Aequis vs Smokeball
for family law
Smokeball is a desktop-first platform with family-law add-ons; Aequis is built for family law, with those parts included in every plan. Every claim about Smokeball below was checked against its own pages on September 28, 2026. Anything we could not verify is left out.
| Feature | Aequis (every plan) | Smokeball |
|---|---|---|
| Child & spousal support calculators (all 50 states + DC, with controlling-authority citations) | Included | Not native; available through a third-party Family Law Software integration on the Grow and Prosper+ tiers, covering 22 states † |
| Family-law financial tooling (property division, financial affidavits) | Asset division worksheets and financial affidavit prefill (FL, OH) on every plan | FamilyPro, an add-on on both Grow and Prosper+ † |
| AI assistant | Included on every plan. Deep research has a monthly allowance by plan (25 more runs for $25 a month); Premium AI is optional and billed per use | Archie AI assistant, a paid add-on on the Boost, Grow and Prosper+ tiers † |
| Trust accounting with three-way reconciliation | IOLTA three-way reconciliation on every plan | Trust accounting and reporting on every tier, including the entry Bill tier † |
| E-signature | Unlimited on every plan | Unlimited through InfoTrack, Boost tier and up † |
| Client intake / lead management | Included on every plan | Intake is an add-on on Boost and Grow, included on Prosper+; lead management on Prosper+ † |
| Document automation | Templates with repeating rows and calculated fields, plus the court’s own fillable PDF for FL, OH, TX, and VA forms | Advanced document automation on Grow and up, with a 20,000+ template library † |
| Client portal & texting | Portal on every plan ($15/mo per client portal account); 2-way texting not available yet | Client portal on Boost and up; clients can reply by SMS or in the portal † |
| Passive time capture | Auto-track with a review queue on every plan | AutoTime: included on Prosper+, an add-on on Grow † |
| Accounting integrations | QuickBooks Online and Xero | QuickBooks Online keeps the general ledger † |
| Email integration | Zoho Mail; Gmail and Outlook sync not available yet | Microsoft 365 Outlook and calendar integration on Boost and up; full email management on Grow and up † |
| Desktop application | Web app that installs to the desktop (PWA); multi-window and pop-out views | Native desktop application on Grow and Prosper+, designed for firms of three or more † |
| Co-parent communication portal (monitored, with AI tone suggestions) | Included | Not advertised † |
| Custody & parenting-time schedule builder | Included | Not advertised † |
| Pricing | Published: flat per firm, $149/mo covers 2 users with every feature | Not published; four tiers (Bill, Boost, Grow, Prosper+) priced by quote, "depending on the number of users, selected plan, contract term, and any optional products" † |
| Free trial | 14 days, every feature; credit card required, cancel anytime before it ends | No free trial advertised on smokeball.com; demo only † |
| Data migration | CSV import wizard; no migration fee | Onboarding included; migration services "and related costs will be confirmed in your quote" † |
† smokeball.com and support.smokeball.com, checked September 28, 2026. Rows we could not verify are left out.
Published flat price vs quoted tiers and add-ons
Smokeball does not publish prices, so this is not a price comparison. It lists what to ask for in a quote before you compare.
Aequis: 2-person family law firm
$149/mo
or $1,490/yr (about $124/mo). Grow to 4 users at $69/mo per added professional seat ($35/mo staff). 5 users on Solo Practice: flat $549/mo. No contract term on monthly billing, and no migration fee.
- Every feature on every plan; nothing is tier-gated
- AI assistant included; deep research has a monthly allowance (100 runs on Solo Attorney)
- Support calculators for all 50 states + DC, with citations
- Asset division worksheets and financial affidavit prefill included
- IOLTA trust with three-way reconciliation included
- Auto-track time capture, e-signature, intake, portal, and API included
- Field, the phone companion, for each member you give a seat
- Optional extras: client portal accounts ($15/mo each), Ask AI in Field, extra deep-research runs, extra storage
Smokeball: what to ask for in the quote
Quote only
Priced by user count, tier, contract term and optional products †
- The Grow or Prosper+ tier if you want the desktop app, document automation or Family Law Software calculators †
- FamilyPro (property division, financial affidavits), an add-on on both of those tiers †
- Archie AI, an add-on on Boost, Grow and Prosper+ †
- Intake, an add-on below Prosper+, and AutoTime, an add-on on Grow †
- Family Law Software integration for the support calculators (22 states, Grow and Prosper+) †
- Migration services, "confirmed in your quote" †
Switching from Smokeball
Smokeball migration runs on CSV files today. Here is how it works.
- 1. Export from Smokeball. Export your contacts and matters to CSV, and your documents to a folder.
- 2. Import into Aequis. The import wizard maps your CSV columns, shows a preview before it writes anything, and skips records it matches as duplicates, so a second run does not create copies.
- 3. Bring documents and go. Upload documents in bulk to their matters, connect your calendar, and run your first support calculation the same day.
Switching from Clio? Aequis imports Clio records directly through the Clio API; see Aequis vs Clio.
Aequis vs Smokeball FAQ
Can I import my Smokeball data into Aequis?
Yes, by CSV today rather than an API sync. Export contacts and matters from Smokeball, then use the Aequis import wizard, which maps your columns, shows a preview before writing, and skips duplicates so a second run does not create copies; documents come over by bulk upload. There is no migration fee on our side.
What does Aequis cost compared to Smokeball for a small family law firm?
Aequis is a flat, published $149/mo for 2 users with every feature included, growing to 4 users at $69/mo per added professional seat and $549/mo for five users on Solo Practice. Smokeball does not publish prices. Its four tiers are quoted per firm by user count, plan, contract term and optional products (checked September 28, 2026), and FamilyPro, Archie AI, Intake (below Prosper+) and AutoTime (on Grow) are add-ons on top of the tier. Ask for a quote that includes those add-ons before comparing.
Does Smokeball include family-law calculators?
Not natively. Smokeball tracks support details on the matter, and its child- and spousal-support calculations come through an integration with Family Law Software, available on the Grow and Prosper+ tiers for 22 listed states (support.smokeball.com, checked September 28, 2026). Aequis includes calculators for all 50 states + DC on every plan, each with the controlling statutory authority cited.
Where is Smokeball strong?
Smokeball ships a native desktop application with deep Word and Outlook embedding, passive AutoTime capture, a 20,000+ template library, e-filing through InfoTrack, an app marketplace for its Archie AI, and holds ISO 27001:2022 certification (all per smokeball.com, September 28, 2026). If a desktop-first workflow and that template library matter more to you than published flat pricing and built-in family-law tools, Smokeball may be the better fit.
Is there a free trial of Aequis?
Yes, 14 days with every feature included on every plan. A credit card is required, and you can cancel anytime before the trial ends. The public child support calculator is free to use without an account.
Built for family law
Published flat pricing, every feature on every plan, and family-law tools built in: support calculators, asset division, trust accounting, and the co-parent portal.
Start free trial14-day free trial. Every feature included. Credit card required; cancel anytime before the trial ends.