LawToolBox vs Smokeball (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 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 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
LawToolBox grades higher on value for money. Smokeball grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
LawToolBox
Court-rules deadline calendaring inside Microsoft 365
Smokeball
Practice management with automatic time capture and court forms
Which one is for you
Pick LawToolBox if
- Fits if your firm already lives in Outlook and Teams
- Works for small firms that need court deadlines on the calendar
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a trial, because none is listed
- Tight if you want a short commitment, since it's a minimum of one year with no refund of the term
- Watch out: pricing assumes a licence for every Microsoft 365 mailbox in the firm
- Watch out: connecting NetDocuments, iManage, ECFX or InfoTrack costs $4 more per user
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
| 2.0GPALawToolBoxFair | 2.0GPASmokeballFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$39 a user a month billed yearly for 2-9 users, inside the law-practice category's cheapest quarter (under $49). It drops to $21 at 80+ users. | 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 | FNo free plan and no free trial are listed anywhere on the pages we read. | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial, only a demo with the sales team. |
| Features | CDeadline calculator, calendaring, matter and document management, Outlook and Teams add-ins. But AI and other integrated solutions cost extra, with no price shown. | 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 | CNo store rating on record. You set it up inside Microsoft 365 and connect your document system. | 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 Microsoft 365 and Teams add-ins, plus NetDocuments, iManage, MyCase, Filevine and Smokeball. | 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 | court deadlines and calendaring in Microsoft 365 | 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: LawToolBox and Smokeball. How we grade
Where they differ
- LawToolBox also covers calendar, workflow automation, documents and reports.
- Smokeball also covers templates, time tracking, invoicing and trust accounting.
At a glance
| LawToolBox | Smokeball | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $21 per user / month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly), at 80 or more users | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | LawToolBox.com, Inc | Smokeball |
| Price read from | lawtoolbox.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
LawToolBox
- It is a minimum one-year commitment. A subscription can be ended any time, but the vendor does not refund the current term.
- Pricing assumes a license for every M365 licensed mailbox in the firm.
- Connecting NetDocuments, iManage, ECFX or InfoTrack costs an additional $4 per user.
- AI and other integrated solutions cost extra, and the site gives no price for them.
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
LawToolBox
- Rules-based deadlines
- Calculates deadlines for thousands of state and federal courts from a trial or event date and syncs them to a calendar. The vendor says attorneys watch court rules for changes daily.
- Matter workspaces
- Creates a shared inbox, document folder structure, calendar and notebook in Microsoft 365 for each matter.
- Document management
- Connects an existing document management system to deadlines, or uses Outlook, Teams and SharePoint as a lean one.
- Outlook and Teams add-ins
- Emails and documents can be saved to matters and deadlines calculated from within Outlook; there are also Teams, Word and Copilot versions.
- AI and MCP options
- The site lists LawToolBox AI, which extracts deadlines from legal documents, plus MCP connections for Claude, ChatGPT and Microsoft 365. Pricing for these is by quote.
- Reports
- Reporting covers change history, who edited what and when, and upcoming deadlines.
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
LawToolBox
2-9 users$39
per user / month, billed annually ($46 billed monthly)
The same features at every size: rules-based deadline calculator, automated calendaring, matter management and document management in M365.
10-19 users$36
per user / month, billed annually ($44 billed monthly)
Same features, with a lower per-user price for a firm of 10 to 19 licensed users.
20-79 users$25
per user / month, billed annually ($33 billed monthly)
Same features, priced for 20 to 79 licensed users.
80+ users$21
per user / month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
Same features, priced for 80 or more licensed users. The vendor offers a custom quote for larger deployments.
Smokeball
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smokeball.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LawToolBox or Smokeball?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LawToolBox starts at $21 per user / month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly), at 80 or more users, and Smokeball has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, LawToolBox or Smokeball?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither LawToolBox nor Smokeball has a free plan.
Which platforms do LawToolBox and Smokeball run on?
As of Nov 13, 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.