Casetext (CoCounsel)
Consensus
| Feature | Casetext (CoCounsel) | Consensus |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $110/mo | Free / from $11.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | solo-practitioners, small-law-firms, legal-researchers, in-house-counsel | researchers, students, science-communicators, evidence-based-practitioners |
| Founded | 2013 | 2021 |
| Ai Research | ✓ | ✗ |
| Brief Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Contract Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Deposition Prep | ✓ | ✗ |
| Timeline Creation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Academic Search | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Synthesis | ✗ | ✓ |
| Study Snapshots | ✗ | ✓ |
| Consensus Meter | ✗ | ✓ |
| Citations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Topic Pages | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Casetext (CoCounsel) Pros
- AI-powered research
- Natural language search
- Document review
- Affordable vs alternatives
✗ Casetext (CoCounsel) Cons
- Smaller database than Westlaw
- Newer platform
- AI sometimes inaccurate
✓ Consensus Pros
- Evidence-based answers only
- Academic source quality
- Good synthesis of findings
- Copilot for research
✗ Consensus Cons
- Limited to academic papers
- Can oversimplify complex findings
- Newer platform
The Verdict
Casetext (CoCounsel) is built for solo practitioners and small law firms, with a focus on ai-research and brief-analysis. Consensus targets researchers and students and leads with academic-search and ai-synthesis.
On pricing, Consensus is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $11.99/mo compared to $110/mo for Casetext (CoCounsel). That $98.01/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Consensus has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Casetext (CoCounsel) requires a paid subscription from day one.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.