by some users.
- Quality variability: Some users report weaker research answers compared to ChatGPT (though ChatGPT lacks Westlaw citations).
- Dependency on Westlaw: Best value for firms already in Thomson Reuters ecosystem; less attractive for firms using other legal databases.
- Hallucinations: Occasional inaccurate outputs require human verification.
Spellbook
- Price opacity: No public pricing; some perceive it as expensive or gated behind sales.
- Hallucinations: Users report factual errors in outputs, raising trust concerns for filed documents.
- Trial gating: Some reviewers report difficulty accessing the advertised free trial.
- Limited multi-document handling: Some users flag limitations with importing/processing multiple documents at once.
Everlaw
- Learning curve: Advanced features require training; some users report a steep learning curve.
- Cost at scale: May be more expensive for very large reviews (terabytes of data).
- Search functionality: Some users report inefficient or problematic search functionality.
- AI feature costs: Batch AI actions charged via credits; unused credits expire.
Final Verdict
All four platforms offer strong value propositions in the legal AI space, but they target different use cases and audiences:
- Harvey AI is best for Big Law and Fortune 500 legal departments that require a comprehensive, enterprise-grade AI suite for complex, multi-step legal workflows. It offers domain-specialized models and custom workflows but comes with high costs and opaque pricing.
- CoCounsel Legal is ideal for law firms and in-house teams already in the Thomson Reuters ecosystem. It offers balanced support for litigation and transactional work with Westlaw/Practical Law integration and verifiable citations.
- Spellbook is the top choice for transactional lawyers and in-house teams focused on contract drafting and review. It offers deep Word integration, playbooks, benchmarks, and a multi-document agent for contract efficiency.
- Everlaw is the gold standard for eDiscovery and litigation support, with a cloud-native platform, advanced analytics, Storybuilder, and usage-based pricing (per GB) that includes unlimited users.
Your choice should depend on your firm's primary use case, budget, and existing legal tech stack:
- Big Law/Enterprise complex workflows: Harvey AI
- Research with Westlaw citations & balanced use cases: CoCounsel Legal
- Transactional contract work: Spellbook
- eDiscovery & litigation: Everlaw
For teams looking to streamline feedback and collaboration across any of these platforms, QBack offers a unified solution for managing legal workflows and project feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which platform is best for small law firms or solo practitioners?
A: CoCounsel Legal and Spellbook are the most accessible for small firms, with CoCounsel starting at ~$225/user/month and Spellbook estimated at ~$179/user/month. Harvey AI and Everlaw are better suited for mid-to-large firms.
Q: Which platform has the most transparent pricing?
A: Everlaw offers the most transparent pricing model (usage-based per GB), though exact rates are gated behind sales. CoCounsel Legal has some published pricing examples. Harvey AI and Spellbook do not publish pricing publicly.
Q: Do any platforms integrate with Westlaw or other legal databases?
A: CoCounsel Legal integrates directly with Westlaw and Practical Law for verifiable citations. The other platforms do not have native legal database integrations.
Q: Which platform is best for contract drafting and review?
A: Spellbook is the top choice for contract drafting and review, with deep Word integration, playbooks, benchmarks, and redlining assistance. Harvey AI and CoCounsel Legal also support contract work but are less specialized.
Q: Which platform is best for eDiscovery and litigation?
A: Everlaw is the clear leader for eDiscovery and litigation, with a cloud-native platform, advanced analytics, Storybuilder, and generative AI tools for case development.
Q: Do any platforms offer unlimited users?
A: Everlaw includes unlimited users in its usage-based pricing model (per GB). The other platforms use per-user/per-seat pricing.
Sources & Links
Competitor Websites and Pricing Pages
Harvey AI:
CoCounsel Legal:
Spellbook:
Everlaw:
Reddit Discussions
- r/legaltech - Analyzing Discussions on Harvey for Pricing and Feedback
- r/legaltech - Any Experience with Harvey?
- r/LawFirm - Thomson Reuters CoCounsel
- r/Lawyertalk - CoCounsel Thoughts
- r/Lawyertalk - Has the CoCounsel AI Gotten Significantly Worse?
- r/legaltech - Anyone Using Spellbook AI Contract Drafting?
- r/paralegal - Spellbook AI Thoughts
- r/ediscovery - Everlaw as an ESI Discovery Platform
- r/ediscovery - Everlaw AI Assistant Thoughts
- r/ediscovery - Everlaw Discussion
Additional Resources
Ready to optimize your legal workflows? Explore QBack for seamless collaboration and feedback management across all your legal AI tools.