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TrustLayer vs Highwire

Two ways a GC checks subcontractors, with insurance as the overlap. TrustLayer is third-party risk management and certificate-of-insurance tracking that the vendor describes as powered by AI: it reads each COI, checks it against your requirements and flags coverage gaps, with a free Starter plan for up to 50 vendors. Highwire is contractor risk software built around prequalification assessments (company, finance, safety and insurance) and field applications for safety, inspections and incidents. Desk research from vendor pages read Oct 28, 2026; not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Oct 28, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: TrustLayer (COI tracking & third-party risk; free option; paid prices not listed) vs Highwire (Contractor prequalification & risk; no public prices (quote / sales)). Facts last checked Oct 28, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

TrustLayer vs Highwire: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowTrustLayerHighwire
CategoryCOI tracking & third-party riskContractor prequalification & risk
AI role (our label)AI features added to established productNot AI-first
What it doesThird-party risk management and certificate-of-insurance tracking platform that the vendor describes as powered by AI. Vendor says it reads each COI, checks it against your standards and industry benchmarks, and flags gaps in coverage, learning from 400,000+ COIs a month across a network of 517,000+ companies (vendor claims). Also lists vendor onboarding, automated reminder emails and error flags, no sign-in required for vendors, access for brokers, instant linking for project managers, collection of W-9s and contracts alongside COIs, and data preparation for litigation. Pitched to risk managers, finance teams (confirm vendors are compliant before paying), executives, coordinators, brokers and carriers. Homepage features named customer and G2 quotes (vendor-published). Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: the homepage now shows unfinished placeholder (lorem ipsum) text in one section; product claims unchanged. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: homepage and plans unchanged in substance (AI reads each COI and checks it against your requirements; vendors and brokers join free). New in its resources: an Oct 21, 2026 announcement previewing a compliance panel inside Procore that shows a subcontractor's TrustLayer compliance status and the insurance documents behind it on a Procore commitment; it builds on the existing Procore sync, is in early access for a limited group of Procore customers, and was demoed at Groundbreak 2026 (vendor announcement, not tested). Placeholder (lorem ipsum) text appeared again on the homepage in this read. Network and COI-volume figures and quotes are vendor content and are not used. Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: homepage and plans page unchanged in substance (AI-powered third-party risk management and COI tracking; the Procore at Groundbreak 2026 announcement is still featured). Placeholder (lorem ipsum) text still appears on the homepage in this read. Network and COI-volume figures are vendor content and are not used. Re-read Oct 27, 2026 for a compare: homepage and plans page unchanged in substance; placeholder (lorem ipsum) text still on the homepage.Contractor risk software built around prequalification assessments and field applications, covering company, finance, safety and insurance risk. Vendor frames it as moving beyond pass/fail document checklists to understanding each contractor's risks and working with subs to mitigate default and safety risks. Its prequalification page lists financial analysis, project capabilities, past project experience, diversity classifications, corporate information, surety bond tracking, litigation and defaults, safety performance history, and client and supplier references, and says it helps GCs avoid costly defaults and meet SDI (subcontractor default insurance) prequalification requirements (vendor wording). Re-read Oct 18, 2026: the prequalification page also lists expert third-party validation and QA and Procore integrations for syncing projects and contractors and monitoring contract spend, and the pricing page covers Prequalification, Advanced Safety, Inspections and Incidents. The pages we read do not describe AI features, so we tag it Not AI-first. Re-read Oct 19, 2026: the homepage frames contractor risk across company, finance, safety and insurance, and the prequalification list is unchanged. Re-read Oct 21, 2026: the homepage frame is unchanged; it now says Highwire offers prequalification assessments of more than 60,000 contractors (vendor claim, not used) and lists case studies and a serious injury and fatality (SIF) tracking article. The pages we read still describe no AI. Re-read Oct 22, 2026: homepage, prequalification and pricing pages unchanged in substance (prequalification assessments and field applications across company, finance, safety and insurance risk; SDI prequalification requirements; expert third-party validation and QA; Procore integrations and a Companion integration option; still no AI described). Ownership: a Veriforce press release dated Oct 22, 2025 (read Oct 24, 2026) announces that Veriforce acquired Highwire and describes Highwire as a prequalification and contractor risk provider for the U.S. construction and capital projects market. Highwire's homepage, read the same day, does not mention the acquisition. Veriforce runs a cross-industry contractor network; see our Veriforce entry. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: homepage, prequalification and pricing pages unchanged in substance (prequalification assessments, field applications for Advanced Safety, Inspections and Incidents, Procore integration demos, Start Free Trial). The pages read still describe no AI features; the 60,000-contractor figure and case-study results are vendor claims and are not used. Re-checked Oct 26, 2026 (also read for a compare): homepage and pricing page unchanged in substance (prequalification assessments for company, finance, safety and insurance; field applications for Advanced Safety, Inspections and Incidents; Start Free Trial; the footer now also links Freequal terms and conditions, not reviewed). The pages read still describe no AI features and do not mention the Veriforce acquisition; the 60,000-contractor figure and case-study results are vendor claims and are not used. Re-read Oct 27, 2026 for a compare: homepage, prequalification and pricing pages unchanged in substance (prequalification assessments for company, finance, safety and insurance; field applications; expert third-party validation and QA; Procore integrations and Companion; Start Free Trial). The pages read still describe no AI features and do not mention the Veriforce acquisition; vendor figures are not used.
Who it's forRisk managers, compliance coordinators and finance teams at contractors, homebuilders and real estate developers; insurance brokers and carriers.General contractors' preconstruction and risk teams, and owners running capital projects (vendor wording).
Pricing (as publicly stated)Plans page (read Oct 17, 2026; linked in the site footer) lists Starter (Free), free up to 50 vendors, with expirations and renewals, messaging and collaboration, basic reporting, custom data and AI document collection and classification. Pro (0-1500+ vendors; adds BI reporting, Procore, CMiC and Vista Viewpoint integrations, white-glove onboarding, AI Smart Requirements and W-9 extraction) and Complete (adds unlimited users, real-time support, custom integrations and a dedicated account manager) go through a demo, and no paid prices are listed. trustlayer.io/pricing returned 404 on Oct 16 and Oct 17, 2026; the homepage says vendors, brokers and project managers can collaborate on the platform at no cost to them. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: plans unchanged; Pro and Complete list TrustLayer Plus as an optional add-on. (Checked Oct 16, Oct 17 and Oct 19, 2026.) Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: plans unchanged (Starter free up to 50 vendors; Pro and Complete via the team, no paid prices; TrustLayer Plus optional add-on; Complete adds up to 7 custom BI reports). Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: plans unchanged (Starter free for up to 50 vendors; Pro and Complete through a demo with no paid prices; TrustLayer Plus optional). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: plans unchanged (Starter free for up to 50 vendors; Pro for 0-1500+ vendors and Complete through the team with no paid prices; TrustLayer Plus optional; Complete adds up to 7 custom BI reports); /pricing still returns 404. The placeholder (lorem ipsum) text noted on Oct 22 did not appear in our Oct 23 read of the homepage. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: plans unchanged (Starter free up to 50 vendors; Pro adds Procore, CMiC and Vista integrations, white-glove onboarding, AI Smart Requirements and W9 extraction; Complete adds custom integrations, up to 7 custom BI reports and a dedicated account manager; TrustLayer Plus optional; no paid prices). Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: plans unchanged (Starter free up to 50 vendors; Pro adds Procore, CMiC and Vista integrations, white-glove onboarding, AI Smart Requirements and W9 extraction; Complete adds custom integrations, up to 7 custom BI reports and a dedicated account manager; TrustLayer Plus optional; no paid prices). Re-checked Oct 28, 2026 (also read for a compare): plans unchanged (Starter free up to 50 vendors; Pro adds Procore, CMiC and Vista Viewpoint integrations; Complete adds custom integrations; no paid prices). The homepage still features the Procore compliance panel preview from Groundbreak 2026, and placeholder (lorem ipsum) text still appears on it.Not publicly listed (Get Pricing / Request a Demo forms; checked Oct 16, 2026; re-checked Oct 18 and Oct 19, 2026). The pricing page FAQ says full pricing is not listed because it depends on the assessment packages needed and the number of contractors, and says client pricing depends on assessment needs and the number of contractors you work with, contractor subscriptions are based on company headcount, and a free trial is offered for clients. Confirm current pricing with the vendor. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged (Get Pricing form; FAQ still says pricing depends on assessment packages and number of contractors, contractor subscriptions on headcount, free trial for clients). Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged (custom quote for Prequalification, Advanced Safety, Inspections and Incidents; the FAQ says client pricing depends on assessment packages and number of contractors, clients can choose how assessments are paid for, contractor subscriptions are based on company headcount, and a free trial is offered for clients; its cost-comparison claim against other systems is not used). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: unchanged (Get Pricing / Request a Demo; FAQ says client pricing depends on assessment packages and number of contractors, clients can choose how assessments are paid for, and contractor subscriptions are based on company headcount; its half-the-cost comparison is a vendor claim and is not used). Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: unchanged (custom quote based on assessment packages and number of contractors; free trial for clients; contractor subscriptions based on company headcount; no figures). Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: unchanged (custom quote based on assessment packages and number of contractors; free trial for clients; contractor subscriptions based on company headcount; no figures). Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: unchanged (custom quote based on assessment packages and number of contractors; free trial for clients; contractor subscriptions based on company headcount; no figures). Re-checked Oct 28, 2026: unchanged (custom quote based on assessment packages and number of contractors; free trial for clients; contractor subscriptions based on company headcount; no figures).
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Sources

Facts last checked: Oct 28, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • Not like-for-like: TrustLayer is about keeping vendors' insurance and compliance documents (COIs, W-9s, contracts) current. Highwire is about whether a contractor should be hired at all (experience, financial capacity, safety history and insurance), plus field safety apps. Insurance is where they overlap.
  • Insurance: TrustLayer says it reads each COI, checks it against your standards and industry benchmarks and flags gaps in coverage, with automated reminder emails, error flags, no sign-in required for vendors, access for brokers and collection of W-9s and contracts alongside COIs. Highwire's insurance assessment checks that contractors carry the policies, coverage and limits you need.
  • Prequalification and finance: Highwire's prequalification page lists financial analysis, project capabilities, past project experience, diversity classifications, corporate information, surety bond tracking, litigation and defaults, safety performance history and references, with expert third-party validation and QA, and says it helps GCs meet subcontractor default insurance (SDI) prequalification requirements. The TrustLayer pages we read do not describe financial or safety prequalification.
  • Field: Highwire lists field applications for Advanced Safety, Inspections and Incidents. TrustLayer's pages describe no field safety tools.
  • Procore: TrustLayer's Pro plan lists Procore, CMiC and Vista Viewpoint integrations, and an Oct 21, 2026 TrustLayer announcement previews a compliance panel inside Procore (early access for a limited group of Procore customers; not tested). Highwire lists Procore integrations to sync projects and contractors and monitor contract spend, and Companion for integrating other systems.
  • AI: TrustLayer's plans list AI document collection and classification, AI Smart Requirements and W-9 extraction. The Highwire pages we read describe no AI features. AI tag: TrustLayer is tagged AI features added to an established product; Highwire is tagged Not AI-first.
  • Ownership: Veriforce announced on Oct 22, 2025 that it had acquired Highwire; Highwire's own pages read Oct 28, 2026 do not mention it.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026): TrustLayer's Starter plan is free for up to 50 vendors; Pro and Complete go through a demo with no prices listed. Highwire publishes no figures: client pricing depends on assessment packages and the number of contractors, a free trial is offered for clients, and contractor subscriptions are based on company headcount. See each tool page for detail.
  • Not used here: TrustLayer's network and COI-volume figures and customer and G2 quotes, and Highwire's contractor count, case-study results and cost-comparison claim (vendor material). Neither tool has been tested by Means & Methods Lab.

Paraphrased from the sources listed above. Vendor claims are reported as claims.

What users say

The facts above come from vendor websites. Whether either tool is any good for your work is something only people who use them can say. These are member reviews, all ratings shown, never edited or removed for being negative.

Used either of these? Share your take

Good or bad, an honest review from an estimator, PM or super helps the next team more than another vendor demo. You post under a handle; your email is never shown.

Questions to ask in your review

  • Whether your SDI carrier or owner requires financial and safety prequalification on top of COI tracking
  • How each handles a sub whose insurance lapses mid-job
  • What TrustLayer Pro or Highwire costs for a GC with a few hundred active subs
  • What did you use it for, on what kind of work and project size?
  • How long did setup and training take, and who on your team did it?
  • What does it cost you in practice, compared with what the sales call said?

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