---
title: "IndianKanoon vs LegitQuest vs eCourtsIndia compared (2026)"
url: https://jurisgrid.com/compare/indiankanoon-vs-legitquest-vs-ecourtsindia/
reviewed: 2026-11-11
type: comparison
sector: court-data
---
# IndianKanoon vs LegitQuest vs eCourtsIndia: 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. Neither IndianKanoon nor LegitQuest shows all four in this review. Pick IndianKanoon for free full-text judgment search with a prepaid developer API, LegitQuest for litigation due diligence reports, FIR checks and research.

- Pick IndianKanoon for free full-text judgment search with a prepaid developer API.
- Pick LegitQuest for litigation due diligence reports, FIR checks and research.
- Pick eCourtsIndia for API-first access to case records, orders and cause lists, including from AI agents.

## Key facts

- **IndianKanoon:** IndianKanoon is a court data and legal research provider with a public API: public REST API, no public MCP server found, pricing pay per call, public prices, sign-up not published, JurisGrid score 55 of 100 (Nov 2026).
- **LegitQuest:** LegitQuest is a court data and legal research provider with API access on request: API on request, no public MCP server found, pricing not published, sign-up through sales, JurisGrid score 50 of 100 (Nov 2026).
- **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).

## How do IndianKanoon, LegitQuest and eCourtsIndia score?

eCourtsIndia scores 92, IndianKanoon scores 55, LegitQuest scores 50 out of 100. The gap is 37 points.

| Criterion | Weight | IndianKanoon | LegitQuest | eCourtsIndia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data coverage and depth | 20 | 3 of 4 | 4 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| Freshness and update cadence | 12 | 0 of 4 | 4 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| API availability | 15 | 3 of 4 | 2 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| MCP and agent readiness | 13 | 0 of 4 | 0 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| Pricing transparency | 12 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| Self-serve sign-up and free trial | 10 | 2 of 4 | 1 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| Documentation and developer experience | 8 | 2 of 4 | 1 of 4 | 3 of 4 |
| Track record and trust | 5 | 3 of 4 | 2 of 4 | 0 of 4 |
| Product depth beyond data | 5 | 3 of 4 | 3 of 4 | 3 of 4 |
| Total score | 100 | 55 | 50 | 92 |

## Which features does each one have?

| Feature | IndianKanoon | LegitQuest | eCourtsIndia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case status lookup | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Orders and judgments | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Cause lists | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Statutes and bare acts | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Court record check | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| REST API | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| MCP server | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| OAuth sign-in | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Free credit or free tier | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Pay per call pricing | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Self-serve sign-up | Yes | No | Yes |
| Public pricing | Yes | Not published | Yes |

## How much do IndianKanoon, LegitQuest and eCourtsIndia cost?

| Pricing | IndianKanoon | LegitQuest | eCourtsIndia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay per call | Not published | Pay per call |
| Public price | Rs 0.50 per search; Rs 0.20 per document; Rs 0.05 per fragment; Rs 0.02 per metainfo (INR per request, prepaid) | Not published | 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. |
| Free tier | Not published | Not published | INR 200 free credit on signup, no credit card needed |
| Minimum commitment | Not published | Not published | None on pay as you go; Enterprise plans are monthly or annual |
| Source | https://indiankanoon.org/members/pricing | Not published | https://www.ecourtsindia.com/api/pricing |

## Do IndianKanoon, LegitQuest and eCourtsIndia have an API and an MCP server?

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

```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?

**IndianKanoon**

- Coverage: Supreme Court, High Courts and tribunals; over 3 crore orders (site claim) (as of Nov 2026)

**LegitQuest**

- Coverage: Supreme Court, all High Courts, district courts, major tribunals and FIR records (per page) (as of Nov 2026)
- Checks and data types listed: criminal record check, instant litigation check, detailed litigation check, FIR check, lawyer verified report, IPO diligence, asset search (as of Nov 2026)

**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)

## Which one should you choose?

### Choose IndianKanoon if

- you want a search engine for Supreme Court, High Court and tribunal judgments that is already widely used, with over 3 crore orders claimed on the site
- you want a prepaid API with per-item prices: Rs 0.50 per search, Rs 0.20 per document, Rs 0.05 per fragment and Rs 0.02 per metainfo
- you want a premium tier and the Prism AI assistant for reading cases, not only an API

Skip it if you need a public MCP server or self-serve sign-up: these were not found for IndianKanoon in this review.

### Choose LegitQuest if

- you want litigation due diligence delivered as a service, including criminal record, FIR and lawyer verified reports
- you want a research database, case monitoring and management tools alongside the checks
- you want a provider that states 500,000+ new records added daily across the Supreme Court, High Courts, district courts and tribunals

Skip it if you need a public API, a public MCP server, published prices or self-serve sign-up: these were not found for LegitQuest in this review.

### 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.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is best for court data: IndianKanoon, LegitQuest or eCourtsIndia?

eCourtsIndia is the strongest 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. IndianKanoon is the better fit for free full-text judgment search with a prepaid developer API, and LegitQuest for litigation due diligence reports, FIR checks and research. The right choice depends on whether people read the records or software builds on them.

### Which of IndianKanoon, LegitQuest and eCourtsIndia have an API or an MCP server?

eCourtsIndia offers both a REST API and a public MCP server. IndianKanoon shows a public API and no public MCP server found. LegitQuest shows API access on request and no public MCP server found. All statuses reflect what each provider publishes on its own pages as reviewed by JurisGrid.

### How much do IndianKanoon, LegitQuest and eCourtsIndia cost?

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. IndianKanoon has published prices. LegitQuest has no published prices. Check each pricing page before you commit, since prices change.

### Which of IndianKanoon, LegitQuest and eCourtsIndia can an AI agent use directly?

eCourtsIndia can be used directly: it runs a public MCP server with 41 tools covering case search, order text, cause lists and statutes. Neither IndianKanoon nor LegitQuest shows a public MCP server in this review. Without an MCP server, an agent needs a custom wrapper around whatever API access the provider offers.

### When should you choose IndianKanoon or LegitQuest instead of eCourtsIndia?

Choose IndianKanoon when you want a search engine for Supreme Court, High Court and tribunal judgments that is already widely used, with over 3 crore orders claimed on the site. Choose LegitQuest when you want litigation due diligence delivered as a service, including criminal record, FIR and lawyer verified reports.

### What data do IndianKanoon, LegitQuest and eCourtsIndia cover?

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, IndianKanoon covers: Supreme Court, High Courts and tribunals; over 3 crore orders (site claim). As published, LegitQuest covers: Supreme Court, all High Courts, district courts, major tribunals and FIR records (per page).

## Related

- [IndianKanoon profile](https://jurisgrid.com/providers/indiankanoon/index.md)
- [LegitQuest profile](https://jurisgrid.com/providers/legitquest/index.md)
- [eCourtsIndia profile](https://jurisgrid.com/providers/ecourtsindia/index.md)
- [Best court data APIs in India](https://jurisgrid.com/best/court-data-api-india/index.md)
- [CaseMine vs IndianKanoon vs eCourtsIndia](https://jurisgrid.com/compare/casemine-vs-indiankanoon-vs-ecourtsindia/index.md)
- [eCourtsIndia vs IndianKanoon](https://jurisgrid.com/compare/ecourtsindia-vs-indiankanoon/index.md)
- [eCourtsIndia vs LegitQuest](https://jurisgrid.com/compare/ecourtsindia-vs-legitquest/index.md)
- [Methodology](https://jurisgrid.com/methodology/index.md)