Clearstory alternative for owners on GMP contracts
Both described in their own words, from their own pages on 9 September 2026, and the eight things an owner on a guaranteed maximum price contract needs to see.
The things an owner on a GMP contract needs to see, one per row.
Quoted from its own pages on 9 September 2026, or marked not published.
From the product's own code, file and line in the source record.
No logos, no statistics, no ranking. Two descriptions side by side.
Clearstory, in its own words.
Clearstory describes itself, on its own site, as "Change Order Management for Construction Teams", for "General Contractors", "Specialty Contractors" and "Project Owners": "Digital T&M Tags", "Real-Time Allowances" and "Track balances and draws in real time". Its owner page calls it "The #1 Change Order Communication Software for Owners" and says "Track and resolve Change Orders transparently in a shared, cloud-based log". Pricing: "Standard and Professional include a per-user fee and a platform fee per project."
The owner side of a guaranteed maximum price contract.
Costwitness starts at the GMP amendment, keeps contractor and owner contingency as two separate funds, records the cause of every change order and the date its notice clock started, follows buyout package by package against the GMP lines, and works out the shared savings on the cap and carve-outs written in the amendment. It does not do accounting, invoices or development budgets. One project, read from the owner's side, in nine modules.
Eight things an owner needs, and what each vendor publishes.
| What the owner needs | Costwitness | Clearstory |
|---|---|---|
| Anchored to the GMP amendment | Yes. The baseline is built from the GMP amendment and the schedule of values. | not published |
| Two separate funds, owner and contractor | Yes. Contractor and owner contingency on separate ledgers, each draw dated and documented. | not published |
| Change orders classified by cause | Yes. Cause decides which fund pays: owner scope, design gap, unforeseen, coordination, unclassified. | "Track and resolve Change Orders transparently in a shared, cloud-based log" |
| Notice date recorded from the event date | Yes. The notice clock runs from the day the condition was recognized, not the day it was typed in. | not published |
| Buyout tracked against GMP lines | Yes. Per package: GMP line value, awarded value, variance, award date. | not published |
| Shared savings with cap and carve-out logic | Yes. Cap as fixed, percent of GMP or percent of fee; carve-outs excluded from the pool. | not published |
| Pricing basis | Per active project, unlimited users. Free 14-day trial, no card. | "Standard and Professional include a per-user fee and a platform fee per project." Basic: free. |
| Built for | The owner side of a GMP contract. | "General Contractors", "Specialty Contractors", "Project Owners" |
Not published means the vendor's own pages do not state it, on the date shown. It does not mean the product cannot do it.
Sources, 9 September 2026: clearstory.build, clearstory.build/owner-software, clearstory.build/pricing. Costwitness column from the product's own code; see Per active project. Never per seat. for the pricing basis.
- You are a general or specialty contractor and the change order request itself, with T&M tags from the field, is what you need to move.
- You want one shared log where contractor, subcontractor and owner comment on the same change order.
- Per-user pricing with a free Basic tier suits how many people touch the log.
- You are the owner on a GMP contract and want your own ledger, separate from the contractor's books.
- Two contingency funds, a cause on every change order and the notice date matter to you.
- You want per active project pricing with unlimited users, and a free 14-day trial before any invoice.
- No invoice or accounts payable automation. Costwitness records what a pay application claims; it does not approve or pay invoices.
- No development budget module. Land, soft costs and financing are not in it; the GMP contract is.
- No design document workflow. Drawings, submittals and RFIs to the designer live elsewhere.
Asked before choosing.
Is Costwitness a replacement for Clearstory?
Not one for one. Clearstory publishes itself as change order communication for construction teams, with T&M tags from the field and a shared log. Costwitness is the owner's own record of the GMP contract: which fund a change draws on, when its notice clock started, and what it does to the anticipated final cost.
Does Costwitness capture T&M tags or field tickets?
No. Costwitness records a change order after it exists, with a cause, a value and a date. It does not collect field work or signatures on site.
What does Costwitness not do that Clearstory publishes?
Field T&M tags with photos and signatures, a shared log with messaging between contractor and subcontractor, and change order request creation. Costwitness also carries no invoice automation and no development budget.
How is Costwitness priced?
Per active project with unlimited users, never per seat, with a free 14-day trial and no card asked for. Clearstory publishes a free Basic tier, and its pricing page says "Standard and Professional include a per-user fee and a platform fee per project."
Start a free 14-day trial
Create the account, build the baseline from your GMP amendment and the schedule of values, and read the first month from the owner's side.