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Legal · head to head

Actionstep vs Rocket Matter

Actionstep logo

Actionstep

Legal

Configurable legal practice and accounting management platform sold as two separate products, priced per user with no published rate

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rocket Matter logo

Rocket Matter

Legal

Legal practice management with billing and time tracking, tiered from matter basics to full legal accounting

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Actionstep no pricing is published beyond a rough $60 a month starting figure; real cost including implementation and add-ons requires a sales quote and can rise substantially, as one documented case showed a fourfold increase within a year.; Rocket Matter trust accounting compliance is only included on the most expensive Elite tier, so firms with a regulatory requirement for it face a higher effective floor price than the entry-level plan suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: Actionstep covers Configurable workflows, Rocket Matter covers Matter management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Actionstep and Rocket Matter actually diverge.

Attributes where Actionstep and Rocket Matter differ
AttributeActionstepRocket Matter

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (Per user per month), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Legal).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Actionstep

  • Configurable workflows
  • Legal Accounting
  • Builder
  • Capture
  • Trace
  • Acumen

Only in Rocket Matter

  • Matter management
  • Time tracking and billing
  • Trust accounting
  • Document management
  • Matter budgeting
  • Reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Actionstep

  • A firm whose matter types do not fit standard case management templates and wants to build its own workflow structurenot Rocket Matter
  • A US firm needing trust accounting compliance built into the same system as matter managementnot Rocket Matter
  • A firm using AI time capture to reduce billing leakage from unrecorded worknot Rocket Matter
  • A growing mid-size firm wanting embedded analytics on matter profitability without exporting to a separate BI toolnot Rocket Matter

Rocket Matter

  • A solo practitioner wanting matter tracking and billing in one system without separate accounting softwarenot Actionstep
  • A small firm that needs kanban-style visibility into where each matter standsnot Actionstep
  • A mid-sized firm that has outgrown Essentials and needs split billing across multiple timekeepers on a matternot Actionstep
  • A firm required to demonstrate trust accounting compliance that specifically needs the top Elite tiernot Actionstep

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Actionstep

  • No pricing is published beyond a rough $60 a month starting figure; real cost including implementation and add-ons requires a sales quote and can rise substantially, as one documented case showed a fourfold increase within a year.
  • The configurability that is the main selling point means implementation is a genuine project requiring firm time to design workflows, not a same-day signup like more templated competitors.
  • Legal Accounting is sold as a separate North America-only product, so international firms cannot get the full accounting feature set through the same purchase.
  • Reviewer base skews heavily toward small firms, and Actionstep itself is candid that most of its reviews come from small businesses, which is a signal about where the product is proven at scale.
  • Add-on modules (Builder, Capture, Trace, Acumen) are each additional cost, so a firm comparing Actionstep to an all-in-one competitor needs to price in modules separately to get a fair comparison.

Rocket Matter

  • Trust accounting compliance is only included on the most expensive Elite tier, so firms with a regulatory requirement for it face a higher effective floor price than the entry-level plan suggests.
  • It is not built for large enterprise legal departments, so firms above a certain size outgrow it and move to platforms such as Clio or Aderant.
  • The tier structure gates common workflow features like kanban boards and templates behind Pro and above, so the cheapest tier is functionally limited.
  • Its name is easily confused with the Matter smart-home connectivity protocol, an entirely unrelated technology, which can cause mismatched search results.
  • Per-user monthly pricing across four tiers means a growing firm needs to actively reassess its plan as headcount and accounting needs change, rather than a single plan scaling automatically.

Pricing, plan by plan

Actionstep

On request
  • Practice Management$undefined/month
    • Starts around $60 per user per month, quote required for exact rate
    • Implementation fees charged separately
    • Priced per user, varies by region (US, UK, AU, NZ, CAD)
  • Legal Accounting$undefined/month
    • North America only
    • Sold separately from or combined with Practice Management
    • Add-on modules (Builder, Capture, Trace, Acumen) priced separately

Rocket Matter

On request
  • Essentials$49/month
    • Matter management
    • Billing and timekeeping
    • No trust accounting
  • Pro$79/month
    • Matter templates
    • Kanban board matter management
  • Premier$99/month
    • Advanced billing permissions
    • Split billing and fee allocation
  • Elite$129/month
    • Matter budgets
    • Full legal accounting and trust accounting compliance

Which should you pick?

Choose Actionstep if

  • You need configurable workflows.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want legal accounting.
Actionstep review

Choose Rocket Matter if

  • You need matter management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want time tracking and billing.
Rocket Matter review

Questions people ask

Is Actionstep or Rocket Matter better?
Neither clearly leads. Actionstep starts at On request and Rocket Matter at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Actionstep or Rocket Matter?
Actionstep starts at On request and Rocket Matter at On request.
Does Actionstep or Rocket Matter run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Actionstep best used for?
Actionstep is most often used for a firm whose matter types do not fit standard case management templates and wants to build its own workflow structure, a us firm needing trust accounting compliance built into the same system as matter management, a firm using ai time capture to reduce billing leakage from unrecorded work, a growing mid-size firm wanting embedded analytics on matter profitability without exporting to a separate bi tool. Of those, a firm whose matter types do not fit standard case management templates and wants to build its own workflow structure and a us firm needing trust accounting compliance built into the same system as matter management are not what Rocket Matter is typically brought in for.
What can Actionstep do that Rocket Matter cannot?
Actionstep covers Configurable workflows, Legal Accounting, Builder, Capture. Rocket Matter covers Matter management, Time tracking and billing, Trust accounting, Document management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Actionstep: Is Actionstep pricing published?

No. The pricing page gives no rate card; you must request a quote, and cost is per user plus implementation fees, varying by region.

Rocket Matter: Does Rocket Matter include trust accounting?

Only on the Elite tier; the Essentials, Pro and Premier tiers do not include full trust accounting compliance.

Actionstep: Can I buy just the accounting product?

Yes, Legal Accounting is sold separately from Practice Management, though it is limited to North America.

Rocket Matter: Is Rocket Matter the same as the Matter smart-home standard?

No, that is an unrelated connectivity protocol for smart-home devices; Rocket Matter is legal practice management software.

Actionstep: Does it work like Clio or MyCase out of the box?

Not exactly. Actionstep leans on firm-configured workflows rather than fixed templates, which means more setup but a closer eventual fit to how the firm works.

Rocket Matter: What size firm is Rocket Matter built for?

Solo practitioners through mid-sized firms; larger firms typically need a more enterprise-oriented platform.

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