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Construction · head to head

Clearstory vs Trunk Tools

Clearstory logo

Clearstory

Construction

Digital change order and time and materials tag exchange between subcontractors and general contractors

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trunk Tools logo

Trunk Tools

Construction

Answers questions from a project document set with citations, so field staff stop hunting drawings

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Clearstory value depends on the counterparty using it, so a subcontractor whose general contractors have not adopted it ends up running the digital process and the emailed one at the same time.; Trunk Tools nothing about pricing is published, and because it is quoted by project rather than by seat, the cost of standardising it across a portfolio of jobs is hard to model before a sales process
  • They diverge on capability: Clearstory covers Digital time and materials tags, Trunk Tools covers Question answering with citations.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clearstory and Trunk Tools actually diverge.

Attributes where Clearstory and Trunk Tools differ
AttributeClearstoryTrunk Tools

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Construction).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Clearstory

  • Digital time and materials tags
  • Review and signature routing
  • Change order log
  • Cost exposure reporting
  • Field mobile capture
  • Document export

Only in Trunk Tools

  • Question answering with citations
  • Text message interface
  • Submittal review
  • RFI drafting
  • Schedule agent
  • Drawing and specification ingestion
  • Change awareness

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Clearstory

  • A speciality subcontractor that regularly performs extra work and struggles to get tags signednot Trunk Tools
  • A general contractor tired of receiving a stack of disputed tags at project closeoutnot Trunk Tools
  • A project team that needs the value of pending extras visible during the job rather than after itnot Trunk Tools
  • A contractor standardising change documentation across trades on a large projectnot Trunk Tools

Trunk Tools

  • A superintendent on a data centre project who needs to know the required fire rating of a specific partition type without leaving the decknot Clearstory
  • A project engineer reviewing 300 submittals who wants conflicts against the specification flagged before the architect sees themnot Clearstory
  • A contractor whose RFIs are being rejected as already answered in the specification and wants the document checked firstnot Clearstory
  • A team that has just received a revised drawing set and needs to know which in-progress work is now affectednot Clearstory

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Clearstory

  • Value depends on the counterparty using it, so a subcontractor whose general contractors have not adopted it ends up running the digital process and the emailed one at the same time.
  • It documents extra work but does not settle it; a general contractor determined not to pay is not persuaded by better paperwork, only better positioned to be argued with.
  • Field staff have to complete tags properly for the record to hold up, and the discipline required is the same discipline that was failing on paper.
  • Poor connectivity in basements, plant rooms and lift shafts is exactly where extra work gets documented, so offline reliability needs testing before rollout rather than after.
  • It overlaps with change management already present in Procore and similar platforms, so buyers must be clear about which system holds the authoritative log or they will maintain two.

Trunk Tools

  • Nothing about pricing is published, and because it is quoted by project rather than by seat, the cost of standardising it across a portfolio of jobs is hard to model before a sales process
  • Answer quality is bounded entirely by the discipline of the underlying document control, and on a project with stale drawing revisions it will cite superseded sheets with the same confidence as current ones
  • It is an overlay on Procore or Autodesk rather than a system of record, so a contractor is now paying two vendors for the same document set and depends on the integration continuing to be maintained
  • The company is young and the product category is new, so there is little independent long-run evidence on accuracy, and a contractor putting field decisions on it should build its own verification sampling rather than trust vendor claims
  • Answers with citations do not carry contractual weight; an RFI response or a specification still governs, so the tool reduces search time without reducing the contractual review burden

Pricing, plan by plan

Clearstory

On request
  • Clearstory$undefined/year
    • Digital time and materials tags
    • Change order log
    • Mobile field capture

Trunk Tools

On request
  • Trunk Tools$undefined/year
    • Quoted by project, user count and modules taken
    • Pilot projects commonly priced separately from an enterprise agreement
    • Document ingestion and integration setup scoped per customer

Which should you pick?

Choose Clearstory if

  • You need digital time and materials tags.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want review and signature routing.
Clearstory review

Choose Trunk Tools if

  • You need question answering with citations.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want text message interface.
Trunk Tools review

Questions people ask

Is Clearstory or Trunk Tools better?
Neither clearly leads. Clearstory starts at On request and Trunk Tools at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clearstory or Trunk Tools?
Clearstory starts at On request and Trunk Tools at On request.
Does Clearstory or Trunk Tools run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Clearstory best used for?
Clearstory is most often used for a speciality subcontractor that regularly performs extra work and struggles to get tags signed, a general contractor tired of receiving a stack of disputed tags at project closeout, a project team that needs the value of pending extras visible during the job rather than after it, a contractor standardising change documentation across trades on a large project. Of those, a speciality subcontractor that regularly performs extra work and struggles to get tags signed and a general contractor tired of receiving a stack of disputed tags at project closeout are not what Trunk Tools is typically brought in for.
What can Clearstory do that Trunk Tools cannot?
Clearstory covers Digital time and materials tags, Review and signature routing, Change order log, Cost exposure reporting. Trunk Tools covers Question answering with citations, Text message interface, Submittal review, RFI drafting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Clearstory: Is Clearstory for subcontractors or general contractors?

Both, because the workflow crosses between them. The subcontractor originates the tag, the general contractor reviews it, and adoption works best when the general contractor mandates it.

Trunk Tools: Does it replace Procore?

No. It reads from Procore or Autodesk Construction Cloud and adds retrieval and review on top. You still pay for the document platform.

Clearstory: Does it replace change management in Procore?

It can, for time and materials tags and the change order log, but you must decide which system is authoritative. Running both without that decision creates reconciliation work.

Trunk Tools: What does it cost?

Trunk Tools does not publish pricing. Expect a quote scoped by project, users and which modules you take.

Clearstory: What happens on sites without signal?

Tags are captured on the device and synchronised later. Test that path with photographs attached before relying on it.

Trunk Tools: Can it be wrong?

Yes. It cites its source, which lets you check, but if the document set contains superseded drawings it will answer from them. Document control discipline is a prerequisite, not an optional extra.

Trunk Tools: Can field staff use it without the app?

Yes. TrunkText answers questions by text message, which is the main reason foremen adopt it.

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