SoloSuit vs Upsolve: Different Tools for Different Problems

SoloSuit and Upsolve are routinely compared in search results, but the comparison is misleading because the two products solve different problems. The table below compares them — and adds the third option most readers don't initially encounter, Answered — across the dimensions that actually matter for someone facing debt-related legal or financial stress. Facts in the table are sourced from each organization's published materials, BBB complaint records with 2025 dates, the Upsolve v. James docket (S.D.N.Y. 22-cv-1345), CBInsights and Trustpilot data, and the public Wisconsin Circuit Court record for Plaza Services LLC v. DiSalle.

This is the most important framing on the page. Most readers comparing SoloSuit and Upsolve are doing so because both products show up in searches about "debt help" — but the products are not in the same category.

SoloSuit helps you defend a specific debt-collection lawsuit. The reader has been served with a Complaint and Summons by a debt buyer or collector, has a deadline of 14 to 35 days depending on the state, and needs to file an Answer or risk losing by default. SoloSuit generates that Answer.

Upsolve helps you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The reader has unmanageable debt across multiple creditors, qualifies for Chapter 7 under the federal means test, and wants comprehensive discharge of most unsecured debts. Upsolve walks the user through the federal schedules and, in supported districts, e-files on the user's behalf.

These are different proceedings in different courts. The debt-collection lawsuit is filed in state civil court; Chapter 7 is filed in federal bankruptcy court. The Answer is governed by state rules of civil procedure; Chapter 7 is governed by Title 11 of the U.S. Code. The outcome for the debt-collection lawsuit is dismissal, settlement, judgment, or default; the outcome for Chapter 7 is discharge or denial of discharge.

A reader asking "which is better" is usually asking the wrong question. The right questions are: am I being sued for a specific debt, and do I need to defend that lawsuit? Do I have multiple unmanageable debts across creditors, and do I qualify for Chapter 7? Sometimes the answer is one. Sometimes the answer is the other. Sometimes the answer is both. (For an example of what defending a specific lawsuit looks like in one state, see how to fight a debt lawsuit in Georgia.)

SoloSuit is the right tool when you have been sued for a specific debt and need to file an Answer with the court before your state's deadline. Several things SoloSuit does well:

— 50-state coverage. SoloSuit will generate an Answer for a debt-collection lawsuit filed in any U.S. state. This is broader than Answered's coverage (18 states).

— Speed. SoloSuit's web app asks the user a series of questions and generates an Answer document in approximately 15 minutes. For someone served with a Complaint and Summons two weeks before their deadline, the speed matters.

— Low entry pricing. The free tier produces an Answer document the user prints and mails themselves. The $67 Standard tier adds attorney-not-included filing. The $247 Premium tier adds attorney review by one of SoloSuit's eight partnering attorneys. Compared to hiring a debt-defense attorney ($500 to $5,000+), SoloSuit is genuinely cheaper.

— Motion to Compel Arbitration. If the original credit-card or loan agreement contains an arbitration clause, SoloSuit will generate a Motion to Compel Arbitration that forces the dispute out of court and into arbitration. This raises costs for the debt buyer and frequently leads to dismissal.

— SoloSettle. SoloSuit's settlement product lets users send an offer to the debt collector through a secure platform. The fee is 19% of the face value of the original debt, charged only on successful settlement.

— Money-back guarantee. SoloSuit's published guarantee covers cases where the product fails to deliver what was paid for. BBB complaint records from 2025 confirm that SoloSuit honors refund requests when filings are rejected by courts or service fails — refunds of $297, $47, and full service-fee amounts have been issued and documented.

— Press and customer base. Fast Company has covered SoloSuit; NPR ran a story on it. The company reports having helped 366,000 people protect $2.62 billion (per the current homepage), with 112 Trustpilot reviews averaging 4 stars.

For a user in a state Answered does not cover, with a straightforward debt-collection case where filing an Answer on time is the primary goal, SoloSuit at $67 is a reasonable choice.

Upsolve is the right tool when you have multiple unmanageable debts, qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy under the federal means test, and want comprehensive discharge of most unsecured debts. Several things Upsolve does well:

— Genuinely free. Upsolve's bankruptcy filing tool is free for qualifying users. There is no premium tier, no upsell, and no credit card required. The user pays the federal bankruptcy court filing fee (~$338) directly to the court, not to Upsolve — and that fee itself is waivable for low-income filers under 28 U.S.C. § 1930(f).

— 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Upsolve is a real nonprofit funded by grants from Legal Services Corporation (the federal agency that funds civil legal aid), the Gates Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, AlleyCorp, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and individual donors including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Upsolve's tax-exempt status is verifiable on the IRS exempt-organization search.

— Bankruptcy attorney as co-founder. Jonathan Petts has a JD and an LLM in bankruptcy from St. John's University School of Law and is a practicing bankruptcy attorney with more than 15 years of experience. He is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) and the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). This is direct domain authority for a bankruptcy filing tool.

— Institutional press. TIME Best Inventions 2020, Fast Company World Changing Idea 2019, the New York Times Good Tech Award 2018, four Forbes features, and a Wikipedia entry. This is institutional credibility that legal-tech startups rarely accumulate.

— Track record. More than 19,000 families have used Upsolve's tool to discharge over $911 million in debt (some sources cite the older 14,000 / $600 million figures). This is outcome data at scale.

— Free attorney consultations in supported districts. In some federal bankruptcy districts, Upsolve facilitates a free pre-filing consultation with a bankruptcy attorney through its referral network. Upsolve discloses that it earns a small fee for these attorney referrals.

— Educational content. Upsolve publishes hundreds of educational articles on debt collection law, credit reports, post-discharge credit rebuilding, and adjacent topics. Even users who don't end up filing through Upsolve often benefit from the content.

For a user with debt across multiple creditors that cannot be paid back within a reasonable timeframe, who qualifies for Chapter 7 under the means test and asset test, Upsolve is the gold standard free filing tool.

Many readers comparing SoloSuit and Upsolve are looking at the wrong two products. SoloSuit defends a specific lawsuit but with generic Answer templates that don't cite state-specific case law and don't include motion suites beyond arbitration. Upsolve files Chapter 7 but doesn't generate debt-defense documents at all (and refers users facing lawsuits to SoloSuit through a disclosed affiliate relationship).

For a user sued for debt in one of 18 attorney-reviewed states, who wants a substantive defense — not just an Answer filed, but the motion suite, counterclaims, and state-specific case law that change how the case actually proceeds — there is a third option: Answered.

Answered was founded in 2024 by John DiSalle, who built it after being sued by a debt buyer, Plaza Services LLC, in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin in 2025. DiSalle defended the case pro se using the early version of what is now Answered. Plaza Services LLC v. DiSalle, case number 2025SC000885, was dismissed without prejudice on April 9, 2026. The Wisconsin Circuit Court record is publicly available through the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (CCAP) system.

Answered's product is structurally different from SoloSuit's:

— State-specific case law BAKED INTO documents. Georgia documents cite Nyankojo v. North Star Capital Acquisitions, 298 Ga. App. 6 (2009), and Wirth v. CACH, LLC, 300 Ga. App. 488 (2009) — the controlling state appellate cases on debt-buyer standing. California documents cite the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Florida documents cite the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act. Wisconsin documents cite Brindise on the timing of confirmation defenses. SoloSuit's documents do not cite this case law because SoloSuit's templates are designed for 50-state generic use.

— Motion to Compel Discovery. When a debt buyer sues, the central evidentiary question is whether the plaintiff can produce the bill of sale linking the specific account to the plaintiff. Most debt buyers receive only a spreadsheet of names, addresses, and balances when they purchase a portfolio — not the documentation needed to prove standing. A Motion to Compel Discovery forces the plaintiff to produce the bill of sale, the chain of assignment, and account statements. Many debt-buyer cases end in voluntary dismissal once this motion is filed. SoloSuit does not generate a Motion to Compel Discovery.

— FDCPA counterclaims. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.) provides statutory damages up to $1,000 plus actual damages plus attorney fees plus costs for violations by debt collectors. A counterclaim shifts the case from "you owe us money" to "and you may owe me statutory damages." In California, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides parallel state-level remedies. In North Carolina, the NCDCA does the same. SoloSuit does not generate counterclaims of any kind.

— 18 attorney-reviewed states. Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Mail filing is live in Wisconsin, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, and Michigan.

— No eligibility test. No income test, no asset test, no exclusion for home ownership, no exclusion for pending injury lawsuits, no exclusion for business owners, no exclusion for prior bankruptcy.

— Pricing. $99 one-time, or $33 today plus $33 in week one and $33 in week two via Pay-in-3 (no interest, no credit check). Optional $40 mail filing in the six states where it's live.

For a head-to-head comparison of Answered against SoloSuit, see /compare/answered-vs-solosuit. For a head-to-head comparison against Upsolve, see /compare/answered-vs-upsolve.

When a user reports a debt-collection lawsuit, Upsolve directs them to SoloSuit. Upsolve discloses this relationship verbatim on its own site: "Solo is an affiliate partner, which means Upsolve may earn a small commission if you choose to use their paid service. This helps keep our services free."

This is a real, disclosed business relationship — not a hidden one. Upsolve has chosen not to build a debt-defense product. SoloSuit has. The referral is a rational result of product scoping, and the affiliate revenue helps fund Upsolve's free bankruptcy tool. None of this is improper.

But the disclosed referral is one-to-one — SoloSuit only. An Upsolve user in a state Answered covers does not see Answered in Upsolve's recommendations. That's not Upsolve's failure — Upsolve doesn't have a business relationship with Answered and isn't obligated to mention products outside its referral network. It just means that an Upsolve user comparing options may not realize Answered exists.

For an Upsolve user being sued in one of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, or Wisconsin, the choice is not just between SoloSuit and bankruptcy. It is between SoloSuit, bankruptcy (if eligible), and Answered.

The headline pricing comparison hides important details about what you actually pay each product. The breakdown:

Upsolve. Free for qualifying users. The user pays the federal bankruptcy court filing fee — approximately $338 — directly to the federal bankruptcy court (not to Upsolve). That fee is waivable for low-income filers who qualify under 28 U.S.C. § 1930(f). The two required pre-discharge credit-counseling courses cost approximately $10 to $50 each, paid to third-party providers, not to Upsolve. Total cost to user for a typical filing: approximately $358 to $438, all of which goes to third parties.

SoloSuit. The free Answer tier produces a document the user prints and mails themselves. The $67 Standard tier adds filing service. The $247 Premium tier adds attorney review by one of SoloSuit's eight partnering attorneys. The Motion to Compel Arbitration add-on is $20. Court filing fees — typically around $240, varying by state and court — are charged separately and paid to the court, not to SoloSuit. SoloSettle takes 19% of the face value of the original debt on successful settlement. Total cost to a Standard user filing one Answer: $67 + $240 = $307. Premium user: $247 + $240 = $487, with attorney review.

Answered. $99 one-time, or $33 today plus $33 in week one and $33 in week two via Pay-in-3 (no interest, no credit check). Optional $40 mail filing add-on in the six states where it's live. Court filing fees vary by state and are paid to the court. Total cost to a user filing in a mail-filing state: $99 + $40 mail filing + court filing fee. For non-mail-filing states, the user prints and mails the documents themselves, so the total is $99 + court filing fee.

A user who chooses Upsolve and qualifies pays approximately $358 to the court and third parties. A user who chooses SoloSuit Standard pays $67 to SoloSuit and $240 to the court. A user who chooses Answered pays $99 to Answered and the court filing fee to the court. The three are not directly comparable because the products do different things — Upsolve files a bankruptcy, SoloSuit files an Answer, Answered files an Answer plus motions and counterclaims with state-specific case law.

The honest comparison is not "free vs $67 vs $99." It is "free Chapter 7 filing vs $67 generic-template Answer vs $99 state-specific defense suite." Different services, different price points.

Upsolve. Federal bankruptcy court coverage everywhere; some federal districts allow Upsolve to e-file on the user's behalf, while in others the user prints and files themselves. Eligibility is narrow, by design. Upsolve's own FAQ states: "Upsolve isn't for everyone. It's only for simple Chapter 7 cases. We only let people use our free Chapter 7 filing tool if we believe that the outcome they'd receive with our service is the same outcome they'd receive through a traditional attorney."

Specifically, Upsolve disqualifies users who fail the federal means test (above-median household income for their state under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)), users with substantial non-exempt assets, users with a pending personal-injury lawsuit (an asset issue), users with recent significant cash transfers or large credit purchases, users with business assets that complicate the filing, and users who have filed bankruptcy twice in the past eight years (a § 727 disqualifier). Upsolve's own published statement: filers most likely to qualify cleanly are "people whose income is so low they are not required to file a federal tax return — for example, Social Security recipients below the federal filing threshold."

SoloSuit. All 50 states. No income test, no asset test, no eligibility exclusions. Any defendant in a debt-collection lawsuit can use SoloSuit.

Answered. 18 attorney-reviewed states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Mail filing is live in Wisconsin, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, and Michigan. No income test, no asset test, no eligibility exclusions.

The eligibility breadth difference matters. A small-business owner above the state median income, with home equity above the state exemption, facing a credit-card lawsuit, cannot use Upsolve (Chapter 7 disqualified) but can use SoloSuit or Answered.

What each product actually generates:

SoloSuit and Answered both generate Answer documents, but the documents are structurally different. A SoloSuit Answer is built from a 50-state generic template that handles paragraph-by-paragraph denials and includes a standard set of affirmative defenses that work across most jurisdictions. An Answered Answer is built from a state-specific template reviewed by an attorney for that state, with affirmative defenses calibrated to the state's case law and rules of civil procedure.

The most consequential gap in SoloSuit's scope for many readers is the Motion to Compel Discovery. In a debt-buyer case where the plaintiff has not produced the bill of sale or chain of assignment, the Motion to Compel Discovery forces production. Many cases end at this stage because the debt buyer doesn't have the documents. SoloSuit doesn't generate this motion. Answered does.

The second consequential gap is counterclaims. FDCPA counterclaims (15 U.S.C. § 1692) carry statutory damages up to $1,000 plus actual damages plus attorney fees plus costs. In California, Rosenthal Act counterclaims provide parallel state remedies. In North Carolina, the NCDCA does the same. A counterclaim changes the case dynamics — the debt buyer now faces potential liability instead of just upside. SoloSuit doesn't generate counterclaims. Answered does.

Rather than pick between SoloSuit and Upsolve as if they were competing products, map your situation to the right tool:

Scenario 1: I'm sued for one debt, otherwise manageable finances, in a state Answered covers. The lawsuit defense matters; bankruptcy isn't on the table. Use Answered — the state-specific case law, motion suite, and counterclaims add value that a generic Answer template doesn't provide. (Covered states: AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX, VA, WI.)

Scenario 2: I'm sued for one debt, otherwise manageable finances, in a state Answered does NOT cover. The lawsuit defense matters; bankruptcy isn't on the table; Answered isn't an option. Use SoloSuit at the $67 Standard tier for a fast Answer, or consider hiring a debt-defense attorney for $500 to $5,000 if the case is complex.

Scenario 3: I have multiple unmanageable debts and qualify for Chapter 7. The total debt picture matters; one lawsuit defense doesn't solve the problem. Use Upsolve — Chapter 7 discharges most unsecured debt across all creditors at once and, via the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362, pauses any pending state-court lawsuits.

Scenario 4: I'm being sued AND have multiple unmanageable debts AND qualify for Chapter 7. Both products fit. Use both. Defend the immediate lawsuit with Answered (in a covered state) or SoloSuit (otherwise) to buy time while preparing the Chapter 7 filing with Upsolve. If the Chapter 7 is filed before the lawsuit resolves, the automatic stay pauses the state-court case.

Scenario 5: I have multiple unmanageable debts but don't qualify for Chapter 7. Upsolve isn't available. Options: hire a bankruptcy attorney for Chapter 13 reorganization ($3,000 to $6,000+, often paid through the repayment plan), pursue a debt management plan through an NFCC-accredited nonprofit credit counseling agency (Upsolve refers users to Cambridge Credit Counseling for this), or negotiate debt settlement directly with creditors. If you're also being sued, defend the immediate lawsuit with Answered or SoloSuit while pursuing one of these.

Scenario 6: I already have an attorney. Software-based defense tools are not a substitute for the attorney you have. Continue with your attorney.

Yes, and for some users it's the right strategy. The scenario is straightforward: a user with multiple unmanageable debts qualifying for Chapter 7, who has also been served with a debt-collection lawsuit on one of those debts, with a 20- to 30-day deadline to file an Answer.

The Chapter 7 filing takes time — at minimum a few weeks to complete the means test, gather documentation, complete the required pre-filing credit-counseling course, and file the petition and schedules. The Answer deadline doesn't wait. So a coherent strategy:

1. File the Answer first. Use Answered (if in a covered state) or SoloSuit (if not) to file the Answer with the state civil court before the deadline. This prevents a default judgment. 2. Prepare the Chapter 7 filing in parallel. Use Upsolve to complete the means test, schedules, and Statement of Financial Affairs. 3. File Chapter 7. Once the bankruptcy petition is filed in federal court, the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 takes effect and pauses most pending state-court collection actions, including the debt lawsuit you just answered. The state-court case is on hold while the bankruptcy proceeds. 4. Discharge. If the Chapter 7 is granted (typically 60 to 90 days after filing), most unsecured debt — including the debt that was the subject of the state-court lawsuit — is discharged. The state-court case becomes moot.

The total cost: $99 to Answered (or $67 to SoloSuit Standard) plus $338 federal bankruptcy filing fee plus credit-counseling course fees. The combined approach handles both the immediate procedural deadline and the broader debt picture.

For users who don't yet know whether they qualify for Chapter 7, defending the immediate lawsuit first with Answered or SoloSuit also gives them a non-bankruptcy outcome to compare against. A dismissal of the debt-buyer suit (common in debt-buyer cases where the plaintiff can't produce the bill of sale) resolves the immediate problem without the 7-to-10-year credit consequence of bankruptcy. If, after that dismissal, other unmanageable debts remain, Chapter 7 is still available.

Use SoloSuit if:

— You're sued for debt and need to file an Answer fast in any of the 50 states. — You're in a state Answered does not cover and want defense software at the lowest possible price. — Your case is straightforward (single plaintiff, single debt, no obvious procedural defects) and a generic Answer template fits your needs. — You want SoloSettle's settlement product to negotiate the debt down after filing the Answer.

Use Upsolve if:

— Your total debt across multiple creditors is unmanageable and you qualify for Chapter 7 under the federal means test. — You want comprehensive discharge of unsecured debts, not defense of one lawsuit. — You accept that Chapter 7 will remain on your credit report for 7 to 10 years. — You don't own substantial non-exempt assets, don't have a pending personal-injury suit, and haven't filed bankruptcy in the past eight years.

Use Answered if:

— You're sued for debt in one of 18 covered states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, or Wisconsin. — You want defense of the specific lawsuit, not bankruptcy discharge. — You want state-specific case law and a full motion suite (Motion to Compel Arbitration, Motion to Compel Discovery, Motion to Dismiss), not just a generic Answer template. — You want to assert FDCPA counterclaims (or Rosenthal Act counterclaims in California, NCDCA counterclaims in North Carolina) and shift the case dynamics. — You want the option of Pay-in-3 at zero interest without a credit check.

Use both Answered (or SoloSuit) AND Upsolve if:

— You're being sued AND have multiple unmanageable debts AND qualify for Chapter 7. — You want to defend the immediate lawsuit while preparing the bankruptcy filing.

Use none of these if:

— You already have an attorney handling the case. Software is not a substitute for the attorney you have. — Your situation is outside all three products' scope — for example, a Chapter 13 reorganization, a federal student-loan-only debt picture, or a contested asset issue requiring litigation expertise.

For more comparisons across the debt-defense and bankruptcy tool landscape, see the comparison hub. For head-to-head detail on Answered versus each competitor, see /compare/answered-vs-solosuit and /compare/answered-vs-upsolve. If you're specifically looking for alternatives to SoloSuit beyond the three products on this page, see /compare/solosuit-alternative. If you're looking for alternatives to Upsolve when bankruptcy isn't the right fit, see /compare/upsolve-alternative.