Most COI tracking platforms claim to offer a “free” experience—but those so-called free trials often come with strings attached. From complex onboarding to limited feature access and time-bound refunds, the reality rarely lives up to the promise.
That’s why evaluating the right certificate of insurance tracking software requires more than just a quick demo. A “free trial” might lock you into hours of onboarding, limited access to core features, or unexpected upgrade pressure. You need to understand what “free” really means—and how much risk, time, and vendor disruption you’re signing up for if the platform doesn’t deliver.
In this comparison, we break down how today’s top COI tracking providers stack up—including SmartCompliance, myCOI, TrustLayer, and bcs. You’ll learn who offers real value upfront, who burdens you with hidden complexity, and which platform delivers a truly freemium experience—no strings attached.
Let’s dive into the key differences—and what they mean for your compliance workflows.
Key Takeaways: Free COI Trials At a Glance
- Free trials can be a wast of time. Many platforms demand extensive onboarding. If the software fails to meet expectations, switching becomes time-consuming. Look for a free version of software that you can gain immediate access too by just filling out a few simple questions.
- SmartCompliance offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. It features both full-service and self-service options but struggles with optical character recognition (OCR) accuracy unless documents follow specific formats, and lacks custom reporting.
- myCOI provides free trial access. Historically plagued by vendor experience issues and steep learning curves, their new AI platform launched in May 2025 targets many of these shortcomings.
- TrustLayer delivers a genuinely free starter service. Up to 50 vendors at no cost. User-friendly interface with responsive support, but complex documents require additional fees for human verification.
- bcs stands alone with true freemium access. Full premium features for 25 vendors with no trial limits, AI-powered RiskBot technology, US-based customer/vendor support, and transparent pricing. All you need to do to sign up is submit your email and answer a few simple questions.
How We Evaluated Free COI Tracking Software
This comparison between bcs and its competitors combines public product materials, user-reported feedback, and platform documentation, plus internal learnings from implementations and evaluations.
For a broader look at how today’s leading certificate of insurance tracking platforms perform across categories like automation, vendor experience, and AI capabilities, check out our in-depth guide to the best COI tracking software in 2025.
These platforms—and the information available about them—are constantly evolving, which makes evaluation a moving target. There’s a chance some details have changed since this comparison was first published.
Be sure to continue researching and testing to determine which COI tracking solution works best for your needs. With new AI-branded features and agents rapidly emerging, it’s more important than ever to pilot solutions before committing to a vendor compliance platform.
Last updated: September 2025.
Comparing the Free Certificate of Insurance Tracking Software Options
As you may already have found, not every major COI tracking platform offers a free trial. Some offer refunds after 30 days, and others only grant you access to some of the features during a free trial.
You’ll find that the most comprehensive test drive of a COI tracking software includes not only a free version, but gives you access to the entire platform, as if you had a premium or enterprise subscription.
Let’s dive in.
SmartCompliance: 30-Day, Money-Back Guarantee
A generalist platform, SmartCompliance offers self-service and full-service options for commercial and insurance professionals.
While operating in diverse industries, ranging from healthcare and property management to manufacturing and education, SmartCompliance’s lack of specialization may be an issue for organizations with complex portfolios working in particular industries, such as commercial real estate and construction.
SmartCompliance entices customers with a 30-day, risk-free, money-back guarantee. So, if you try out the COI tracking software and it doesn’t meet your expectations, no harm, no foul. You can go your separate ways.
Overview
bcs: Only True Freemium COI Software Tracking Platform in the Industry
A long-time leader in certificate of insurance tracking software, bcs delivers not only an AI-powered platform known for its proprietary OCR tech with color-coded, instant feedback, but also a COI AI agent (RiskBot AI) that provides real-time insights and powerful vendor compliance automation.
Unlike other providers, bcs offers the only true freemium model in the industry. You get full access to all features for up to 25 vendors—no need to speak to anyone from bcs in order to gain access, no expiration deadlines, no bait-and-switch.
Overview
What you get with bcs:
- Full feature access with no time limit
- Instant, AI-powered compliance insights
- Frictionless setup and vendor experience
- Scalable with transparent pricing and no hidden costs
bcs makes it easy to start small, test deeply, and scale confidently—without the risk or complexity that often comes with COI software trials.
myCOI: Free Trial Vendor Compliance Software
A well-established COI tracking software, myCOI offers a free trial. Despite a proven track record, myCOI has historically had issues with the vendor experience, inducing a lot of friction, making it challenging at times to get vendors to submit COIs. Past users have also cited a steep learning curve and onboarding process, which is something to consider as you evaluate their free trial.
With the launch of its AI-powered platform, illumend, in May 2025, myCOI has positioned its new technology not only as a solution to address its historical shortcomings, but also as a way to enhance its overall capabilities.
Overview
TrustLayer: Free Starter Option for up to 50 Vendors
While not the biggest player in the COI tracking software space, TrustLayer offers users a starter option that’s free for businesses with up to 50 vendors. No trial expiration, either. If you exceed that limit or need more advanced features, TrustLayer Plus and TrustLayer Pro are available for enterprise-level pricing.
TrustLayer emphasizes automation and near real-time verification capabilities, with positive feedback on support responsiveness. All of this is enhanced by its recent development of AI-powered features.
Overview
The Bottom Line
When evaluating COI tracking software, the stakes are too high for guesswork—and the onboarding investment is sometimes too significant for trial-and-error approaches.
While some COI tracking software providers force you into time-limited trials or money-back guarantees that still require a full commitment, bcs eliminates this risk entirely with the industry's only true freemium platform.
You get complete access to our AI-powered RiskBot technology, proprietary OCR capabilities, automated COI tracking and notices—all for up to 25 vendors at no cost.
No trial periods, no complex onboarding, no pressure to upgrade before you're ready.
Whether you're managing contractor compliance in construction, tenant insurance in property management, or vendor relationships across any industry, you can experience the full power of automated certificate of insurance tracking immediately.
Stop gambling with manual COI tracking. This exposes your business to million-dollar liability gaps and wastes 15-20 hours weekly on administrative chaos. bcs’ proprietary AI delivers instant insurance tracking feedback, 78,000+ pre-qualified vendors that accelerate onboarding, free-tier access with flexible upgrades that scale with your business, and U.S.-based human customer/vendor support—ensuring you never face uninsured incidents. Contact bcs today.
