Actionstep vs Smokeball
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Actionstep
Manage your legal practice on the go. Create file notes, tasks, and time entries, or view your calendar and active matters. This app extends your desktop experience with essential firm management tools.
- Create file notes
- Create tasks
- Create time entries
- View calendar
- View active matters
- Manage contacts
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Actionstep's Mobile App gives you a window into the day-to-day operations of your firm. Extend your Windows or Mac experience of Actionstep using this app to: Create - File Notes - Tasks - SMS Alerts - Time Entries - Contacts - Scratchnotes View - Your Calendar - Tasks & Progress - Recent & Active Matters This app is constantly being improved & new features added - if there is a feature in the desktop version of Actionstep that you would love to see in this app, let us know: product@actionstep.com
Smokeball
This mobile app empowers small law firms to manage client matters and enhance productivity on the go. Access case details, track tasks, and stay organized with daily digests and calendaring tools, ensuring better client service even when away from the office.
- Manage client matters
- View matter details
- Track phone messages
- Daily task and event digests
- Calendaring for team availability
- Task and to-do list management
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Smokeball helps small law firms manage their matters and be more productive. Our mobile companion app will allow you to massively boost your productivity whilst away from the office, with useful tools to help you and your staff keep track of everything needed to serve your clients better. Features • Matters at your fingertips View the pertinent details, parties, emails, documents, events and tasks for each matter. • Phone messages Receive updates from your office regarding any calls you miss while you’re away from your desk. • Daily Digest Get a personalized list of events and tasks each day, helping you keep on top of your workload. • Calendaring See what’s coming this week for yourself and your colleagues – this is a great way to check on your availability. • Tasks and To-do’s Track what is next or quickly record that idea you want to come back to later. This app is only available to Smokeball clients.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Smokeball at 3.1 against Actionstep's 2.0. Smokeball also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (40% vs 27%). Actionstep's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Smokeball holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smokeball has 39 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Actionstep's written reviews are positive against 40% of Smokeball's.
Actionstep ships an update every 3 months, Smokeball monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Actionstep | Smokeball |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.0 (4 ratings) | 3.1 (39 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.3% of reviews | 40.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 39 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.8 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 276 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ActionStep New Zealand Limited | Smokeball |
Customer experience
Actionstep
Smokeball
In-app purchases
Actionstep
No in-app purchases
Smokeball
No in-app purchases
