Softwr

Government · head to head

Accela vs Periscope Holdings

Accela logo

Accela

Government

Civic Solutions for Modern Government

From
$800/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Accela pricing not publicly available; requires sales consultation and government procurement process; Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • They diverge on capability: Accela covers Building Permits, Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Accela and Periscope Holdings actually diverge.

Attributes where Accela and Periscope Holdings differ
AttributeAccelaPeriscope Holdings
Starting price$800/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Government).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Accela

  • Building Permits
  • Business Licenses
  • Code Enforcement
  • Planning & Zoning
  • Environmental Health
  • Esri ArcGIS
  • Bluebeam
  • DocuSign

Only in Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Accela

  • Citizen Servicesnot Periscope Holdings
  • Records Managementnot Periscope Holdings
  • Public Safetynot Periscope Holdings
  • Civic Engagementnot Periscope Holdings

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot Accela
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot Accela
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot Accela
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot Accela

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Accela

  • Pricing not publicly available; requires sales consultation and government procurement process
  • Significant upfront implementation costs typical of enterprise government software
  • Complex deployment requiring significant customization for different agency workflows

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

Accela

$800/month
  • Civic Platform$800/month
    • Permitting
    • Licensing
    • Code Enforcement

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

Which should you pick?

Choose Accela if

  • You need building permits.
  • You also want business licenses.
Accela review

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Questions people ask

Is Accela or Periscope Holdings better?
Neither clearly leads. Accela starts at $800/month and Periscope Holdings at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Accela or Periscope Holdings?
Accela starts at $800/month and Periscope Holdings at On request.
Does Accela or Periscope Holdings run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Accela best used for?
Accela is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Periscope Holdings is typically brought in for.
What can Accela do that Periscope Holdings cannot?
Accela covers Building Permits, Business Licenses, Code Enforcement, Planning & Zoning. Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Accela: What government functions does Accela's Civic Platform cover?

Accela provides solutions for permitting (building, planning, zoning), licensing (business, occupational, alcohol), public health (environmental health, fire prevention), asset management, and citizen services (complaints, requests).

Source
Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

Accela: Does Accela include AI capabilities?

Yes. Accela offers CivicAI, described as AI built for government rather than adapted from commercial solutions, with emphasis on explainability and auditability for regulatory compliance.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

Accela: Can Accela handle multiple department reviews simultaneously?

Yes. Accela's building permitting module enables concurrent multi-department review where fire, planning, public works, and utilities departments review applications simultaneously, with real-time tracking of annotations and approvals.

Source
Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Accela: How many government agencies use Accela?

Accela serves 900+ government agencies globally, including over 50% of top U.S. cities and counties.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

Accela: Does Accela publish its pricing?

No. Accela does not publish pricing on its website. Costs are custom-quoted based on agency size, modules deployed, and integration needs, typically through government procurement processes.

Source
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