Smokeball
Timely
| Feature | Smokeball | Timely |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $39/mo | From $11/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | small-law-firms, mid-size-firms, litigation-practices, billable-hour-firms | consultants, agencies, freelancers, remote-teams |
| Founded | 2007 | 2014 |
| Automatic Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Matter Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Billing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Microsoft Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automatic Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Memory Timeline | ✗ | ✓ |
| Project Budgets | ✗ | ✓ |
| Team Dashboard | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Billable Hours | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Timely Pros
- Fully automatic time capture
- Beautiful interface
- Memory timeline feature
- Privacy-focused
✗ Timely Cons
- No free plan
- AI capture needs training period
- Mobile tracking less reliable
The Verdict
Smokeball is built for small law firms and mid size firms, with a focus on automatic-time-tracking and document-automation. Timely targets consultants and agencies and leads with automatic-tracking and memory-timeline.
On pricing, Timely is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $11/mo compared to $39/mo for Smokeball. That $28/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.