Smokeball vs CARET Legal
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.
Smokeball 
CARET Legal Rank
#2 of 39
Rank
#12 of 39
Features
17/18
Features
13/18
Starting at
$29/mo
Starting at
Custom
User reviews
4.8/5 (500)
User reviews
4.4/5 (150)
What they cost
| Smokeball | CARET Legal | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting at | $29 /mo | Contact for pricing |
| Free trial | No | 14 days |
| Number of plans | 3 | Custom |
What the pricing really means
Smokeball publishes their pricing upfront, which is a good sign. CARET Legal 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 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 CARET Legal wins
- Built-in email system that automatically links messages to matters — no Outlook plugin needed, no manual filing
- Free trial available, unlike many competitors that require demo-only onboarding
- Mobile app on iOS and Android for managing matters on the go
- Strong document management with version control and full-text search
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
Where CARET Legal falls short
- Built-in email means migrating your firm email, which is a significant commitment
- No public pricing since rebrand from Zola Suite to CARET Legal — must contact sales
- No intake forms, conflict checks, eSignature, or document automation confirmed on current feature set
- Rebranded product — some older reviews reference Zola Suite, making it harder to gauge current quality
Who is each product built for?
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.
CARET Legal
Target: 1-50 attorneys
CARET Legal (formerly Zola Suite) still differentiates on built-in email tied to matters. If emails falling through the cracks is your biggest pain, this solves it at the platform level. The rebrand removed public pricing, so request a trial to evaluate.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Smokeball | CARET Legal |
|---|---|---|
| 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 CARET Legal's 7.6/10 in our ranking. Smokeball is the better pick for 1-30 attorneys. CARET Legal is better if you need firms that want built-in email hosting tied to their matters so every email is automatically linked to the right case without manual filing.
Smokeball starts at $29/month. CARET Legal uses custom pricing (contact sales). Watch for add-on costs — the base price often does not include all features. Pricing last verified 2026-04-11.
Smokeball: No free trial. CARET Legal: Yes, 14-day free trial. Always test with your actual workflow before committing to an annual plan.
Smokeball covers 17 of 18 features we track. CARET Legal covers 13 of 18. Smokeball has broader feature coverage, but more features does not always mean better — pick the tool that covers what your business actually needs.
No, Smokeball does not have a mobile app. CARET Legal does have one.
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 Smokeball if...
Small firms that want automatic time capture and a massive document template library so they can bill more hours without manual tracking.
Pick CARET Legal if...
Firms that want built-in email hosting tied to their matters so every email is automatically linked to the right case without manual filing.