What’s the Difference Between Appara and Clio?

5 min read

Here’s what you need to know about how Clio and Appara differ.

One question we at Appara get all the time is: “How are you different from Clio?”

Clio is one of the biggest names in legaltech today, and while we’re flattered to be compared with them, it’s important to note that Clio and Appara serve very different markets with very different solutions. 

Appara and Clio are not competitors. We play in different sandboxes entirely, and while we share some similarities, Appara and Clio solve different problems.

Today, we’re setting aside some time and space on the Appara blog to answer this question once and for all. So: What is the difference between Appara and Clio? Here’s what you need to know.

Appara: Document Automation, Workflow Automation, and Entity Management for Law Firms

Appara is a document automation, workflow automation, and entity management suite designed for full-service law firms that serve multiple practice areas. Appara’s solutions serve corporate legal, real estate, estate planning, and estate administration professionals with a seamless, end-to-end platform that handles everything from drafting documents to entity management to updating minute books.

With Appara, law firms can use one single cloud-based entity management system for their entire practice, ensuring data always stays up-to-date regardless of the number or type of transactions performed. Appara’s document automation and workflow automation tools support unique precedents, so you can always end up with the exact document you need.

Underpinning all of Appara’s offerings is artificial intelligence technology that helps to accelerate paperwork and eliminate mistakes.

Appara also offers several key tools for law firms. Built-in client questionnaires make it easy to get necessary onboarding information from the client, thereby eliminating data input from your intake process. Appara’s closing books tool makes it easy to close matters using our powerful integrations. Soon, Appara will offer a data extraction tool that enables users to unlock data from any imported document, no matter the format. And Paige AI, our AI-powered document assistant that’s also coming soon, will bring the power of artificial intelligence to entity management, document automation, and workflow automation.

Our most popular tool, Appara Pro, makes it easy to simplify complex work and manage multi-step, multi-entity transactions using deal visualization software, customizable documents, and e-signature capabilities.

In sum: Appara is the next-generation way to manage entities, conduct legal transactions, and automate your documents and workflows – all across multiple practice areas and all while leveraging a shared database.

Clio: Legal Practice Management & Case Management Software 

Clio is a comprehensive legal practice management and case management suite designed for use by law firms and in-house counsels. Clio’s flagship offering, Clio Manage,  provides robust case management features alongside a wide range of tools for managing a law firm’s operations. Clio’s software features a calendar for managing appointments, case management software for tracking matters, accounting and billing features to help your firm bill for its time, and a client relationship management system for tracking client communications.

Clio offers over 250 integrations with software suites like Microsoft Outlook, Intuit QuickBooks, MailChimp, Zoom, Google Drive, and Dropbox, making it easy to import and export data across multiple applications.

Key Similiarities and Differences Between Appara and Clio

Appara and Clio have several important similarities and differences. Both software suites serve the legal industry, and both software suites offer solutions for estate planning and real estate legal professionals.

Both software suites also offer some of the same features – for example, both Appara and Clio support e-signature technology. Furthermore, both software suites offer solutions for solo practitioners, small firms, and mid-sized to large firms.

Finally, both software suites prioritize security at all costs. Appara was the first legal entity management product on the market to become ISO-accredited; meanwhile, Clio is SOC 2 compliant. Appara and Clio each undergo annual security audits to maintain their certifications.

Where Appara and Clio differ, however, is in their scope and prioritization of activities. Simply put, Clio and Appara occupy different parts of the legaltech ecosystem – they serve different (but sometimes overlapping) markets with different (but sometimes overlapping) solutions.

While Clio prioritizes legal practice management as its primary focus, Appara’s main area of activity is entity management, document automation, and workflow automation.

If you’re looking for a legal CRM with a built-in calendar and contact management, then Clio’s your preferred solution.

If you’re looking for an entity management solution that also offers document automation and workflow automation, then you’re looking for Appara.

Furthermore, Clio and Appara have different matter scopes. While Appara specializes in corporate legal, real estate, and estate planning, Clio is mostly practice-agnostic, offering solutions for in-house counsels and lawyers across a variety of practice areas.

Appara and Clio are both powerful software suites that can enable law firms across multiple practice areas to save time, cut costs, and streamline operations. While both software suites share several similarities, they also have some important differences – Appara is a document automation, entity management, and workflow automation platform, whereas Clio is a law practice management solution. Your firm can easily benefit from both software suites without duplicating features. And with Appara and Clio combined, your firm can save time, cut costs, reduce errors, and streamline your work in an unprecedented manner.

Are you ready to discover how you can save time, cut costs, and reduce errors in your legal practice? Book a demo to unlock your FREE trial of Appara today.