Legal · head to head
Everlaw vs Smokeball
Smokeball
Legal
Practice management for small law firms with automatic time capture
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Everlaw quote-only pricing, and ediscovery is typically billed on data volume, which makes costs hard to predict in advance; Smokeball requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors
- They diverge on capability: Everlaw covers Document processing, Smokeball covers Automatic time capture.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Everlaw and Smokeball actually diverge.
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 Everlaw
- Document processing
- Predictive coding
- Review workflow
- Search and clustering
- Case building
- Cloud-native
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.
Everlaw
- Litigation teams reviewing very large discovery document setsnot Smokeball
- Government and corporate investigations requiring defensible reviewnot Smokeball
- Firms wanting ediscovery without running on-premise infrastructurenot Smokeball
Smokeball
- Firms billing hourly that lose revenue to unrecorded timenot Everlaw
- Small practices replacing paper matter files and spreadsheetsnot Everlaw
- Firms needing court form automation for high-volume matter typesnot Everlaw
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Everlaw
- Quote-only pricing, and ediscovery is typically billed on data volume, which makes costs hard to predict in advance
- Specialist product: outside litigation and investigations there is no use for it
- Predictive coding requires a properly trained review workflow, and poor input produces unreliable prioritisation
- Data volume charges can escalate sharply on large matters
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
Everlaw
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Everlaw review.
Smokeball
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Smokeball review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Everlaw if
- You need document processing.
- You work on Web, Cloud.
- You also want predictive coding.
Choose Smokeball if
- You need automatic time capture.
- You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want matter management.
Questions people ask
- Is Everlaw or Smokeball better?
- Neither clearly leads. Everlaw 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, Everlaw or Smokeball?
- Everlaw starts at On request and Smokeball at On request.
- Does Everlaw or Smokeball run on more platforms?
- Everlaw runs on Web, Cloud. Smokeball runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
- What is Everlaw best used for?
- Everlaw is most often used for litigation teams reviewing very large discovery document sets, government and corporate investigations requiring defensible review, firms wanting ediscovery without running on-premise infrastructure. Of those, litigation teams reviewing very large discovery document sets and government and corporate investigations requiring defensible review are not what Smokeball is typically brought in for.
- What can Everlaw do that Smokeball cannot?
- Everlaw covers Document processing, Predictive coding, Review workflow, Search and clustering. Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Matter management, Document automation, Billing and trust accounting.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Everlaw: What does Everlaw cost?
Everlaw does not publish rates. Ediscovery is generally priced on data volume and users, which is why costs are quoted per matter or per organisation.
Smokeball: What does Smokeball cost?
Pricing is quoted per firm and not published.
Everlaw: What is ediscovery?
The process of identifying, collecting and reviewing electronic documents as evidence in litigation or investigation.
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.
Everlaw: What is predictive coding?
Machine learning trained on reviewer decisions to prioritise documents likely to be relevant, so a team reviews the important fraction rather than everything.
Smokeball: Does it run on Mac?
The automatic time capture component is Windows-based, which is the main platform constraint.
Everlaw: Is Everlaw only for law firms?
No. Corporate legal departments and government agencies use it for investigations as well as litigation.