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Construction · head to head

Cubit Estimating vs Trunk Tools

Cubit Estimating logo

Cubit Estimating

Construction

Australian estimating and on-screen takeoff in one window, priced openly per user per month

From
167/month
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: Cubit Estimating every subscription carries a minimum twelve month term, so a firm that hires an estimator for one tender period pays for the full year regardless.; 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: Cubit Estimating covers Integrated takeoff and estimate, 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 Cubit Estimating and Trunk Tools actually diverge.

Attributes where Cubit Estimating and Trunk Tools differ
AttributeCubit EstimatingTrunk Tools
Starting price167/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer user per monthquote
PlatformsWindowsWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Cubit Estimating

  • Integrated takeoff and estimate
  • Calculation and rate sheets
  • Price list management
  • Bills of quantities
  • BIM and IFC takeoff
  • Revision management
  • AI Estimating add-on
  • Job collaboration

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.

Cubit Estimating

  • An Australian commercial builder that wants takeoff and estimate in one file rather than exporting quantities from a separate measurement toolnot Trunk Tools
  • A quantity surveying practice producing trade-structured bills of quantities to local conventionnot Trunk Tools
  • A subcontractor pricing repeat work from maintained supplier price lists rather than rebuilding rates each tendernot Trunk Tools
  • A small estimating team that needs to know the annual cost before booking a demo, because the rate card is publishednot 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 Cubit Estimating
  • A project engineer reviewing 300 submittals who wants conflicts against the specification flagged before the architect sees themnot Cubit Estimating
  • A contractor whose RFIs are being rejected as already answered in the specification and wants the document checked firstnot Cubit Estimating
  • A team that has just received a revised drawing set and needs to know which in-progress work is now affectednot Cubit Estimating

Where each one falls short

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

Cubit Estimating

  • Every subscription carries a minimum twelve month term, so a firm that hires an estimator for one tender period pays for the full year regardless.
  • BIM and IFC takeoff sits only in Enterprise at $250 per user per month, meaning a builder who receives models rather than PDFs is pushed to the top tier whether or not it needs collaboration features.
  • The product is Windows only with no macOS or browser client, which excludes practices standardised on Macs unless they run virtualisation.
  • Rate libraries, measurement conventions and BOQ structures follow Australian practice, so buyers outside Australia and New Zealand inherit a method that does not match their local standard forms.
  • The AI Estimating add-on is priced at an explicitly temporary introductory rate, so a firm building the feature into its workflow is accepting an unspecified future increase on top of the seat price.

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

Cubit Estimating

167/month
  • Standard$167/month
    • Integrated estimating and takeoff
    • Calculation sheets, rate sheets and price lists
    • Basic job management
  • Professional$222/month
    • Everything in Standard
    • Code grouping
    • Custom reporting
  • Enterprise$250/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • BIM and IFC takeoff
    • Multi-user job collaboration
  • AI Estimating add-on$20/month
    • Automated element recognition
    • Works with any edition
    • Introductory rate the vendor says will increase

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 Cubit Estimating if

  • You need integrated takeoff and estimate.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want calculation and rate sheets.
Cubit Estimating 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 Cubit Estimating or Trunk Tools better?
Neither clearly leads. Cubit Estimating starts at 167/month and Trunk Tools at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cubit Estimating or Trunk Tools?
Cubit Estimating starts at 167/month and Trunk Tools at On request.
Does Cubit Estimating or Trunk Tools run on more platforms?
Cubit Estimating runs on Windows. Trunk Tools runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Cubit Estimating best used for?
Cubit Estimating is most often used for an australian commercial builder that wants takeoff and estimate in one file rather than exporting quantities from a separate measurement tool, a quantity surveying practice producing trade-structured bills of quantities to local convention, a subcontractor pricing repeat work from maintained supplier price lists rather than rebuilding rates each tender, a small estimating team that needs to know the annual cost before booking a demo, because the rate card is published. Of those, an australian commercial builder that wants takeoff and estimate in one file rather than exporting quantities from a separate measurement tool and a quantity surveying practice producing trade-structured bills of quantities to local convention are not what Trunk Tools is typically brought in for.
What can Cubit Estimating do that Trunk Tools cannot?
Cubit Estimating covers Integrated takeoff and estimate, Calculation and rate sheets, Price list management, Bills of quantities. Trunk Tools covers Question answering with citations, Text message interface, Submittal review, RFI drafting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cubit Estimating: What does Cubit actually cost?

Standard $167, Professional $222 and Enterprise $250 per user per month on annual billing, in Australian dollars excluding GST. Monthly billing is about 16 per cent more.

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.

Cubit Estimating: Can I get BIM takeoff without the Enterprise tier?

No. IFC model takeoff is an Enterprise feature only.

Trunk Tools: What does it cost?

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

Cubit Estimating: Is there a perpetual licence?

No. Cubit Estimating is subscription only with a minimum twelve month commitment.

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.

Cubit Estimating: Does it suit contractors outside Australia?

It works, but rate libraries and BOQ conventions follow Australian standards, so buyers elsewhere do more setup than a locally built alternative would need.

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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