LawDepot vs ZeroLawyer: Honest Comparison

LawDepot is the 800-pound gorilla of Canadian legal document services. They've been around since 2001, have millions of users, and offer hundreds of document templates. So why did we build ZeroLawyer? Because LawDepot's business model—subscriptions, upsells, and generic templates—doesn't serve Canadian founders well. Here's an honest comparison.

Pricing Model: Subscription vs. Pay-Once

LawDepot charges $39.95/month or $199.95/year for unlimited document access. That sounds reasonable until you realize most founders only need 3-5 documents total. You're paying $200/year for documents you'll use once. If you cancel after one month, you lose access to your documents and can't download them again.

ZeroLawyer charges $59 per document, pay once, own forever. Need an employment contract, NDA, and shareholder agreement? That's $177 total, less than LawDepot's annual subscription. You own the files (PDF and DOCX), can edit them freely, and never pay again. No recurring charges, no auto-renewal, no subscription trap.

Document Quality: Generic vs. Founder-Specific

LawDepot's templates are designed for everyone—homeowners, landlords, small businesses, and individuals. Their employment contract template works for a restaurant, retail store, or tech startup. This means it's generic and doesn't address startup-specific issues like equity compensation, IP assignment, or non-solicitation clauses that actually work for Canadian tech companies.

ZeroLawyer's documents are built specifically for Canadian tech founders. Our employment contracts include equity compensation clauses, IP assignment language that satisfies investors, and non-solicitation provisions that are actually enforceable in Canada (not copied from American templates). Our shareholder agreements include standard VC terms like vesting schedules, drag-along rights, and anti-dilution protection. We don't try to serve everyone—we serve founders.

Province-Specific vs. One-Size-Fits-All

LawDepot offers "Canadian" templates that claim to work everywhere. But employment law, real estate law, and corporate law vary significantly by province. An Ontario employment contract needs different termination language than a BC contract. A Quebec lease must be in French and comply with Quebec's unique tenancy laws. LawDepot's approach is to include generic language and hope it works.

ZeroLawyer provides province-specific documents for Ontario, BC, Alberta, and Quebec. Our employment contracts reflect each province's employment standards. Our shareholder agreements address Quebec's civil law requirements. Our NDAs comply with Ontario's non-compete ban. We don't pretend one template works everywhere—we build separate templates for each province.

What You Actually Get

When LawDepot Makes Sense

LawDepot makes sense if you need dozens of different documents across multiple categories (real estate, family law, business, employment). If you're a landlord managing multiple properties, a small business owner with high turnover, or someone who frequently needs legal documents for personal matters, the subscription model might work. LawDepot's breadth is their strength—they have templates for situations we don't cover.

LawDepot also makes sense if you want a guided questionnaire that walks you through every possible scenario. Their document builder is comprehensive and user-friendly, with extensive help text and examples. If you're uncomfortable with legal documents and want maximum hand-holding, LawDepot's interface is more beginner-friendly than ours.

When ZeroLawyer Makes Sense

ZeroLawyer makes sense if you're a Canadian tech founder who needs a small number of high-quality, startup-specific documents. If you need an employment contract with equity compensation, a shareholder agreement with VC-standard terms, or an NDA that complies with Ontario's non-compete ban, our documents are better than LawDepot's generic templates.

ZeroLawyer also makes sense if you hate subscriptions and want to pay once and own your documents forever. No recurring charges, no auto-renewal, no losing access if you cancel. You pay $59, download your files, and you're done. If you need another document next year, you pay $59 again. Simple, transparent, no BS.

The Bottom Line

LawDepot is a good general-purpose legal document service with broad coverage and a subscription model that works for high-volume users. ZeroLawyer is a specialized service for Canadian tech founders who need startup-specific, province-specific documents without subscriptions. We're not trying to replace LawDepot—we're serving a different audience with different needs.

If you're a founder building a tech company in Canada, we think ZeroLawyer is the better choice. Our documents are designed for your situation, our pricing is transparent and fair, and we don't lock you into subscriptions. But we're biased. Try both and decide for yourself.