Gavel, formerly Documate, is a strong document automation platform. You build templates with conditional logic, and it turns intake answers into finished Word and PDF documents, including court and government forms. Superforms does a different job. It is the client facing front door, focused on making a long, complex intake easy for a real person to finish, then handing that intake to the case system you already run. This page compares the two so you can tell which one your firm actually needs.
See a 60 second demo Jump to the comparisonGavel automates the documents. It takes answers and assembles the finished paperwork. Superforms makes the intake itself easy for the client to finish, with questions read aloud, plain language, and short guided steps, then sends the finished intake into your case system. If your goal is to auto generate documents, Gavel is built for that. If your problem is that clients quit your long intake, Superforms is built for that.
Made for the ten to forty page intake that clients usually give up on, not general document work.
Helpful for older clients and for anyone filling out a long form on a phone.
Terms like executor or adjustment of status are explained in plain language, right where they come up.
Send us your PDF or Word intake and we rebuild it as a guided form. You do not build templates.
The finished intake lands in Clio as a contact, a matter, and a note. Nobody retypes anything.
Live in days, small firm pricing, and nothing to rip out. You add the intake piece, not a platform.
This is the heart of it. Gavel is a document assembly engine. The intake questionnaire is the front end for producing paperwork. Superforms is the intake experience itself. The finished, structured intake is the point, and drafting happens later, in the system you already use. Both touch intake, but they aim at different outcomes.
Superforms is built around the person filling out the form. It reads every question aloud, explains unfamiliar terms in plain language, and moves through the form in short calm steps so a twenty page intake never feels overwhelming. Gavel questionnaires are functional and support guidance and conditional logic, but they are not built around reading aloud or plain language explanations for the client. If clients quitting your intake is the problem, this is the difference.
Both are strong here. Gavel uses conditional logic, dynamic variables, calculations, and branching rules so the questionnaire and the output adapt to the answers. Superforms shows only the questions that apply to that person. Tie on logic.
Gavel wins here, clearly, because that is its job. It converts templates into finished Word and PDF documents and can generate court and government forms from the intake. Superforms does not assemble documents. It hands the finished intake to your case system, and drafting happens there. If auto generating the paperwork is the goal, Gavel is the right tool.
Our advantage for speed. Send Superforms the intake you already use, even a scanned PDF, and we rebuild it as a guided form for you. In Gavel you build the templates and logic yourself, which is powerful but takes setup work. If you want your current intake live quickly without building anything, we do that for you.
Both play well with your stack. Gavel integrates with Clio, DecisionVault, DocuSign, and Zapier. Superforms sends the finished intake into Clio natively as a contact, a matter, and a note. If your priority is a clean intake landing in your case system without retyping, that is our focus.
Gavel supports e signature through integrations like DocuSign. On Superforms, e signature is on the near term roadmap. If signing inside the flow today matters, Gavel has a path through its integrations.
Gavel is a build it yourself platform. That gives you a lot of control and takes time and skill. Superforms is done for you to start. Send us your form, we build the guided version, and you send the first link. For the first customers we handle the setup.
| Feature | Superforms | Gavel |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | ||
| Client intake experience | Core focus | Front end for documents |
| Document assembly and form generation | No, by design | Core focus |
| The intake experience | ||
| Reads every question out loud | Yes | No |
| Explains the hard words in plain language | Yes | No |
| Short guided steps for a long form | Yes | Questionnaire |
| Logic and documents | ||
| Conditional logic and branching | Yes | Yes |
| Document collection | Yes | Yes branded portal |
| E signature | On the way | Via integrations |
| Setup and fit | ||
| Rebuild your existing PDF into a guided form | Yes we do it for you | Build templates yourself |
| Native handoff to your case system | Clio | Clio, DocuSign, Zapier |
| Live in days, done for you | Yes | Build it yourself |
A fair read based on what each product publicly documents. Gavel is a document automation engine that also collects intake. Superforms is the intake experience that feeds your case system. E signature is rolling out on Superforms next.
Strengths. Powerful no code document automation, generates court and government forms, strong conditional logic, integrates with Clio and DocuSign.
Trade offs. You build the templates and logic yourself, the client experience is functional rather than guided, and it is aimed at document output more than the intake moment.
Strengths. Best client experience on a long form, reads aloud, plain language, rebuilds your existing PDF for you, feeds your case system, fast to launch.
Trade offs. Does not assemble documents, and e signature is still rolling out.
Choose Gavel if the outcome you care about is finished documents. If you want to build templates once and generate court forms, government forms, or contracts from the answers, that is exactly what it is built for.
Choose Superforms if the problem you care about is the intake itself. If clients start your long form and give up, and you want a guided experience that they finish, handed cleanly to the case system you already use, that is what we do. Many firms could even use both: Superforms for the client experience up front, and a document tool for assembly after.
An immigration solo with heavy paperwork. If the goal is to auto generate the USCIS forms from the answers, Gavel is built for that output. If the goal is to get a stressed client all the way through a long intake without giving up, Superforms is built for that moment, and then hands the intake off.
An estate planning firm on Clio. Their sixteen page intake gets abandoned. Superforms rebuilds it as a guided form, clients finish it, and it lands in Clio. Drafting the documents stays wherever they do it today.
Gavel automates documents. It turns answers into finished Word and PDF files, including court and government forms. Superforms makes the intake itself easy to finish, then hands it to your case system. Different jobs.
If your problem is clients quitting your long intake, yes. If your goal is generating finished documents, Gavel is built for that.
No, on purpose. We are the front door and hand off to the system you use for drafting.
Yes. Send us the form you already use and we rebuild it as a guided form for you.
Take a 60 second look at a guided estate planning intake. Read aloud, plain language, on any phone.
Open the demo