Draftiro vs Westlaw — overview
Westlaw is the historical incumbent of paid legal research and the deepest case-law database in existence, with KeyCite for citation history. But it is a research service, not a workspace — you still draft, manage matters, calendar deadlines, and bill somewhere else. The comparison most solos are actually making is not "Westlaw vs Draftiro" but "do I need the full Westlaw corpus for what I do, or will a workspace with public-corpus citation checks cover it?"
Pricing, plainly
Westlaw is sold on custom enterprise pricing — typically $100–$200+ per attorney per month as of our June 2026 review — through a sales process; check Thomson Reuters' current pricing. Draftiro starts free (no card) with paid tiers from $29/mo and no sales call. For the price of one Westlaw seat you can run a Draftiro workspace and still read the underlying opinions free on CourtListener.
Who should switch — and who shouldn't
Keep Westlaw if you file appeals where opposing counsel will shepardize every cite, or you do regulatory work outside the public case-law corpus. For everyday solo and small-firm practice, the honest recommendation is a workspace like Draftiro for drafting, case-citation checks, conflicts, and deadlines, with free CourtListener lookups for reading opinions — and a Westlaw or KeyCite check reserved for the filings that truly need it.
Where Westlaw wins
- Deepest case-law database
- KeyCite citation history
- Brand recognition
Where Draftiro wins
- AI drafting + research + matter management together
- Self-serve pricing without sales calls
- Case-citation checks against CourtListener (when available) at no extra cost
Side by side
| Feature | Draftiro | Westlaw |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | Public, self-serve | Contact sales |
| Case-citation checks (CourtListener when available, or equivalent) | Included | Included |
| Conflict checking with audit trail | Included | Not included |
| Court-day math (federal + state holidays) | Included | Not included |
| AI-assisted time entries (for attorney review) | Included | Not included |
| Outlook calendar sync | Included | Not included |
| Self-serve signup (no sales call) | Included | Not included |
| Free plan | Included | Not included |
Common questions
Can Draftiro replace Westlaw entirely?
For most solo and small-firm work, an AI workspace plus free CourtListener lookups covers it. Westlaw is still the deepest corpus and has KeyCite, so for appellate work where every cite gets shepardized, or regulatory work outside the public corpus, keep a Westlaw or KeyCite check for those filings.
Does Draftiro have a citator like KeyCite or Shepard’s?
No. When CourtListener is available, Draftiro checks whether a detected case citation matches a case in its public corpus and labels it verified, not found, or unchecked; it does not provide full citator treatment history. Read the opinion and check subsequent history before relying on a case.
How much cheaper is Draftiro than Westlaw?
Westlaw is typically $100–$200+ per attorney per month on a custom contract. Draftiro starts free with paid tiers from $29/mo and no sales call.
Will my data train AI models?
No. Draftiro does not use your matter content to train AI models, and the Google Gemini paid-service terms we use bar Google from using it to improve its products. See our Privacy Policy for what providers may retain.