iManage vs. NetDocuments

Updated: March 12, 2024|In Legal Document Management|By Dennis Dimka

iManage vs. NetDocuments Comparison Chart

Side-by-side comparison of iManage, NetDocuments and LexWorkplace.

Overview

imanage logo

iManage

NetDocuments alternatives logo

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace Logo

LexWorkplace

Cloud Application

iManage

No

NetDocuments

Yes

LexWorkplace

Yes

Organization

iManage

By Project

NetDocuments

By Workspace

LexWorkplace

By Client / Matter

Technical Expertise Required

iManage

High

NetDocuments

Moderate

LexWorkplace

Low

Windows & Mac Support

iManage

Windows Only

NetDocuments

Windows Only

LexWorkplace

Windows and Mac

Storage Included

iManage

Determined by Your Server

NetDocuments

1GB / User

LexWorkplace

1 Terabyte

User Interface

iManage

Dated (Example)

NetDocuments

Cluttered (Example)

LexWorkplace

Clean, Modern (Example)

When considering iManage vs. NetDocuments, consider the unique needs of your law firms and the best legal document management products used by law firms today.

Related:

Migration

imanage logo

iManage

NetDocuments alternatives logo

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace Logo

LexWorkplace

Third-Party Consultant Required

iManage

Yes

NetDocuments

Yes

LexWorkplace

No

Migration Performed By

iManage

Third-Party Reseller

NetDocuments

Third-Party Reseller

LexWorkplace

LexWorkplace Team

Features

imanage logo

iManage

NetDocuments alternatives logo

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace Logo

LexWorkplace

Store & Manage Documents

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Email Management / Outlook Integration

iManage

Outlook for Windows Only

NetDocuments

Outlook for Windows Only

LexWorkplace

Outlook for Windows & Mac

Automatic / Integrated OCR

Built-in OCR for all documents stored in the software

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Full-Text Search

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Document Version Management

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Document Profiling & Tagging

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Document Check-Out / In

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Favorite & Recent Docs

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

One-Click Open, Edit & Save

iManage

Profiling Required for Every Document

NetDocuments

Multiple Steps to Open / Edit / Save

LexWorkplace

Profiling Optional, One-Click Open / Edit / Save

Security

imanage logo

iManage

NetDocuments alternatives logo

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace Logo

LexWorkplace

User & Group Permissions

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Data Encryption in Transit

iManage

Determined by Your Network

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Data Encryption at Rest

iManage

Determined by Your Server

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Native Multi-Factor Authentication

iManage

Requires Third-Party Software

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Built-in Geographic Redundancy

iManage

Determined by Your Network

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Options

imanage logo

iManage

NetDocuments alternatives logo

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace Logo

LexWorkplace

Office 365 Included

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Optional

Additional IT Support

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Optional

Other Legal Software Support

iManage

NetDocuments

LexWorkplace

Optional

Get the Chart:  Compare the leading Document Management software used by law firms today.

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Analysis of Legal Document Management

A Document Management System (DMS) is software that, to varying degrees, helps businesses manage their documents, email and other data.  The scope, features and capabilities of any given Document Management application varies from product to product; though broadly speaking, Document Management software performs the following functions

Core Features

  • Document Storage
  • Document Organization
  • Microsoft Office Integration
  • Email Management
  • Full-Text Search
  • Document Version Management
  • Unique Document ID's
  • Document Tagging / Profiling

Beyond these core DMS features, some Document Management applications provide additional functionality and provide greater security features.  These may include:

Advanced Features

  • Integrated OCR
  • Client Portal / Client Sharing
  • Client/Matter Structure
  • Outlook Integration

Advanced Security

  • User/Group Permissions
  • MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)
  • End-to-End Data Encryption
  • Geographic Data Redundancy

iManage Details

iManage is a long-standing DMS used traditionally by large law firms. Much like Worldox, it’s used in several industries. iManage can be hosted on-premise or on a private cloud. However, it is not a native-cloud application. It is important for you to know that if you want to install iManage to your own private cloud, you’ll need quite a bit of technical knowledge to do it (and a lot of cloud server horsepower).

iManage integrates with Outlook, Microsoft Office, document scanners, and popular document repositories such as Google Drive, OneNote, and Dropbox. The DMS comes with predictive email management. When this feature is enabled, emails are automatically moved to projects based on the content of the email.

iManage Software Reviews - Screen Shot

iManage organizes documents through projects. In those projects, you can place emails, documents, and other matter-related data. Projects appear on the left side of the screen. To search the documents, iManage first indexes them. However, it does not come standard with OCR. Users can also tag documents to make searching for what they need a little bit easier. It is important that users go through the process of filling out the client information, author name, and other pertinent information of each document to make it easier to find it through the search feature.

It also provides a check-in / check-out feature as well as document change alerts. These features can make managing and collaborating documents easier. Much like Worldox, when a document is checked-out, other users can still read the document, but they cannot change it. Document change alerts are helpful because they can be set to notify someone anytime a change is made to a document.

NetDocuments Details

NetDocuments is a web-based document management option that gives law firms the ability to store, organize, and manage documents. NetDocuments is used by and made for the medical, financial, and legal industries. Users can work together on documents stored in the program. Documents are organized by workspace. For example, if your law firm has five lawyers, each lawyer could be assigned a workspace. The documents used by each individual lawyer would be stored within their workspace. Their legal support staff would access the proper workstation to work on matters. NetDocuments has a mobile app available for both iOS and Android devices.

For law firms that wish to have a digital document management that integrates with Microsoft Office and Outlook, they will need to purchase the ndOffice and ndMail add-ons.

NetDocuments Review - Screen Shot

This concludes our analysis of iManage vs. NetDocuments.  If your law firm is evaluating legal document management products, we hope you found this information useful.

Looking for Document Management Software?

LexWorkplace:

Modern Document Management for Law Firms

LexWorkplace is document & email management software, born in the cloud and built for law firms.  Here’s a quick primer on how it works.

Organize by Client & Matter

Organize documents, email and notes by client or matter. Store and manage all data for a case or project in one place.

lexworkplace-matter-centric

Go Beyond Basic Files & Folders

Supercharge your firm’s productivity with true DMS functions.

  • Version Management
  • Document Tagging & Profiling
  • Document Check-Out / Check-In
  • Microsoft Office Integration
  • Automatic, Integrated OCR
  • Convert Word Docs to PDF
Document Properties

Search Everything

LexWorkplace is like Google for your law firm.  Search across millions of pages, documents, folder email and notes in seconds. Refine your search by matter, document type, author and more.

Search-2021

Search by…

  • Client or Matter
  • Document Type (Contract, Complaint, Order, etc.)
  • Document Status (Draft, Final, etc.)
  • Document Tags (Filed With Court, Fully Executed, etc.)

Outlook Integration + Comprehensive Email Management

Save emails to a matter without leaving Outlook. Saved emails are accessible to your entire team, organized and searchable.

lx-email-mgmt
  • Outlook Add-In that Works With Windows and Macs
  • Save Entire, Original Email to a Matter in a LexWorkplace
  • Email De-Duplication
  • Organize Emails into Folders, Subfolders

Works with Windows and Macs

All of LexWorkplace is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers.

What Clients Say

Lawyers love LexWorkplace.  See how the system streamlined one lawyer’s practice.

Watch the 5-Minute Demo

See LexWorkplace in action in our quick 5-minute overview and demonstration.

Or, if you want a one-on-one demo, or want to talk about LexWorkplace for your firm, schedule a call or demo below.

Schedule a Demo