Trellis Law Alternatives and Competitors for State Court Search Compared by Price
Trellis just moved its individual plans to 80, 140 and 210 dollars a month, and every one of them still covers a single state. Eight alternatives, what each charges, which courts it reaches, and when staying on Trellis is the right call.
In short
The main Trellis Law alternatives are Docket Alarm, UniCourt, CourtLink, Lex Machina, Westlaw Advantage, PacerMonitor and Docket Navigator. Docket Alarm (99 dollars a user a month across 45+ states) and UniCourt (59 to 399 a month, federal and state together) are the closest like-for-like swaps with published prices. Trellis remains the cheapest deep tool for one state's trial courts at 1,344 dollars a year for Research. None of these docket tools gives you citable appellate authority, which is a separate case law purchase. This is informational research, not legal advice.
How we checked this. Trellis rates come from its own support site, read on 7 October 2026, after confirming an invented page on the same host returns a 404. trellis.law itself blocks automated reads on every path, including one that does not exist, so the support site is the only first-party source. Docket Alarm and PacerMonitor were read on their pricing pages the same day. UniCourt, CourtLink and Westlaw figures come from our dated pricing pages, linked below.
What changed in October 2026
Trellis raised the sticker price and the view allowance together
Most people looking for a Trellis alternative right now are reacting to a renewal notice. The headline numbers did go up: the Research plan moved from 1,099.95 to 1,344 dollars a year, a 22 percent jump. But the same page tripled the Personal allowance and more than doubled the analytics plan's, so on a per-view basis Trellis got cheaper, not dearer.
That matters for the decision. If you were hitting the old 900 view cap, the new plan may fix your problem at a modest premium. If your problem was that Trellis covers one state per plan, nothing changed, and that is the real reason to look elsewhere. The full plan detail stays on our Trellis case search pricing page.
| Plan | Before, read 30 Sep 2026 | Now, read 7 Oct 2026 | Views a year | Yearly cost per view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | 69.95 a month, 649.95 a year | 80 a month, 768 a year | 240 to 720 | 2.71 to 1.07 dollars |
| Research | 129.95 a month, 1,099.95 a year | 140 a month, 1,344 a year | 900 to 1,200 | 1.22 to 1.12 dollars |
| Research and Judge Analytics | 199.95 a month, 1,999.95 a year | 210 a month, 2,016 a year | 900 to 2,100 | 2.22 to 0.96 dollars |
Cost per view is our arithmetic on the yearly price divided by the yearly view allowance. Every individual plan covers one state. Law Firm and Academia plans are quoted by Trellis sales and publish no figure.
Eight tools, one honest card each
What each Trellis competitor charges and covers
Federal and state in one search
PublishedUniCourt
59, 199 or 399 a month
Searching federal and state dockets together without a sales call, if 10 to 200 searches a month is enough
Federal plus state courts in 45+ states
PublishedDocket Alarm
99 a user a month flat, or 39.99 plus usage
Multi-state dockets and alerts at a flat rate, no per-state plan
Federal and state, cross-court search
PublishedCourtLink
294 to 392 a month on top of Lexis+
Firms already paying for Lexis+ that want alerts on new suits
Federal civil plus 100+ enhanced state courts
No priceLex Machina
Quote only
Judge, party and damages analytics at depth, in federal court above all
Case law and Litigation Analytics
PublishedWestlaw Advantage
256.75 to 399.75 a user a month
Firms that want judge analytics inside their main research subscription
Federal only
PublishedPacerMonitor
49, 99 or 499 a month
Federal litigators who were using Trellis mainly for federal dockets
Federal IP and antitrust
PublishedDocket Navigator
From 145 a month, per library
Patent and trademark litigators, where Trellis is thin
Published federal and state case law
PublishedCases
49 a month, or 24 billed yearly
Finding the appellate authority a motion turns on, which no docket tool gives you
Published means the figure is on the vendor's own site or terms schedule. US dollars before tax. Detail and sources: UniCourt pricing, CourtLink pricing, Lex Machina, Westlaw Advantage pricing and our PACER alternatives comparison.
ยง ONE YEAR, ONE LAWYER
What a year of each tool costs one litigator
List prices for one user over twelve months, using the yearly rate where one is published. Usage charges are left out, so Docket Alarm's pay-as-you-go plan and CourtLink's per-document fees are not shown. Lex Machina publishes nothing and is not on the chart.
| Tool | Per year | Reach | To scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cases Starter, yearly (case law, not dockets) | 288 | All states and federal | |
| Docket Alarm Flat-Fee | 1,188 | 45+ states and federal | |
| PacerMonitor Professional | 1,188 | Federal only | |
| Trellis Research, yearly | 1,344 | One state, 1,200 views | |
| UniCourt Professional, yearly | 1,990 | Federal and state, 50 searches a month | |
| Trellis Research and Judge Analytics, yearly | 2,016 | One state, 2,100 views | |
| Westlaw Advantage, single circuit | 3,081 | Research plus Litigation Analytics | |
| CourtLink with Lexis+ Essential | 4,896 to 6,528 | Federal and state dockets plus case law |
Read the chart with the reach column. Trellis Research and Docket Alarm cost almost the same, but one covers a single state with a view cap and the other covers 45+ states with unlimited search on the flat plan. For a lawyer whose cases sit in one county, that difference is irrelevant and Trellis's motion and ruling depth wins. For a regional defense practice, it is the whole decision.
Buy for the job you actually do
Which Trellis alternative fits which kind of practice
Trellis is excellent at one thing: reading what happened in a state trial court, down to the motions a specific judge granted and denied. Most complaints about it come from buyers who needed something adjacent, such as several states, federal alerts, or authority they could cite. Start from the row that describes your week.
| What you need | Trellis | Better fit |
|---|---|---|
| Motions and rulings in one state's trial courts | Its core strength | Stay on Trellis, or Docket Alarm if you need more than one state |
| Dockets in three or more states | One state per individual plan | Docket Alarm, UniCourt, CourtLink |
| Federal dockets and new-suit alerts | Some federal coverage, state first | PacerMonitor, Docket Alarm, CourtLink |
| Judge analytics in federal court | Built for state judges | Lex Machina, Westlaw Litigation Analytics |
| Patent or trademark litigation | Not its focus | Docket Navigator, Lex Machina |
| Authority you can cite in the brief | Trial court orders are rarely precedent | Cases, Westlaw, Lexis+ |
Like for like
Docket Alarm, UniCourt and CourtLink as Trellis competitors
Docket Alarm
The closest swap for a multi-state practice. The Flat-Fee plan is 99 dollars per user per month with unlimited search, and its coverage page lists state courts in more than 45 states plus the federal courts. Depth varies by county, so check yours. Occasional users can take the 39.99 plan and pay 4 dollars a document instead. Our Docket Alarm pricing breakdown shows where the two plans cross.
UniCourt
One search across federal and state courts, priced by searches rather than by state: 59 dollars a month for 10, 199 for 50 and 399 for 200. The catch is that case alerts, analytics and the API sit in the quoted Enterprise tier. We compared the two head to head in UniCourt vs Trellis pricing.
CourtLink
LexisNexis's docket product, sold as a 294 to 392 dollar monthly add-on to a Lexis+ plan. It is the expensive route, and it makes sense mainly for a firm already paying for Lexis+ that wants cross-court search and alerts on new suits against clients. As a standalone Trellis replacement it is hard to justify for one lawyer.
For judge analytics specifically, the comparison is different, because only Trellis publishes a price for it. Lex Machina is quoted per firm and Westlaw bundles Litigation Analytics into Westlaw Advantage at 256.75 dollars a month and up. We set the published and quoted options side by side in judge analytics pricing compared, and the older Lex Machina vs Trellis piece covers the federal and state split.
Before you cancel
When staying on Trellis is the right decision
One state, deep
If nearly all your matters sit in one state, Trellis Research at 1,344 a year is still among the cheapest ways to read motions and rulings by judge. Swapping to a multi-state tool buys reach you will not use.
State judge analytics
Trellis is the only vendor we found that publishes a price for judge analytics, 210 dollars a month. Every alternative with comparable state judge data is quote only or bundled into a far larger subscription.
You hit the old cap
The October change raised allowances to 720, 1,200 and 2,100 views a year. If running out of views was your complaint, the new plan may already solve it without a migration.
What we sell, and what we do not
The other half of a state court motion
Cases is not a docket tool and does not replace Trellis. It answers the other question every motion raises: what have the appellate courts held on this issue? You ask in plain English and read the US federal and state decisions that answer it, each with a citation you can open. Starter is 49 dollars per user per month, or 24 billed yearly, with no sales call.
The pairing is common for a reason. Trellis tells you how Judge X ruled on the last ten motions to compel. A case law search tells you which published decisions you need to cite to win the eleventh. We have no citator, so verify every citation before you file. Solo litigators comparing the research side can start with our guide to legal research for solo practitioners.
How a search works
-
1
Ask the question
Type the issue the way you would put it to a colleague.
-
2
Read the decisions
Federal and state opinions come back with the holding and a citation you can open.
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3
Verify and cite
Check the citation in your citator of choice before it goes into the motion.
Questions buyers ask
Trellis Law alternatives questions
What is an alternative to Trellis Law?
The closest alternatives are Docket Alarm and UniCourt, which both search state trial court dockets and publish their prices. Docket Alarm is 99 dollars a user a month flat across 45+ states, and UniCourt runs 59 to 399 a month for federal and state search together. CourtLink and Lex Machina from LexisNexis are the enterprise options, and PacerMonitor covers federal courts only.
How much does Trellis Law cost now?
Trellis's support site lists Personal at 80 dollars a month or 768 a year, Research at 140 a month or 1,344 a year, and Research with Judge Analytics at 210 a month or 2,016 a year, read on 7 October 2026. Each individual plan covers one state and is metered by annual content views. Law firm and academic plans are quoted by sales.
Did Trellis raise its prices?
Yes. Our reads of the same support page in August and on 30 September 2026 showed 69.95, 129.95 and 199.95 dollars a month. On 7 October 2026 it showed 80, 140 and 210. The view allowance rose at the same time, from 240 to 720 a year on Personal and from 900 to 2,100 on the analytics plan, so the cost per view actually fell.
Is UniCourt better than Trellis?
For multi-state or federal work, usually yes, because one UniCourt search covers federal and state courts together while each Trellis plan is one state. For deep work in one state's trial courts, Trellis is usually better and cheaper: Research is 1,344 a year against 1,990 for UniCourt Professional, and Trellis includes alerts that UniCourt keeps for Enterprise.
Does Docket Alarm cover state courts?
Yes. Docket Alarm's coverage page lists state court coverage in more than 45 states, marked full or partial depending on how many counties are included. It also covers federal courts. Its Flat-Fee plan is 99 dollars per user per month with unlimited search, so it suits a firm whose cases spread across several states.
Is Lex Machina an alternative to Trellis?
Partly. Lex Machina is the stronger tool for judge, party and damages analytics in federal civil litigation and covers 100 or more enhanced state courts, but it publishes no price and is sold per firm, usually alongside a LexisNexis agreement. Trellis is cheaper and deeper on day to day state trial court filings.
Can I use Trellis for more than one state?
Not on an individual plan. Personal, Research and Research with Judge Analytics each cover a single state. Covering several states means a Law Firm plan quoted by Trellis sales, or a tool like Docket Alarm or UniCourt whose published plans are not limited to one state.
Is there a Trellis alternative for case law research?
Yes, and it is a different purchase. Trellis indexes trial court dockets, which are rarely binding precedent. To find the appellate decisions a motion relies on, you need a case law tool such as Cases at 49 dollars a month, or Westlaw and Lexis+ if you also need a citator. Most state court litigators use one of each.
Keep comparing
Related docket and analytics pricing pages
Find the authority your next motion needs.
Ask your legal question in plain English and read the US federal and state opinions it returns, with citations you can open. 49 dollars a month, month to month, no sales call.