Comparison

HCSS Plans vs Clue

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HCSS Plans

This app facilitates real-time collaboration on construction plans for heavy civil projects. It allows teams to upload, annotate, and share PDF plans, ensuring everyone works with the latest revisions. Features include smart revision control, instant document access, and built-in calculators for accurate quantity takeoffs.

Highlights
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Smart revision control
  • PDF plan upload and markup
  • Instant document access
  • Built-in heavy civil calculators
  • Location services for field use
  • Sheet overlays for conflict detection
Features
Read full description

Get everyone on the same (digital) page with this easy app, designed for heavy civil construction. Upload PDF plans from the office, and then collaborate with your entire project team in real time, no matter where they are, using markups, call-outs, notes, photos/videos, and more. Smart revision control ensures everyone works off the latest set of plans and site instructions so your crews can build correctly the first time, every time. ~~~~~ Collaboration ~~~~~ SEAMLESS TEAMWORK Align your entire project team — from foremen and managers to estimators, executives, and owners. • Management gains detailed insight into how the project was bid. • Foremen get instant access to project managers’ notes, clarifications, and calculations. • All team members can add and share layers, annotations, notes, photos, and videos. • Subcontractors can collaborate with your team for free while your sensitive information is protected. SMART REVISION CONTROL Avoid rework and delays when everyone works off the most up-to-date set of plans. • Sync revisions, annotations, and photos between the office and field. • Overlay new and old versions to identify design changes immediately. INSTANT ACCESS TO DOCS Digitally store all project documents in one, easy-to-use system for instant access in the office and field, even without Internet. • Organize your permits, contracts, shop drawings, vendor agreements, manuals, specs, and more. • Pin RFIs, issues, dig permits, and submittals directly onto plan sheets to quickly reference relevant info. ~~~~~ Heavy Civil Focused ~~~~~ CALCULATIONS & QUANTITIES Save time and money with effortless calculations, right in your app. • Accurately determine volume, tonnage, trucking, and more with built-in, heavy civil calculators. • No more guessing — report true quantities rather than eyeballing. • Supports both horizontal and vertical measurements for profile views. REAL-TIME LOCATION SERVICES No other digital plans solution provides this level of location services for your construction sites. • Easily locate yourself on the plans sheet, even in a green field, without a survey crew. • Catch issues early by walking the site to identify any obstacles that may not be accounted for in drawings. • Auto-pin photos in the exact place they were taken to more clearly communicate issues or work progress. SHEET OVERLAYS Overlay sheets to gain a more comprehensive view of your project. • Stack related sheets, such as electrical and sewer, to verify there are no conflicts in the area before each stage of work. • Stitch sheets over Apple Maps to see your plans in relation to existing structures in road or satellite view. ~~~~~ Smart Integrations ~~~~~ HCSS Plans is part of the HCSS suite, providing even more efficiency and accuracy across your teams. HeavyBid estimating software • Takeoff integration: Import HCSS Plans takeoff quantities into HeavyBid. • Easy reference: Link biditems and activities to relevant sheets for easy reference. • Better collaboration: Instantly share estimators’ notes and calculations with your Operations team after winning the bid. HeavyJob field entry & job management software • Accurate quantities: Pull in sheet calculations for accurate production quantities without double entry. • Quick reviews: Relevant sheets are one click away for easy quantity checks during web time card reviews. • Issue alerts: Get notified when an issue is logged on a sheet, and elevate it to an RFI if necessary.

About

Clue

Digitize, connect, and optimize construction operations including assets, crew, and job sites. Monitor equipment performance, manage time sheets, and control site traffic to save time and money. Gain real-time insights for more productive operations.

Highlights
  • GPS asset tracking
  • Equipment performance monitoring
  • Digital crew time sheets
  • Job site geo-fencing
  • Real-time performance alerts
  • Preventative maintenance scheduling
Features
Read full description

Clue is the only solution to digitize, connect and optimize your entire construction operation: assets, crew and job sites, in one place - helping you save money, save time, and save the planet. Connect Everything: Track the GPS location of your assets, monitor the performance of your heavy equipment, manage your crew with digital time sheets, control job site traffic with geo-fences, and more. All in one, unified, easy-to-use system. Optimize Assets & Crew: Get real-time alerts and insights about idle assets, irregular team activity, and equipment performance. Easily reallocate resources, coach crew members, and schedule preventative maintenance, to run a more productive operation. Purpose-built for Construction: Built by a team with decades of industry experience and backed by industry giants, Clue is designed to meet the needs of construction firms of all sizes. Clue users optimize the jobsite productivity and the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their equipment by: - Saving 24% on maintenance cost, 22% on fuel and machine depreciation - Reducing their management time on assets and crew from days to minutes Get unlimited access for 14 days when you sign up to Clue today! Read what our users say ------------------------ "I love using Clue because it's built for mixed fleets and works with all our machines" - John, Fleet Manager of a Pomona, CA based company with 55 units including Caterpillar, John Deere, Komatsu, Doosan & Volvo. "It's really designed for owners like me who spend all their time in the field... I need everything, track all my yellow irons’ performance and workers’ clock in and out time, in one app. Clue is just that" - Manuel, Owner of a demolition company in Dallas, TX "I can get all the info about what happened yesterday, engine fault codes and everything else in a few seconds. Clue gives me exactly what I need" - Odelia, GM and Fleet Manager of a New Haven based heavy construction contractor with 182 units “Clue’s digital inspection has reduced our machine downtime drastically. I can easily keep track of the maintenance history and communicate with my mechanics on this app.” - Greg, VP of operations, Roadwork construction, New York How to sign up? --------------- 1. Download the app 2. Sign up with your mobile phone number 3. Register your assets and crew on app. Got any questions? Contact us to support@getclue.com or visit getclue.com to learn more.

Screenshots

HCSS Plans3 screens
Clue4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: HCSS Plans at 4.6 against Clue's 4.0. HCSS Plans also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (392 vs 29). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HCSS Plans holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HCSS Plans has 392 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of HCSS Plans's written reviews are positive against 71% of Clue's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
HCSS Plans versus Clue: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHCSS PlansClue
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (392 ratings) — better4.0 (29 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews71.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings392 — better29
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size201 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHeavy Construction Systems Specialists, Inc.Clue Insights Inc.

Customer experience

HCSS Plans

All ratings392 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Clue

All ratings29 ratings
Positive72.4%
Neutral3.4%
Negative24.1%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

In-app purchases

None

HCSS Plans

No in-app purchases

None

Clue

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HCSS Plans free?
HCSS Plans is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Clue free?
Clue is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HCSS Plans or Clue?
HCSS Plans is rated higher. HCSS Plans averages 4.6 out of 5 from 392 ratings, while Clue averages 4.0 from 29 ratings.
Do HCSS Plans or Clue have ads?
Neither HCSS Plans nor Clue shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HCSS Plans or Clue?
HCSS Plans ships an update every 3 weeks, and Clue every 3 weeks. Most recently, HCSS Plans was updated on September 24, 2026 and Clue on July 28, 2026.

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