Image: Rob Robinson, ComplexDiscovery with AI.
[EDRM Editor’s Note: This article was first published here on March 20, 2025, and EDRM is grateful to Rob Robinson, editor and managing director of Trusted Partner ComplexDiscovery, for permission to republish.]
ComplexDiscovery Editor’s Note: The Winter 2025 eDiscovery Pricing Report from ComplexDiscovery OÜ marks another milestone in a long-standing commitment to delivering actionable insights to legal, compliance, and technology professionals. Conducted in partnership with the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), this thirteenth edition provides essential benchmarking data across forensic, processing, hosting, and review services. New to this release is a deeper exploration of Generative AI-assisted review models, offering a timely look at how innovation is reshaping pricing structures. As the market evolves under the influence of AI, regulatory shifts, and economic pressures, this report serves as a vital resource for professionals preparing for the next stage of eDiscovery’s transformation.
In a year marked by technological innovation and market adaptation, the Winter 2025 eDiscovery Pricing Survey from ComplexDiscovery OÜ and the Electronic Discovery Reference Model provides a timely snapshot of pricing trends and practices shaping the global eDiscovery landscape. Now in its thirteenth edition, the semi-annual survey continues to serve as a critical benchmarking tool for eDiscovery professionals assessing market rates for essential services, including collection, processing, and review.
As the market evolves under the influence of AI, regulatory shifts, and economic pressures, this report serves as a vital resource for professionals preparing for the next stage of eDiscovery’s transformation.
Rob Robinson, Editor and Managing Director of ComplexDiscovery.
An Expanding eDiscovery Market Driven by Complexity and Technology
As the global eDiscovery market expands—projected to grow from $16.89 billion in 2024 to $25.11 billion by 2029 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.25%—the need for transparent, data-driven pricing insights has never been more pressing. This growth is driven by rising data complexity, evolving global regulations, and the increasing adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based solutions.
Introducing GenAI-Assisted Review: Pricing Models and Market Readiness
In response to these industry shifts, the Winter 2025 edition introduces new survey questions designed to assess Generative AI-assisted review pricing models. These questions explore preferred pricing models, cost expectations broken down by document and GB tiers, outcome-based pricing structures, and the handling of documents requiring special processing. By incorporating these elements, the survey aims to provide a practical, real-world benchmark for legal, compliance, and technology professionals navigating the complexities of AI-driven eDiscovery.
Who Participated? A Global and Diverse Professional Snapshot
The survey, which collected responses from participants primarily located in North America and Europe, reflects a wide diversity of professional backgrounds. A significant majority (85.2%) of respondents were based in the US, with additional input from Canada (4.9%), Europe (6.6%), Asia Pacific, and the Middle East/Africa. Most respondents identified as working within law firms (32.8%), software and service providers (29.5%), and corporate legal departments (18%), with smaller but important representation from consultancies (8.2%), media, research, and educational organizations (8.2%), and governmental entities (3.3%). In terms of primary functions, 72.1% of respondents were focused on legal and litigation support, while 26.2% worked in business or business support roles and 1.6% in IT or product development.
Forensic Collection and Analysis: Rates Hold Steady in a Shifting Landscape
The findings on forensic collection services suggest stability in market rates, with onsite forensic examiner rates most frequently reported between $250 and $350 per hour. Remote collection services follow a similar trend, though with a slight shift towards lower-cost structures as remote options become more mainstream. Desktop and laptop device collections continue to show a preference for pricing above $350 per device, while mobile device collections follow this same trend but also reflect a modest concentration in the $250 to $350 per device range.
When addressing forensic analysis and expert witness support, the data points to consistency within the $350 to $550 per hour range for investigation, analysis, and report generation services. Rates for expert witness testimony mirrored these findings, although a significant portion of respondents indicated costs surpassing the $550 threshold, suggesting premium pricing for specialized or expert-level testimony.
Ingestion to Hosting: Continued Pressure on Data Management Pricing
In the domain of processing and hosting electronically stored information, the survey confirms a continued downward pressure on pricing. At the ingestion stage, most respondents cited processing rates under $25 per GB, while post-processing costs predominantly fell below $100 per GB. Hosting costs, both with and without analytics, revealed strong competition in the marketplace, with a majority of respondents reporting prices below $10 per GB/month for basic hosting and below $15 per GB/month when analytics were included. Additionally, user license fees for hosted data tended to cluster in the $50 to $100 per user per month range, reflecting industry norms.
Review Models and Project Management: Diverging Costs and Evolving Approaches
Project management support in eDiscovery remains a crucial but varied service. Half of the respondents reported hourly rates between $100 and $200, although over one-third reported project management rates exceeding $200 per hour.
In the area of review pricing, the survey found that predictive coding services saw widespread adoption of alternative pricing models, reflecting a shift toward customized pricing structures aligned with evolving client needs.
Document review pricing also shows some divergence between onsite and remote models. For onsite managed reviews, nearly half of the respondents reported attorney hourly rates exceeding $40, while remote-managed review costs were more evenly split, with most rates falling between $25 and $40 per hour. On a per-document basis, onsite reviews saw a majority leaning toward rates above $1.00 per document, whereas remote reviews showed a greater balance between the $0.50 to $1.00 and above $1.00 tiers.
GenAI-Assisted Review: Early Trends and Pricing Uncertainty
The survey’s exploration of GenAI-assisted review models reveals a market still in flux. Per document pricing emerged as the most common model, although nearly a third of respondents indicated unfamiliarity or lack of adoption of GenAI-assisted services. Likewise, more than half of respondents were unable to report standard pricing for GenAI services on a per-document or per-GB basis, highlighting the early stages of market adoption. Where pricing was provided, the most common per-document costs ranged from $0.26 to $0.50, while per-GB pricing largely remained undefined.
Outcome-based pricing for GenAI-assisted review was similarly underdeveloped, with most respondents indicating uncertainty. Among those reporting structured models, custom agreements tied to specific project goals emerged as the most common approach. Furthermore, pricing considerations for documents requiring special handling or those that failed to process also showed a lack of consistency, with nearly half of respondents unsure how such cases are handled under existing pricing models.
A Benchmarking Legacy: Tracking eDiscovery Pricing Since 2019
This thirteenth edition of the survey builds on a strong historical foundation. Since Winter 2019, ComplexDiscovery OÜ has collected insights from 959 participants across all surveys, including 68 respondents in Winter 2019, peaking at 105 in Summer 2020 and Summer 2021, and stabilizing at 61 respondents for the most recent Summer 2024 and Winter 2025 editions.
Looking Ahead: Pricing Strategies for an AI-Driven Future
In closing, the Winter 2025 eDiscovery Pricing Survey illuminates a market at the crossroads of tradition and innovation. While standard pricing structures for forensic, processing, hosting, and review services remain relatively consistent, the landscape for GenAI-assisted review is still taking shape. This uncertainty presents both a challenge and an opportunity as organizations refine their pricing strategies to align with the growing influence of AI-driven solutions.
As the survey underscores, the story of eDiscovery pricing in 2025 is not just about rates and models—it’s about readiness. Are organizations prepared to evolve their pricing frameworks to meet the demands of a future where GenAI and other emerging technologies play a central role? The market’s answer to that question will define the next chapter in eDiscovery pricing.
Winter 2025 eDiscovery Pricing Survey Responses
n=61 Respondents
Collection Pricing
- What is the per hour cost for an onsite collection by a forensic examiner?
- What is the per hour cost for a remote collection by a forensic examiner?
- What is the per device cost for a desktop or laptop computer collection by a forensic examiner?
- What is the per device cost for a mobile device collection by a forensic examiner?
- What is the per hour cost for investigation, analysis, and report generation by a forensic examiner?
- What is the per hour cost for expert witness testimony (in-person and written) by a forensic examiner?
Processing Pricing
- What is the per GB cost to process electronically stored information based on volume at ingestion?
- What is the per GB cost to process electronically stored information based on volume at completion of processing?
- What is the per GB per month cost to host electronically stored information without analytics?
- What is the per GB per month cost to host electronically stored information with analytics?
- What is the user license fee per month for access to hosted data?
- What is the per hour cost of project management support for eDiscovery?
Review Pricing
- What is the per GB cost to conduct predictive coding as part of a technology-assisted review?
- What is the cost per hour for document review attorneys to review documents for an onsite managed review?
- What is the cost per hour for document review attorneys to review documents for a remotely managed review?
- What is the cost per document for document review attorneys to review documents for an onsite managed review?
- What is the cost per document for document review attorneys to review documents for a remote managed review?
Review Pricing – Generative AI
- What is your primary model for GenAI-assisted review in eDiscovery?
- If using a per-document model, what is the average cost per document for GenAI-assisted review?
- If using a per GB model, what is the average cost range for GenAI-assisted review?
- If using an outcome-based pricing model, how is the cost typically structured?
- How do pricing models typically account for documents that fail to process or require special handling in GenAI-assisted review?
- In which geographical region do you primarily conduct eDiscovery-related business?
- Which of the following segments best describes your business in eDiscovery?
- What area best describes your primary function in the conduct of your organization’s eDiscovery business?
Background: eDiscovery Pricing Survey Respondents by Survey
For the purpose of this ongoing industry survey, price and cost are used interchangeably and represent the amount a customer is willing to pay for the service. However, from a financial and accounting perspective, pricing is the amount a customer is willing to pay. The cost is typically the expense incurred for creating and delivering the service.
This edition of the survey was initiated on February 3, 2025, and closed on March 13, 2025.
Survey methodology focused on achieving at least 50 responses with the least number of emails sent to the ComplexDiscovery and EDRM industry professional databases. This approach sought to minimize the number of requests for survey participation while ensuring a solid number of responses from which to generally assess market sentiment in survey areas of interest.
Read the original report here.
