Clio vs Smokeball
Clio scores 8.5/10 vs 8.2/10. Best for: Firms of any size that want the most widely-adopted cloud practice management platform with deep integrations and a proven track record.
Clio scores higher overall at 8.5/10 vs 8.2/10. Clio is the safe pick for most law firms. It covers everything, integrates with everything, and has the largest support ecosystem. Skip it if you're a solo attorney watching every dollar — $49/month per user for EasyStart is reasonable, but you'll want Advanced ($119) to get the features that actually matter.
Clio 
Smokeball Rank
#1 of 39
Rank
#2 of 39
Features
18/18
Features
17/18
Starting at
$49/mo
Starting at
$29/mo
User reviews
4.6/5 (1900)
User reviews
4.8/5 (500)
What they cost
| Clio | Smokeball | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting at | $49 /mo | $29 /mo |
| Free trial | 7 days | No |
| Number of plans | 4 | 3 |
What the pricing really means
At first glance, Smokeball looks cheaper at $29/month vs $49/month. But sticker price is only part of the story. Look at what is included on the base plan, how many users you get, and whether you need add-ons to get the features you actually need. The $99/month plan that requires $200 in add-ons is actually more expensive than the $250/month plan that includes everything.
Where Clio wins
- Largest user base in legal tech, which means 250+ integrations, active community forums, and no shortage of YouTube walkthroughs
- Clio Grow (intake and CRM) bundles into the Complete plan, so you get lead tracking without bolting on another tool
- Mobile app actually works for time tracking between court appearances and client meetings
- 7-day free trial with no credit card, plus they offer data migration assistance from competing products
Where Smokeball wins
- Automatic time tracking runs in the background and captures billable activity you'd otherwise forget to log — firms report 20-30% more captured time
- 1,000+ built-in document templates for common legal forms, which saves hours compared to building templates from scratch
- G2 and Capterra ratings (4.8/5 on both) are the highest in the category, and reviews back it up with genuine praise
- Bill plan at $29/user is one of the cheapest entry points if you just need billing and time tracking
Where Clio falls short
- Pricing adds up fast at $149/user/month for the Complete plan — a 5-attorney firm pays $745/month before any add-ons
- Trust accounting is solid but not as deep as CosmoLex, which was purpose-built for legal accounting
- Court rule calendaring requires the Advanced plan at $119/user — not available on the cheaper tiers
- Some users report the reporting tools lag behind what you'd get from a dedicated BI tool
Where Smokeball falls short
- No free trial — you have to commit based on a demo, which means trusting the sales pitch
- The Grow plan at $149/user is expensive and you need it for automatic time tracking, which is the main differentiator
- Smaller integration ecosystem than Clio — about 50 integrations vs 250+
- No mobile app — desktop-first architecture means attorneys can't access cases from their phone
- Originally built for Australian and UK markets, so some US-specific workflows feel bolted on
Who is each product built for?
Clio
Target: 1-100+ attorneys
Clio is the safe pick for most law firms. It covers everything, integrates with everything, and has the largest support ecosystem. Skip it if you're a solo attorney watching every dollar — $49/month per user for EasyStart is reasonable, but you'll want Advanced ($119) to get the features that actually matter.
Smokeball
Target: 1-30 attorneys
Smokeball's automatic time tracking genuinely captures revenue that other tools miss. If your firm leaks billable hours because attorneys forget to start timers, this pays for itself. The catch: you need the $149/user Grow plan to get it.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Clio | Smokeball |
|---|---|---|
| Case Management | ||
| Case / matter management | ||
| Contact management | ||
| Conflict checks | ||
| Client intake forms | ||
| Client portal | ||
| Documents & Automation | ||
| Document management | ||
| Document automation | ||
| E-signatures | ||
| Email management | ||
| Billing & Accounting | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Billing & invoicing | ||
| Trust / IOLTA accounting | ||
| Scheduling & Deadlines | ||
| Calendar management | ||
| Task management | ||
| Court rule deadlines | ||
| Platform | ||
| Reporting / analytics | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| API access | ||
Common questions
Clio scores 8.5/10 vs Smokeball's 8.2/10 in our ranking. Clio is the better pick for 1-100+ attorneys. Smokeball is better if you need small firms that want automatic time capture and a massive document template library so they can bill more hours without manual tracking.
Clio starts at $49/month. Smokeball starts at $29/month. Watch for add-on costs — the base price often does not include all features. Pricing last verified 2026-04-11.
Clio: Yes, 7-day free trial. Smokeball: No free trial. Always test with your actual workflow before committing to an annual plan.
Clio covers 18 of 18 features we track. Smokeball covers 17 of 18. Clio has broader feature coverage, but more features does not always mean better — pick the tool that covers what your business actually needs.
Yes, Clio has a mobile app. Smokeball does not.
Yes. The main effort is migrating your data (customer lists, job history, invoices). Plan for 1-2 weeks of overlap where you run both. Most legal practice management tools can import CSV data. Ask both vendors about migration support before you sign.
The bottom line
Pick Clio if...
Firms of any size that want the most widely-adopted cloud practice management platform with deep integrations and a proven track record.
Pick Smokeball if...
Small firms that want automatic time capture and a massive document template library so they can bill more hours without manual tracking.