Legly vs. Gavel Exec: Web Contract Checker or AI Redlining in Word?

Legly gives business teams a low-cost first check of uploaded contracts. Gavel Exec gives lawyers playbook redlines in Word. Here is which one fits your team.

By Richard Poelderl · Last updated: November 14, 2026

Legly and Gavel Exec both use AI to review a contract and flag what needs attention, but for different people. Legly, from Legly AB in Sweden, is a web-based contract checker for growing companies, built so sales, procurement and finance can review agreements without legal knowledge, and it adds portfolio analysis across signed contracts. Gavel Exec is AI contract review and drafting inside Microsoft Word, with a web app, for lawyers who negotiate the document themselves.

If you want the cheapest way to get a first pass on incoming contracts, Legly’s free plan and $39 seat price fit that budget. If you need redlines in the draft you send back, built on your own playbook, Gavel Exec works in the Word document you already use.

Legly

Legly, from Legly AB in Sweden, is an AI contract review and contract intelligence platform for growing companies. Users upload a contract to its web app and get flagged risks, missing clauses, a summary and counterparty feedback; Portfolio Analysis and an API turn signed contracts into searchable data. Data is stored in Frankfurt, Germany.

Gavel Exec

Gavel Exec is AI contract review, redlining, and drafting software for legal teams. It works in Microsoft Word and online, so attorneys can review contracts inside Word or use browser-based workflows for broader contract analysis.

Gavel Exec supports playbook-based review, redlining, drafting, benchmarking, batch analysis, and multi-document comparison. Playbooks can be generated with AI, built from uploaded files, created manually, or started from built-in playbooks created by practicing attorneys. Gavel Exec publishes pricing at $160 per user per month or $1,740 per user annually, and offers 25 free queries per user with no credit card required.

Why teams choose Gavel Exec over Legly

Redlines inside the Word document you negotiate in: Gavel Exec runs as an add-in in Word for Windows, Mac (2016 or later), Word on the web and Microsoft 365, and inserts its suggestions as tracked changes you accept or reject. Legly is a web app: you upload a PDF or Word file and get flagged risks, missing clauses, a summary and feedback text for the counterparty. Legly doesn’t list a Word add-in or tracked-change output.
Your own playbook on the standard plan: Gavel Exec includes built-in playbooks, lets you write rules or generate them from your checklists or signed agreements (.docx, PDF or .csv), and benchmarks each clause as on-market, off-market or missing. On Legly, custom guidelines and playbooks are part of the Enterprise plan, which is quote-based; Freemium and Professional use Legly’s starter or full guideline library.
Your contracts don’t train the AI: Gavel says it does not use customer data, prompts or document content to train AI models, has Zero Data Retention agreements with its AI providers, and Gavel Exec is SOC 2 Type II certified. Legly’s security FAQ says uploaded data is used to train its AI, and legly.io doesn’t list a SOC 2 report or ISO certificate.

Can I use Legly and Gavel Exec together?

Yes, for different jobs, though neither vendor documents an integration. A business team could run a first check of incoming contracts in Legly, or keep portfolio and renewal data there, while the lawyer who negotiates the draft redlines the Word file with Gavel Exec. Nothing moves between the two automatically.

When evaluating the legal tech company Legly,

Choose Legly if business teams without a lawyer need a low-cost first check of uploaded contracts, with a free plan, $39 per user per month for unlimited reviews, EU hosting and portfolio data on Enterprise. Choose Gavel Exec if your lawyers negotiate in Word and want playbook redlines as tracked changes and contracts that aren’t used to train AI: 25 free queries, no credit card, then $160 per user per month.

When to choose Legly or Gavel Exec

When to choose Legly

Choose Legly if contracts are reviewed by sales, procurement or finance rather than a lawyer, and you want a fast first check of uploaded PDFs or Word files at a low monthly price, with a free plan to start, data hosted in Frankfurt, and portfolio analytics or an API on Enterprise. Not for you if you need redlines as tracked changes in Word or want your contracts kept out of AI training: Legly lists no Word add-in and says uploaded data trains its AI.

When to choose Gavel Exec

Choose Gavel Exec if your lawyers negotiate in Word and want AI redlines against your own playbook as tracked changes, with market benchmarking, SOC 2 Type II and no training on your contracts, from $160 per user per month after 25 free queries. If your main need is portfolio dashboards, renewal tracking or a contract-data API, Legly’s Enterprise plan is built for that; Exec is built for the lawyer who negotiates the draft, in Word or its web app.

Legly vs. Gavel Exec: pricing, trial and features

Public terms checked November 14, 2026. Sources: Legly pricing and Gavel Exec pricing.

Feature	Legly	Gavel Exec
Price	Freemium $0; Professional $39/user/month; Enterprise quote-based.	$160/user/month or $1,740/user/year; 1,000 completions a month; team pricing for 10+ seats.
Billing	Monthly subscriptions; Professional can be cancelled any time. Enterprise terms not published.	Monthly or annual plan.
Free Trial	Free plan: up to 2 reviews per 90 days; no credit card needed.	25 free queries per user; no credit card required.
AI Features	Flags risks and missing clauses, summary, clause guidance, counterparty feedback; portfolio analytics, search and API on Enterprise.	Review, redlining, drafting, playbooks, market benchmarking and web analysis tools.
Playbooks	Starter or full guideline library; custom guidelines/playbooks on Enterprise.	Built-in playbooks; rules you write or generate from .docx, PDF or .csv; sharing, import and export.
Word Integration	Web app; uploads PDF, scanned PDF and Word files. No Word add-in listed.	Word add-in for Windows, Mac (2016+), Word on the web and Microsoft 365, plus a web app.
Support	Online support on Professional; priority support and onboarding on Enterprise.	Help center; support 7 days a week by email and phone.

Legly and Gavel Exec: ratings and demo

Ratings, checked November 14, 2026: Legly shows one review with a 5.0 rating, as listed on G2, November 2026; G2 blocked our direct check and describes the profile as unclaimed. We found no Capterra listing for Legly. One review is not enough to judge either product, so we don’t compare ratings here.

Watch Gavel’s 71-second Exec walkthrough: a stock investment agreement is redlined against an attached term sheet, then a vendor-agreement playbook runs and accepted edits appear as tracked changes. Legly’s home page has a 2-minute product tour showing a PDF turned into structured terms and risks. A vendor demo shows how a product works, not how well it compares.

Transcript: Gavel Exec walkthrough (71 seconds)

[0:01] Meet Gavel Exec, the data-driven AI tool for contract redlining and drafting. Built by lawyers right inside Microsoft Word, ask Exec to negotiate your contract to standard market terms or to your preference.

[0:15] Negotiate the agreement and ensure the terms match the attached term sheet. Exec analyzes the contract, any relevant documents from your source database, and drafts suggested language with clear explanations.

[0:31] With Playbooks, lock in your negotiation positions as rules that use your precedent and reliable market benchmarks. Understand gaps with one click and immediately apply changes.

[0:45] Exec draws on thousands of real-world negotiation patterns to give you market-aligned language. And it’s continuously learning from you and your team’s preferences with a collaborative platform.

[0:59] Drive better outcomes with concrete data and reliable issue spotting. Supercharge your contract analysis. Start a free trial of Gavel Exec today.

Gavel Exec review panel beside a contract in Microsoft Word — Official Gavel image of Exec in Word. It shows the working environment, not the supplier-terms illustration above or a test against Legly.

Who are Legly and Gavel Exec built for?

Legly is built for growing companies whose contracts are handled by sales, procurement, finance and a small legal function. Its review is pitched as “a contract checker for everyone, no legal knowledge required”: upload an agreement, see what is risky or missing, and send feedback to the counterparty. A second product, Portfolio Analysis, turns your signed contracts into searchable data on obligations, renewals and risk, and an API feeds that data into CLM and other systems.

Gavel Exec is a Word add-in for AI contract review and drafting, built for lawyers who negotiate the document themselves: small in-house legal teams and solo, small or mid-sized firms. A web app at exec.gavel.io handles analysis without a download.

Is Legly the same as LEGALFLY?

No. Legly is run by Legly AB, a Swedish company, at legly.io. LEGALFLY is a different legal AI company at legalfly.com. Search results and directories often mix the two up, so check which one a review or price refers to.

Does Legly work in Microsoft Word?

Legly works in its own web app. You upload PDFs, including scanned PDFs, or Word documents, and Legly returns a summary, flagged issues, missing clauses and clause-by-clause guidance you can share internally or send to the counterparty.

Gavel Exec works in the Word document. The lawyer runs a playbook or a redline request, sees each rule pass or fail with a reason, and applies the proposed changes as tracked changes, then accepts or rejects each one as with a colleague’s markup.

Does Legly have a Word add-in?

Legly doesn’t list one. Its plans accept Word documents as uploads to its web app, and it doesn’t publish an add-in or tracked-change output. Gavel Exec runs as an add-in in Word for Windows, Mac (2016 or later), Word on the web and Microsoft 365.

Illustration: a supplier’s draft, reviewed for the buyer

You are in-house counsel at a manufacturer. The supplier’s terms cap its liability at one month of fees and let it change prices on 14 days’ notice. Your playbook calls for twelve months of fees and 90 days’ notice. The proposed redline replaces “one month” with “twelve months” and “14 days” with “90 days”. You decide whether to send it, offer a fallback or escalate before the draft goes back. By hand, this is a clause-by-clause read against your checklist. This illustrates the workflow both vendors describe; we didn’t run it in either product.

How much does Legly cost vs. Gavel Exec?

Gavel Exec costs $160 per user per month, or $1,740 per user per year, with 1,000 completions a month, after 25 free queries per user with no credit card. Team pricing is available for 10 or more seats. See Gavel Exec pricing.

How much does Legly cost?

Legly’s pricing page lists Professional at $39 per user per month with unlimited reviews and the full guideline library, billed monthly and cancellable at any time. Enterprise, which adds portfolio analytics, custom guidelines and playbooks, and optional SSO, is quote-based.

Does Legly have a free plan?

Yes. Legly’s Freemium plan is free, needs no credit card and allows up to 2 reviews per 90 days with a starter guideline set. Gavel Exec starts with 25 free queries per user, also with no credit card.

Data security: training, hosting and certifications

Legly stores uploaded documents, playbook guidelines and feedback texts in AWS data centers in Frankfurt, Germany, encrypts them at rest with AES-256 and in transit over encrypted channels, and deletes them on request. As an add-on, it offers a setup where no Legly staff can access your uploaded contracts. Its Data & Security page links an information security program document; it doesn’t name a SOC 2 report or ISO certificate.

Gavel Exec is SOC 2 Type II certified. Data is hosted on AWS in the US by default, with EU, Canada and Australia hosting available.

Does Legly use my contracts to train its AI?

Yes, according to Legly. Its security FAQ says uploaded data “is used to train the AI to improve classification, identification, extraction, and understanding of legal documents and concepts”, and its terms grant Legly a perpetual licence to use data derived from uploads to improve its algorithms. Ask Legly whether the Enterprise plan can exclude your documents.

Does Gavel Exec train AI models on my contracts?

No. Gavel says it does not use customer data, prompts or document content to train AI models, and it has Zero Data Retention agreements with its AI providers, including OpenAI.

Portfolio analysis and contract data: where Legly fits

Legly goes beyond the single review. Portfolio Analysis gives a live risk view across your contract library, filters by governing law, term, status or clause, natural-language search and custom dashboards, and it extracts key dates so renewals don’t slip. Legal-tech vendors and CLM users can take Legly’s output by API, including a metadata-only mode where nothing is stored at Legly. Law firms can generate due diligence reports.

Gavel Exec is built for negotiating and drafting: it redlines in Word, and its web app runs batch analysis and multi-document comparison across the contracts you upload. If you want document generation and intake forms, look at Gavel Workflows instead.

Company and track record

Legly publishes few customer details beyond a testimonial and logos on its site, and public reviews are scarce, so ask for references in your sector. Gavel has been part of Relativity since June 12, 2026, with the same Exec product, team and support. Gavel publishes named customer results: Martin Algie of MIA Contract Lawyers cut first-cut review from about 15 hours to about 5 hours per contract.

Who owns Legly?

Legly is run by Legly AB, a Swedish company; its terms are governed by Swedish law. Per Axberg signs Legly’s About page as CEO. Legly doesn’t publish its investors or other owners.

Method: Gavel editorial review. Checked against Legly’s and Gavel’s public pages on November 14, 2026. Gavel publishes this comparison and sells Exec; Gavel is part of Relativity. No hands-on test of either product was run for this page. Corrections: contact Gavel.

It’s the best system I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many. I’ve found Gavel Exec really good to work with and responsive to how I negotiate, how I redline.
Martin Algie, Principal at MIA Contract Lawyers (Gavel customer)

How to test Gavel Exec on a contract you checked in Legly

Take a counterparty draft you are negotiating now, ideally one Legly has already flagged, and the positions you apply to it. Open the Word file with Gavel Exec, run a built-in playbook or generate one from your checklist, and compare the tracked changes with Legly’s flags. You decide what goes back to the other side.

Start with 25 free queries and no credit card. If your business teams only need a first check before a contract reaches Legal, and nobody negotiates the draft line by line, Legly may already be enough.

Redline the contract Legly flagged, inside Word

Open the counterparty draft in Word, run a built-in playbook or one generated from your checklist, and accept or reject each tracked change. 25 free queries per user, no credit card, no sales call.

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Frequently asked questions

Methodology

This comparison uses publicly available product, pricing, and review information. Features, pricing, and access terms may change, so buyers should verify current details directly with each vendor.