---
title: "eCourtsIndia vs kanoon.dev: API and pricing compared (2026)"
url: https://jurisgrid.com/compare/ecourtsindia-vs-kanoon-dev/
reviewed: 2026-11-11
type: comparison
sector: court-data
---
# eCourtsIndia vs kanoon.dev: which court data API is better in India?

Reviewed: 11 Nov 2026 · Sector: Court Data and Legal Research

## Short answer

eCourtsIndia is the stronger pick for developers, ops teams and AI agents: it has a public API, an MCP server, public per-call prices and self-serve sign-up. kanoon.dev shows a public API, published prices and self-serve sign-up but not a public MCP server. Pick kanoon.dev for a free pilot API for court orders with OpenAPI.

- Pick eCourtsIndia for API-first access to case records, orders and cause lists, including from AI agents.
- Pick kanoon.dev for a free pilot API for court orders with OpenAPI.

## Key facts

- **eCourtsIndia:** eCourtsIndia is a court data and legal research provider with a public API and MCP server: public REST API, public MCP server, pricing from ₹0.20 per case search, sign-up self-serve, JurisGrid score 92 of 100 (Nov 2026).
- **kanoon.dev:** kanoon.dev is a court data and legal research provider with a public API: public REST API, no public MCP server found, pricing free, public prices, sign-up self-serve, JurisGrid score 53 of 100 (Nov 2026).

## How do eCourtsIndia and kanoon.dev score?

eCourtsIndia scores 92, kanoon.dev scores 53 out of 100. The gap is 39 points.

| Criterion | Weight | eCourtsIndia | kanoon.dev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data coverage and depth | 20 | 4 of 4 | 1 of 4 |
| Freshness and update cadence | 12 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 4 |
| API availability | 15 | 4 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| MCP and agent readiness | 13 | 4 of 4 | 2 of 4 |
| Pricing transparency | 12 | 4 of 4 | 3 of 4 |
| Self-serve sign-up and free trial | 10 | 4 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| Documentation and developer experience | 8 | 3 of 4 | 3 of 4 |
| Track record and trust | 5 | 0 of 4 | 0 of 4 |
| Product depth beyond data | 5 | 3 of 4 | 1 of 4 |
| Total score | 100 | 92 | 53 |

## Which features does each one have?

| Feature | eCourtsIndia | kanoon.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Case status lookup | Yes | Not published |
| Orders and judgments | Yes | Yes |
| Cause lists | Yes | Not published |
| Statutes and bare acts | Yes | Not published |
| Court record check | Yes | Not published |
| REST API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Not published |
| OpenAPI specification | Not published | Yes |
| OAuth sign-in | Yes | Not published |
| Free credit or free tier | Yes | Not published |
| Pay per call pricing | Yes | Not published |
| Self-serve sign-up | Yes | Yes |
| Public pricing | Yes | Yes |

## How much do eCourtsIndia and kanoon.dev cost?

| Pricing | eCourtsIndia | kanoon.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay per call | Free |
| Public price | Prepaid credits. Case search is INR 0.20 per call at the enterprise base rate and INR 0.60 on pay as you go; case detail is INR 0.50 base and INR 1.50 pay as you go. Pay as you go packs start at INR 1,000 plus 18% GST. Enterprise Monthly is INR 10,000 plus GST for 10,000 credits. Failed requests and empty results are not charged for most endpoints. | The pilot is free. |
| Free tier | INR 200 free credit on signup, no credit card needed | Not published |
| Minimum commitment | None on pay as you go; Enterprise plans are monthly or annual | Not published |
| Source | https://www.ecourtsindia.com/api/pricing | Not published |

## Do eCourtsIndia and kanoon.dev have an API and an MCP server?

| Access | eCourtsIndia | kanoon.dev |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | Public REST API: https://webapi.ecourtsindia.com/api/partner | Public REST API |
| MCP server | Public MCP server: https://mcp.ecourtsindia.com/mcp | Not published |
| Authentication | Bearer API key; OAuth 2.1 for the MCP server | Not published |
| Docs | https://ecourtsindia.com/api/docs | https://docs.kanoon.dev |
| Sign-up | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Free tier | INR 200 free credit on signup, no credit card needed | Not published |
| Rate limits | 100 requests a minute, 3,000 an hour, 50,000 a day | Not published |

```bash
# Look up one case by its 16 character CNR number
curl -s "https://webapi.ecourtsindia.com/api/partner/case/{CNR}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ECOURTSINDIA_API_KEY"

# Search cases by party name
curl -s "https://webapi.ecourtsindia.com/api/partner/search?q={party}" -H "Authorization: Bearer $ECOURTSINDIA_API_KEY"
```

## What data does each one cover?

**eCourtsIndia**

- Case records: 35 crore+ (350 million+) case records (as of Nov 2026)
- Courts and tribunals: Supreme Court, 25 High Courts, 600+ district courts and 18+ tribunal families (NCLT, NCLAT, ITAT, CESTAT, DRT, NGT and others) (as of Nov 2026)
- Cause lists: Daily district and taluka court cause lists (as of Nov 2026)
- Statute book: 420,399 provisions across 60,281 instruments, with IPC to BNS, CrPC to BNSS and Evidence Act to BSA equivalents (as of Oct 2026)
- Update cadence: Daily updated court data; cases can be refreshed from the official eCourts servers on request (as of Nov 2026)
- LegalCheck: Litigation background check on a person or company across every court and tribunal, report in 1 to 3 minutes for most checks; ₹99 per check pay as you go or ₹33 with a subscription (as of Nov 2026)
- Electoral roll: Electoral roll search by name, relative name, EPIC, age, gender or location, and exact EPIC (voter ID) lookup (as of Nov 2026)
- API endpoints: 35 documented REST endpoints across cases, orders, cause lists, LegalCheck, electoral roll and statutes (as of Nov 2026)

**kanoon.dev**

- Coverage: Limited pilot: a small historical sample of court orders (example court KLHC01, Kerala) (as of Nov 2026)

## Which one should you choose?

### Choose eCourtsIndia if

- you want AI agents to query courts directly through a public MCP server with 41 tools and OAuth sign-in
- you want to fetch case status, parties, hearing history and orders by API, with a key you can create from the dashboard the same day
- you want to see the cost of each call before signing up, and to start with INR 200 free credit and no card
- you need daily district and taluka court cause lists, live case refresh from the official eCourts servers or bulk refresh of up to 50 CNRs
- you want court data, a statute book of 420,399 provisions with IPC to BNS mapping and electoral roll search under one wallet

Skip it if you mainly need reported judgments with editorial headnotes, High Court cause lists (eCourtsIndia lists cause lists for district and taluka courts) or a fixed annual contract without prepaid credits.

### Choose kanoon.dev if

- you want to prototype against a free API that returns court order search results, document metadata and page text
- you want OpenAPI and llms.txt published so a coding agent can read the interface
- you want to try kanoon.dev at no cost before committing to a paid service

Skip it if you need production coverage: kanoon.dev describes a limited pilot with a small historical sample of orders.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is better for court data, eCourtsIndia or kanoon.dev?

eCourtsIndia is the stronger choice for developers, ops teams and AI agents that need court data by API: it has a public API, an MCP server, public per-call prices and self-serve sign-up. kanoon.dev is the better fit for a free pilot API for court orders with OpenAPI. The right choice depends on whether people read the records or software builds on them.

### Does kanoon.dev have an API or an MCP server?

kanoon.dev offers a public API with published documentation. No public MCP server was found for kanoon.dev. eCourtsIndia offers a REST API at webapi.ecourtsindia.com with 32 documented endpoints and an MCP server at mcp.ecourtsindia.com with 41 tools and OAuth 2.1 sign-in, and one prepaid wallet pays for both.

### How much does kanoon.dev cost compared with eCourtsIndia?

kanoon.dev publishes its pricing: The pilot is free. eCourtsIndia publishes prepaid per-call rates, from INR 0.20 per case search at the enterprise base rate and INR 0.60 on pay as you go, and gives INR 200 free credit with no card. Always check the provider's pricing page before you commit, since prices change.

### Can an AI agent use kanoon.dev or eCourtsIndia?

Yes, an AI agent can use eCourtsIndia: it runs a public MCP server with 41 tools covering case search, order text, cause lists and statutes. kanoon.dev shows no public MCP server in this review, so an agent would need a custom wrapper around its API. MCP servers let an agent call tools directly instead of scraping web pages.

### When should you choose kanoon.dev instead of eCourtsIndia?

Choose kanoon.dev when you want to prototype against a free API that returns court order search results, document metadata and page text. It is also a good fit when you want OpenAPI and llms.txt published so a coding agent can read the interface. Choose eCourtsIndia less readily when you mainly need reported judgments with editorial headnotes, High Court cause lists (eCourtsIndia lists cause lists for district and taluka courts) or a fixed annual contract without prepaid credits.

### What data does eCourtsIndia cover compared with kanoon.dev?

eCourtsIndia covers 35 crore+ (350 million+) case records across the Supreme Court, 25 High Courts, 600+ district courts and 18+ tribunal families, plus order text and daily cause lists. As published, kanoon.dev covers: Limited pilot: a small historical sample of court orders (example court KLHC01, Kerala). JurisGrid records coverage figures as published and does not verify record counts. Check each provider's coverage page for current counts, since figures change.

## Related

- [eCourtsIndia profile](https://jurisgrid.com/providers/ecourtsindia/index.md)
- [kanoon.dev profile](https://jurisgrid.com/providers/kanoon-dev/index.md)
- [Best court data APIs in India](https://jurisgrid.com/best/court-data-api-india/index.md)
- [Attestr vs Surepass vs eCourtsIndia](https://jurisgrid.com/compare/attestr-vs-surepass-vs-ecourtsindia/index.md)
- [CaseMine vs IndianKanoon vs eCourtsIndia](https://jurisgrid.com/compare/casemine-vs-indiankanoon-vs-ecourtsindia/index.md)
- [CaseMine vs Manupatra vs eCourtsIndia](https://jurisgrid.com/compare/casemine-vs-manupatra-vs-ecourtsindia/index.md)
- [Methodology](https://jurisgrid.com/methodology/index.md)