Smokeball is Windows software. If you're reading this on a Mac, there's something you need to know before you go any further.
What Smokeball's marketing doesn't make clear
Not natively. Not without workarounds. Not without compromise. This isn't a knock on Smokeball as software. It's just a fact that changes everything if you're on a MacBook.
"Smokeball do not appear to be developing a native Mac version, and they are definitely not focused on optimizing the app for virtualization. Given the recent updates to the web-based app, their focus seems to be on a cross-platform version that you can use via a browser."
— Smokeball Community Forum, May 2025
Smokeball was co-founded in 2010 by Hunter S. Steele (a former LEAP employee) and is majority owned by Christian Beck, an Australian tech entrepreneur. In 2021, Smokeball raised $30 million "from private investors and employee shareholders."
Beck's company, Australian Technology Innovators, controls a sprawling portfolio of legal tech products. This isn't the same PE story as Clio or PracticePanther. It's a different kind of consolidation: one holding company accumulating legal tech assets across multiple categories.
The free tier was the introduction. Here's the relationship.
In 2023, Smokeball users started posting on Reddit. Not praise. Price increase warnings. Two years later, the complaints haven't stopped. They've escalated.
"I received an email that they will be increasing my monthly fee to $269 from $169 because they are adding features that I did not ask for and do not need."
— Attorney on r/LawFirm, 2023
"We signed a 3-year deal for 6 users a year and a half ago. We've had a few people come and go, and they are charging us for former employees."
— Attorney on r/LawFirm, 2025
"Avoid Smokeball. We are a 12 lawyer law firm that relied on Smokeball's representations of its capacity and ease of integration."
— Attorney on r/LawFirm, 2024
A 59% price increase in 2023. Charges for employees who don't work there anymore in 2025. A 12-lawyer firm that titled their post "Avoid Smokeball." This isn't one disgruntled user. This is a pattern.
| When | Lowest Plan | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $29/user/month | LawNext Directory |
| 2025 | $49/user/month | Capterra, G2 |
| 2026 | $149/month (all plans) | Smokeball.com |
Every plan on Smokeball's pricing page now shows "From $149/mo." Third-party review sites still list $49 and $89. If you signed up based on a Capterra listing — surprise.
$8,940+/year
$149+/user/month × 5 users (current floor)
5-year cost: $44,700 – $75,000+
(Before any renewal increase. They will increase.)
$2,399.95 once
$479.99 × 5 licenses. Done.
5-year cost: $2,399.95
(Same price in year one as year five. Because it's yours.)
$44,700+ versus $2,400. For billing software. And ours doesn't go up.
Smokeball doesn't offer month-to-month plans on their upper tiers. You sign for three years. Your billing data, your trust accounting records, your client list, your document templates — all of it lives in their cloud, in their format, on their terms.
When the renewal email arrives with a 59% increase — or 100% — what are you going to do? Migrate 4,000 matters to a new platform in 30 days? Export trust records to a format that another system can read? Rebuild every template from scratch?
And if employees leave during the contract? Based on user reports, you're still paying for their seats.
They know the answer. That's why the increase comes.
The lock-in isn't a side effect. It's the business model.
Smokeball's email integration is Outlook only. No Gmail. No Google Workspace. If your firm runs on Google — and a growing number of small firms do — you're paying $149+/month for features that don't work with your email provider.
TimeNet Law doesn't care what email provider you use. Your email is your email. We stay out of it.
Smokeball has genuine fans. Their AutoTime feature is innovative when it works. But Mac users face a different reality.
"I use Smokeball on two MacBook Pros: one with an Intel i9 and the other with an M1 Max. In my experience, Smokeball runs more smoothly (less lag/hanging) on the M1 Max. On the M1-based MacBook, it runs faster but sometimes acts oddly when opening new windows or dialog boxes."
"I'd recommend 32-64GB RAM for Mac users running Smokeball through Parallels."
"We've had the exact same experience with Smokeball. They are a disaster! Templates take weeks to do and are mostly wrong, a huge number of our client documents..."
"AutoTime feature doesn't work in the browser version. You need the native Windows app for that."
$89–219/user/month + Mac workarounds + price increases at renewal
One-time purchase. You own it.
What actually matters for Mac-using attorneys
| Feature | Smokeball | TimeNet Law |
|---|---|---|
| Mac Support | Windows only (requires Parallels + Windows) | Native Mac app, Apple Silicon optimized |
| Pricing Model | $49-99+/user/month forever | $479.99 one time, you own it |
| 5-Year Cost (Solo) | $5,340+ (plus $600+ for Mac workarounds) | $479.99 |
| Data Location | Cloud-based, data on their servers | Local, your data stays on your Mac |
| Apple Integration | None native (running in a VM) | Full Calendar and Contacts sync |
| AI Features | Archie AI (cloud-based) | On-device AI, nothing leaves your Mac |
| Offline Access | Limited, core features need internet | Full offline capability |
| Ownership | Australian Tech Innovators (Christian Beck) | Independent, same developer for 20 years |
Smokeball is real software that real attorneys use. If you're on Windows, it has genuine strengths worth evaluating.
But if you're on a Mac, you're not evaluating Smokeball. You're evaluating Smokeball + Parallels + Windows + compromises + workarounds + "odd behavior when opening new windows."
You chose a Mac for a reason. Your billing software can honor that choice or fight against it.
TimeNet Law was built by a Mac user, for Mac users, over two decades. It runs natively. It syncs with your Apple apps. It keeps your data local. It works offline. It costs $479.99 once and then it's yours.
Download the free trial. No credit card. No sales calls. Just software you can actually evaluate on your actual Mac.
Download Free Trial