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Legal · head to head

DISCO vs Smokeball

DISCO logo

DISCO

Legal

Cloud e-discovery priced by data volume, with review, legal hold and case preparation in one platform

From
On request
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

  • Each has a real cost: DISCO per-gigabyte pricing that is attractive on a 200 gigabyte matter becomes the dominant line item on multi-terabyte collections, and the only cost lever left is aggressive culling before upload.; Smokeball requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors
  • They diverge on capability: DISCO covers All-in per-gigabyte pricing, Smokeball covers Automatic time capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DISCO and Smokeball actually diverge.

Attributes where DISCO and Smokeball differ
AttributeDISCOSmokeball
PlatformsWebWindows, Web, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 DISCO

  • All-in per-gigabyte pricing
  • Cecilia AI
  • Technology assisted review
  • Legal hold
  • Case Builder
  • Self-service ingestion

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.

DISCO

  • A litigation team that needs a matter budget approved before the volume of collected data is fully knownnot Smokeball
  • A firm that wants unlimited reviewer accounts without paying per seat during a document review surgenot Smokeball
  • An in-house legal department consolidating legal hold and review with one vendor instead of twonot Smokeball
  • A case where speed of ingestion matters more than the analytics depth of an enterprise review platformnot Smokeball

Smokeball

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

Where each one falls short

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

DISCO

  • Per-gigabyte pricing that is attractive on a 200 gigabyte matter becomes the dominant line item on multi-terabyte collections, and the only cost lever left is aggressive culling before upload.
  • Hosting is cloud only in United States regions, so matters with European, United Kingdom or Australian data residency requirements are excluded outright.
  • Review analytics, scripting and the third-party application ecosystem remain deeper on Relativity, which matters for firms with established review workflows.
  • As a listed company reporting losses, it has been through leadership change including the founder departure in 2023, so multi-year roadmap commitments carry more risk than with a private vendor.
  • Complex productions and unusual data types still require professional services, so the promise of self-service holds mainly for mainstream email and document collections.

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

DISCO

On request
  • DISCO Ediscovery$undefined/year
    • Quoted per gigabyte of hosted data per month with unlimited users
    • Annual commitments and volume tiers negotiated for firms with steady caseloads
    • Legal hold, Case Builder and AI features priced as separate modules

Smokeball

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Smokeball review.

Which should you pick?

Choose DISCO if

  • You need all-in per-gigabyte pricing.
  • You also want cecilia ai.
DISCO 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 DISCO or Smokeball better?
Neither clearly leads. DISCO starts at On request and Smokeball at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DISCO or Smokeball?
DISCO starts at On request and Smokeball at On request.
Does DISCO or Smokeball run on more platforms?
DISCO runs on Web. Smokeball runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is DISCO best used for?
DISCO is most often used for a litigation team that needs a matter budget approved before the volume of collected data is fully known, a firm that wants unlimited reviewer accounts without paying per seat during a document review surge, an in-house legal department consolidating legal hold and review with one vendor instead of two, a case where speed of ingestion matters more than the analytics depth of an enterprise review platform. Of those, a litigation team that needs a matter budget approved before the volume of collected data is fully known and a firm that wants unlimited reviewer accounts without paying per seat during a document review surge are not what Smokeball is typically brought in for.
What can DISCO do that Smokeball cannot?
DISCO covers All-in per-gigabyte pricing, Cecilia AI, Technology assisted review, Legal hold. Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Matter management, Document automation, Billing and trust accounting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DISCO: How is DISCO priced?

Per gigabyte of hosted data per month, all-in, with unlimited users. There is no published rate card, so it is quoted.

Smokeball: What does Smokeball cost?

Pricing is quoted per firm and not published.

DISCO: Can data be hosted outside the United States?

Coverage is centred on United States cloud regions, so confirm residency before shortlisting for European or Australian matters.

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.

DISCO: Is it cheaper than Relativity?

On small and mid-sized matters usually yes, because seats and analytics are included. On very large collections the volume charge often overtakes a negotiated Relativity arrangement.

Smokeball: Does it run on Mac?

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

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