Clio vs MyCase: Which Is Better?
Legal practice management platforms with client portals compared.
Tom Bradley
2026-02-27
Clio and MyCase are both well-established legal practice management platforms, but they differ meaningfully in scale, AI maturity, and ecosystem depth—making the right choice depend heavily on firm size and priorities.
Quick Comparison
| Clio | MyCase | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $49/user/month (annual) | Not listed publicly |
| Free trial | Yes | 10-day, no credit card |
| AI tools | Clio Duo add-on ($69/user/mo) | 8am IQ (built into higher tiers) |
| Integrations | 250+ | Limited set + Open API (Premium only) |
| Client portal | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes (iOS & Android) |
| Bar association approval | 100+, all 50 US state bars | Not specified |
| Best for | Growing or scaling firms | Small firms prioritizing simplicity |
Clio
Clio is the dominant player in legal practice management—150,000+ users across 130 countries, approved by over 100 bar associations including all 50 US state bars. It's the platform that most lawyers encounter first, and often the one they stay with.
Features
The core covers all expected bases: matter management, time and expense tracking, billing, document storage, calendaring, and a client-facing portal. What distinguishes Clio is depth. Matter management includes visual kanban boards for tracking case progress and automated task assignments as cases advance through stages—useful for firms that want workflow built into their caseload, not just a list of open files.
Billing is a particular strength. End-to-end billing automation handles the invoicing cycle with minimal manual intervention. Clio also offers built-in e-filing for California, Texas, and Georgia state courts—a genuine time-saver for litigators in those jurisdictions who would otherwise juggle a separate e-filing service.
The CRM component (Clio Grow) manages lead intake, automated welcome emails, appointment booking, and retainer document requests. It's bundled with the Expand tier but is also sold as a standalone product.
AI Capabilities
Clio's AI layer, branded Manage AI (part of Clio Duo), is available as an add-on for $69/user/month in the US. It's among the more mature AI integrations in legal tech: it automatically extracts key dates from court filings and populates your calendar, generates invoices and routes them for review, drafts motions and client updates from matter activity, and flags case priorities before they become problems. This is end-to-end billing-to-casework automation rather than a tacked-on writing assistant.
Pricing
Four tiers, priced annually:
- EasyStart: $49/user/month — time tracking, billing, document management; basic client portal
- Essentials: $89/user/month — adds court forms, deeper automation, and task workflows
- Advanced: $119/user/month — the most popular plan; full feature set including reporting
- Expand: $149/user/month — bundles Clio Grow (CRM) and advanced analytics
- Clio Duo AI add-on: +$69/user/month (US only, on any tier)
Monthly billing runs about 15–20% higher. Support is 24/5 via phone, chat, or email. Data migration is included at no extra charge.
Limitations
Cost is the main friction. AI automation nearly doubles the base plan price, and meaningful capabilities like the CRM and court filing require higher tiers. Firms moving from spreadsheets may also find the feature surface area overwhelming at first—there's a setup investment before you see the payoff.
When to Choose Clio
Clio is the right call for firms that want the most complete legal practice management platform available, need extensive third-party integrations (250+ options), require enterprise-level security certifications (SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI), or anticipate growth. It's especially well-suited for US litigators in California, Texas, or Georgia who want built-in e-filing, and for firms that want deeply embedded AI rather than an add-on.
MyCase
MyCase serves 18,000+ law firms and competes on approachability, all-in-one value, and a clean interface that gets firms operational quickly. Its 10-day free trial with no credit card required signals genuine confidence in the onboarding experience.
Features
MyCase covers core practice management competently: matter management with centralized case views, time tracking tied directly to invoicing, a client portal with secure messaging, and unlimited document storage. A standout feature is its SMS texting suite—two-way text messaging with clients and leads, with messages automatically linked to matters. This is more fully built out than many competitors offer as a baseline capability.
MyCase Drive (Premium tier) syncs your document library to your desktop file explorer, so you can open, edit, and save files in Microsoft Word or Adobe without manual uploads. Full-text search of PDF and Word documents supports conflict checks without requiring a dedicated tool.
The CRM and lead pipeline features are included on Standard and above, giving smaller firms access to client intake without buying a separate product. LawPay is tightly integrated—the two companies merged—making payment processing particularly smooth compared to third-party connections that require API handoffs.
AI Capabilities
MyCase includes 8am IQ Legal AI for writing assistance and document help on Standard and higher plans. Advanced Document Automation (Word-based templates that auto-fill from matter data) is available on Premium. The AI offering is newer and appears less deeply embedded in billing and workflow automation than Clio's Manage AI, but it covers the essentials of AI-assisted drafting.
Pricing
MyCase offers three tiers, but specific dollar amounts aren't published publicly—verify on their website for current rates:
- Basic: Core case management, billing, and payments
- Standard: Adds Legal AI, CRM, client intake forms, and key integrations (Google, Outlook, Zapier, Smith.ai, LawToolBox, MailChimp, Dropbox)
- Premium: Adds MyCase Drive, Advanced Document Automation, expanded AI, and Open API access
All plans include a 10-day full-access free trial.
Limitations
MyCase has a thinner integration ecosystem than Clio—the Open API is restricted to the Premium tier, limiting automation flexibility on lower plans. Bar association endorsements aren't cited specifically, which may matter for compliance-conscious firms. The AI tooling is functional but not as end-to-end as Clio's approach to automating billing and case workflows.
When to Choose MyCase
MyCase suits small to mid-sized firms that want solid core features, strong client communication tools (especially two-way texting), seamless LawPay payment processing, and a platform that's quick to get running. The free trial makes it easy to evaluate without commitment, and the all-in-one approach avoids the fragmentation of building out a stack from scratch.
Bottom Line
Clio is the deeper, more scalable platform—particularly for firms that need extensive AI automation, 250+ integrations, or enterprise compliance certifications. The price reflects that ambition, and firms that fully utilize the platform generally justify the cost. MyCase is the more accessible choice for smaller firms that want a capable all-in-one system with strong client communication features and an easier path to getting started. If budget is the deciding factor, MyCase's free trial lets you evaluate hands-on before committing—and Clio's pricing, especially with the AI add-on, can add up quickly for multi-user teams.