10 Best Legal Billing Tools in 2026

Updated: February 2026

Legal billing and time tracking

Key Takeaways

  • Clio is our #1 pick for legal billing in 2026, scoring 87/100.
  • We analyzed 4 legal billing tools to create this ranking.
  • Average editorial score: 22/100 - high-quality category.
1
Clio logo

Clio

Legal practice management

87/100
Paid

Clio is practice management software built specifically for law firms. Time tracking, billing, and trust accounting in one platform. Matter management organizes cases and client communications. Client portal enables secure document sharing. Integrations with court systems, Microsoft 365, and legal research tools. The software law firms use to run their practice professionally and profitably.

2
SimpleLegal logo

SimpleLegal

Streamline legal operations, manage spend, and optimize matter and vendor management for legal teams.

Paid

SimpleLegal is a comprehensive legal operations platform designed to help modern legal teams manage their legal spend, matters, and vendors efficiently. It provides tools for eBilling to track and monitor legal expenditures, forecast with confidence, and ensure compliance through automated invoice review and rules-based approvals. The platform offers clear visibility into spending, allowing legal departments to be proactive and efficient. Beyond financial management, SimpleLegal serves as a system of record for streamlined matter management, enabling teams to track all aspects of internal and external matters, from impact and complexity to tasks, documents, and personnel. It standardizes intake processes with task templates and workflows to accelerate matter resolution. Additionally, SimpleLegal enhances vendor management by providing a clear picture of vendor activities and facilitating data-driven conversations. Its vendor portal, CounselGO, improves collaboration between legal teams and outside counsel, reducing manual tasks and ensuring timely payments. The platform also offers robust reporting and analytics capabilities to drive strategic decision-making, control costs, boost efficiency, measure performance, and forecast future needs.

3
Onit logo

Onit

Automate legal operations and workflow for enterprise legal teams.

Paid

Onit Unity provides automated legal operations and workflow software designed for enterprise legal management. It helps legal teams unify spend and vendor data, offering a comprehensive view of spend allocation, billing guideline adherence, and vendor performance on a single, secure platform. The software enables real-time tracking of costs, accruals, reserves, and risk, and automates reporting on legal spend. The platform streamlines eBilling and invoice approvals by automating the receiving, reviewing, and managing of invoices from legal vendors. It allows configuration of billing guidelines and monitors invoice submissions for compliance at any scale. Onit also focuses on driving maximum value from vendors through proactive management, performance benchmarking, and reducing unnecessary outside counsel spend, utilizing AI monitoring to preempt billing disputes and detect irregularities.

4
LawVu logo

LawVu

The AI-powered legal workspace for in-house teams to manage matters, contracts, and spend.

Paid

LawVu is an AI-powered legal workspace designed specifically for in-house legal teams. It centralizes all legal operations, including matter management, contract lifecycle management, and spend management, into a single platform. This aims to provide greater visibility, faster delivery of legal services, and more control over legal processes. The platform integrates various functionalities such as project and task management, document and email storage, reporting, invoice management, e-billing, and collaboration tools for outside counsel. With the introduction of AI-powered tools like LawVu Lens for contract analysis and LawVu Draft for drafting and review within Microsoft Word, LawVu helps legal teams automate repetitive tasks, accelerate workflows, and make data-driven decisions, ultimately freeing up lawyers to focus on high-value work.

Best Legal Billing For

What is Legal Billing Software?

Legal billing and time tracking

According to our analysis of 4+ tools, the legal billing software market offers solutions for teams of all sizes, from solo professionals to enterprise organizations. The best legal billing tools in 2026 combine powerful features with intuitive interfaces.

Common Features of Legal Billing Software

Automation

Automate repetitive legal billing tasks to save time

Collaboration

Work together with team members in real-time

Analytics & Reporting

Track progress and measure performance

Security

Protect sensitive data with enterprise-grade security

Who Uses Legal Billing Software?

Legal Billing software is used by a wide range of professionals and organizations:

  • Small businesses looking to streamline operations and compete with larger companies
  • Enterprise teams needing scalable solutions for complex legal billing needs
  • Freelancers and consultants managing multiple clients and projects
  • Startups seeking cost-effective tools that can grow with them

How to Choose the Right Legal Billing Software

When evaluating legal billing tools, consider these key factors:

  1. Identify your specific needs. What problems are you trying to solve? List your must-have features versus nice-to-haves.
  2. Consider your budget. Most tools offer free trials so you can test before committing.
  3. Evaluate ease of use. A powerful tool is useless if your team won't adopt it. Look for intuitive interfaces and good onboarding.
  4. Check integrations. Ensure the tool works with your existing tech stack (CRM, communication tools, etc.).
  5. Read real user reviews. Our community reviews provide honest feedback from actual users.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best legal billing software in 2026?

Based on our analysis of features, user reviews, and overall value, Clio ranks as the #1 legal billing tool in 2026 with a score of 87/100. Other top-rated options include SimpleLegal and Onit.

Are there free legal billing tools available?

Most legal billing tools are paid, but many offer free trials ranging from 7 to 30 days. Check individual tool pages for current pricing and trial options.

How do you rank legal billing tools?

Our rankings are based on multiple factors: editorial analysis of features and usability (40%), community reviews and ratings (30%), pricing value (15%), and integration capabilities (15%). We regularly update rankings as tools evolve and new reviews come in.

What should I look for in legal billing software?

Key factors to consider include: core features that match your workflow, ease of use and learning curve, pricing that fits your budget, quality of customer support, integrations with your existing tools, and scalability as your needs grow.

Our Ranking Methodology

At Toolradar, we combine editorial expertise with community insights to rank legal billing tools:

40%
Editorial Analysis
Features, UX, innovation
30%
User Reviews
Real feedback from verified users
15%
Pricing Value
Cost vs. features offered
15%
Integrations
Ecosystem compatibility

Rankings are updated regularly as we receive new reviews and as tools release updates. Last updated: February 2026.

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