Case management cost calculator. Per seat or per case, on your firm's numbers.

What it compares

Most case management software is priced per seat: every person who logs in costs a monthly fee, often with AI features sold as an add-on and a one-time fee to set up and move data. PlaintiffStack is priced per case: $250 for each new case, with every app included and no monthly fee. Which costs less depends on how many people your firm has for each case it opens.

Enter your seats, the seat price on your invoice, what you pay each month for AI add-ons, any implementation fee, and how many new cases you open a year. The calculator shows both totals, the difference, and the caseload at which they cost the same.

How it computes

Per seat: seats × price per seat × 12, plus AI add-ons × 12, for each year compared, plus the one-time implementation fee.

PlaintiffStack: new cases a year × $250, plus any AI usage estimate per case you enter, for each year compared.

Break-even: the per-seat total divided by the per-case cost and the number of years. Below that many new cases a year, per case costs less. Above it, per seat does.

Compare over three or five years and the implementation fee is spread over more cases, which makes per seat look better. That's the fair way to compare if you'd stay that long.

A worked example

A firm with 10 seats at $120 a month, $500 a month in AI add-ons, a $7,500 implementation fee, and 80 new cases a year:

Per case costs less in the first year here, and the two are even at about 111 new cases a year.

When per seat is cheaper

Per seat wins when a few people handle a lot of cases. Five seats at $79 a month with no add-ons cost $4,740 a year. If those five people open 200 new cases a year, PlaintiffStack would cost $50,000. A lean, high-volume firm on low-cost seats should stay per seat on price alone, and the calculator will say so.

Per case tends to cost less when a firm has more people for each new case it opens: case managers, intake staff, paralegals and attorneys who all need to log in, and when the firm already pays for AI add-ons on every seat.

What to count on each side

On the per-seat side, count what your firm actually pays, not the list price of the cheapest tier:

• Every user, including part-time staff and anyone who only needs to look things up.
• AI tiers and add-ons you pay for: demand letters, medical chronologies, intake or texting tools bought separately.
• Implementation, data migration and training fees, and contract minimums or annual increases.

Leave out add-ons you don't use. Inflating the per-seat side makes the comparison useless.

On the PlaintiffStack side, AI usage is billed separately. Each tool shows an estimated cost before it runs, typically cents per run, and the actual cost of every run is recorded. How usage is billed is part of your quote. Enter an estimate per case to include it. There's no long lock-in contract. If you pass case-level costs on to clients, your fee agreement has to say how costs affect the fee and the client's recovery (Business and Professions Code section 6147).

What it leaves out

• Staff time, training and the cost of switching. Our guide to switching case management software covers the work.
• Features. Price is one input; fit is another. See the personal injury case management software guide, the comparisons and the alternatives.
• Taxes and payment terms.

Further reading

The per-case vs per-seat pricing guide explains the two models in depth. Pricing and the FAQ say what the per-case price includes. Side-by-side pages: PlaintiffStack vs Filevine, PlaintiffStack vs Clio and PlaintiffStack vs CasePeer. See also case management software in the glossary.