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Legal · head to head

iManage vs Rocket Matter

iManage logo

iManage

Legal

Document and email management for law firms and professional services

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: iManage it manages documents and email but not matters, billing or accounting, so it is an addition to a practice management system rather than a replacement for one.; 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: iManage covers iManage Work, Rocket Matter covers Matter management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where iManage and Rocket Matter differ
AttributeiManageRocket Matter
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
PlatformsWindows, Web, macOS, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 iManage

  • iManage Work
  • Outlook email filing
  • Security Policy Manager
  • Records Manager
  • Full text and metadata search

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.

iManage

  • Corporate firms whose matter record lives largely in email and must be filed and searchablenot Rocket Matter
  • Firms with client confidentiality obligations requiring need-to-know access per matternot Rocket Matter
  • Practices with records retention obligations spanning electronic and physical filesnot Rocket Matter
  • Financial services, accounting and government teams with the same matter-centric document problemnot Rocket Matter

Rocket Matter

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

Where each one falls short

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

iManage

  • It manages documents and email but not matters, billing or accounting, so it is an addition to a practice management system rather than a replacement for one.
  • Administration requires specialist skills, and organisations without a dedicated document management administrator tend to run it badly configured.
  • Its value depends on fee earners filing email consistently, which is a behaviour change firms routinely fail to enforce.
  • Nothing about pricing is published and the surrounding modules are licensed separately, so the gap between the core product and a working configuration is discovered late.
  • The market-share figures it cites, such as 81 per cent of the Am Law 200, are vendor published and not independently audited.

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

iManage

On request
  • iManage Work$undefined/year
    • Per user licensing quoted per organisation
    • Cloud or on-premises deployment
    • Security, records and analytics modules licensed 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 iManage if

  • You need imanage work.
  • You work on Windows, Web, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want outlook email filing.
iManage 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 iManage or Rocket Matter better?
Neither clearly leads. iManage 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, iManage or Rocket Matter?
iManage starts at On request and Rocket Matter at On request.
Does iManage or Rocket Matter run on more platforms?
iManage runs on Windows, Web, macOS, iOS, Android. Rocket Matter runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is iManage best used for?
iManage is most often used for corporate firms whose matter record lives largely in email and must be filed and searchable, firms with client confidentiality obligations requiring need-to-know access per matter, practices with records retention obligations spanning electronic and physical files, financial services, accounting and government teams with the same matter-centric document problem. Of those, corporate firms whose matter record lives largely in email and must be filed and searchable and firms with client confidentiality obligations requiring need-to-know access per matter are not what Rocket Matter is typically brought in for.
What can iManage do that Rocket Matter cannot?
iManage covers iManage Work, Outlook email filing, Security Policy Manager, Records Manager. Rocket Matter covers Matter management, Time tracking and billing, Trust accounting, Document management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

iManage: Does iManage replace practice management software?

No. It handles documents and email. Firms run it alongside a practice management and billing system such as Aderant or Elite 3E.

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.

iManage: Who owns iManage?

It has been independent since a management buyout from Hewlett-Packard completed in July 2015. Bain Capital Tech Opportunities made a minority growth investment in April 2023, with management retaining control.

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.

iManage: Is iManage worth it for a small firm?

It is sold to small firms as well as large ones, but the licensing and administrative overhead usually outweighs the benefit over a well organised document store below roughly twenty fee earners.

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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