Gavel Exec review: affordable AI contract review in Microsoft Word
Answer in brief: Gavel Exec is the AI contract review software to choose if you want a real, published price and a free start. It runs in Microsoft Word and on the web. It applies your playbooks and precedent to return priority-ranked redlines as tracked changes, margin comments and a list of missing terms. You get 25 free queries per user with no credit card, then $160 per user per month or $1,740 per user per year. It is SOC 2 Type II certified. Relativity acquired Gavel in June 2026. It is a great fit for solo attorneys and small firms.
Verdict: Transparent pricing and Word-native redlines, the easiest yes for solos and small firms. Ranked #8 of 13 in our AI contract review software ranking.
Independent research: compiled from Gavel's own website and public sources as of November 9, 2026. We have not tested the product hands-on.
Catch off-market terms before you negotiate
Gavel Exec is built for the first-pass review that eats a transactional lawyer's day. Ask it to redline a contract to market terms or to your preferences, attach a term sheet as context, and it returns suggestions ranked by priority, each with an explanation and accept or reject controls. Playbooks turn your positions into plain-language rules. You can use Gavel's built-in playbooks or generate rules from your own checklists and signed agreements, and each rule passes or fails with proposed changes. Benchmarking shows whether each provision is on-market, off-market or missing for your jurisdiction, industry and company size. Draft handles clauses and full agreements.
It covers commercial agreements such as NDAs, MSAs, vendor and contractor agreements, DPAs, leases, and investment and shareholder agreements. The add-in runs in Word for Windows, Word for Mac (2016 or later), Word on the web and Microsoft 365, and a web app is available at exec.gavel.io.
Who Gavel Exec fits best
- Solo attorneys and small firms that want to buy without a sales cycle.
- Transactional, real estate and corporate lawyers.
- In-house counsel who want a per-seat Word tool. Team pricing is available for 10+ seats.
Why lawyers pick it: the strengths
- Published pricing and a no-card free start.
- Priority-ranked redlines with the reasoning behind each change.
- Security: SOC 2 Type II certified, with zero-data-retention agreements with its AI providers. Gavel says your documents are not used to train AI models.
- Fast setup: create an account, add the add-in from Microsoft AppSource and start.
Honest drawbacks
- Paid plans include 1,000 completions per month, a cap that high-volume users should plan around.
- Gavel says that for customers 'nothing changes today' after the Relativity acquisition. Over time, the product may lean toward linking with RelativityOne.
- For contracts in languages other than English, Gavel asks you to talk to them first.
Pricing model
25 free queries per user, then $160 per user per month or $1,740 per user billed annually, with 1,000 completions per month on paid plans. Team pricing is available for 10+ seats. See our pricing comparison.
Customers and facts
Gavel says Exec is used by more than 2,000 legal organizations in 28 countries (vendor figure). In a published case study, a principal at MIA Contract Lawyers, Martin Algie, reports cutting first-cut review from about 15 hours to about 5 per contract after building an in-licensing playbook of roughly 80 rules (customer-reported). Gavel announced on June 15, 2026 that Relativity had acquired it.
Best alternatives to Gavel Exec
- Spellbook: our #1 Word-native pick, with multi-document agents.
- LegalSifter ReviewPro: playbook-driven review with a 7-day trial and lawyer-built standard playbooks.
- LegalOn: unlimited usage and 135+ playbooks for in-house teams.
Gavel Exec FAQ
How much does Gavel Exec cost?
$160 per user per month, or $1,740 per user billed annually, after 25 free queries per user. Team pricing is available for 10+ seats.
Is there a usage limit?
Paid plans include 1,000 completions per month.
Who owns Gavel?
Relativity acquired Gavel; Gavel announced the deal on June 15, 2026.
Which versions of Word does it support?
Word for Windows, Word for Mac (2016 or later), Word on the web and Microsoft 365, plus a web app.