Casetext (CoCounsel)
Smokeball
| Feature | Casetext (CoCounsel) | Smokeball |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $110/mo | From $39/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | solo-practitioners, small-law-firms, legal-researchers, in-house-counsel | small-law-firms, mid-size-firms, litigation-practices, billable-hour-firms |
| Founded | 2013 | 2007 |
| Ai Research | ✓ | ✗ |
| Brief Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Contract Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Deposition Prep | ✓ | ✗ |
| Timeline Creation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automatic Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Document Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Matter Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Billing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Casetext (CoCounsel) Pros
- AI-powered research
- Natural language search
- Document review
- Affordable vs alternatives
✗ Casetext (CoCounsel) Cons
- Smaller database than Westlaw
- Newer platform
- AI sometimes inaccurate
✓ Smokeball Pros
- Automatic time recording
- Deep Microsoft Office integration
- Strong document automation
- Excellent for billing accuracy
✗ Smokeball Cons
- Windows-only desktop app
- Higher price point
- Learning curve for automation
The Verdict
Casetext (CoCounsel) is built for solo practitioners and small law firms, with a focus on ai-research and brief-analysis. Smokeball targets small law firms and mid size firms and leads with automatic-time-tracking and document-automation.
On pricing, Smokeball is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $39/mo compared to $110/mo for Casetext (CoCounsel). That $71/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
Both tools are a solid fit for small law firms — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.