Quick Answer: Litify is an immensely powerful enterprise legal platform, but because it is built on top of Salesforce, firms must pay a double-layer "Salesforce Tax." This means paying for Salesforce licenses, Litify licenses, and often a full-time Salesforce Administrator, pushing annual costs well over $100,000. Custom legal software built on a modern, serverless cloud architecture delivers enterprise-level capability without the bloat, licensing fees, or need for specialized admins.
Litify revolutionized legal tech by bringing the power of Salesforce to law firms. But that power comes with a rigid, inescapable cost structure. Because Litify sits on the Salesforce ecosystem, you are essentially renting two pieces of software simultaneously. For a 30-attorney firm, this double-layer licensing can quickly exceed $10,000 a month.
[Image of Salesforce and Litify stacked licensing architecture]
Salesforce is notoriously complex. To manage permissions, build custom reports, and maintain integrations on Litify, most firms are forced to hire a dedicated, full-time Salesforce Administrator (average 2026 salary: $110,000). This pushes the Total Cost of Ownership into the stratosphere.
Custom software bypasses the Salesforce ecosystem entirely. By utilizing modern frameworks (like React and Node.js) on AWS, a custom build gives you the massive database power and reporting capabilities of enterprise software without the administrative bloat. It requires no full-time admin to run, and takes only 4-6 weeks to launch.