Instead vs Practical Law
Instead
instead.com
Practical Law
uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.comSide by side
| Figure | Instead | Practical Law |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · Tax Research Software | 8.7 (#3) | 7.4 (#17) |
| Audience | The product is presented for CPA firms, tax preparers, corporate tax teams, family offices, businesses, and high net worth individuals. | The product page identifies law firms, general counsel, and government organizations as customer segments. |
| Integrations | Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box are listed as live integrations with two-way sync, version tracking, and automatic folder mapping. | Practical Law Connect combines Practical Law know-how with Westlaw business resources, including primary legal sources, in one platform. |
| Product | Instead describes itself as an AI agent for tax research, planning, preparation, filing, and defense. | Practical Law provides expert-created and maintained legal guidance, templates, and tools for legal work. |
| Support | Terms state that standard support may use in-product help, websites, chat, email, video, phone and online communities. | Practical Law support is available on weekdays by chat from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Time and by phone from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. |
Plans
In their own words
Instead
Instead is a web-based AI agent for tax research, planning, preparation, filing, and defense. It lists support for individual 1040, C corporation 1120, S corporation 1120-S, partnership 1065, and trust and estate 1041 returns. Users choose which workflows to run, and credits are consumed only when they start a task; the credit estimate is shown beforehand. Users can review the agent’s work before filing. Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box are live integrations with two-way sync, version tracking, and automatic folder mapping. Instead says it is IRS-approved and supports e-filing in 48 or more state jurisdictions, as well as local filing. Federal and state e-file and prior-year import are listed. The free Instead Platform plan is free and includes unlimited users, entities, e-file and print file, multi-entity support, and collaborators and viewers. Instead Agent is billed per credit, with pricing dependent on volume and usage; purchased credits are valid for 12 months. The service lists a free trial, US-based customer support, and 24/7 support, with email responses within 24 business hours.
Practical Law
Practical Law has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.