How much does contract review cost in the US?
Most US firms publish one flat-fee tier and send everything else to a consultation. Here is what providers actually charge, what moves the number, and when paying for a full review is worth it.
What contract review costs in the US
US contract review is sold either hourly or as a flat fee for a defined scope. Flat-fee pricing is increasingly common for business contracts, though most firms publish only their entry tier. The figures below come from providers’ own pricing pages.
| Provider | What you get | Published price | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Legal | Flat-fee contract review, basic tier | $550 | Not published |
| Cordero Law | Flat-rate review, tiered from basic to comprehensive | Flat rate, quoted per tier | Not published |
| UpCounsel | Marketplace — attorney sets the rate | Variable | Not published |
| Hourly billing (still common) | Billed by time rather than scope | Rate × time, quoted per firm | Not published |
Prices as published by each provider, checked 15 September 2026. Providers change their pricing — check the source before relying on a figure.
What actually moves the price
The gap between a $550 flat fee and an open-ended hourly engagement is mostly explained by four things.
Scope: advice, redlines, or negotiation
Issue-spotting and a written summary is the cheapest deliverable. Marked-up redlines cost more. Having someone negotiate with the counterparty is a different engagement entirely and is rarely flat-fee.
Contract type and length
A mutual NDA is close to commodity work. An MSA with schedules, a SaaS agreement with data-protection terms, or an investment document takes substantially longer and is priced accordingly.
State law
Some provisions — non-competes most visibly — are treated very differently from state to state. A reviewer has to know which state’s law governs before they can tell you whether a clause is enforceable, and firms licensed in one state often will not opine on another’s.
Urgency
Expedited turnaround is typically a premium rather than a different service. If you have a week, you usually pay the standard rate.
What ContractDesk charges
ContractDesk prices by document length, as a fixed fee, shown in full before you pay. There is no hourly billing, and the initial risk assessment is free.
- Standard (1–7 pages)$79
- Professional (8–20 pages)$139
- Enterprise (21+ pages)$229
Fixed fee per contract, priced by document length — never by the hour. International clients are billed in US dollars by invoice, emailed within 4 business hours of your request and paid by bank transfer; the review starts once payment is received.
Not sure it needs a paid review yet?
Paste a clause into the free scanner and see what it flags. No signup, no document upload, and the text is not stored.
Common questions
How much does a lawyer charge to review a contract in the US?
Published flat fees start around $550 for a basic business contract review. Many firms quote per matter rather than publishing a rate, and hourly billing remains common, in which case the total depends on the time taken rather than a fixed scope.
What is the difference between flat fee and hourly?
A flat fee fixes your cost for an agreed scope, so you know the number before you start. Hourly billing can be cheaper for a very short document and can grow quickly once revisions and follow-up questions begin. Flat fees usually come with a tighter definition of what is included.
Does a review tell me whether my non-compete is enforceable?
Only in the context of the law governing your agreement, and enforceability varies significantly between US states. A review will identify the clause, explain what it does and flag where it is likely to be contentious; a definitive answer on enforceability in a specific state is a question for a lawyer licensed there.
Does ContractDesk charge in dollars?
Yes. One-off reviews start at $79 for contracts of up to 7 pages, as a fixed fee shown before you commit. US clients are billed by invoice in US dollars, emailed within 4 business hours of your request and paid by bank transfer; the review starts once payment is received. Card payment in dollars is not yet available.
Can I check a contract for problems before paying?
Yes. The free scanner takes a pasted clause and flags what stands out, with no signup and no document upload. It is a first look rather than a substitute for a full review — a clause read in isolation can look fine when the problem is elsewhere in the agreement.
Related
- Contract review in the US — The service itself, and how US-governed contracts are handled.
- Employment contract review (US) — Where state law changes what matters in a review.
- Free clause scanner — Paste a single clause and see what it flags. No signup.
- Who reviews your contracts — What the AI does, what a human does, and who you are contracting with.
- What contract review costs in the UK — The same question answered for the UK market.