SmartAdvocate vs Smokeball
Smokeball scores 8.2/10 vs 7.6/10. Best for: Small firms that want automatic time capture and a massive document template library so they can bill more hours without manual tracking.
Smokeball scores higher overall at 8.2/10 vs 7.6/10. 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.
SmartAdvocate 
Smokeball Rank
#11 of 39
Rank
#2 of 39
Features
18/18
Features
17/18
Starting at
Custom
Starting at
$29/mo
User reviews
4.5/5 (150)
User reviews
4.8/5 (500)
What they cost
| SmartAdvocate | Smokeball | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting at | Contact for pricing | $29 /mo |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Number of plans | Custom | 3 |
What the pricing really means
Smokeball publishes their pricing upfront, which is a good sign. SmartAdvocate requires you to contact sales for a quote. When a company hides pricing, it usually means the cost is high enough that they want a salesperson to justify it before you see the number. Always ask for total year-one cost, not just the monthly subscription.
Where SmartAdvocate wins
- Medical provider and insurance carrier databases are pre-loaded, saving setup time
- Settlement disbursement automation calculates attorney fees, liens, and client payouts automatically
- Court rule calendaring with jurisdiction-specific deadlines built in
- Strong reporting on case values, settlement timelines, and referral source ROI
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 SmartAdvocate falls short
- No public pricing — enterprise-oriented pricing likely $100+/user
- Steep learning curve for new staff due to depth of features
- Interface is functional but not as modern as CASEpeer or CloudLex
- Only useful for plaintiff-side practices
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?
SmartAdvocate
Target: 5-200 attorneys
SmartAdvocate is the enterprise-grade PI case management tool. If you're a mid-size plaintiff firm with 10+ attorneys and need serious medical tracking and settlement automation, it's worth the demo. Smaller PI firms should compare CASEpeer first.
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 | SmartAdvocate | 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
Smokeball scores 8.2/10 vs SmartAdvocate's 7.6/10 in our ranking. Smokeball is the better pick for 1-30 attorneys. SmartAdvocate is better if you need mid-size plaintiff firms that need comprehensive medical provider tracking, insurance carrier management, and settlement disbursement automation.
SmartAdvocate uses custom pricing (contact sales). 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.
SmartAdvocate: No free trial. Smokeball: No free trial. Always test with your actual workflow before committing to an annual plan.
SmartAdvocate covers 18 of 18 features we track. Smokeball covers 17 of 18. SmartAdvocate has broader feature coverage, but more features does not always mean better — pick the tool that covers what your business actually needs.
Yes, SmartAdvocate 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 SmartAdvocate if...
Mid-size plaintiff firms that need comprehensive medical provider tracking, insurance carrier management, and settlement disbursement automation.
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.