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Legal · head to head

iManage vs Smokeball

iManage logo

iManage

Legal

Document and email management for law firms and professional services

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: iManage it manages documents and email but not matters, billing or accounting, so it is an addition to a practice management system rather than a replacement for one.; Smokeball requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors
  • They diverge on capability: iManage covers iManage Work, Smokeball covers Automatic time capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which iManage and Smokeball actually diverge.

Attributes where iManage and Smokeball differ
AttributeiManageSmokeball
PlatformsWindows, Web, macOS, iOS, AndroidWindows, 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 iManage

  • iManage Work
  • Outlook email filing
  • Security Policy Manager
  • Records Manager
  • Full text and metadata search

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.

iManage

  • Corporate firms whose matter record lives largely in email and must be filed and searchablenot Smokeball
  • Firms with client confidentiality obligations requiring need-to-know access per matternot Smokeball
  • Practices with records retention obligations spanning electronic and physical filesnot Smokeball
  • Financial services, accounting and government teams with the same matter-centric document problemnot Smokeball

Smokeball

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

Where each one falls short

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

iManage

  • It manages documents and email but not matters, billing or accounting, so it is an addition to a practice management system rather than a replacement for one.
  • Administration requires specialist skills, and organisations without a dedicated document management administrator tend to run it badly configured.
  • Its value depends on fee earners filing email consistently, which is a behaviour change firms routinely fail to enforce.
  • Nothing about pricing is published and the surrounding modules are licensed separately, so the gap between the core product and a working configuration is discovered late.
  • The market-share figures it cites, such as 81 per cent of the Am Law 200, are vendor published and not independently audited.

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

iManage

On request
  • iManage Work$undefined/year
    • Per user licensing quoted per organisation
    • Cloud or on-premises deployment
    • Security, records and analytics modules licensed separately

Smokeball

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Smokeball review.

Which should you pick?

Choose iManage if

  • You need imanage work.
  • You work on Windows, Web, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want outlook email filing.
iManage 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 iManage or Smokeball better?
Neither clearly leads. iManage 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, iManage or Smokeball?
iManage starts at On request and Smokeball at On request.
Does iManage or Smokeball run on more platforms?
iManage runs on Windows, Web, macOS, iOS, Android. Smokeball runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is iManage best used for?
iManage is most often used for corporate firms whose matter record lives largely in email and must be filed and searchable, firms with client confidentiality obligations requiring need-to-know access per matter, practices with records retention obligations spanning electronic and physical files, financial services, accounting and government teams with the same matter-centric document problem. Of those, corporate firms whose matter record lives largely in email and must be filed and searchable and firms with client confidentiality obligations requiring need-to-know access per matter are not what Smokeball is typically brought in for.
What can iManage do that Smokeball cannot?
iManage covers iManage Work, Outlook email filing, Security Policy Manager, Records Manager. Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Matter management, Document automation, Billing and trust accounting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

iManage: Does iManage replace practice management software?

No. It handles documents and email. Firms run it alongside a practice management and billing system such as Aderant or Elite 3E.

Smokeball: What does Smokeball cost?

Pricing is quoted per firm and not published.

iManage: Who owns iManage?

It has been independent since a management buyout from Hewlett-Packard completed in July 2015. Bain Capital Tech Opportunities made a minority growth investment in April 2023, with management retaining control.

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.

iManage: Is iManage worth it for a small firm?

It is sold to small firms as well as large ones, but the licensing and administrative overhead usually outweighs the benefit over a well organised document store below roughly twenty fee earners.

Smokeball: Does it run on Mac?

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

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