> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.draftable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understanding Draftable Legal vs Draftable Business

> A complete breakdown of what separates Draftable Legal from Draftable Business: comparison outputs, DMS integrations, customization, and the workflows each product is built for.

Draftable Legal and Draftable Business are the **same Windows desktop application** running under two different licences. You install the same product, and the product key you activate with decides which features unlock.

That single fact explains almost everything about how the two compare. There is no separate download, no separate installer and no migration project. Moving between them is a licence change, not a reinstall.

<Note>
  Because both products share one codebase, an option you cannot see in Draftable Business is usually a Draftable Legal feature rather than a fault. Upgrading the licence enables it in place, keeping your existing settings.
</Note>

## The short answer

**Draftable Business** produces **Side-by-Side comparisons**. It is built for general business users who need to see what changed between two documents, quickly and accurately, without a document management system behind them.

**Draftable Legal** adds every other comparison output, all of the document management system (DMS) integrations, and the deep markup and profile customization that legal document production depends on.

If you need a **Word or PDF redline**, a **tracked changes document**, or an integration with **iManage, NetDocuments, SharePoint, Worldox or Epona**, you need Draftable Legal.

## Comparison outputs

This is the largest single difference between the two products, and the one customers notice first.

Draftable Business is restricted to the Side-by-Side output. Every other comparison output is a Draftable Legal feature.

| Comparison output                   | Draftable Business | Draftable Legal |
| :---------------------------------- | :----------------: | :-------------: |
| Side-by-Side (the Draftable viewer) |         Yes        |       Yes       |
| Redline (PDF)                       |         No         |       Yes       |
| Redline (Word / .docx)              |         No         |       Yes       |
| Word tracked changes                |         No         |       Yes       |
| Departures table                    |         No         |       Yes       |
| Changed pages                       |         No         |       Yes       |
| Excel redline                       |         No         |       Yes       |
| PowerPoint redline                  |         No         |       Yes       |
| Text-only comparison                |         No         |       Yes       |
| Changes report                      |         No         |       Yes       |

Because Draftable Business only has one output available, the **output selection controls are hidden** rather than shown and disabled. Business users do not choose an output type before comparing; they simply compare, and the Side-by-Side viewer opens.

## DMS integrations

Draftable Legal integrates with five document management systems. **Draftable Business includes none of them.** Each integration is licence-gated in the same way, so there is no partial or read-only mode in Business.

| Integration                           | Draftable Business | Draftable Legal |
| :------------------------------------ | :----------------: | :-------------: |
| iManage (including Work 10 and Cloud) |         No         |       Yes       |
| NetDocuments                          |         No         |       Yes       |
| SharePoint                            |         No         |       Yes       |
| Worldox                               |         No         |       Yes       |
| Epona DMSforLegal                     |         No         |       Yes       |

In Draftable Business, the **Integrations tab in Settings is not displayed at all**. This is expected behaviour, not a configuration problem. If you have deployed DMS settings by Group Policy to a machine running a Business licence, those settings are written but never read.

Draftable Legal also supports **iManage auto log-in**, so users are not prompted for DMS credentials each session, and can be configured for **multiple iManage tenancies**.

## Markup, profiles and customization

Draftable Legal is where document production teams standardise how a redline looks across a firm. Draftable Business keeps a fixed, sensible default.

| Capability                              | Draftable Business | Draftable Legal |
| :-------------------------------------- | :----------------: | :-------------: |
| Changes markup theme (viewer colours)   |         Yes        |       Yes       |
| Redline markup scheme customization     |         No         |       Yes       |
| Redline profiles                        |         No         |       Yes       |
| Default author name control on redlines |         No         |       Yes       |
| Output configuration settings           |         No         |       Yes       |

In Draftable Business the redline markup scheme is forced to the default and the associated settings sections are hidden. The **changes markup theme** for the Side-by-Side viewer is still available to Business users, which is a separate setting controlling the colours you see on screen.

## Document handling and engine options

| Capability                                  | Draftable Business | Draftable Legal |
| :------------------------------------------ | :----------------: | :-------------: |
| OCR for scanned documents                   |         No         |       Yes       |
| Choice of Word to PDF conversion engine     |         No         |       Yes       |
| Per-user communication for add-in workflows |         No         |       Yes       |

**OCR is a Draftable Legal feature.** If you compare a scanned PDF in Draftable Business, no text layer is generated for you, and the comparison only reflects text the file already contains. This is a common source of "Draftable found no changes" reports on scanned documents.

## Deployment and administration

Both products are enterprise-deployable, and this is where they are most alike.

| Capability                             | Draftable Business | Draftable Legal |
| :------------------------------------- | :----------------: | :-------------: |
| Per-user EXE installer (auto-updating) |         Yes        |       Yes       |
| Machine-wide MSI installer             |         Yes        |       Yes       |
| Group Policy (ADMX/ADML) configuration |         Yes        |       Yes       |
| Microsoft Intune deployment            |         Yes        |       Yes       |
| Registry-based configuration           |         Yes        |       Yes       |

Both products use the same three-tier settings priority, where a user policy overrides a computer policy, which overrides a user's own setting.

The practical difference is **how much there is to configure**. Draftable Legal exposes a far larger settings surface because it has far more features. A Group Policy template applied to Draftable Business applies cleanly, but settings covering Legal-only features have no effect.

<Warning>
  Draftable Legal and Draftable Business are Windows desktop applications. Neither product runs on macOS. If you need document comparison on macOS or from another platform, look at the [Draftable API](/hc/en-us/articles/43677873463705-Checking-Draftable-API-Status) instead.
</Warning>

## Workflow differences in practice

The feature tables above translate into a few day-to-day differences worth calling out.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Starting a comparison">
    In Draftable Business, you select two files and compare. In Draftable Legal, you also choose a **comparison type** before running, because more than one output is available, and you may be selecting those files from a DMS rather than the file system.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reviewing the result">
    Both products open the Side-by-Side viewer. Draftable Legal users can additionally produce a redline, a tracked changes document, a departures table or a changes report from the same comparison.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sharing the result">
    Draftable Business users share the Side-by-Side output. Draftable Legal users typically share a redline PDF or a Word file with tracked changes, which is the format most legal workflows expect.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Saving back to a DMS">
    Only Draftable Legal can save a comparison result back into iManage, NetDocuments, SharePoint, Worldox or Epona. Draftable Business saves to the file system.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Which product is right for you?

Choose **Draftable Business** if you need fast, accurate, private document comparison for general business documents, you work from local or synced file storage, and the Side-by-Side viewer is how your team wants to review changes.

Choose **Draftable Legal** if any of the following apply:

* You produce **redlines** or **tracked changes documents** for others to review
* You store documents in a **DMS**
* You need **OCR** for scanned material
* You need to **standardise redline appearance** across a team or firm
* You need **departures tables** or **changes reports**

## Moving from Draftable Business to Draftable Legal

Because both products are the same application, upgrading is straightforward. You enter a Draftable Legal product key, and the previously unavailable features become available. Your existing preferences are retained.

To discuss licensing, upgrades or a trial of Draftable Legal, visit the [Draftable pricing page](https://www.draftable.com/pricing) or contact our team at **[support@draftable.com](mailto:support@draftable.com)**.

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