Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

The eDiscovery Pricing Survey

The eDiscovery Pricing Survey is a non-scientific and non-comprehensive survey designed to provide general insight into eDiscovery pricing as shared by individuals working in the eDiscovery ecosystem. The survey 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 by ComplexDiscovery primarily via direct email invitations.

Winter 2019 Survey Results

The winter 2019 survey response period was initiated on December 3, 2018, and closed on December 11, 2018, with 68 respondents participating in this initial eDiscovery Pricing Survey.

While individual respondent answers to the pricing survey are confidential, the anonymized aggregate results of the 15 question multiple-choice survey are published below without commentary. These results highlight eDiscovery pricing on selected collection, processing, and review tasks as seen by survey respondents in the winter of 2019.


eDiscovery Pricing Survey Questions (Required)

n=68 Respondents

Collection Pricing

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

  • Less than $250 per hour. 20.6%
  • Between $250 and $350 per hour. 58.8%
  • Greater than $350 per hour. 7.4%
  • Do not know. 13.2%
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?

  • Less than $250 per device. 16.2%
  • Between $250 and $350 per device. 29.4%
  • Greater than  $350 per device. 33.8%
  • Do not know. 20.6%
Collection Pricing_ Per Device Cost for a Collection by a Forensic Examiner

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

  • Less than $350 per hour. 22.1%
  • Between $350 and $550 per hour. 52.9%
  • Greater than $550 per hour. 2.9%
  • Do not know. 22.1%
Collection Pricing_ Per Hour for Analysis and Expert Witness Support from a Forensic Examiner

 Processing Pricing

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

  • Less than $25 per GB. 36.8%
  • Between $25 and $75 per GB. 39.7%
  • Greater than $75 per GB. 19.1%
  • Do not know. 4.4%
Processing Pricing_ Per GB Cost to Process ESI Based on Volume at Ingestion

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

  • Less than $100 per GB. 35.3%
  • Between $100 and $150 per GB. 33.8%
  • Greater than $150 per GB. 14.7%
  • Do not know. 16.2%
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?

  • Less than $10 per GB per month. 25.0%
  • Between $10 and $20 per GB per month. 51.4%
  • Greater than $20 per GB per month. 16.2%
  • Do not know. 7.4%
Processing Pricing_ Per GB Cost Per Month to Host ESI without Analytics – Update

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

  • Less than $15 per GB per month. 26.5%
  • Between $15 and $25 per GB per month. 30.9%
  • Greater than $25 per GB per month. 32.3%
  • Do not know. 10.3%
Processing Pricing_ Per GB Cost Per Month to Host ESI with Analytics – Update

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

  • Less than $50 per user per month. 20.6%
  • Between $50 and $100 per user per month. 63.2%
  • Greater than $100 per user per month. 8.8%
  • Do not know. 7.4%
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?

  • Less than $100 per hour. 5.9%
  • Between $100 and $200 per hour. 61.8%
  • Greater than $200 per hour. 27.9%
  • Do not know. 4.4%
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?

  • Less than $75 per GB. 38.2%
  • Between $75 and $150 per GB. 33.8%
  • Greater than $150 per GB. 3.0%
  • Do not know. 25.0%
Review Pricing_ Per GB Cost to Conduct Predictive Coding in a Technology-Assisted Review – Update

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

  • Less than $25 per hour. 0.0%
  • Between $25 and $40 per hour. 48.5%
  • Greater than $40 per hour. 35.3%
  • Do not know. 16.2%
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?

  • Less than $0.50 per document. 7.4%
  • Between $0.50 and $1.00 per document. 38.2%
  • Great than $1.00 per document. 19.1%
  • Do not know. 35.3%
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?

  • North America – United States – 91.2%
  • North America – Canada – 4.4%
  • Asia/Asia Pacific – 1.5%
  • Europe – United Kingdom – 2.9%
  • Europe – Non-UK – 0.0%
  • Central/South America – 0.0%
  • Middle East/Africa – 0.0%
Survey Respondents by Geographic Region

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

  • Software and/or Services Provider – 29.4%
  • Law Firm – 38.2%
  • Consultancy – 19.1%
  • Government Entity – 7.4%
  • Corporation – 4.4%
  • Media/Research Organization/Educational Association – 1.5%
Survey Respondents by Organizational Segment

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

  • Legal/Litigation Support – 76.5%
  • Business/Business Support (All Other Business Functions) – 19.1%
  • IT/Product Development -4.4%
Survey Respondents by Primary Function

Additional Research

Source: ComplexDiscovery

* eDiscovery Pricing Index: A normalized average of price relative to a set of twelve eDiscovery offerings (eDiscovery Market Basket) for a given interval of time.

 

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