Casetext (CoCounsel)
Semantic Scholar
| Feature | Casetext (CoCounsel) | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $110/mo | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | solo-practitioners, small-law-firms, legal-researchers, in-house-counsel | researchers, phd-students, academics, literature-reviewers |
| Founded | 2013 | 2015 |
| Ai Research | ✓ | ✗ |
| Brief Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Contract Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Deposition Prep | ✓ | ✗ |
| Timeline Creation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Semantic Search | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tldr Summaries | ✗ | ✓ |
| Citation Graphs | ✗ | ✓ |
| Research Feeds | ✗ | ✓ |
| Author Profiles | ✗ | ✓ |
| Open 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
✓ Semantic Scholar Pros
- Completely free to use
- AI-generated paper summaries (TLDR)
- Influence and citation metrics
- Research feeds and alerts
✗ Semantic Scholar Cons
- Coverage gaps in some disciplines
- No full-text access
- Interface less intuitive than Google Scholar
The Verdict
Casetext (CoCounsel) is built for solo practitioners and small law firms, with a focus on ai-research and brief-analysis. Semantic Scholar targets researchers and phd students and leads with semantic-search and tldr-summaries.
Semantic Scholar uses custom enterprise pricing, while Casetext (CoCounsel) starts at $110/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Semantic Scholar 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.