Smokeball
Tana
| Feature | Smokeball | Tana |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $39/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | small-law-firms, mid-size-firms, litigation-practices, billable-hour-firms | power-users, researchers, knowledge-workers, systems-thinkers |
| Founded | 2007 | 2020 |
| Automatic Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Matter Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Billing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Microsoft Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Supertags | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Commands | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Queries | ✗ | ✓ |
| Views | ✗ | ✓ |
| Node Graph | ✗ | ✓ |
| Daily Notes | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Tana Pros
- Supertags create structured data effortlessly
- Powerful AI-powered search and commands
- Everything is queryable and linked
- Flexible views (table, board, calendar)
✗ Tana Cons
- Steep learning curve
- No mobile app yet
- Still in development (features changing)
The Verdict
Smokeball is built for small law firms and mid size firms, with a focus on automatic-time-tracking and document-automation. Tana targets power users and researchers and leads with supertags and ai-commands.
On pricing, Tana is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $12/mo compared to $39/mo for Smokeball. That $27/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Tana has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Smokeball requires a paid subscription from day one.
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.