Softwr

Legal · head to head

Clio vs Fenergo

Clio logo

Clio

Legal

Cloud practice management software for law firms

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fenergo logo

Fenergo

Cybersecurity

Client lifecycle management and KYC onboarding for regulated financial institutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Clio priced per user per month, so cost scales directly with headcount and adds up for growing firms; Fenergo implementations commonly run twelve to twenty-four months and depend on a systems integrator, so the services cost frequently exceeds the software subscription in year one.
  • They diverge on capability: Clio covers Matter management, Fenergo covers Regulatory rules library.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clio and Fenergo actually diverge.

Attributes where Clio and Fenergo differ
AttributeClioFenergo
Pricing modelPer-user subscription with published tiers; contact vendor for current ratesquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, CloudWeb
CategoryLegalCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Clio

  • Matter management
  • Time and billing
  • Trust accounting
  • Client intake
  • Document management
  • Integration directory

Only in Fenergo

  • Regulatory rules library
  • Digital onboarding
  • Perpetual KYC
  • Entity data model
  • Screening orchestration
  • Case management

What people use each for

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

Clio

  • Small and mid-sized firms replacing spreadsheets and paper matter filesnot Fenergo
  • Firms needing compliant trust accounting without a separate systemnot Fenergo
  • Practices billing hourly that lose revenue to uncaptured timenot Fenergo

Fenergo

  • A bank operating in twenty jurisdictions that cannot keep local KYC requirements current across separate regional teamsnot Clio
  • A custodian moving from calendar-based periodic review to event-driven perpetual KYC to cut analyst headcountnot Clio
  • An asset manager onboarding funds and trusts where the ownership hierarchy defeats generic identity verification toolsnot Clio
  • A payments institution facing a regulatory remediation order and needing a defensible audit trail of every client reviewnot Clio

Where each one falls short

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

Clio

  • Priced per user per month, so cost scales directly with headcount and adds up for growing firms
  • Advanced features including some automation and reporting sit in higher tiers rather than the entry plan
  • Aimed at small and mid-sized firms; large firms with complex matter structures often need heavier systems
  • Strongest in North America, with less depth in other jurisdictions’ compliance requirements

Fenergo

  • Implementations commonly run twelve to twenty-four months and depend on a systems integrator, so the services cost frequently exceeds the software subscription in year one.
  • It orchestrates screening but does not supply the sanctions, PEP or adverse media data, so you still buy Dow Jones, LexisNexis or World-Check separately and those fees are per screened entity.
  • The entry price is set for institutions with large onboarding volumes, which puts it out of reach of smaller banks and fintechs that would otherwise benefit from the rules library.
  • Configuration is deep and specific, which makes upgrades between major versions a project rather than a patch, and some customers stay on old releases for years.
  • The rules library covers regulatory requirements, not your internal risk appetite, so the policy tuning that determines whether onboarding actually gets faster remains your work.

Pricing, plan by plan

Clio

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Clio review.

Fenergo

On request
  • Fenergo Client Lifecycle Management$undefined/year
    • Priced by institution size, jurisdictions in scope and modules licensed
    • Regulatory rules content subscription bundled into the annual fee
    • Implementation delivered by Fenergo or a systems integrator and quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Clio if

  • You need matter management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
  • You also want time and billing.
Clio review

Choose Fenergo if

  • You need regulatory rules library.
  • You also want digital onboarding.
Fenergo review

Questions people ask

Is Clio or Fenergo better?
Neither clearly leads. Clio starts at On request and Fenergo at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clio or Fenergo?
Clio starts at On request and Fenergo at On request.
Does Clio or Fenergo run on more platforms?
Clio runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud. Fenergo runs on Web.
What is Clio best used for?
Clio is most often used for small and mid-sized firms replacing spreadsheets and paper matter files, firms needing compliant trust accounting without a separate system, practices billing hourly that lose revenue to uncaptured time. Of those, small and mid-sized firms replacing spreadsheets and paper matter files and firms needing compliant trust accounting without a separate system are not what Fenergo is typically brought in for.
What can Clio do that Fenergo cannot?
Clio covers Matter management, Time and billing, Trust accounting, Client intake. Fenergo covers Regulatory rules library, Digital onboarding, Perpetual KYC, Entity data model.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Clio: What does Clio cost?

Clio sells per-user subscriptions across several tiers. Rates change and vary by region, so check the vendor’s current pricing page rather than relying on a third-party figure.

Fenergo: Does Fenergo do the sanctions screening itself?

No. It orchestrates calls to third-party data providers such as Dow Jones and World-Check, and those subscriptions are additional and usually charged per screened entity.

Clio: Does Clio handle trust accounting?

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons firms adopt it, because client fund rules are strict and mishandling them is a regulatory matter.

Fenergo: Is it SaaS or on-premises?

Both. The SaaS offering runs on Microsoft Azure with regional deployment options, which matters where data residency rules prohibit client data leaving the jurisdiction.

Clio: Is Clio suitable for a large firm?

It is aimed at small and mid-sized practices. Large firms with complex matter and billing structures usually evaluate heavier enterprise systems.

Fenergo: How long does a deployment take?

Plan for a year at minimum for a multi-jurisdiction rollout. Single-jurisdiction deployments with a narrow product set can be shorter but rarely under six months.

Clio: Does Clio integrate with existing tools?

Yes. Its integration directory is the largest in legal practice software, covering Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, QuickBooks and many others.

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