Advisor, head to head

Briefi vs Clio

Clio is legal practice management: the matter is its unit, and its AI works on the matter record, pulling deadlines from court documents, drafting invoices and writing letters from case activity. Briefi is built around the person in the room instead. It briefs you before the client meeting, writes up what was decided afterwards, collects documents and gets instructions and engagement letters signed, and it is not matter software. A firm that needs matters, deadlines and billing should start with Clio. A firm that already has those and loses track of what clients said and what they owe could add Briefi beside it.

ReviewedLast reviewed 16 October 2026. Clio facts checked 16 October 2026

Choose Clio if

You want one system for matters, tasks, calendar events and expenses2
You want deadlines lifted out of court documents into events and tasks2
You want invoices drafted and routed for approval inside the matter2

Choose Briefi if

You want a brief before each client meeting and a recap with owned actions after it
You want instructions forms and engagement letters signed on the client’s own record
You want requests for documents tracked, with what is still outstanding in view

At a glance

Briefi Advisor and Clio, side by side

What each does today. Every Clio row cites the page and the day we read it, and a page that is silent is left unscored.

Briefi Advisor compared with Clio, by feature group
The matter
	Briefi AdvisorPlans from A$49 a month	Clio
Setting up a new matter	Briefi AdvisorNo mattersBriefi keeps a client record, not a matter file, with the meeting and what is owed on it	ClioYesIts AI creates tasks, notes, events and expenses and suggests file names when a matter is set up2
Deadlines from court documents	Briefi AdvisorNoActions come from the meeting recap, each with an owner	ClioYesIt extracts deadlines from court documents into calendar events and tasks, with a side-by-side view of the source2
Drafting invoices	Briefi AdvisorNo billingBriefi has no time recording, legal billing or trust accounting	ClioYesIt drafts invoices and routes them for approval2
The client conversation
Meeting recording and recaps	Briefi AdvisorYesZoom, Teams and Google Meet calls, the browser, or a face-to-face recording	ClioNot stated on the page we readThe AI page names no feature that records or transcribes a client meeting2
Summarising long documents	Briefi AdvisorMeetings onlyBriefi summarises the meeting, not the documents in a file	ClioYesIts AI summarises long documents2
Drafting a client update	Briefi AdvisorFrom the meetingThe follow-up is drafted from the recap and sent from your own mailbox	ClioFrom case activityIt drafts letters and client updates based on activity in the matter2
Data
Where AI processing runs	Briefi AdvisorOverseas providersData is stored in Sydney. AI and transcription use providers overseas, and the Security page lists each of them	ClioNot stated on the page we readThe page says data is never used to train external models, and names no region for Australian firms2

Yes, todayPartly, or on another planNoNot stated

Clio holds the matter. Briefi holds the conversation. We read two Clio pages, so signing, intake and export are not compared here, which is not a statement that Clio lacks them.

One client, start to finish

A new client engages the firm and the matter opens. Each step is the same moment in each product. Clio’s cells report only what its AI page said when read on 16 October 2026, and where the page said nothing about a step the cell says so.

1
Open the matter
Clio
When a new matter is set up, its AI creates tasks, notes, events and expenses and recommends file names.2
Briefi
Briefi opens no matter. The client gets a record, and a short form built from your own Word or PDF can ask why they have come before you meet.
2
Take instructions
Clio
The AI page names no feature that records or transcribes a client meeting.2
Briefi
The brief is ready before the call. The recap that follows separates what the client told you from what you advised, and gives each action an owner.
3
Track the court dates
Clio
Deadlines are extracted from court documents into events and tasks, each with a source view alongside.2
Briefi
Briefi does not read court documents. It tracks what each side agreed to do, as owned actions from the recap.
4
Keep the client informed
Clio
It drafts letters and client updates from case activity and summarises long documents.2
Briefi
The follow-up draft comes from the meeting itself. You edit it and send it from your own mailbox, and you choose what appears on the client’s portal.
5
Bill the work
Clio
Invoices are drafted and routed for approval.2
Briefi
Not in Briefi. It has no time recording, legal billing or trust accounting, and it does not take payments from your clients today.

Where Clio wins

When Clio is the better choice

If one of these decides it, Clio is probably the stronger choice today.

Matter

A system built around the matter

Clio’s AI page describes AI that works inside the matter record, setting up tasks, notes and events when a matter opens. Briefi does not run matters, trust accounting or time recording.2

Deadlines

Court deadlines pulled from the paper

Clio reads court documents, turns the deadlines into calendar events and tasks, and shows the source beside each so a person can check it. Briefi does not read court documents.2

Billing

Invoices drafted with approval routing

Clio drafts invoices and routes them for approval. Briefi has no time recording or legal billing.2

Standalone AI

Clio Work for documents and case files

Clio describes a separate product for analysing documents and case files, drafting memos, applications and client communications, and connecting to Clio Manage. We did not confirm whether it covers Australian law.2

Where Briefi is different

What the client actually said.

A matter file shows what the firm did. The client’s side of it lives in the room, and that is where Briefi works.

A brief before the instructions meetingMeetings
Before you take instructions, the brief shows where the matter stands, what the next step is and who owes it, with what the client told you kept apart from what you advised. The recap afterwards lists decisions and actions with an owner.
Forms and letters signed by the right peopleSign
An instructions form or engagement letter starts from the Word or PDF you already use. Each person signs on their own link or together on one device, a second signer confirms with a code sent to their own address, and a named member of your firm countersigns.
What is still owed, on both sidesAdvisor
A document request goes to the client, or by upload link to a third party, and your team accepts or waives each item. Open actions for the firm and for the client sit together on the client record.

Identity checks are not available in Briefi yet, and it has no conflict checks, trust accounting or matter diary. More connections are rolling out progressively; today it connects to Google, Microsoft 365 and CalDAV calendars and to ten CRMs.

How the whole record fits together is on the Advisor page.

Pricing

Pricing compared

Clio sells four plans and two add-ons. Briefi is priced by the plan rather than the person. We could not tie Clio’s starting figure to a currency from the page we read, so we show no figure and leave you to check its pricing page.

Advisor Solo

From A$49 a month

100 form requests per user each month
8 capture hours each month
Monthly or annual billing

Figures from Briefi’s live price list

Clio

From Four plans, from EasyStart to Elite; see their pricing page for the figures

Plans: EasyStart, Core, Signature and Elite
Add-ons: Clio Grow and Clio Draft
Its page says prices are per user, per month; we have not quoted the figure because the page did not label a currency in the text we read

Checked on 16 October 2026. Source 1

Briefi prices are in AUD and are read from the same price list as the pricing page, so they change when it does.

Questions

Briefi and Clio, asked often

Does Briefi replace Clio?

No. Clio runs the matter, the deadlines and the billing. Briefi covers the client meeting, requests for documents and signing around them.

Can a firm use both?

Yes. Matter management stays in Clio and the client conversation lives in Briefi. They are not connected yet. Contacts in Briefi come from calendar attendees or are added by hand, and Briefi’s public API lets another tool read its contacts and meetings.

Does Briefi track court deadlines?

No. It tracks actions agreed in meetings, each with an owner. Court dates belong in your matter software.

Where does Briefi keep a client’s file?

In Sydney, with some processing by providers overseas that the Security page lists. Sensitive text is encrypted under a key held for the workspace.

Does Briefi record meetings?

Yes. It joins calls on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, records in the browser, or records face to face with consent asked first, then writes the recap.

Try it

Run one new client through a brief, a recap and a signed form.

Start free trial Advisor Solo from A$49 a month

Sources and review

Last reviewed 16 October 2026. Facts about Clio come from its own published pages on the dates shown. Each product named here is a trademark of its owner, and Briefi is not affiliated with them.

How we checked

6 sources cited, and 2 competitor pages read. Next review due 15 January 2027.

Seen something out of date? Write to support@briefi.sh and we will check it.

1Clio, Australian pricing. https://www.clio.com/au/pricing/ Checked 16 October 2026.
2Clio, legal AI software. https://www.clio.com/au/features/legal-ai-software/ Checked 16 October 2026.

Briefi’s own pages

B1briefi.sh/for/lawyers. https://briefi.sh/for/lawyers
B2briefi.sh/advisor. https://briefi.sh/advisor
B3briefi.sh/sign. https://briefi.sh/sign
B4briefi.sh/security. https://briefi.sh/security