Clio is legal practice management software with trust accounting, court-rules calendaring and online payments built in; Klientele is a general post-sales operating system with a law-firm template that keeps matter workflow, time, retainers, invoicing 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.
Klientele cells name the plan a feature starts on. Clio's cells link to the Clio page each one was checked against (dates under Sources). Plans and prices change, so check before you decide.
| Feature | Klientele | Clio |
|---|---|---|
| Matter management | Yes (law-firm template) | Yes — Clio Manage case management source |
| Retainers | Yes — rollover cap and overage billing (Team and Agency) | Evergreen trust retainers with low-balance alerts source |
| Time tracking | Yes | Yes — timers and time entries source |
| Invoicing | Yes — PDF, share link, lock on send (Team and Agency) | Yes — including LEDES and split billing source |
| Online payments from clients | No — payments are recorded by the firm | Yes — Clio Payments source |
| Trust accounting | No | Yes — trust ledgers, reconciliation and reports source |
| Court-rules calendaring | No | Yes — Court Rules source |
| Client portal | Yes — open work, approvals, outstanding bills | Yes — Clio for Clients source |
| Signature | Typed sign-off on invoices and retainer agreements | Yes — e-signatures on documents source |
| Conflict check | Workflow step and Conflict Cleared field (no conflict search) | Yes — conflict checks across Clio Manage and Clio Grow source |
| Mobile app | Installable web app (iOS/Android) | Native iOS and Android app source |
| Pricing model | From ₹3,999/month (Solo, 1 seat, invoicing included). Retainers from ₹11,999/month (Team, 5 seats). Tax included. | Per user, per month; from USD 49 (Starter) source |
| Free trial | 14 days, every feature, 1 seat | Free trial offered (see clio.com/pricing) source |
Move gradually: new work starts in Klientele, work already under way finishes where it started.
Export the contacts, matters and open tasks you want to keep from Clio. Keep trust account records in Clio or your trust accounting tool; Klientele does not import them.
Create a Klientele workspace and choose the law-firm template. It sets up matters, matter tasks, the matter workflow, roles and urgency levels.
Add your active clients in the app. On the Team and Agency plans, import open matter tasks from CSV (up to 100 rows per file, into one matter).
New matters start in Klientele from day one. Matters already under way finish in Clio. Do not bulk-move active matters.
When the last active matter in Clio has closed, export what you need to keep and cancel.
Klientele is a post-sales operating system that keeps client requests, workflow, time, retainers, invoicing and a client portal in one system, with templates for eight industries. Clio is built for a narrower or different job. If your bottleneck is the gap between doing the work, keeping the client informed and billing for it, Klientele is worth a trial; if you need Clio's specialist depth, Clio may fit better.
It depends on team size. Klientele charges a flat monthly price per workspace with a seat limit, not a per-user price: Solo ₹3,999 (1 seat, invoicing but no retainers), Team ₹11,999 (5 seats) and Agency ₹29,999 (20 seats), tax included. Compare that with Clio's current price for your number of users, plus any separate tools you would still need.
Yes, gradually. On the Team and Agency plans you can import open requests and ideas from a CSV file (up to 100 rows per file, into one project); clients are added in the app. Most teams start new work in Klientele from day one and let work already under way finish in Clio.
14-day free trial. Every feature unlocked.