Casetext (CoCounsel)
Perplexity
| Feature | Perplexity | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $110/mo | Free / from $20/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | solo-practitioners, small-law-firms, legal-researchers, in-house-counsel | researchers, knowledge-workers, students, professionals |
| Founded | 2013 | 2022 |
| Ai Research | ✓ | ✗ |
| Brief Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Contract Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Deposition Prep | ✓ | ✗ |
| Timeline Creation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Search | ✗ | ✓ |
| Source Citations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Follow Up Questions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Collections | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pro Search | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Perplexity Pros
- Real-time web search with AI
- Cited sources for verification
- Multiple model options
- Good for research
✗ Perplexity Cons
- Can hallucinate despite citations
- Pro features require subscription
- API expensive at scale
The Verdict
Casetext (CoCounsel) is built for solo practitioners and small law firms, with a focus on ai-research and brief-analysis. Perplexity targets researchers and knowledge workers and leads with ai-search and source-citations.
On pricing, Perplexity is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $20/mo compared to $110/mo for Casetext (CoCounsel). That $90/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Perplexity 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.