DocuSign
Smokeball
| Feature | DocuSign | Smokeball |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $10/mo | From $39/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | businesses, real-estate, legal-teams, hr-departments | small-law-firms, mid-size-firms, litigation-practices, billable-hour-firms |
| Founded | 2003 | 2007 |
| E Signatures | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mobile Signing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audit Trail | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automatic Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Document Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Matter Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Billing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ DocuSign Pros
- Industry standard
- Easy to use
- Legally binding
- Many integrations
✗ DocuSign Cons
- Expensive for individuals
- Limited templates on basic
- Aggressive upselling
✓ 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
DocuSign is built for businesses and real estate, with a focus on e-signatures and templates. Smokeball targets small law firms and mid size firms and leads with automatic-time-tracking and document-automation.
On pricing, DocuSign is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $10/mo compared to $39/mo for Smokeball. That $29/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.
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.