Side by side
NetDocuments and iManage, side by side.
Based on our practitioners’ point of view, what we are hearing in the market, and what each vendor has stated.
| Area | NetDocuments | iManage |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Cloud. | iManage Cloud, which iManage calls “cloud-native”, with on-premises still in use. iManage’s AI is cloud only. |
| Structure | Workspaces and folders built from templates. | Matter workspaces, templates and flexible folders. |
| Security and governance | Ethical Walls and data loss prevention; records management functionality: retention, legal holds and secure deletion. | Security Policy Manager, Threat Manager, Records Manager and Disposition Manager. |
| ndMail for Outlook and for Gmail. | Outlook integration in iManage Work; a Gmail extension. | |
| Sync and sharing | Office integration with local file sync. | iManage Drive and iManage Share. |
| AI | ndMAX Legal AI Assistant and AI apps. | Ask iManage and AI services, which iManage sells as additional products; Insight+. |
| Docusign | Integrates with Docusign. | Integrates with Docusign. |
| ELM integration | Onit, Wolters Kluwer, Legal Tracker and others. | Onit, Wolters Kluwer, Legal Tracker and others. |
| Pricing model | Users, add-on modules, environments, advanced storage. | Users, add-on modules, environments, advanced storage. |
From each vendor’s pages, October 2026. Pricing model from our implementation experience. Features vary by bundle; confirm with each vendor.
Different needs
Law firms and legal departments need different things.
Their business needs, the drivers that keep the system working, and their integrations differ. We understand that, and design solutions that work for the use case and the customer.
Law firms
The DMS has to keep billable work moving: matters opened from the practice management system, conflicts and ethical walls between clients, time and billing connections, and secure sharing with clients.
Corporate legal departments
The DMS has to fit the business: matters opened from the ELM platform (Onit, Wolters Kluwer, Legal Tracker and others), contracts from CLM, Docusign for signature workflow, Microsoft 365 for collaboration, and retention policies that legal and records both accept.
Design
Matter-centric or client-matter-centric, and the folder structure behind it.
The design decision drives security, search, retention and adoption more than the choice of vendor does.
Matter-centric design
Every document, email and note lives in the matter workspace, which opens and closes with the matter in your ELM or practice management system. Workspace templates keep folder structures consistent across matters.
Client-matter-centric design
Common in law firms, where everything revolves around the client and the case. Content is organized by client, then by case, so access, ethical walls and retention follow the client relationship. Folder and template structure follows the case lifecycle.
Fit
Which tends to fit when.
These are tendencies. Readiness and fit are confirmed on your own content, users and integrations.
NetDocuments tends to fit when
You want a cloud service from day one, Gmail as well as Outlook, a built-in governance and ethical walls model, and AI that sits inside the DMS.
iManage tends to fit when
You want the deepest records and security policy modules, a choice of cloud or on-premises, or you already run iManage and want to build on it.
Moving between them
Moving from one to the other.
We migrate in both directions: workspaces and folders, documents and versions, email, security and ethical walls, and the integrations around the DMS. Most of the work is in cleanup and design, so the new system starts better organized than the old one.
Pricing on each side: NetDocuments pricing and iManage pricing.
Microsoft and enterprise integration
Microsoft-native, and connected to the rest of your systems.
Both NetDocuments and iManage are Microsoft-native products, built to work inside Outlook, Word and Teams. The harder work is connecting the DMS to the other systems a law firm or corporate legal department runs: practice management and ELM, CLM, billing, and records.
Our CIO, Ed Craft, spent 23 years at Microsoft and leads that integration work. Ed and Bob Frostad bring nearly 40 years at Microsoft between them, so the Microsoft 365 decisions come from people who worked on the platform.
One team
Why legal teams bring us in.
01
Readiness and fit
For many clients it is the nuances that separate the vendors. We confirm readiness and fit before you commit.
02
Law firm or legal department
Law firms and in-house legal teams have different business needs, different drivers for keeping the system working, and different integrations. We design for your use case.
03
Design, migration, adoption
Matter-centric or client-matter-centric design, folders and templates, migration, testing, documentation and training adapted to your team.
04
Both platforms
A NetDocuments partner, with professionals who have iManage experience, so the advice is not tied to one answer.
How we help
How we help.
01
Confirm readiness and fit
A readiness assessment and a side-by-side on your own content, users and integrations.
02
Implement either
NetDocuments as a partner, and iManage with professionals who have iManage experience.
03
Migrate
Between them, or from shared drives and legacy systems.
Who you work with
The practitioners who run the comparison.
Bob Frostad
PMO Director & DMS Lead
NetDocuments certified, with 30+ years in IT, 15+ at Microsoft, and a career in document management that runs through Kroll’s document management group. Delivered one of the largest NetDocuments implementations on record, for an organization with local offices in all 50 US states, and leads complex cross-platform data migrations.
Danish Butt
Managing Director
One of the first to bring matter-centric document management to corporate law departments. Has secured, built and run iManage partnerships, holds an ICSE (iManage certified engineer), and has specialized in DMS selection and implementation across insurance, pharmaceutical, high tech, manufacturing, utilities, and oil and gas.
Hassan El Asraoui
CEO & Co-Founder · Information Governance Leader
Leads Swiftwater’s information governance practice, with 30+ years guiding global clients on technology and transformation, including at Kroll. Delivered a DMS to a large global oil and gas company integrated with the matter and eBilling systems.
Ed Craft
Chief Information Officer
30+ years in technology leadership, including 23 years at Microsoft. Azure expert directing technology strategy and AI infrastructure, and leads integration of the DMS with Microsoft 365 and the enterprise systems law firms and legal departments run.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for a corporate legal department, NetDocuments or iManage?
It depends on fit: how cloud-first you are, whether you need Gmail as well as Outlook, how deep your records and security policies go, and which systems the DMS must connect to. For many clients it is the nuances that separate the vendors, so they hire Swiftwater to confirm readiness and fit before they commit.
Is iManage cloud or on-premises?
Both exist. iManage Cloud is iManage’s cloud-native platform, and iManage’s AI runs only in the cloud. Most clients now choose the cloud, for NetDocuments and iManage alike.
Do NetDocuments and iManage integrate with Docusign?
Yes. Both integrate with Docusign, so agreements can move from the DMS to signature and back into the matter without leaving the workflow.
Do NetDocuments and iManage integrate with ELM systems like Onit and Legal Tracker?
Yes. Onit, Wolters Kluwer, Legal Tracker and other ELM platforms integrate with both, so matter workspaces can open and close with the matter.
Can you migrate from iManage to NetDocuments, or the other way?
Yes. We migrate in both directions, including workspaces, folders, versions, email, security and ethical walls, and the integrations around the DMS, with cleanup and design so the new system starts better organized.
Comparing NetDocuments and iManage? Confirm readiness and fit first.
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Part of our document management practice.
Also relevant: Enterprise Legal Management, CLM Implementation, Managed Services