Clio is a legal-specific practice management suite optimized for matter management and trust accounting; Klientele is a general post-sales operating system with a legal template that covers matters, retainers, invoicing, capacity, and a client portal in one workspace.
Pick Klientele if any of these describe your operational needs.
We built Klientele. We still tell you when Clio is the right call.
Every row is a real feature. Every claim is factual. No hidden asterisks.
| Feature | Klientele | Clio |
|---|---|---|
| Matter management | Yes (via Legal template) | Yes (native) |
| Retainer accounting | Yes — automatic rollover, overage billing | Partial — via LawPay integration |
| Time tracking | Yes (per-ticket + per-matter) | Yes |
| Invoicing | Yes — PDF + public share links + payment tracking | Yes |
| Trust accounting (IOLTA) | No — export to trust accounting tool | Yes — full IOLTA compliance |
| Court rules calendaring | No — integrate via API | Yes — via LawToolBox |
| Capacity planning | Yes — team capacity dashboard | No |
| Client portal | Yes — matters, invoices, payment | Yes — Clio for Clients |
| E-signature | Integrate via DocuSign / HelloSign | Native — Clio Draft |
| CLE tracking | No | Basic |
| Conflict-of-interest checks | Yes — workflow gate on matter intake | Yes |
| Multi-office support | Yes — one workspace with jurisdiction fields | Yes — multiple firms |
| Mobile app | PWA (iOS/Android) | Native iOS + Android |
| Starting price | ₹3,999/month (Solo) | USD 39/user/month |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 7 days |
Most 10-25 person teams migrate incrementally over 4-6 weeks. Here is the honest playbook.
Clio supports CSV export for contacts, matters, and time entries via Settings → Import/Export. Trust account records must be exported separately.
Create a Klientele workspace, apply the Legal industry template (this pre-configures matter terminology, workflow statuses, custom fields, and SLA matrix).
Use Klientele's CSV import for clients. Map Clio "Contacts" to Klientele "Clients". Historical matters can be tagged with a "migrated-from-clio" custom field for reference.
New matters go into Klientele from day one. Active Clio matters stay in Clio until they close naturally (filing, settlement, hearing). Do not bulk-migrate active matters — the migration friction is not worth the operational risk.
Once all active matters have naturally closed in Clio, retain the Clio subscription for read-only historical access for 1-2 years, then archive to PDF and cancel.
Klientele is a post-sales operating system that combines ticket/task management, time tracking, retainer accounting, invoicing, capacity planning, and a client portal in one system. Clio is optimized for a narrower scope. The right choice depends on whether your operational bottleneck is workflow orchestration (Clio may fit) or the seams between tracking, billing, and client visibility (Klientele fits).
Klientele's Team tier is ₹11,999/month for 5 seats — comparable to or lower than Clio's equivalent tier when accounting for the retainer/invoicing/portal features that Clio typically requires add-ons or separate tools for.
Yes — Klientele supports CSV import for clients, projects, tickets, retainers, and invoices. Most teams migrate incrementally over 4-6 weeks. New work goes into Klientele from day one; in-flight work stays in Clio until it naturally closes.
14 days. Every feature unlocked. No credit card.