Smokeball vs Filevine
Compare Smokeball and Filevine for law firms. Automatic time tracking vs deep workflow customization, and which fits your practice size.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Smokeball | Filevine |
|---|---|---|
| Best Firm Size | 1-15 users | 20+ users |
| Auto Time Tracking | Yes | No |
| Customization | Moderate | Extremely high |
| Deployment | Desktop + cloud | 100% cloud |
| Document Automation | Strong | Strong (Outlaw) |
| Workflow Phases | Basic | Advanced |
Smokeball
Smokeball offers a desktop-plus-cloud approach with automatic time tracking and strong document automation. Built for small firms doing high-volume work.
Best For: Small firms wanting automatic time tracking
Pricing: ~$29 to $99/user/month
Pros
- Automatic time tracking
- Strong document assembly
- Lower entry price
- Good for high-volume practices
Cons
- Desktop app required
- Limited mobility
- Smaller ecosystem
- Less scalable
Filevine
Our PartnerFilevine is a highly customizable, project-management-style platform for firms with complex, multi-step workflows.
Best For: Mid-size to large firms with complex workflows
Pricing: Custom pricing (typically $50+/user/month)
Pros
- Deep customization
- Advanced workflow phases
- Built-in document automation
- Scales to large firms
Cons
- Steeper learning curve
- Longer implementation
- Quote-based pricing
- Overkill for simple practices
Detailed Breakdown
Smokeball and Filevine are both powerful platforms, but they excel in completely different areas — making this comparison less about which is 'better' and more about which strength matters more to your firm.
Smokeball's defining capability is automatic time tracking through its desktop application. The software monitors which case files, emails, documents, and applications an attorney works on throughout the day, creating time entries mapped to the correct matter without any manual input. For high-volume practices where attorneys handle dozens of small matters daily — residential real estate, traffic court, workers' compensation, collections — this passive time capture can recover 20 to 30 percent more billable time compared to manual tracking. Smokeball also includes a robust document assembly engine with hundreds of built-in legal templates and powerful auto-population features that dramatically accelerate standardized document production. The platform's architecture is desktop-first (primarily Windows), which provides deep integration with local files and applications but limits mobility and remote access.
Filevine's strength is customizable workflow management for complex, multi-phase cases. The platform allows firms to define entirely custom matter structures with practice-area-specific phases, fields, tasks, documents, and automations. A mass tort firm can create a workflow template that tracks hundreds of cases through intake, medical records gathering, expert review, demand packaging, and settlement — with automated task progression, deadline management, and real-time pipeline reporting at each stage. Filevine's analytics and reporting capabilities are enterprise-grade, providing firm leadership with dashboards that show case pipeline value, team productivity, bottleneck identification, and revenue forecasting. The platform is fully cloud-based, accessible from any device, and includes a mobile app.
Firms doing high-volume, routine work where time capture is the primary challenge should lean toward Smokeball. Firms with complex, multi-phase workflows where case progression management and analytics drive outcomes should choose Filevine.
Key Differences
Target Firm Size
Smokeball serves small, high-volume firms. Filevine serves mid-size to large firms with complex processes. There is very little overlap in their ideal customer.
Time Tracking
Smokeball's automatic time tracking is unmatched. Filevine requires manual time entry.
Workflow Design
Filevine lets you design multi-phase workflows with deep conditional logic. Smokeball's workflows are simpler but functional for straightforward matters.
Pricing Deep Dive
Smokeball ranges from approximately $29 to $99 per user per month across its three plans. Filevine's pricing is quote-based and typically starts at $65-75 per user per month, with enterprise configurations reaching $100+ per user per month. Filevine also commonly involves implementation fees ranging from $2,000 to $10,000+.
The ROI calculation differs fundamentally between these platforms. Smokeball's value is measured in recovered billable time — if automatic tracking captures one additional billable hour per attorney per week, that translates to roughly $13,000-$15,600 per attorney per year in additional revenue. Filevine's value is measured in operational efficiency and case outcome improvement — better pipeline management, fewer missed deadlines, faster case resolution, and improved settlement values. Both deliver strong ROI for the right type of firm, but the benefits are in different categories.
When We Recommend Each
Smokeball
Excels At: Small firms wanting automatic time tracking
We typically recommend Smokeball for firms that prioritize automatic time tracking and strong document assembly.
Filevine
Excels At: Mid-size to large firms with complex workflows
We typically recommend Filevine for firms that prioritize deep customization and advanced workflow phases.
Migration Considerations
Migrating between Smokeball and Filevine is a significant project due to the fundamental architectural differences between the platforms. Smokeball's desktop-based data and automatic time entries need to be restructured for Filevine's cloud-based, phase-driven workflow model. Conversely, Filevine's custom workflow configurations cannot be directly replicated in Smokeball.
Big Mode Consulting approaches this migration by first understanding the firm's workflows and designing the optimal structure in the destination platform, then transferring historical data (contacts, matters, documents, time entries, billing history) with careful field mapping. Document templates must be recreated in the destination system. Timeline is typically four to six weeks for full migration with training.
Frequently Asked Questions
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