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Smokeball vs Westlaw

Smokeball logo

Smokeball

Legal

Practice management for small law firms with automatic time capture

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Westlaw logo

Westlaw

Legal

Thomson Reuters legal research platform, priced per seat with tiers from Edge to Advantage and negotiated enterprise contracts above 10 attorneys

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Smokeball requires a Windows desktop component for automatic time capture, so it is not browser-only like its competitors; Westlaw firms of 11 or more attorneys, which is most firms actually spending serious money on Westlaw, get no published price at all and negotiate blind against a sales team that sees every prior deal.
  • They diverge on capability: Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Westlaw covers Case law and statute database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Smokeball and Westlaw actually diverge.

Attributes where Smokeball and Westlaw differ
AttributeSmokeballWestlaw
PlatformsWindows, Web, iOS, AndroidWeb, 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 Smokeball

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

Only in Westlaw

  • Case law and statute database
  • KeyCite
  • Practical Law
  • CoCounsel Legal
  • Litigation analytics
  • West Key Number System

What people use each for

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

Smokeball

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

Westlaw

  • A solo attorney or small firm wanting published, self-service pricing rather than a sales negotiationnot Smokeball
  • A firm evaluating whether Practical Law and secondary sources justify moving from Edge to Advantagenot Smokeball
  • A litigation team wanting KeyCite and litigation analytics in the same research platformnot Smokeball
  • A firm that previously used Casetext and needs to understand that it must now buy CoCounsel Legal inside Westlaw insteadnot Smokeball

Where each one falls short

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

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

Westlaw

  • Firms of 11 or more attorneys, which is most firms actually spending serious money on Westlaw, get no published price at all and negotiate blind against a sales team that sees every prior deal.
  • Casetext no longer exists as an independent, cheaper self-serve product; anyone who liked its pricing and simplicity now has to buy into the Westlaw ecosystem, typically at a higher, seat-based cost.
  • Multi-year contracts are structurally rewarded with the biggest discounts, which pressures firms into 2 or 3 year commitments before they know if usage will justify the tier chosen.
  • Content and features vary meaningfully between Edge and Advantage, so an apparently small monthly price difference can hide the absence of Practical Law, which many firms end up needing anyway.
  • Switching away from Westlaw means retraining staff on Lexis search syntax and the Key Number System has no direct Lexis equivalent, which is a genuine cost that suppresses competitive shopping at renewal.

Pricing, plan by plan

Smokeball

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Smokeball review.

Westlaw

On request
  • Westlaw Edge (solo and small firm, up to 10 attorneys)$undefined/month
    • Single-circuit coverage from roughly $107 to $155 a month
    • All-states-plus-federal coverage roughly $266 a month
    • 2-year contracts around 12% off list, 3-year around 18% off
  • Westlaw Advantage (firms of 11+ attorneys)$undefined/year
    • Bundles Practical Law and secondary sources
    • No published price, quote via sales representative
    • CoCounsel Legal available as a seat add-on, reported around $639 per seat per month

Which should you pick?

Choose Smokeball if

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

Choose Westlaw if

  • You need case law and statute database.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want keycite.
Westlaw review

Questions people ask

Is Smokeball or Westlaw better?
Neither clearly leads. Smokeball starts at On request and Westlaw at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Smokeball or Westlaw?
Smokeball starts at On request and Westlaw at On request.
Does Smokeball or Westlaw run on more platforms?
Smokeball runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Westlaw runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Smokeball best used for?
Smokeball is most often used for firms billing hourly that lose revenue to unrecorded time, small practices replacing paper matter files and spreadsheets, firms needing court form automation for high-volume matter types. Of those, firms billing hourly that lose revenue to unrecorded time and small practices replacing paper matter files and spreadsheets are not what Westlaw is typically brought in for.
What can Smokeball do that Westlaw cannot?
Smokeball covers Automatic time capture, Matter management, Document automation, Billing and trust accounting. Westlaw covers Case law and statute database, KeyCite, Practical Law, CoCounsel Legal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Smokeball: What does Smokeball cost?

Pricing is quoted per firm and not published.

Westlaw: Can I still buy Casetext?

No. Casetext was retired on 1 April 2025. Its AI functionality continues as CoCounsel Legal, sold only as part of the Westlaw ecosystem.

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.

Westlaw: Why does Westlaw publish some prices but not others?

Self-service online pricing exists only for solo practitioners and firms up to 10 attorneys; larger firms are routed to a sales representative with no public rate.

Smokeball: Does it run on Mac?

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

Westlaw: What does CoCounsel Legal cost on top of Westlaw?

Reported figures put it around $639 per seat per month as an add-on, though this is not an official published rate and varies by contract.

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