Side by side
LEXinform vs Practical Law
Both stand on tax research software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Choose LEXinform if professional tax research needs a broad collection of legal materials, or if comfort’s additional business coverage fits your work. Look elsewhere if you need LEXchat access as a DATEV education partner or need AI research to cover the full document collection.
Visit LEXinform
Practical Law brings legal guidance, drafting resources, research tools, and jurisdictional content together for professional legal work. New customers can use a free 7-day premium US trial if eligible; existing customers are directed to Thomson Reuters for pricing.
Visit Practical LawThe facts
| LEXinform | Practical Law | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | A free trial |
| Open source | No | Not published |
| Runs on | Android, API, iPhone, Web, Windows | Web |
| Lowest paid plan | See the plans | Not published |
| Plans published | 5 | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | datev.de | uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com |
| On tax research software | #13 of 31 | #17 of 31 |
LEXinform: what it does well
- Classic coverage includes tax law, guidance, case law, and pending proceedings.
- Comfort adds personnel, commercial and civil law, and business administration.
- Search sorts targeted results across content by relevance.
- The DATEV Wissensplattform can query LEXinform, NWB, and Haufe together.
- LEXchat answers include references to the sources used.
What to know first
- Protected documents require DATEV SmartLogin or DATEV mIDentity/SmartCard.
- LEXchat currently covers about 300,000 of roughly 600,000 documents.
- DATEV advises against entering sensitive data into LEXchat.
- LEXinform plus is not approved for DATEV education partners.
Practical Law: what it does well
- Practice notes explain complex legal issues in plain language.
- Matter Maps provide customizable, linked process steps.
- Deep Research produces a supported report.
- Global content covers more than 100 jurisdictions.
- Free 7-day trial requires no credit card.
What to know first
- No free plan.
- Trial is limited to eligible prospects and up to two per year.
- Online pricing is for new customers.
- Support hours vary by weekday chat and phone.
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