Setara vs Relativity
What Relativity is built for
Relativity, and its cloud product RelativityOne, is a mature, widely adopted eDiscovery platform used by large law firms, corporations, and service providers. It is strong at large-scale document review and production, has a deep partner ecosystem, and offers generative AI review through its aiR capabilities. For organisations whose core need is high-volume review and production at scale, it is a proven choice.
What Setara is built for
Setara is a unified, auditable investigation workspace that spans digital forensics, eDiscovery, open-source intelligence, and case management. Its focus is the continuity that breaks between tools: carrying provenance from the first acquisition, through the timeline and the relationship pathways, into a counsel-ready brief. It is built for teams whose work does not stop at production, and who need forensic chain of custody and discovery in one defensible chain.
Where they overlap and where they differ
Both handle discovery. The difference is scope. Relativity is centred on review and production. Setara is centred on the whole investigation, from forensic acquisition to the brief, with the chain of custody intact across stages.
Side by side
| Dimension | Relativity | Setara |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Large-scale eDiscovery review and production. | Unified investigation from acquisition to brief. |
| Scope | eDiscovery. | DFIR, eDiscovery, OSINT and case management in one workspace. |
| AI review | Generative AI review (aiR). | Assisted and generative review within one workflow. |
| Chain of custody | Review and production focused. | Provenance carried from acquisition to brief. |
| Discovery to trial prep | Centred on production. | Carries timeline and relationships into the brief. |
| Best fit | High-volume review operations and service providers. | Teams needing forensic rigour and discovery in one chain. |
Which should you choose
Choose Relativity if your core need is large-scale, established document review and production with a broad ecosystem. Choose Setara if your work spans forensic investigation and discovery and you need the chain of custody and the narrative to hold from acquisition through to the brief. For the underlying argument, see why eDiscovery and trial prep are still disconnected.
Frequently asked questions
Is Setara an alternative to Relativity?
They overlap on eDiscovery, but they are built for different scopes. Relativity is centred on large-scale review and production. Setara is a unified investigation workspace that carries forensic provenance and discovery through to a counsel-ready brief.
What is Relativity best at?
Large-scale document review and production, with a mature platform, a broad partner ecosystem, and generative AI review.
When would a team choose Setara over Relativity?
When the work spans forensic investigation and discovery and needs an unbroken chain of custody and a connected narrative from acquisition to the brief, rather than review and production alone.