Lightning Docs vs Simplifile

These two never compete for the same dollar

Lightning Docs makes loan documents. Simplifile sends recordable instruments to counties. There is no feature overlap between them. A private lender may buy both in the same quarter. Lightning Docs reported roughly 5,000 loans generated per month in April 2025. Simplifile publishes no comparable monthly figure. Volume is not the axis that separates these two. The comparison works only as a map of the workflow.

The map matters more here than any feature grid.

What each product actually is

Lightning Docs is a cloud based loan document system built by the firm now called Fortra Law. That firm operated as Geraci LLP until a name change in July 2025. Lightning Docs launched in 2018 and names Nema Daghbandan as chief executive. Dennis Baranowski is named as a co founder and a partner at Fortra Law. Simplifile says it is part of ICE Mortgage Technology and has operated since 2000. One sells legal drafting automation. The other sells a network connection to county recorders.

Business purpose paper against county recording

Lightning Docs covers bridge, fix and flip, ground up construction and DSCR rental loans. It generates packages for all 50 states with state specific disclosures and notary blocks. Simplifile does not care which loan type produced the deed of trust. It cares whether the county accepts electronic submission. Simplifile says its network covers more than 90 percent of residents nationwide. It also serves counties, servicers, builders and contractors. Its servicer templates cover lien releases and assignments.

Lightning Docs bills per loan while recording fees follow the county schedule.

One price is published and one is not

Lightning Docs publishes a flat rate of $500 per loan no matter the terms. Billing happens at month end for documents generated. Entity review through Fortra Law starts at $350. Simplifile publishes no rate card. County recording fees vary by jurisdiction and are set locally. Lightning Docs also states that it does not produce broker specific documents. Ask Simplifile for its per submission charge and how rejections are billed.

Neither vendor bundles the other’s work into a single invoice. Ask each one what falls outside its own scope. That answer prevents a gap at the closing table.

Volume claims and what backs them

Lightning Docs says it has funded over $90 billion in loans since 2018. It cites more than 165,000 loans originated, including 60,000 during 2025. A May 2026 page reported 25,519 loans and $14 billion in the opening quarter of 2026. March 2026 was described as a record month with over $4 billion originated. Those figures are vendor stated and carry no published audit. Simplifile publishes no current county count on its ICE pages. A 2023 HousingWire article put that number above 2,400 counties.

Neither one owns the eNote registry problem

Lightning Docs names no eSign engine, no eNote and no eRecording on its site. Simplifile publishes eSign and eNotary for servicer lien releases and assignments. Neither presents itself as a MERS eRegistry eVault. A lender needing eNote capability has to buy that somewhere else. Docutech, by contrast, names both MERS eRegistry and Simplifile on its partner page. Lightning Docs does publish a loan modifications module for existing paper. That is drafting work, not registry work.

Who ends up holding both quotes

A private lender writing DSCR and bridge paper is the buyer for both. Lightning Docs drafts the note and the deed of trust. Simplifile records the security instrument after closing. The two never substitute for each other. Document cost and recording cost hit different lines on the same file. Anyone comparing them on features has misread the workflow.

Which one to pick

A private lender without reliable document automation should buy Lightning Docs. A settlement or servicing operation fighting county rejections should buy Simplifile. Neither purchase removes the need for the other. Ask Lightning Docs what handles signature and recording once documents are generated. Ask Simplifile for coverage and turnaround in the counties where you lend most. Both answers should name counties, not states.

Also in this category

Also in this category: DocMagic vs Docutech and DocMagic vs Lightning Docs.