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Legal · head to head

Cookiebot vs Smokeball

Cookiebot logo

Cookiebot

Legal

Automated cookie scanning and consent banner for websites, owned by Usercentrics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Smokeball logo

Smokeball

Legal

Practice management for small law firms with automatic time capture

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cookiebot has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cookiebot pricing is per domain and banded by subpage count, so an organisation with many brand domains or a large content site pays many multiples of the 7 euro headline, and the bands are counted from the scan rather than from what you think you publish.; Smokeball requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors
  • They diverge on capability: Cookiebot covers Automated cookie scanning, Smokeball covers Automatic time capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cookiebot and Smokeball actually diverge.

Attributes where Cookiebot and Smokeball differ
AttributeCookiebotSmokeball
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer domain per month by subpage countquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWindows, Web, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Legal).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cookiebot

  • Automated cookie scanning
  • Prior blocking
  • Google Consent Mode v2
  • IAB TCF support
  • Consent logging
  • Cookie declaration
  • Multi-language banners
  • Geotargeting

Only in Smokeball

  • Automatic time capture
  • Matter management
  • Document automation
  • Billing and trust accounting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cookiebot

  • A marketing team that needs a defensible consent record for European visitors without adding privacy engineering headcountnot Smokeball
  • A site using Google Ads and Analytics that must send Consent Mode v2 signals or lose conversion measurement in the EEAnot Smokeball
  • An agency managing many small client sites that wants per-domain billing it can pass through at costnot Smokeball
  • A content-heavy publisher needing IAB TCF signals passed to advertising partnersnot Smokeball

Smokeball

  • Firms billing hourly that lose revenue to unrecorded timenot Cookiebot
  • Small practices replacing paper matter files and spreadsheetsnot Cookiebot
  • Firms needing court form automation for high-volume matter typesnot Cookiebot

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cookiebot

  • Pricing is per domain and banded by subpage count, so an organisation with many brand domains or a large content site pays many multiples of the 7 euro headline, and the bands are counted from the scan rather than from what you think you publish.
  • Enterprise features such as single sign-on, banner A and B testing and a dedicated account manager sit on Usercentrics Web CMP rather than on Cookiebot, so growing out of Cookiebot means migrating to a sibling product with its own dashboard and contract.
  • Prior blocking depends on Cookiebot recognising the script, and custom or first-party tags frequently need manual tagging, which means a site can believe it is blocking trackers when it is not until someone audits it.
  • Scans crawl a limited number of subpages per band, so trackers that only appear on deep or gated pages can go undiscovered and unblocked between scans.
  • The free tier carries Cookiebot branding and is limited to one domain and 50 subpages, which makes it a demonstration rather than a workable option for anything but a brochure site.

Smokeball

  • Requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors
  • Quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • Aimed at small firms; larger practices with complex billing arrangements generally outgrow it

Pricing, plan by plan

Cookiebot

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 domain, up to 50 subpages
    • Automated scanning
    • Google Consent Mode
  • Premium Lite$7/month
    • 1 domain, up to 50 subpages
    • Custom banner design and logo
    • Multi-language banners
  • Premium Small$15/month
    • Per domain
    • Up to 350 subpages per domain
    • Multiple domains supported
  • Premium Medium$30/month
    • Per domain
    • Up to 3,500 subpages per domain

Smokeball

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Smokeball review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cookiebot if

  • You need automated cookie scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want prior blocking.
Cookiebot review

Choose Smokeball if

  • You need automatic time capture.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matter management.
Smokeball review

Questions people ask

Is Cookiebot or Smokeball better?
Neither clearly leads. Cookiebot starts at Free and Smokeball at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cookiebot or Smokeball?
Cookiebot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cookiebot and On request for Smokeball.
Does Cookiebot or Smokeball run on more platforms?
Cookiebot runs on Web. Smokeball runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Cookiebot for free?
Yes. Cookiebot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Smokeball starts at On request.
What is Cookiebot best used for?
Cookiebot is most often used for a marketing team that needs a defensible consent record for european visitors without adding privacy engineering headcount, a site using google ads and analytics that must send consent mode v2 signals or lose conversion measurement in the eea, an agency managing many small client sites that wants per-domain billing it can pass through at cost, a content-heavy publisher needing iab tcf signals passed to advertising partners. Of those, a marketing team that needs a defensible consent record for european visitors without adding privacy engineering headcount and a site using google ads and analytics that must send consent mode v2 signals or lose conversion measurement in the eea are not what Smokeball is typically brought in for.
What can Cookiebot do that Smokeball cannot?
Cookiebot covers Automated cookie scanning, Prior blocking, Google Consent Mode v2, IAB TCF support. Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Matter management, Document automation, Billing and trust accounting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cookiebot: Who owns Cookiebot?

Usercentrics, which acquired the Danish developer Cybot in September 2021. It is sold as Cookiebot by Usercentrics alongside the separate Usercentrics Web CMP.

Smokeball: What does Smokeball cost?

Pricing is quoted per firm and not published.

Cookiebot: What does a real deployment cost?

Between 7 and 90 euros per domain per month depending on subpage count. Ten domains on the medium band is 300 euros a month, not 7.

Smokeball: How does automatic time capture work?

A desktop application observes work on matters and turns activity into billable entries, rather than depending on someone remembering to start a timer.

Cookiebot: Does it support Google Consent Mode v2?

Yes, and Cookiebot is in Google CMP partner programme, which matters if you run Google advertising into the EEA.

Smokeball: Does it run on Mac?

The automatic time capture component is Windows-based, which is the main platform constraint.

Cookiebot: Is the free plan usable in production?

Only for a single very small site. It caps at one domain and 50 subpages and shows Cookiebot branding on the banner.

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