CourtListener

7.1easy start · #3 of 31
in Legal Research Software

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you worknot on record

Runs on Web. Paid plans from $10,100/mo.

CourtListener is ranked #3 of 31 in legal research software on The Geeks Club. It runs on Web. There is a free plan. Paid plans start at $10,100/mo.

CourtListener plans and pricing

All plans

Free Tier Non-Members Free 5 docket alerts · unlimited daily opinion search alerts · 5 daily RECAP search alerts · 5 Pray & Pay requests · API 5/minute, 50/hour, 125/day free.law · 1 Oct 2026

Tier 1 $10,100/mo $10/mo or $100/yr unlimited docket alerts · unlimited real-time opinion search alerts · 10 daily RECAP search alerts · 5 real-time RECAP search alerts · 15 Pray & Pay requests · API 10/minute, 75/hour, 300/day free.law · 1 Oct 2026

Tier 2 $25,250/mo $25/mo or $250/yr unlimited docket alerts · unlimited real-time opinion search alerts · 25 daily RECAP search alerts · 10 real-time RECAP search alerts · 15 Pray & Pay requests · API 15/minute, 150/hour, 600/day · $38 shop credits free.law · 1 Oct 2026

Tier 3 $50,500/mo $50/mo or $500/yr unlimited docket alerts · unlimited real-time opinion search alerts · 50 daily RECAP search alerts · 25 real-time RECAP search alerts · 15 Pray & Pay requests · API 20/minute, 250/hour, 1,000/day · $75 shop credits free.law · 1 Oct 2026

Tier 4 $1,001,000/mo $100/mo or $1000/yr unlimited docket alerts · unlimited real-time opinion search alerts · 100 daily RECAP search alerts · 50 real-time RECAP search alerts · 15 Pray & Pay requests · API 25/minute, 300/hour, 1,400/day · $150 shop credits free.law · 1 Oct 2026

Compared on legal research software

Free plan: Yes
Case law search: Yes
Docket search: Yes
Citation tools: Yes
Jurisdiction coverage: U.S. federal and state courts
Research alerts: Yes

Best CourtListener alternatives

See all 20

Fastcase 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 17.4 Indian Kanoon 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 27.2 LegitQuest 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 47.1 Docket Alarm 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 57.0 RECAP 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 66.9 CanLII 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 76.8

The record

Purpose: CourtListener is a free legal research website containing millions of legal opinions from federal and state courts.
Archive: The service is a searchable archive of opinions, oral arguments, judges, judicial financial records, and federal filings.
RECAP: Its RECAP Archive contains nearly every federal case, hundreds of millions of docket entries, and tens of millions of legal documents.
Alerts: CourtListener provides alerts for topics, people, companies, citations, and other monitored searches.
Developer access: Free Law Project provides REST APIs, bulk data files, webhooks, database replication, and an MCP server for CourtListener data.
AI integration: The CourtListener MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI assistants access CourtListener data and APIs directly.
Open source: CourtListener is built on open source technology.
Support: CourtListener help documentation covers donations and memberships, data coverage, developer documentation, content removal, and direct contact support.
Security policy: Free Law Project's vulnerability disclosure policy covers courtlistener.com, its API, alerts, and RECAP extensions, with coordinated disclosure requested for up to 90 days.
Security limitation: The vulnerability disclosure policy states that DNSSEC is not currently planned.
Audience: The project describes CourtListener as serving lawyers, journalists, academics, the public, researchers, and organizations.
Free memberships: EDU memberships are complimentary for faculty, students, and researchers with a valid .edu email address, and LSO memberships are free for qualifying U.S.-based nonprofit legal services organizations.
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: Oakland, California, United States
Price from: $10,100/mo

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Legal Research Software in 2026#3 of 31

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Sources

courtlistener.com· checked 1 Oct 2026
free.law/projects/courtlistener/· checked 1 Oct 2026
wiki.free.law/c/courtlistener/help/api/· checked 1 Oct 2026
courtlistener.com/help/· checked 1 Oct 2026
wiki.free.law/c/terms/free-law-project-vulnerability-· checked 1 Oct 2026
free.law/membership/· checked 1 Oct 2026
courtlistener.com· checked 28 Sept 2026