Relativity Pricing 2026

Relativity costs $15-30/GB/month for hosting, plus processing, licensing, and support fees that can double the headline number. It's the most powerful e-discovery platform on the market, and also the most expensive when you account for total cost of ownership.

If you're running matters under 100GB, Relativity is probably overkill. If you're handling multi-terabyte litigation for Am Law 100 clients, nothing else scales as reliably. Here's every cost you'll actually encounter, including the ones Relativity's sales team won't lead with.

RelativityOne (Cloud) Pricing Breakdown

RelativityOne is the cloud-hosted version and where Relativity is pushing all new customers. On-premise (Relativity Server) is still available but increasingly positioned as legacy.

Data hosting: $15-30/GB/month depending on volume commitments and contract length. High-volume customers (10TB+) negotiate toward the lower end. Small matters pay closer to $30/GB.

Processing: $25-75/GB for ingestion and processing of native files. Complex file types (databases, encrypted files, non-standard formats) cost more. Processing is typically a one-time cost per data set.

User licensing: - Review users: $75-150/user/month - Analytics users: $100-200/user/month - Admin users: $150-250/user/month - Named users vs. concurrent users pricing available (concurrent is cheaper per-seat but requires volume)

AI features (Relativity aiR): Bundled with RelativityOne at higher tiers, but aiR for Review may require additional per-document or per-GB fees depending on your contract.

Estimated total for a 500GB matter with 20 reviewers over 6 months: - Hosting: $45,000-90,000 - Processing: $12,500-37,500 - User licenses: $9,000-18,000 - Total: $66,500-145,500

Relativity Server (On-Premise) Pricing

Relativity Server is the self-hosted option. You run it on your own infrastructure (or a private cloud like AWS/Azure).

License fees: - Annual server license: $30,000-100,000+ depending on firm size and usage - Per-user licensing on top of server fees - Annual maintenance and support: 18-22% of license cost

Infrastructure costs (your responsibility): - SQL Server licensing: $15,000-50,000/year (Relativity requires SQL Server Enterprise for large deployments) - Server hardware or cloud infrastructure: $3,000-15,000/month depending on matter volume - IT staff or managed services: $5,000-15,000/month for a dedicated admin - Storage: Variable, but plan for $0.50-2.00/GB/month on enterprise storage

When on-premise makes sense: - Your firm processes 10+ TB annually and the per-GB cloud costs add up - Regulatory requirements mandate data stays on your infrastructure - You already have the IT team and infrastructure - Long-term cost projection favors ownership over subscription

When it doesn't: - Your firm handles fewer than 5TB annually - You don't have dedicated IT staff for Relativity administration - You want Relativity's latest AI features (cloud-first releases) - Capital expenditure approval is harder than operational expenditure at your firm

Hidden Costs That Blow Up Budgets

Every Relativity implementation has costs that don't appear in the initial quote:

Training and certification: - Relativity Certified Administrator (RCA) training: $2,000-5,000 per person - You need at least one RCA on staff or on retainer - Annual recertification and continuing education

App Hub applications: - Many essential tools are third-party apps on the Relativity App Hub - Brainspace (analytics): additional per-GB fees - Structured analytics: included in some tiers, additional cost in others - Production tools, redaction tools, translation tools: varies

Data transfer and egress: - Uploading data to RelativityOne: typically free - Downloading/exporting: potential egress fees depending on volume - Productions: per-page or per-document fees from some providers

Professional services: - Complex workspace setup: $5,000-25,000 for initial configuration - Custom workflow development: $200-400/hour - Ongoing managed services: $3,000-10,000/month

The 2x rule: Whatever Relativity quotes for hosting and licensing, budget 2x that amount for total cost of ownership including the items above. Firms consistently underestimate non-hosting costs.

When Relativity Is Overkill (and What to Use Instead)

Relativity is overkill if: - Your matters are consistently under 50GB - You handle fewer than 5 e-discovery matters per year - Your firm has no in-house e-discovery expertise - Budget constraints make the minimum commitment impractical

Better alternatives by scenario:

Small matters (under 50GB): Use DISCO or Logikcull (now Reveal). Simpler interfaces, lower per-GB costs, no admin overhead. DISCO runs $15-25/GB/month with minimal setup.

Mid-size matters (50-500GB): Use Everlaw. More predictable pricing, included user licenses, modern UX. Everlaw typically runs 10-20% cheaper than Relativity at this scale.

Occasional e-discovery needs: Use a managed services provider who runs Relativity for you. You get Relativity's power without the platform commitment. Pay per-matter.

Internal investigations: Consider Nuix for processing-heavy work or Everlaw for review. Relativity works but is heavier than most investigation workflows require.

The break-even point: Relativity starts making economic sense at approximately 2TB+ of annual data volume across multiple active matters. Below that threshold, alternatives deliver better ROI.

Negotiating Your Relativity Contract

Relativity contracts are negotiable. Here's how to get better terms:

Volume commitments: Commit to a minimum annual data volume for lower per-GB rates. If you can guarantee 5TB+, push for sub-$20/GB pricing.

Multi-year terms: 2-3 year commitments unlock significant discounts (15-25% off standard rates). The trade-off is flexibility — you're locked in even if a better tool emerges.

User licensing bundles: Negotiate concurrent user licenses instead of named users if your review teams rotate across matters. This can cut user licensing costs by 30-40%.

Processing credits: Ask for included processing credits with your hosting commitment. Some contracts bundle a processing allowance that covers your typical intake volume.

Timing: Relativity's fiscal year ends in January. Q4 (October-December) is the best time to negotiate — sales teams are more flexible on pricing to hit annual targets.

Leverage Everlaw: Come to the negotiation with an Everlaw quote. Relativity knows Everlaw is their biggest competitive threat. Having a concrete alternative price puts pressure on the deal.

Get everything in writing: Verbal assurances about included features, future pricing, and support levels mean nothing. If it's not in the contract, it doesn't exist.

The Bottom Line: Budget 2x the quoted per-GB price for true Relativity costs — it's worth it for firms processing 2TB+ annually, but Everlaw or DISCO deliver better ROI for everyone else.