Comparison
Clearbrief Alternative: A Free Table of Authorities, No Subscription
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The short answer
if you need a Table of Authorities and don't already pay for Clearbrief, use BriefAuthority. It's free, it runs in any browser on a Mac or a PC, and it builds the table from your final PDF (scans too) or your Word .docx, with page numbers from the pages you actually file. Your brief never leaves your computer. Clearbrief is a strong cloud platform for fact-checking against the record, cite checking and hyperlinked filings, and its Solo plan is $300 per user per month. That's a lot to pay for one table. For the table itself, BriefAuthority needs no Word add-in, no account and no subscription: open the generator and drop in the brief.
Clearbrief vs BriefAuthority for the Table of Authorities
| Item | Clearbrief | BriefAuthority |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $300/month per user (Solo); Enterprise by quote; free trial | Free, no account, no authority limit |
| What it is | A cloud platform used through a Word add-in: fact-checking, cite checking, hyperlinked filings, exhibits, timelines, and a Table of Authorities | A focused Table of Authorities tool in your browser |
| Install and account | Add-in from the Microsoft Marketplace; the Clearbrief team activates your account | Nothing to install, no account. Open a web page |
| Mac | Yes, in Word 2016 or later on Mac and in Word on the web (per its Microsoft listing) | Yes, in Safari or Chrome, with or without Word |
| Where the brief goes | Cloud platform; its Microsoft listing says it “can send data over the Internet”; SOC 2 Type 2, with an optional “bring your own storage” | Nowhere. It's processed in your browser and never uploaded |
| Published accuracy | Not published for the table | Yes: 370 briefs, 118 courts, with the data public |
| Item | Clearbrief | BriefAuthority |
|---|---|---|
| What you give it | The open Word document | Final PDF, a scanned PDF (on-device OCR) or the Word .docx |
| Page numbers | Generated in your Word document | Printed pages from the final PDF, including roman-numeral front matter; paragraph numbers for paragraph-numbered courts |
| Id., supra and short forms | Not detailed on its public pages | Linked to the full citation, with their pages counted; a review screen with a PDF preview to confirm |
| Court formats | Formatting preferences, such as alphabetical sorting or separating circuit court opinions | 36 court presets (Supreme Court, every federal circuit, 20 states), each with its heading and passim rule |
| Word output | A table generated in your Word document | A formatted .docx table, the finished table written into your .docx (page numbers from the PDF), or Word TA fields for Word for Windows |
| After edits | Regenerate in Word | Run the new PDF again in seconds; compare two versions or check an existing table |
| Fact-checking, cite checking, hyperlinks | Yes: links assertions to your evidence, checks citations and builds hyperlinked courtesy copies | No. BriefAuthority builds the table; use a citator for good law |
Clearbrief facts come from Clearbrief's own pricing page, home page and TOA guide, and from its Microsoft Marketplace listing, checked on 2026-09-28. Plans change, so confirm with Clearbrief before you buy.
Why BriefAuthority is the better pick for the table itself
- It costs nothing. $300 a month is $3,600 a year per person. BriefAuthority is free for every brief, with no trial period to run out.
- Your brief stays on your computer. No cloud account and no upload. If your client, a protective order or firm policy says the brief can't go to a vendor, that settles it.
- You don't need Word, or an add-in. Start from the final PDF on any computer. If you do use Word, BriefAuthority writes the finished table into your .docx.
- The page numbers match what you file. It reads them from the final PDF, including roman front matter and paragraph-numbered briefs, then shows every entry beside the page it came from.
- Built for one job, and measured on it. 36 court presets, passim rules per court, and an accuracy benchmark on 370 real briefs with the data public.
When to choose which
- Choose BriefAuthority if you need the Table of Authorities and don't have a Clearbrief subscription, can't send the brief to a cloud service, have only the final PDF or a scan, or don't use Word at all.
- Keep Clearbrief if your firm already pays for it and you use its fact-checking against the record, cite checking and hyperlinked filings. Even then, BriefAuthority is a free second check of the table against the final PDF before you file.
Frequently asked
Is there a free alternative to Clearbrief?
For the Table of Authorities, yes. BriefAuthority is free, with no account and no limit on authorities. It builds the table in your browser from the final PDF, a scanned PDF or the Word .docx, and exports a formatted .docx table. It can also write the finished table into your own Word file, or write Word TA fields for Word for Windows. It doesn't do Clearbrief's fact-checking, cite checking or hyperlinking.
How much does Clearbrief cost?
Clearbrief's pricing page lists Solo at $300 per month per user, with Enterprise priced by quote. Its Microsoft listing says continued use after any free trial requires a subscription. BriefAuthority is free.
Does BriefAuthority work on a Mac?
Yes. It runs in Safari or Chrome on a Mac with nothing to install, and you don't need Word. Give it the final PDF and you get a formatted .docx table. Give it your .docx and its final PDF and the finished table is written into your Word file, ready for Word for Mac, Pages or Google Docs.
Is my brief uploaded?
No. BriefAuthority opens the file in your browser and processes it there. There is no upload endpoint for the brief, and the app page's security policy blocks connections to other servers. You can confirm this in the browser's Network panel, or by going offline once the page has loaded. Clearbrief, by contrast, is a cloud platform, and its Microsoft listing says the add-in can send data over the Internet.
Does BriefAuthority handle Id. and short forms?
Yes. Short forms, Id. and supra are linked to the full citation, and their pages are counted under it. You can confirm each link on the review screen beside the page it came from. Across 370 public briefs, BriefAuthority found 98.8% of the cases. On 35 briefs checked page by page, its case page lists were right 93.9% of the time, against 85.6% for the lawyers' own printed tables, and a page it lists is right 99.1% of the time.
Can BriefAuthority check citations or add hyperlinks like Clearbrief?
No. BriefAuthority builds the Table of Authorities: it finds every authority, groups it, and lists its pages. For good law, use a citator such as Shepard's or KeyCite. For fact-checking against the record or hyperlinked courtesy copies, a platform like Clearbrief is built for that.
How we compared. Clearbrief is described only from its own public pages and its Microsoft Marketplace listing, listed below. We don't report accuracy figures for Clearbrief because it doesn't publish any for the table. BriefAuthority's figures come from its public benchmark. The 35 page-by-page tables were built from each brief's own text under a written protocol, and a blind re-read agreed 95.8% at page level. BriefAuthority is independent and not affiliated with Clearbrief.
Sources
- Clearbrief: Pricing (Solo $300/month per user; Enterprise by quote), accessed 2026-09-28clearbrief.com
- Clearbrief: home page (features; SOC 2 Type 2; bring your own storage), accessed 2026-09-28clearbrief.com
- Microsoft Marketplace: Clearbrief for Word (account activation, free trial, app capabilities, products supported), accessed 2026-09-28marketplace.microsoft.com
- Clearbrief: How to Create a Table of Authorities in One Click in Microsoft Wordclearbrief.com
- BriefAuthority: Table of Authorities accuracy benchmark (v2.1, 2026-09-28)briefauthority.com
BriefAuthority · free
PDF, scan or .docx · no upload