Openfront Law Firm vs SimpleLaw Document Automation
Openfront Law Firm
openship.orgSimpleLaw Document Automation
simplelaw.comSide by side
| Figure | Openfront Law Firm | SimpleLaw Document Automation |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $49/mo | $3.25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 7 |
| Spec score · Legal Practice Management Software | 9.0 (#10) | 8.9 (#12) |
| Billing | Billing models rate cards and rules, time, expenses, retainers, invoices, payments, allocations and refunds. | Supported billing modes include hourly, flat fee, installment, trust, contingency, pro bono, and LEDES invoicing. |
| Client intake | Yes | Yes |
| Company size | LinkedIn lists Openship as a privately held internet-publishing company with 2–10 employees. | LinkedIn lists SimpleLaw.com as a privately held software-development company with 11–50 employees. |
| Founded | 2019 | LinkedIn lists 2005 as the company founding year, while SimpleLaw's own history says the product was introduced in 2013. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | It implements provider connection records, encrypted credential envelopes, external record links, communication delivery and webhook records, API-key authentication, and OAuth authorization code with S256 PKCE. | Document storage options include SimpleLaw servers, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive. |
| Matter management | Matter workflows include parties, teams, ethical walls, courts, dockets, deadlines, entries and tasks. | The platform includes workflows, conflict checking, secure messaging, agreements, and an optional client portal. |
| Purpose | Openfront Law Firm is an open-source legal-practice operations application for firm intake, conflicts, matters, documents, billing, trust records, client sharing, integrations, retention, and controlled agent work. | SimpleLaw document automation uses custom fields and intake form data to automate document completion for law firms. |
Plans
Openfront Law Firm
- FreeFree
- Starter$49 a month
- Professional$199 a month
- Enterprise$399 a month
SimpleLaw Document Automation
- Law FirmFree
- Up to 39 users$59 a month
- 40+ users$56 a month
- Annual attorney plan$39 a year
- Monthly attorney plan$49 a month
- 40+ users$56 a year
- Up to 39 users$59 a year
In their own words
Openfront Law Firm
Openfront Law Firm is an open-source application for coordinating legal-practice operations, from intake and conflict review through matters, billing, trust records, and client collaboration. It brings together matter teams, courts and deadlines, communications, time and expenses, invoicing, and trust ledgers. Firm memberships and roles, matter assignments, ethical walls, and precise portal grants shape access. Append-only history or compensating operations preserve changes to records such as documents, invoices, trust entries, and audit events. Integration controls include encrypted credential records, external links, webhooks, API keys, and OAuth authorization. These documented boundaries do not themselves send real email or texts, store real documents, collect payments, calculate deadlines, file with courts, or obtain signatures. The current source has neither public intake nor a client-facing portal interface. Deployment uses Node.js, Next.js, Keystone, Prisma, and PostgreSQL; production requires public and internal HTTPS origins. Openfront Law Firm is free to self-deploy, but the general paid plans do not specify a price for this product.
SimpleLaw Document Automation
SimpleLaw Document Automation helps law firms complete documents using custom fields and client-intake data. It supports Word and PDF files, with reusable templates that can be filled using stored case, custom-field, and intake information. Firms can create text, date, number, and paragraph fields, along with as many intake forms as needed. Clients complete forms through the portal or by email. SimpleLaw presents the web-based product as legal case-management software for law firms and attorneys, and lists client intake, messaging, secure document exchange, electronic signatures, online payments, and matter status updates. Its free Law Firm plan is described as a way to connect with potential leads. The two-week free trial precedes paid annual plans, listed at $59 a month for up to 39 users and $56 a month for 40 or more users; both include unlimited matters. The company offers personalized live web-based training, a video training library, and user support. SimpleLaw says customer data is segregated without a shared database and that files and data are encrypted. Its AWS hosting is described as ISO 27001-certified and SOC2 compliant; the company also states that its portal complies with HIPAA requirements and that communications are encrypted according to GDPR legislation.