Smokeball
Superhuman
| Feature | Smokeball | Superhuman |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $39/mo | From $25/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | small-law-firms, mid-size-firms, litigation-practices, billable-hour-firms | executives, sales-professionals, founders, high-volume-emailers |
| Founded | 2007 | 2014 |
| Automatic Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Matter Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Billing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Microsoft Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Triage | ✗ | ✓ |
| Read Statuses | ✗ | ✓ |
| Split Inbox | ✗ | ✓ |
| Snippets | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scheduled Send | ✗ | ✓ |
| Undo Send | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Superhuman Pros
- Fastest email client with sub-100ms interactions
- AI triage auto-prioritizes and summarizes emails
- Split inbox and snippets for efficient workflows
- Read statuses show when emails are opened
✗ Superhuman Cons
- Expensive at $25-33/month per user
- No free plan or trial without invite
- Gmail and Outlook only (no other providers)
The Verdict
Smokeball is built for small law firms and mid size firms, with a focus on automatic-time-tracking and document-automation. Superhuman targets executives and sales professionals and leads with keyboard-shortcuts and ai-triage.
On pricing, Superhuman is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $25/mo compared to $39/mo for Smokeball. That $14/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.
Feature-wise, Superhuman offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Smokeball takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.