The comparison
| Tool | Main job | Who it's built for | Published pricing | Before you rely on this |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spellbook | Contract review, drafting, benchmarks and playbooks in Word; Associate agent for multi-document matters | Law firms and in-house teams | None; pricing is custom and set by the number of team members on a license; "Start Free Trial" (7 days) and "Book a Demo" | Customer-count and time-saved claims, which tier includes Associate, certifications |
| LexisNexis Protégé | AI assistant for research, drafting and analysis in Lexis+, Protégé for Word and Outlook, and other LexisNexis products | Small and large law firms, corporate legal, government, courts and law schools | None on the page; "Request a trial" | Which Protégé product and tier you actually get, source coverage, how drafting differs by product |
Prices and products change. Check each vendor's page before you decide.
Who each is for
Spellbook. The vendor's pricing page sets out a Word Add-In (Review, Draft, Ask, Benchmarks, Playbooks) and Associate, described as an agent that works through multi-document legal matters with your oversight. It is narrow on purpose: contract work in the documents you already use. Our Spellbook profile, Spellbook pricing page and Is Spellbook worth it have more.
LexisNexis Protégé. The vendor calls Protégé "the trusted AI assistant that powers legal work and business intelligence across LexisNexis solutions". Its page lists drafting, summaries, document analysis in a Vault, and verification of linked sources with Shepard's. It is a family of products, not one tool, so "Protégé" can mean research in Lexis+, drafting in Word or analytics in other LexisNexis products. See our Lexis+ AI profile and Lexis+ AI pricing page.
Where they overlap. Both work in Word and both draft. The difference to test is source grounding: Protégé ties answers to LexisNexis content and your organization's documents; Spellbook's page centers on contract playbooks and benchmarks. Spellbook's own pages do not describe legal research.
Pricing, as shown on October 28, 2026
- Spellbook: its pricing page shows no amounts. It says pricing is set by the number of team members on a license, with custom quotes, a 7-day free trial and free access for academic institutions.
- LexisNexis Protégé: its product page shows no price; the call to action is "Request a trial". See our Lexis+ AI pricing page for what is known beyond the vendor page.
Before you rely on this
- Prices for either product: ask each vendor for a written quote and for what is included in the quoted tier.
- Security: Spellbook lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and CCPA with zero data retention agreements. The Protégé page we read does not list certifications, so ask LexisNexis for its security documentation for the exact product you would buy.
- Integrations: Protégé's page lists Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams, Outlook and Copilot, plus connections to iManage, SharePoint, OpenText and Google Drive. Spellbook's integration list is on its home page, not its pricing page; confirm yours is covered.
- Customer-count claims on Spellbook's pricing page: the page gives no method, so we repeat none.
- Which jurisdictions and contract types each handles well: test on your own templates.
How we'd test the two in a week
- Pick five contracts you've already reviewed, with known issues, in the types you handle most.
- Run the same review in each tool inside Word and note what each flags, misses or invents.
- Draft one clause from your playbook position in each and compare to your own wording.
- Ask a research question that needs a cited authority and check every citation by hand.
- Ask each vendor for security documentation, data retention terms and a written quote.
Sources
- Spellbook pricing page (page read October 28, 2026) (Vendor claims; products, 7-day free trial, per-license custom pricing, security, no amounts)
- LexisNexis Protégé page (page read October 28, 2026) (Vendor claims; products, Microsoft 365 integrations, document system connections, Request a trial, no price)
Questions and answers
Spellbook vs Lexis+ AI: which is better for contracts?
We haven't tested either, so we can't rank them. Spellbook is built around contract review and drafting in Word. Protégé is a wider family that adds research grounded in LexisNexis sources. Test both on your own contracts.
Does Spellbook have a free trial?
Its pricing page offers a 7-day free trial and a demo, read October 28, 2026. LexisNexis offers "Request a trial" for Protégé.
How much does Spellbook cost compared with Lexis+ AI?
Neither page shows a price. Spellbook says pricing depends on the number of team members on a license; LexisNexis points to a trial request. See our Spellbook pricing page and Lexis+ AI pricing page.
Do Spellbook and Protégé work in Microsoft Word?
Yes, by their own pages: Spellbook has a Word Add-In, and LexisNexis lists Protégé for Word and Protégé for Outlook.
Is Protégé the same as Lexis+ AI?
LexisNexis now names its AI assistant Protégé and sells it as Lexis+ with Protégé and in other products. For the vendor's current naming, check its page.
Operational information, not legal advice. Tool descriptions are each vendor's own claims, read October 28, 2026; we did not test any product. Prices change; check the vendor page before you decide.