Filevine vs Smokeball (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Smokeball: it is third in our ranking of law practice software, and they share a 2.0 GPA.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
Filevine grades higher on the free plan. Smokeball grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Filevine
Case management and the LOIS legal AI system, sold by quote
Free trial
Smokeball
Practice management with automatic time capture and court forms
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick Filevine if
- Fits if your firm runs heavy caseloads, such as personal injury or mass torts
- Works for prosecutors, public defenders and other government legal offices
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before a demo, as every package is quoted by the sales team
- Watch out: intake, depositions and signatures are separate packages, and analytics, court deadline rules and the client portal are extensions
- Not for you if you want to try case management first, since the free LOIS Explore trial is AI only and closed to existing customers
- Not for you if you'd rather set it up yourself, as setup runs through Filevine's certified partners
- Skip it if you need phone apps, as the listing has it as web only
Pick Smokeball if
- Fits if your firm files lots of court and agency forms, in areas like family law or personal injury
- Works for lawyers who want time logged against the matter without running timers
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: there's no published price, and a quote depends on users, plan, contract term and add-ons
- Skip it if you want to try it first, as there's no free plan or trial on record, only a demo
- Pricey if you want AutoTime, intake or workflows below Prosper+, as they cost extra on Grow, and Archie AI is an add-on from Boost up
- Not for you if your firm runs on Macs, as the desktop app is Windows only and Boost runs in the browser
- Watch out: online payments and eFiling carry fees, and eSignature runs through InfoTrack
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFilevineFair | 2.0GPASmokeballFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published. Filevine gives a price only on a sales call, after a demo, and intake, depositions and signatures are separate packages on that quote. | CNo price is published. Smokeball gives a price only on a sales call, depending on your number of users, the plan, the contract term and any add-ons. |
| Free plan and trial | DThe only free thing is LOIS Explore, a no-card trial of the AI research and drafting. It leaves out case management and is closed to existing customers, so the main product can't be tried before a demo. | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial, only a demo with the sales team. |
| Features | CMatters, unlimited documents, document assembly, LOIS AI, deposition tools, intake, timekeeping, LEDES billing and payments. The gaps the listing shows: no trust ledger on record, and analytics, court deadline rules and the client portal are paid extensions. | BMatters, tasks and calendars, more than 20,000 court and agency forms, AutoTime, invoicing, online payments, a trust ledger, intake, workflows and the Archie AI assistant across its plans. That's the whole job, though the general ledger sits in QuickBooks Online. |
| Ease of use | CWe have no store rating on file for it. Setup goes through Filevine's certified implementation partners rather than a sign-up you run yourself, so there's a project before the first matter. | CWe have no store rating on file for it. It's a whole firm system with matters, form templates, trust accounts and a QuickBooks link to set up, and you can't sign up yourself: it starts with a demo. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Outlook, Word, Gmail, Zoom, Dialpad, Workato and Domo. The listing has no desktop or phone apps, so away from a browser it can't follow you. | BWeb, a Windows desktop app on Grow and Prosper+, and iPhone and Android apps, with Outlook, Word, QuickBooks Online and InfoTrack. No Mac app, and no API or Zapier on record. |
| Best for | firms with heavy caseloads, like personal injury | small firms that file many court forms |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Filevine and Smokeball. How we grade
Where they differ
- Filevine also covers reports and business texting.
- Smokeball also covers templates and trust accounting.
In commonWebAI featuresTime trackingInvoicingCase management
At a glance
| Filevine | Smokeball | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | LOIS Explore: a free trial of its AI research and drafting for verified legal professionals, without case management | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Filevine, Inc. | Smokeball |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Filevine
- Filevine publishes no prices: every package is quoted by its sales team after a demo.
- Intake, depositions and signatures are separate packages; analytics, court deadline rules and the client portal are extensions to Matters.
- The free LOIS Explore trial covers AI research and drafting only, not case management, and is closed to existing Filevine customers.
- Setup is handled by Filevine's certified implementation partners rather than self-serve onboarding.
Smokeball
- Smokeball publishes no prices: a quote depends on the number of users, the plan, the contract term and add-ons.
- Boost runs entirely in the browser; Grow and Prosper+ add the native desktop app, which Smokeball's site lists for Windows.
- AutoTime, Intake and Workflows come with Prosper+ only and cost extra on Grow; Archie AI is an add-on on Boost, Grow and Prosper+.
- Online payments and eFiling carry fees, and eSignature runs through InfoTrack.
Key features
Filevine
- Matter management
- Each matter collects tasks, contacts, deadlines, calendar events, emails and notes, with custom reports and dashboards built from any field in Filevine.
- Document management and assembly
- Unlimited document storage with search, PDF splitting and combining, and document assembly that fills templates from matter data.
- LOIS legal AI
- Ask LOIS answers questions about a matter with cited sources, AI Drafting writes from case facts, LOIS for Word works inside Microsoft Word, and LOIS Legal Research checks case law.
- Deposition tools
- Schedule depositions and book court reporters, get live transcription and follow-up suggestions from Depo Copilot, and keep summarized transcripts in a searchable library.
- Intake with Lead Docket
- Captures and qualifies leads, tracks referral fees, takes online payments and moves signed clients into case files, with AI lead summaries as an option.
- Timekeeping, billing and payments
- Multiple timers, time tracked from email, LEDES billing codes and bulk invoicing, with Filevine Payments for online payment that it says is IOLTA compliant.
Smokeball
- Matters, calendars and tasks
- Each matter holds its documents, tasks, events and contacts, with Microsoft 365 Outlook and calendar integration from Boost and iOS and Android apps for checking matters on the go.
- TemplateLab forms and documents
- A library of more than 20,000 court and agency forms and document templates that fill from the matter, with practice-area templates and calculators from Grow.
- AutoTime
- Logs each action against the matter being worked on, so time entries do not have to be started or written up. Included in Prosper+ and an add-on on Grow.
- Billing, payments and trust
- Invoicing, time and expense tracking, online payments and a trust ledger kept current as entries are made, with QuickBooks Online holding the general ledger.
- Archie AI
- An AI assistant that works inside a matter to draft, review documents and answer questions, sold as an add-on from Boost upward.
- Intake and lead management
- Intake forms are an add-on on Boost and Grow; Prosper+ includes them along with lead management, inquiry intake, custom workflows and profitability reporting.
Plans
Filevine
Pricing could not be confirmed. See filevine.com.
Smokeball
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smokeball.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Filevine or Smokeball?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Filevine has no price we could confirm, and Smokeball has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Filevine or Smokeball?
As of Oct 24, 2026, neither Filevine nor Smokeball has a free plan. Filevine has a free trial.
Which platforms do Filevine and Smokeball run on?
As of Oct 24, 2026, only Smokeball lists Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.