Workflow Comparison · Federal ECF vs. State Portals
CourtDrive vs. ConnectMyDocket: self-serve federal ECF vs. done-for-you state court filing.
Short answer: CourtDrive (`courtdrive.com`, starting at $35 to $140/mo billed annually on its 1 to 2 attorney tier) is a self-serve docketing app that processes federal PACER/CM-ECF and supported state eNotices with custom naming, AI calendaring and app uploads. ConnectMyDocket (from $500/mo) is a done-for-you morning filing service focused on state trial court portals like Los Angeles Superior Court (Court Connect, Live, where the court portal must be checked directly) and New York Supreme Court (NYSCEF, First firms setting up).
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | CourtDrive | ConnectMyDocket |
|---|---|---|
| Primary court workflow | Built around federal PACER / CM-ECF eNotices and supported state eNotices (self-serve software). | Built for state trial court portals where staff log in or receive notices: LA Superior Court (Court Connect, Live) and NY Supreme Court (NYSCEF, First firms setting up). Federal PACER planned. |
| How documents are retrieved | Processes eNotice emails (such as federal ECF free-look links) and runs PACER queries. | Logs in with the firm’s authorized portal credentials every weekday morning to check active case numbers (and ingests court notices where supported). |
| Setup and naming-rule maintenance | Self-serve software with custom filename/folder rules, AI calendaring, approval queue and no-code integrations configured by the firm (250 monthly app uploads included on Pro/Elite; $0.15 per extra upload). | Done-for-you service: we configure your matter list, folder structure and custom naming convention during onboarding and compare against your team’s filing. |
| Ambiguous folder handling | Rule-based upload mapping managed inside the CourtDrive app. | Never guesses a folder. Holds ambiguous documents and asks one question under Needs your input in the 7:00 AM email. |
| Published pricing | 1 to 2 attorney tier displays $35 to $140/month billed annually ($420 to $1,680/yr, up to 3 users; scales by attorney count up to 16 attorneys). | From $500 a month for the firm, depending on the number of active matters watched (unlimited users and attorney logins). |
Questions about CourtDrive and ConnectMyDocket
- When is CourtDrive the better fit vs. ConnectMyDocket?
- If your practice is primarily federal litigation or bankruptcy on PACER/CM-ECF and you want a low-cost self-serve tool for 1 to 3 users to capture federal eNotice free looks, CourtDrive ($35 to $140 a month) is built for that workflow. If your bottleneck is state court portals like Los Angeles Superior Court (Court Connect) or New York NYSCEF and you want a done-for-you morning filing service mapped to your exact folder structure, ConnectMyDocket is built for that.
- Does ConnectMyDocket charge per user or per PDF upload?
- No. ConnectMyDocket is priced by active matters watched (starting from $500 a month), with unlimited users, unlimited attorney portal logins and no per-upload overage fees.
See it on a morning like yours.
Tell us which court portal you check and where your case folders live. We will walk through a real morning run and show how your firm's naming rules and folder structure map over.
Bring the person who downloads and files documents today.
Prefer email? Write to frank@connectmydocket.com.