Every figure below was read on cosmolex.com (the pricing page, its feature grid, the subscription agreement and the CosmoLex vs Clio page), on clio.com/pricing, and in Wayback Machine captures of the CosmoLex pricing page. Where a number appears only in page markup rather than on screen, we say so.
How much does CosmoLex cost?
CosmoLex costs $49 to $129 per user per month on yearly billing and $59 to $139 on month to month billing, across three plans called Launch, Core and Pro. The page opens on the yearly toggle, labeled "Save $120 per user with yearly", which is exactly $10 per user per month at every tier. The month to month prices sit behind the toggle and in the page's own code. Every plan includes live onboarding with guided data migration, and there is no setup fee printed.
| Plan | Yearly, per user per month | Month to month | Yearly discount | 5 users, one year, yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | $49 | $59 | 16.9% | $2,940 |
| Core | $99 | $109 | 9.2% | $5,940 |
| Pro | $129 | $139 | 7.2% | $7,740 |
The flat $10 discount does the same thing it does at PracticePanther: it is worth almost 17 percent on the cheapest plan and barely 7 percent on the one most firms buying CosmoLex for accounting will need. On Pro, paying a year upfront saves a five user firm $600. Our PracticePanther pricing breakdown shows the identical pattern.
What Launch, Core and Pro actually include
CosmoLex's reputation is "accounting built in, no QuickBooks". The feature grid shows that is true of one plan out of three.
Every plan has trust accounting. Launch includes trust accounting and ledgers, compliance reporting, time tracking and invoicing, online card and eCheck payments on invoices, and the client portal. For a solo whose main worry is IOLTA compliance, that is the job done at $49.
Core adds reconciliation, not the books. Bank reconciliation, audit-ready financial and productivity reports, and LEDES and split billing start at Core. There is still no general ledger for the firm's operating side.
Pro is the accounting plan. The general ledger and payables, described on the grid as "Full accounting across trust, operating, and business in one system", plus automatic bank feeds, advanced compliance reporting and the open API, are all Pro only. If the reason you are looking at CosmoLex is to drop QuickBooks, price Pro.
| Feature | First CosmoLex plan | Clio (from its pricing grid) |
|---|---|---|
| Trust accounting and trust reporting | Launch, $49 | Starter and up |
| Bank reconciliation | Core, $99 | Trust and operating reconciliation on Starter and up |
| Bank feeds or bank account sync | Pro, $129 | Starter and up |
| General ledger and payables | Pro, $129 | Not listed on the grid |
| QuickBooks integration | QuickBooks Online listed among integrations | Core and up (QuickBooks, Xero, TrustBooks) |
Is CosmoLex cheaper than Clio?
At the entry level they cost the same, and above it Clio does not let you compare. CosmoLex Launch is $49 per user billed yearly and Clio's page says "Starting at $49/user" for Starter. Clio's Core, Signature and Elite plans carry a "Get pricing" button instead of a number, while CosmoLex prints every tier. For five users on yearly billing, CosmoLex is $2,940 on Launch, $5,940 on Core and $7,740 on Pro; the same five on Clio Starter is $2,940, and anything above Starter is a quote.
What you get for the $49 differs more than the price. Clio Starter includes bank account sync and trust and operating reconciliation; CosmoLex Launch has trust accounting but puts reconciliation on Core and bank feeds on Pro. CosmoLex Pro has something Clio's grid does not list at any tier: a general ledger with payables. So the honest comparison is Clio's quoted Core or Signature rate against CosmoLex Core at $99 if you keep outside books, or against CosmoLex Pro at $129 if you want the books inside the practice system. Our Clio pricing guide covers what Clio does and does not print.
Does Clio require QuickBooks?
No, according to Clio's own pricing page, though CosmoLex's comparison page still says it does. Clio's FAQ answers "Is accounting included in my plan?" with "Yes, on every Clio plan, from Starter up", covering bank transaction sync, accounts receivable, trust and operating reconciliation and financial reports "without paying for a separate bookkeeping platform". The CosmoLex vs Clio page on cosmolex.com still tells buyers that "An additional monthly subscription for QuickBooks Pro is required to run your firm accounting operations with Clio".
Both statements can be read charitably. Clio now bundles accounting, but its grid does not claim a general ledger or payables, and many firms will still want their CPA working in QuickBooks. CosmoLex's page is simply older than Clio's change. The practical point for a buyer is that the old "Clio plus a QuickBooks subscription" math no longer holds by default, so ask Clio in writing whether its bundled accounting covers what your accountant needs before you add a QuickBooks line to the comparison. If you do keep QuickBooks, our guide to legal billing software with QuickBooks integration explains which direction each sync runs.
CosmoLex costs outside the plan price
Add-ons. The feature grid marks the CRM, websites, Google Ads and LexShare and LexSign as add-ons, with "additional fees may apply" on eSignature, and prints no add-on price on screen. The page markup, which still uses the old Standard and Elite plan names, lists the CRM at $147 a month billed annually for up to 3 users ($177 month to month) and websites at $149 annually ($159 month to month). Treat those as indications until you have them on an order.
Usage caps in the subscription agreement. Each user license includes up to 2,500 emails sent per month from the system, then $0.02 per email, and up to 1,000 API calls per user license per month. The agreement adds that "All usage-based charges are subject to change at any time without notice." A five user firm gets 12,500 emails a month, which is plenty for invoices and reminders but can run short if the CRM sends marketing campaigns from the same pool.
Payments and extra services. CosmoLex Pay handles card, debit, ACH and PayPal with next day funding, but cosmolex.com does not print a processing rate, so ask for the schedule in writing. Training or consulting beyond standard support is billed on a time and materials basis under the agreement. And the trial allows only one bank feed connection, so if an account cannot connect a feed during setup you can still bring its history across: convert the bank's PDF statements into a file your accounting system can import instead of keying transactions by hand.
Did CosmoLex raise its prices?
It restructured them twice in two years. The Wayback Machine capture of 21 May 2024 shows one plan at $89 per user per month billed annually or $99 month to month, under a banner telling buyers no QuickBooks was required. By 25 June 2025 the page listed Standard at $99 and Elite at $129. Captures from June and July 2026 show a Standard and Elite comparison with no visible prices at all, and by 9 September 2026 the page showed today's Launch, Core and Pro.
Two things follow. First, the $129 top tier has held since 2025, so CosmoLex's full accounting plan costs the same as its old Elite. Second, the new $49 Launch plan is a lower entry point than CosmoLex has shown before, bought by moving reconciliation and bank feeds up the ladder. Several pages ranking for CosmoLex pricing still print $89 or "Standard $109", and none we checked shows the $49 Launch plan.
CosmoLex vs Clio: the contract terms
CosmoLex's subscription agreement is short on money clauses and firm on the ones it has. Subscriptions "SHALL AUTOMATICALLY RENEW FOR SUCCESSIVE TERMS UNTIL YOU CANCEL", you "MAY CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AT ANY TIME", and "THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS OF PREPAID SERVICES FEES". After the initial term CosmoLex "may increase Service Fees to be effective for the subsequent renewal term", with no notice period and no cap stated.
The clause that matters most on exit is data. If you cancel, retrieving your data before cancellation is "your sole responsibility", and CosmoLex reserves the right "to irrevocably delete all of your Confidential Information and data beginning with thirty (30) days after termination or cancellation". Clio's pricing FAQ gives you the right to export "within 90 days of cancellation". For a firm holding trust records it has to produce on audit, three months against one is a real difference, and the fix is the same either way: export the ledgers, reconciliations and client files before you give notice.
| Term | CosmoLex | Clio |
|---|---|---|
| Published prices | All three plans, yearly and month to month | Starter only, from $49; three plans quoted |
| Cancellation | Any time, no refund of prepaid fees | Any time, effective at the end of the current monthly or annual term |
| Data after cancellation | May be deleted from 30 days after cancellation | Export within 90 days of cancellation |
| Price increases | Allowed at renewal; no notice period or cap stated | Not stated on the pricing page |
| Trial | No credit card; 10 days per the page markup; one bank feed | "Try for free" on each plan |
Which CosmoLex plan should a small firm buy?
Buy Pro if CosmoLex replaces QuickBooks, and Core if it does not. Launch fits a solo who needs clean IOLTA ledgers and invoices and whose accountant reconciles the bank elsewhere. Core is for a firm that wants reconciliation and LEDES billing in the practice system but keeps a separate general ledger. Pro is the plan the product is known for, and at five users it costs $1,800 a year more than Core, which is close to what a QuickBooks Online Plus subscription costs on its own at $140 a month, before the time spent keeping two systems in step. The wider market, including LeanLaw and TrustBooks, is compared in our law firm accounting software guide, and the billing side in legal billing software.
Then look at where the unbilled hours go. Neither CosmoLex nor Clio reads a case file for you. If the pressure in your firm is on drafting, chronologies and deadlines inside each matter, that is the work CaseAgent's AI legal assistant does, on a flat per firm price that sits next to whichever accounting platform you choose.
CosmoLex pricing, other questions
Does CosmoLex replace QuickBooks?
On the Pro plan, yes. Pro adds the general ledger and payables, described as full accounting across trust, operating and business in one system, plus bank feeds. Launch and Core cover trust accounting, and Core adds bank reconciliation, but neither has the general ledger. CosmoLex also lists a QuickBooks Online integration if your accountant wants to keep the books there.
Does CosmoLex have a free trial?
Yes. The pricing page says you can start for free with no credit card, and the page markup describes a 10 day trial with full functionality. The FAQ names one limit: the trial allows a single bank feed connection. The CRM and LexShare or LexSign add-ons are not included in the trial.
Can I cancel CosmoLex at any time?
Yes, but nothing prepaid comes back. The CosmoLex subscription agreement says you may cancel at any time, that there will be no refunds of prepaid service fees, and that subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel. It also says CosmoLex may delete your data beginning 30 days after cancellation, so export before you cancel.
One price for the whole firm
Keep CosmoLex for the books. Give the case work to an agent.
CaseAgent reads the matter, drafts from it with citations back to the page and keeps the deadlines current. Solo $149 a month, Firm $399 for up to 5 users, Practice $899 for up to 15, or $119, $319 and $719 a month billed yearly.