Compass by Rulng and Smokeball, side by side
What each includes, how each is priced and who each fits, from both companies' own pages, read on 31 October 2026.
The short answer
Smokeball is built for consumer practices, with Word and Outlook integration, automatic time capture, practice-area templates, e-filing and trust accounting. Compass by Rulng includes what Smokeball's pages do not show: the firm's own website, Google profile tracking, reports on search and AI answers, court notices filed on the matter, and a law library with jury instructions.
At a glance
| Compared | Compass by Rulng | Smokeball |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Small and mid-size law firms; built first for criminal defense | Solo, small and mid-size consumer-practice firms |
| The firm's website | Included in every build: built and hosted by WattReach on your own domain, edited from Compass or the live page | Not found; its intake forms embed in your own site |
| Lead management and CRM | Included: website forms, phone taps and, where set up, answering-service messages in one inbox, with sources, spam held for review and conflict checks | Intake as an add-on; lead management on the Prosper+ tier |
| Google profile and local rank | Included: rating and review count read nightly, your place in the map results, 14 directories and social profiles tracked | Not found |
| Reports on search and AI answers | Included: a Monday report, plus your Google rankings against your rivals and the answers of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google's AI | Not found |
| Court notices | One state's e-filing notices today: forwarded by your attorneys, filed on the matter by case number, and a hearing notice raises a step to enter the date | Not found |
| Court-rules deadlines | No | Yes, through LawToolBox |
| Legal research | One state's law today: the statutes your clients are charged under, with elements from the jury instructions, 25 estate and civil topics, and the appellate decisions citing those sections; every point cited | Archie, an add-on; its legal answers come from a third party, LawY |
| Client portal | Built, not yet live at any firm: each case, its dates and fines; no documents, messages or invoices; English only | Yes, with text messages |
| Billing and payments | Payments recorded on each matter and marked trust or operating; LawPay links where set up; invoices and autopay through the firm's own Stripe account where invoicing is switched on | Invoicing and Smokeball Payments |
| Trust accounting | No; payments are marked trust or operating, with no trust ledgers | Yes |
| Time tracking | Hours and expenses entered by hand; no timer | Yes, with automatic time capture (AutoTime) on Prosper+ or as an add-on |
| E-signature | No | Unlimited through InfoTrack |
| Spanish | Every staff screen; confirmations for Spanish-page inquiries; invoices | Multilingual intake forms |
| Security | Encrypted nightly backups, deny-by-default roles, a record of who opened each file, passkeys and two-factor sign-in; no certifications | ISO 27001, AES-256 encryption, hosted on AWS |
| Price | Built to order; quoted after a walkthrough | By quote on every tier |
| Trying it | A walkthrough with a sample firm; no free trial | A demo; no trial listed |
Where Smokeball is stronger
- Word and Outlook integration, with a desktop app for larger teams.
- Automatic time capture, trust accounting and e-signature.
- Practice-area templates, forms and calculators, and e-filing.
- A client portal in use at firms today.
Where Compass is different
- The website is part of every Compass build.
- Google profile tracking and reports on your place in search and AI answers are included.
- The court's e-filing notices are filed on the matter as they arrive, for the courts whose formats Compass reads today.
- The law library holds statutes, jury instructions and decisions for the state it covers today, and its answers cite every point.
- Every staff screen is in English and Spanish.
Which to choose
Choose Smokeball if your firm lives in Word and Outlook and wants automatic time capture and document templates. Choose Compass if you want the website, intake and matters in one system, set up for you, with the court's notices and the law on each charge in the file.
Sources and corrections
Read on 31 October 2026 from Smokeball's own pages:
- https://www.smokeball.com/pricing
- https://www.smokeball.com/solutions/practice-areas/criminal-law
- https://www.smokeball.com/features/manage/calendaring
- https://www.smokeball.com/archie-ai
- https://www.smokeball.com/security
- https://www.smokeball.com/features/get/intake
Products change. If something here about Smokeball is out of date, email hello@wattreach.com. When the change is confirmed, we correct the page and change the date.
Questions
Is Compass a good Smokeball alternative?
Compass by Rulng is a Smokeball alternative for firms that want their website, intake and case management in one system, set up for them. Firms that need trust accounting or e-filing, or that work inside Word and Outlook, are better served by Smokeball today.
What does Smokeball have that Compass does not?
Smokeball has Word and Outlook integration, automatic time capture, trust accounting, e-signature, e-filing, a client portal in use today and practice-area document templates, and Compass by Rulng has none of these today.
What does Compass include that Smokeball does not?
Compass by Rulng includes the firm's own website, Google profile tracking, reports on search and AI answers, court notices filed on the matter and a law library with jury instructions, none of which appear on Smokeball's pages read on 31 October 2026.
How does pricing compare?
Smokeball and Compass by Rulng both quote rather than publish a price: Smokeball by users, plan, contract term and add-ons, and Compass by the build a firm needs.
Book a walkthrough and bring your questions about Smokeball.
We will tell you where it is the better fit, too.