The Semi-Annual eDiscovery Pricing Survey

Based on the complexity of data and legal discovery, it is a continual challenge to fully understand what is representative of industry-standard pricing for the delivery of eDiscovery products and services. With this challenge in mind, the semi-annual eDiscovery Pricing Survey is designed to provide insight into eDiscovery pricing through the lens of 15 specific questions answered by legal, business, security, and information professionals operating in the eDiscovery ecosystem. The survey was first administered in December of 2018 and has been conducted three times during the last calendar year with 229 individual responses.

Survey Background

The eDiscovery Pricing Survey is a non-scientific and non-comprehensive survey and consists of 15 multiple choice questions focused on information and metrics related to eDiscovery pricing for collection, processing, and review tasks. The survey is open to legal, business, security, and information technology professionals operating in the eDiscovery ecosystem and individuals are invited to participate semi-annually primarily by direct email invitation from ComplexDiscovery and leading industry educational partners to include the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) and the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM).

Aggregate Results

While individual respondent answers to the pricing survey are confidential, the anonymized aggregate results for all previously administered surveys are published below without commentary. These results highlight eDiscovery pricing on selected collection, processing, and review tasks as seen by survey respondents since the inception of the survey in December of 2018. The aggregate results of all surveys as shared in comparative charts may be helpful for understanding pricing and its impact on purchasing behavior on selected services over time.


Comparative Charts: A Look at Three Surveys

n=229 Respondents (Aggregate All Surveys)

Collection Pricing

1. What is the per hour cost for a collection by a forensic examiner?

1 – Collection Pricing – Per Hour Cost for a Collection by a Forensic Examiner


2. What is the per device cost for a collection by a forensic examiner?

2 – Collection Pricing – Per Device Cost for a Collection by a Forensic Examiner – 2020


3. What is the per hour cost for analysis and expert witness support by a forensic examiner?

3 – Collection Pricing – Per Hour Cost for Analysis and Expert Witness Support from a Forensic Examiner – 2020 – Update


 Processing Pricing

4. What is the per GB cost to process electronically stored information based on volume at ingestion?

4 – Processing Pricing – Per GB Cost to Process ESI Based on Volume at Ingestion – 2020


5. What is the per GB cost to process electronically stored information based on volume at completion of processing?

5 – Processing Pricing_ Per GB Cost to Process ESI Based on Volume at Completion of Processing


6. What is the per GB per month cost to host electronically stored information without analytics?

6 – Processing Pricing – Per GB Cost Per Month to Host ESI without Analytics – 2020


7. What is the per GB per month cost to host electronically stored information with analytics?

7 – Processing Pricing – Per GB Cost Per Month to Host ESI with Analytics


8. What is the user license fee per month for access to hosted data?

8 – Processing Pricing – User License Fee Per Month for Access to Hosted Data


9. What is the per hour cost of project management support for eDiscovery?

9 – Processing Pricing – Per Hour Cost of Project Management Support for eDiscovery


Review Pricing

10.  What is the per GB cost to conduct predictive coding as part of technology-assisted review during the document review phase of eDiscovery?

10 – Review Pricing – Per GB Cost to Conduct Predictive Coding in a Technology-Assisted Review


11. What is the cost per hour for document review attorneys to review documents during the review phase of eDiscovery?

11 – Review Pricing – Per Hour Cost for Document Review Attorneys to Review Documents


12. What is the cost per document for document review attorneys to review documents during the review phase of eDiscovery?

12 – Review Pricing – Per Document Cost for Document Review Attorneys to Review Documents


Background Information

13. In which geographical region do you primarily conduct eDiscovery-related business?

13 – Survey Respondents by Geographic Region


14. Which of the following segments best describes your business in eDiscovery?

14 – Survey Respondents by Organizational Segment


15. What area best describes your primary function in the conduct of your organization’s eDiscovery business?

15 – Survey Respondents by Primary Function


Past eDiscovery Pricing Surveys

Additional Research

Source: ComplexDiscovery

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