CosmoLex vs. PracticePanther
Legal practice management software helps legal professionals provide excellent client experience and grow their law firms. With the vast array of different legal technology providers on the market today, selecting the best solution for you can be a confusing and time-consuming process.
This guide compares CosmoLex versus PracticePanther, two popular legal practice management solutions. In order to streamline the purchasing process, we highlight the main differences between these products, and offer a deep dive into their unique features, to help you choose the best solution for your law firm.
Comparison Summary
CosmoLex and PracticePanther are widely-used legal practice management solutions with thousands of customers each. Both platforms help small to medium sized law firms grow with features including a dashboard, case management, a calendar, billing, online payments, and reporting.
Pricing for these solutions are similar when comparing the most commonly purchased subscription plans. The primary difference between these solutions is their feature offerings:
- CosmoLex offers a full accounting suite in its platform.
- PracticePanther’s practice management features are more robust, and includes useful features including client intake forms, built-in court rules, and text messaging.
When comparing the two, it's important to focus on the specific tools offered by each vendor, and the corresponding subscription price. Here's a quick test to determine which solution is best for you:
- You desire a platform that includes a built-in accounting suite
- Working with less software vendors is important to you
- You manage accounting in-house
- You use a third-party accounting solution
- You desire advanced calendaring with built-in court rules
- Client intake forms and text notifications are must-have features
Table of Contents
- Comparison Summary
- CosmoLex & PracticePanther Price Comparison
- CosmoLex & PracticePanther Feature Comparison
- Bottom Line
CosmoLex & PracticePanther Price Comparison
CosmoLex and PracticePanther both charge similar monthly fees to access their platforms. CosmoLex costs $89 per user per month. PracticePanther pricing ranges from $49 to $89 per month, depending on the subscription plan you choose. Both vendors offer discounts for annual contracts that are paid upfront.
CosmoLex Pricing Details
CosmoLex pricing ranges from $79 to $89 per user per month. CosmoLex charges $89 per user per month for annual contracts, and $79 per user per month for monthly contracts.
PracticePanther Pricing Details
PracticePanther pricing ranges from $49 to $89 per month. The company offers a 11% to 22% discount for annual contracts that are paid upfront. Here’s an overview of PracticePanther’s pricing plans:
- Solo plan: $49 per user per month
- Essential plan: $69 per user per month
- Business plan: $89 per user per month
CosmoLex & PracticePanther Feature Comparison
CosmoLex and PracticePanther offer useful features that help legal professionals grow their law firms. These features include a dashboard, case management, a calendar, billing, online payments, and reporting.
Although there are overlaps in many features, there are clear differences when comparing these solutions:
- CosmoLex offers built-in legal-specific accounting tools.
- PracticePanther offers more practice management features, and includes client intake forms, built-in court rules, and text messaging in its platform.
For a full analysis of their features, read our CosmoLex and PracticePanther reviews.
| Feature | CosmoLex | PracticePanther | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Yes | Yes | |
| Contact management | Yes | Yes | |
| Client intake | No | Yes | |
| Calendar | Yes | Yes | |
| Built-in court rules | Yes | No | |
| Task management | Yes | Yes | |
| Document management | Yes | Yes | |
| Document Storage | Limited | Yes | |
| Client intake forms | No | Yes | |
| Time and expense tracking | Yes | Yes | |
| Billing and invoicing | Yes | Yes | |
| Automated invoice reminders | No | Yes | |
| Texting | No | Yes | |
| Online payments | Yes | Yes | |
| Accounting | Yes | No | |
| Reporting | Yes | Yes | |
| Integrations | Yes | Yes |
CosmoLex's Unique Features
CosmoLex offers several features not found in PracticePanther. It's important to understand the features below to determine if CosmoLex is ideal for your business.
Built-in Legal Accounting Software
CosmoLex is the only solution that offers built-in accounting in its platform. Features found in CosmoLex’s business and trust accounting suite include:
- Automated fee distribution
- Automatic invoice payment allocation
- Bank reconciliation
- General ledger
- Revenue distribution calculations
If you prefer using an all-in-one solution that includes both practice management and accounting tools, CosmoLex is the best solution for you. If you use third-party accounting software, or outsource your accounting to a third-party firm, Clio Manage is the more attractive option for your law firm.
PracticePanther's Unique Features
PracticePanther offers several features not found in CosmoLex. It's important to understand the features below to determine if PracticePanther is ideal for your business.
Client Intake Forms
PracticePanther is the only solution that includes online client intake forms in its platform. Client intake forms automate and accelerate the client intake process. Intake forms collect contact and matter information from your clients. You can send forms through a unique URL, or embed the forms on your company website. Collected nformation automatically flows into your database, and can be used to quickly create documents.
Built-in Rules-based Calendaring
Both solutions offer a calendar that helps law firms schedule important events and track deadlines. However, only PracticePanther includes built-in court rules that automatically schedule events for specific deadlines in the calendar. PracticePanther includes 20 court rule-sets in its platform.
CosmoLex allows you to create workflow templates that will populate events into your calendar. However, each court rule-set must be created manually by your law firm.
Automated Invoice Reminders
PracticePanther automates the payment collection process, and includes automated invoice reminders in its platform. You can send reminders to clients with outstanding invoice balances at specified time intervals before or after the due date. Also, PracticePanther allows you to send an unlimited number of invoice reminders.
Text Messaging
PracticePanther is the only platform that is equipped with text messaging. Although PracticePanther does not include two-way texting capabilities, this solution allows you to send text reminders to clients for outstanding invoice balances, and receive text notifications for calendar reminders.
Document Storage
CosmoLex and PracticePanther offer unlimited document storage. However, CosmoLex only allows you to store individual files that are smaller than 100mb. If you would like to store individual files bigger than 100mb, you will need to integrate CosmoLex with a third-party document management solution.
Bottom Line
CosmoLex and PracticePanther are two popular legal practice management solutions available on the market today. These solutions are priced competitively, and are best suited for small to medium sized law firms. CosmoLex and PracticePanther include many of the same features including a dashboard, case management, a calendar, billing, online payments, and reporting.
The best legal practice management solution for you will depend on your feature preferences:
- If you desire a solution with built-in legal-specific accounting, we recommend CosmoLex for your law firm.
- If you prefer the solution that includes more practice management features including client intake forms, built-in court rules, and text messaging, PracticePanther is the best solution for you.
If you’re interested, visit CosmoLex or PracticePanther today to get started.