Hosting
Hosting in eDiscovery is the recurring charge for keeping a matter's processed data live and searchable in a review platform: storage, search index, application and access. It is conventionally billed per gigabyte per month, and it recurs for as long as the matter stays open, which in litigation is measured in years rather than months.
Also called: review hosting · per-GB hosting · hosting fee · data hosting · monthly hosting
Updated September 6, 2026
How does eDiscovery hosting work?
Once data has been processed, it lives somewhere. Hosting is the charge for that somewhere: the stored files, the search index built over them, the review application, and the infrastructure that serves it. The unit is almost always the gigabyte, measured monthly, and the meter runs from the day the matter loads until the day it is exported and deleted.
The volume being metered is the important variable, and it is set upstream. Global deduplication, de-NISTing and culling all reduce the hosted set, if they happen before the measurement. A provider paid per hosted gigabyte has no particular incentive to help you shrink the number, which is why the timing of the measurement should be in writing.
Duration is the other variable, and it is the one counsel underestimates. Processing is charged once. Hosting is charged every month for the life of the matter, and litigation timelines are long. Any comparison of providers that looks only at per-GB rates and not at the expected number of months is comparing the smaller half of the cost.
What does eDiscovery hosting look like in practice?
An illustrative matter, using the ranges published in the Fee Field Guide:
| Line | Basis | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Processing, 100 GB | one-time, $6/GB | $600 |
| Hosting, 100 GB, month 1 | $12/GB/month | $1,200 |
| Hosting, 100 GB, 24 months | $12/GB/month | $28,800 |
Source: fee ranges from the Fee Field Guide dataset (ComplexDiscovery pricing survey; the $12/GB figure is illustrative and sits inside the published $5–$15 range). The point is the ratio, not the rate: on a two-year matter, hosting is roughly forty-eight times the processing charge. The cost calculator runs the same arithmetic on your own numbers.
How does hosting show up on an eDiscovery invoice?
Per-GB monthly hosting is the line, and it is recurring rather than one-time, the distinction that makes it the largest number on most matters. Three adjacent charges belong to the same conversation. Archiving and rehydration fees govern what a dormant matter costs and what it costs to wake it. Monthly minimums and platform fees set a floor regardless of usage, which is what makes small matters uneconomic on some price sheets. Overage terms define what happens when data, users or storage cross a cap inside an “unlimited” plan.
Ask for the rate, the tier breaks, the volume the rate applies to, the archive rate, the reactivation charge, and the monthly minimum. Then multiply by the number of months you actually expect. The per-GB cost guide works the total through, and the full fee list sets hosting against the other five meters.
Sources
- ComplexDiscovery, eDiscovery Pricing Survey (semi-annual, conducted with EDRM; hosting rate distribution).
- Fee ranges and structure: the Fee Field Guide dataset.
- RAND Institute for Civil Justice, Where the Money Goes (2012).
- The Sedona Conference, Glossary: eDiscovery & Digital Information Management.
Related terms
Processing · Per-GB pricing · Culling · Deduplication · Review platform · Early case assessment
eDiscovery at one flat monthly rate
$3,250 a month on a 12-month agreement. No per-user fees and no per-GB hosting charges.
Common questions
How much does eDiscovery hosting cost per GB?
Published ranges run roughly $5 to $15 per GB per month. ComplexDiscovery's semi-annual pricing survey reports a majority of respondents charging under $10 per GB per month, with a tail of higher-priced outliers above that band. Rates are ranges, not quotes, and often step down at higher volumes; ask where the tiers sit.
Is hosting charged on collected or reviewable volume?
Both models exist, and the difference is large. Hosting billed on the post-processing, deduplicated set charges for what your reviewers can actually see. Hosting billed on raw collected volume charges for system files and duplicates that were removed before anyone looked at them. Ask which volume the meter reads, and ask whether deduplication happens before or after that measurement.
What happens to hosting fees when a case is stayed?
Nothing, unless you move the matter. A dormant matter hosted live accrues the same monthly charge as an active one, which is why archiving exists: cold storage at a lower monthly rate. The per-GB cost guide works the total through. Check both halves of that deal: some providers charge a monthly archive fee and a separate reactivation or rehydration fee to bring the matter back, which monetizes a dormant matter twice.