Arbitration clauses are agreed at signing and regretted at disputes, in both directions. The honest comparison is narrower than the marketing.

Cost. Arbitration removes some procedural expense but adds the arbitrators’ fees, which in a three-member panel on a substantial commercial dispute can be very large. For smaller disputes it is often cheaper; for larger ones frequently not.

Speed. Usually faster than a congested docket, though complex arbitrations run for years. The reliable saving is the absence of an appeal.

Appeal is the real trade. Judicial review of an award is extremely narrow — generally limited to matters like corruption, evident partiality, or an arbitrator exceeding their powers, not to getting the law wrong. An arbitrator’s mistake of law is usually final. That is the single most important consequence of the clause and the one least considered when it is signed.

Privacy. Arbitration is generally confidential; litigation is generally public. For a firm concerned about the record, that can outweigh everything else.

Discovery. Typically more limited, which favors the party with fewer documents to produce and disadvantages the party who needs the other side’s.

Points to negotiate: the number of arbitrators, the rules, the seat, whether discovery is defined, and whether a reasoned award is required.