CanLII vs Docket Alarm
CanLII
canlii.orgDocket Alarm
docketalarm.comSide by side
| Figure | CanLII | Docket Alarm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | C$8.33/mo | $39.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 4 |
| Spec score · Legal Research Software | 9.1 (#2) | 9.2 (#1) |
| API | CanLII offers an authorized, read-only REST API that returns collection metadata as JSON and requires an API key requested through its feedback form. | The REST API can search cases, retrieve dockets and documents, track cases or saved searches, and answer natural-language questions about cases. |
| Integration | CanLII's privacy policy lists a Clio integration among data stored for myCanLII accounts. | The ECF integration lets users connect a court filing account so tracked case filings can be delivered inside Docket Alarm at no cost. |
| Search | The search interface supports full-text and title or citation searches, note-up searches, filters, facets and sorting. | Full-text search supports docket text, documents, parties, attorneys, judges, Boolean queries, phrases and field filters. |
Plans
Docket Alarm
- FreeFree
- Pay-As-You-Go$39.99 a month
- Flat-Fee$99 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
CanLII
CanLII is a nonprofit service offering free online access to Canadian judicial decisions and legislative documents. Its collections include court judgments, decisions from many federal and provincial administrative tribunals, consolidated statutes and regulations, and annual statutes across Canadian jurisdictions. Search supports full text, title, citation and note-up queries, with filters, facets and sorting. RefLex links cited decisions and legislation available on CanLII. The Commentary collection includes secondary legal materials such as books, journals, articles and reports, while CanLII Connects hosts community case commentary and summaries. Registered myCanLII users can save and organize research in folders and set alerts. Search+ accepts natural-language research questions and returns results with contextual extracts and relevance indicators; it requires a free myCanLII account and has a daily usage limit. CanLII serves legal professionals and the general public. Its terms prohibit systematic downloading of published documents, including through crawlers, plug-ins, extensions and connectors. CanLII says personal information is kept in a secure computer environment with restricted access and that it strives to store it in Canada. Search+ queries and interactions are stored locally in the browser for history and are not retained in CanLII's systems.
Docket Alarm
Docket Alarm is a litigation intelligence platform for searching, tracking and analyzing court dockets and documents. The maker says its collection includes over 1 billion dockets and documents from courts in the United States and elsewhere. Search supports full text, Boolean and phrase queries, with filters for court, date range, judge, party, attorney and case type. Users can follow cases, parties, attorneys, firms, keywords and Nature of Suit categories, receiving email updates up to 16 times daily. They can read indexed filings, connect to PACER and bulk-download case documents. Talk to Docket answers natural-language questions about a docket and cites entries and documents. Analytics cover motion outcomes, time to decision and trends by court and judge; Timeline presents docket entries as a visual chronology. The REST API supports case searches, docket and document retrieval, tracking, and natural-language questions. An ECF connection can deliver tracked filings inside the platform at no cost. Plans range from a free tier with five weekly actions to monthly paid options.