Softwr

Government · head to head

American Legal Publishing vs HID Global

A

American Legal Publishing

Government

Municipal Code Solutions

From
$150/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
HID Global logo

HID Global

Cybersecurity

Physical access control, credential issuance and workforce authentication hardware and software

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: American Legal Publishing a 2019 recodification contract between American Legal Publishing Corporation and the City of Dry Ridge, Kentucky, publicly posted by a separate Kentucky municipality as a model agreement, sets a base codification cost of $9,485 (USD) plus per-page increase rates of $18 (single column) and $21 (dual column) once the code exceeds the estimated page count, a one-time $550 setup fee to put the code in a searchable online format, $495 per year to host the code online after that, and a five-year supplement plan billed at $18-21 per reprinted page plus $200 per annual statutory update. This is one specific signed municipal contract, not a general price list, and actual costs for other municipalities will scale with code length.; HID Global sales run through integrators, so the price you get depends on which partner quotes it and there is no published list to negotiate against.
  • They diverge on capability: American Legal Publishing covers Code Codification, HID Global covers Physical access readers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which American Legal Publishing and HID Global actually diverge.

Attributes where American Legal Publishing and HID Global differ
AttributeAmerican Legal PublishingHID Global
Starting price$150/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWebWeb, Windows, iOS, Android
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded1912Unknown

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

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 American Legal Publishing

  • Code Codification
  • Online Publishing
  • Print Services
  • Editorial Support
  • Code Search
  • Legislative Systems
  • Document Management
  • Public Portals

Only in HID Global

  • Physical access readers
  • Mobile access
  • Seos credential technology
  • Card issuance
  • Workforce authentication
  • Visitor management

What people use each for

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

American Legal Publishing

  • Citizen Servicesnot HID Global
  • Records Managementnot HID Global
  • Public Safetynot HID Global
  • Civic Engagementnot HID Global

HID Global

  • An enterprise moving from plastic badges to phone-based credentials without replacing every reader in the estatenot American Legal Publishing
  • A government agency needing card issuance and PKI credentials under a national identity programmenot American Legal Publishing
  • A hospital consolidating access control, visitor screening and clinician authentication onto one credentialnot American Legal Publishing
  • An organisation retiring cloneable legacy proximity cards after a physical penetration test found them trivially copiednot American Legal Publishing

Where each one falls short

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

American Legal Publishing

  • A 2019 recodification contract between American Legal Publishing Corporation and the City of Dry Ridge, Kentucky, publicly posted by a separate Kentucky municipality as a model agreement, sets a base codification cost of $9,485 (USD) plus per-page increase rates of $18 (single column) and $21 (dual column) once the code exceeds the estimated page count, a one-time $550 setup fee to put the code in a searchable online format, $495 per year to host the code online after that, and a five-year supplement plan billed at $18-21 per reprinted page plus $200 per annual statutory update. This is one specific signed municipal contract, not a general price list, and actual costs for other municipalities will scale with code length.

HID Global

  • Sales run through integrators, so the price you get depends on which partner quotes it and there is no published list to negotiate against.
  • Mobile credentials are charged per identity as an ongoing fee, which converts a one-off card cost into a recurring per-employee subscription that budgets rarely anticipate.
  • Large estates run mixed generations of readers, so a credential upgrade is a multi-year hardware programme and the software licence is a small fraction of the true cost.
  • Legacy credential technologies still widely deployed have documented cloning weaknesses, and HID commercial interest in selling the replacement does not remove your exposure in the interim.
  • The portfolio spans hardware, firmware and several acquired software products, so integration between HID own components is less consistent than the single-vendor pitch implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

American Legal Publishing

$150/month
  • Online Code$150/month
    • Online Publishing
    • Code Updates
    • Search

HID Global

On request
  • HID Access and Identity Products$undefined/year
    • Hardware, credentials and software quoted through channel partners
    • Credential costs charged per card or per mobile identity
    • Reader hardware and installation quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose American Legal Publishing if

  • You need code codification.
  • You also want online publishing.
American Legal Publishing review

Choose HID Global if

  • You need physical access readers.
  • You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want mobile access.
HID Global review

Questions people ask

Is American Legal Publishing or HID Global better?
Neither clearly leads. American Legal Publishing starts at $150/month and HID Global at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, American Legal Publishing or HID Global?
American Legal Publishing starts at $150/month and HID Global at On request.
Does American Legal Publishing or HID Global run on more platforms?
American Legal Publishing runs on Web. HID Global runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
What is American Legal Publishing best used for?
American Legal Publishing is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what HID Global is typically brought in for.
What can American Legal Publishing do that HID Global cannot?
American Legal Publishing covers Code Codification, Online Publishing, Print Services, Editorial Support. HID Global covers Physical access readers, Mobile access, Seos credential technology, Card issuance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HID Global: Do we have to replace readers to use mobile credentials?

Often yes, at least in part. Reader capability determines which credential technologies work, and that hardware cost dominates the business case.

HID Global: Are mobile credentials cheaper than cards?

Not necessarily. Cards are a one-off cost per employee, mobile identities are typically a recurring charge, so the crossover depends on staff turnover.

HID Global: Can we buy directly from HID?

Generally not for access control deployments. Products are sold and installed through channel partners, so partner selection is part of the buying decision.

Share

Related pages

More on American Legal Publishing

More on HID Global

Keep looking

Other head to heads