Discovery Cost Calculator

About the Discovery Cost Calculator

This page estimates discovery cost from the main budget drivers in a simple e-discovery model: document review, data processing, hosting, and production. It is meant for litigation planning and case-scope comparison rather than for predicting a vendor invoice down to the dollar.

The output is most useful when you want to test how document volume, hosting duration, or per-document review cost changes the overall budget. Real matters can also include collections, analytics, privilege review, third-party data, and motion practice over discovery disputes.

When This Page Helps

Discovery budgets tend to balloon when review volume and hosting duration are treated as afterthoughts. Putting those variables into one worksheet makes it easier to compare scope options, settlement timing, and the practical cost of broad versus narrow requests.

How to Use the Inputs

1. Enter the estimated number of pages/documents for review.
2. Enter the per-page or per-document review cost.
3. Enter the volume of data for e-discovery processing (in GB).
4. Enter the per-GB processing rate.
5. Enter monthly data hosting costs and expected duration.
6. Enter production costs (printing, formatting, Bates stamping).
7. Review the total estimated discovery cost.

Example Calculation

Tips & Best Practices

• Negotiate discovery scope early to limit the volume of documents and data that must be reviewed.
• Use technology-assisted review (TAR/predictive coding) to reduce manual review costs by 40–70%.
• Implement litigation holds promptly to preserve relevant data and avoid sanctions.
• Specify clear search terms and date ranges to limit the data that must be processed.
• Consider phased discovery—review the most likely relevant sources first before expanding.
• Budget for privilege review as a separate line item; it can add 15–25% to review costs.

Components of Discovery Cost

Document collection involves gathering data from custodians, servers, and cloud services. Processing reduces raw data to reviewable documents through deduplication and filtering. Review is the most expensive phase—attorneys read documents for relevance and privilege. Production formats and delivers responsive documents to the other party.

Reducing Discovery Costs

Use search terms and date ranges to narrow the data set, employ predictive coding to accelerate review, negotiate proportionality limits with opposing counsel, and consider stipulations on non-controversial documents. Early case assessment tools can predict costs before committing to full discovery.

Discovery Cost Proportionality

Courts increasingly apply proportionality principles, weighing discovery costs against the amount in controversy and the importance of the issues. If discovery costs would exceed the value of the case, courts may limit or shift costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How much does e-discovery cost?

  E-discovery costs range from $10,000 for small cases to millions for large commercial litigation. The primary cost driver is document review, which accounts for 60–80% of total e-discovery costs. Processing and hosting are comparatively small.

• What is the cost per document for document review?

  Manual attorney review costs $1–$3 per document or $15–25 per hour per reviewer. Technology-assisted review (TAR) can reduce costs to $0.50–$1.50 per document. Offshore review teams charge $0.50–$1.00 per document.

• What is ESI processing?

  ESI (electronically stored information) processing involves collecting, deduplicating, filtering, and converting electronic data into a reviewable format. Costs range from $15–$50 per GB of native data. This step reduces the volume that needs human review.

• Can discovery costs be recovered from the other party?

  Generally, each party bears its own discovery costs. However, courts can shift discovery costs to the requesting party for disproportionately burdensome requests. Some fee-shifting statutes allow recovery of litigation costs including discovery.

• How long does the discovery process take?

  Discovery typically lasts 6–12 months in standard civil cases. Complex cases with large data volumes can extend to 2+ years. Courts set discovery deadlines, and extensions require court approval.

• What is predictive coding / TAR?

  Technology-assisted review (TAR) uses machine learning to classify documents as relevant or not, based on attorney-coded training documents. It significantly reduces the number of documents requiring manual review, cutting costs by 40–70%.