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Government · head to head

ArchiveSocial vs March Networks

ArchiveSocial logo

ArchiveSocial

Government

Social media archiving that captures public agency accounts as legally defensible open records

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
March Networks logo

March Networks

Cybersecurity

Banking and retail video with transaction overlay, sold by a Canadian firm that changed from Chinese to Taiwanese ownership

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ArchiveSocial coverage depends entirely on third party platform APIs, so when a network restricts or reprices its API the archive's completeness changes for reasons the vendor does not control.; March Networks the ownership history is a live compliance question: Chinese-owned via Infinova from 2011, with a PRC government entity as controlling shareholder by January 2020, before the December 2021 sale to Delta Electronics of Taiwan, and any US federal or contractor buyer should expect to document that chain during a procurement review.
  • They diverge on capability: ArchiveSocial covers Continuous capture, March Networks covers Command Enterprise.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ArchiveSocial and March Networks actually diverge.

Attributes where ArchiveSocial and March Networks differ
AttributeArchiveSocialMarch Networks
PlatformsWebWindows, Web, iOS, Android
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 ArchiveSocial

  • Continuous capture
  • Deletion and edit capture
  • Authenticated records
  • Records request search
  • Litigation hold export
  • Multi platform coverage

Only in March Networks

  • Command Enterprise
  • Searchlight
  • Hybrid recording
  • X-Series hybrid NVRs
  • Health monitoring
  • ATM and teller integration
  • Retail loss prevention analytics
  • Evidence export

What people use each for

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

ArchiveSocial

  • A city whose legal department has flagged deleted social media comments as a records liabilitynot March Networks
  • A police department that must produce social media records under an open records requestnot March Networks
  • An agency under litigation hold needing authenticated social media evidence rather than screenshotsnot March Networks
  • A communications team operating many accounts across departments with no consistent archivingnot March Networks

March Networks

  • A bank investigating a disputed ATM withdrawal who needs the clip for that transaction, not two hours of timelinenot ArchiveSocial
  • A credit union refreshing 200 branches in phases where analogue and IP cameras must coexist on one recordernot ArchiveSocial
  • A restaurant chain overlaying till exceptions on video across hundreds of locationsnot ArchiveSocial
  • A transit operator needing video retrieval from vehicles and stations without shipping terabytes over the networknot ArchiveSocial

Where each one falls short

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

ArchiveSocial

  • Coverage depends entirely on third party platform APIs, so when a network restricts or reprices its API the archive's completeness changes for reasons the vendor does not control.
  • Pricing scales with the number of archived accounts, so an agency where every department runs its own page pays repeatedly for the same compliance obligation.
  • It archives rather than governs, so it will faithfully preserve a policy violation without preventing it, and agencies still need social media policy and training.
  • Since the 2021 CivicPlus acquisition the product is part of a municipal suite, so buyers avoiding that vendor for other reasons are still buying from them.
  • The value is entirely insurance shaped, which makes it a perennial target during budget cuts right up until the first records request it would have answered.

March Networks

  • The ownership history is a live compliance question: Chinese-owned via Infinova from 2011, with a PRC government entity as controlling shareholder by January 2020, before the December 2021 sale to Delta Electronics of Taiwan, and any US federal or contractor buyer should expect to document that chain during a procurement review.
  • NDAA compliance is stated at the product level and rests on American system-on-chip processors in the majority of cameras and in specific recorder lines, which means it must be confirmed per model rather than assumed across the catalogue.
  • The platform is engineered around banking and retail workflows, so buyers outside those verticals pay for transaction integration they will never use and get a less developed general security experience than from a Genetec or Milestone.
  • No pricing is published and everything is quoted through integrators, so a multi-hundred-site estate cannot be budgeted without a design exercise and there is no benchmark against which to test a quote.
  • Hybrid recording means a recorder in every branch, which is hardware to install, monitor, service and eventually replace at every location, and that refresh cycle is a recurring capital event that cloud rivals avoid entirely.

Pricing, plan by plan

ArchiveSocial

On request
  • ArchiveSocial$undefined/year
    • Quoted annually, typically scaled by number of archived accounts
    • Additional accounts and platforms increase the subscription
    • Bundled pricing common for agencies already buying CivicPlus products

March Networks

On request
  • Command Enterprise and Searchlight$undefined/year
    • Per-recorder and per-channel licensing quoted through integrators
    • Searchlight business intelligence licensed separately
    • X-Series hybrid recorders purchased per site

Which should you pick?

Choose ArchiveSocial if

  • You need continuous capture.
  • You also want deletion and edit capture.
ArchiveSocial review

Choose March Networks if

  • You need command enterprise.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want searchlight.
March Networks review

Questions people ask

Is ArchiveSocial or March Networks better?
Neither clearly leads. ArchiveSocial starts at On request and March Networks at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ArchiveSocial or March Networks?
ArchiveSocial starts at On request and March Networks at On request.
Does ArchiveSocial or March Networks run on more platforms?
ArchiveSocial runs on Web. March Networks runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is ArchiveSocial best used for?
ArchiveSocial is most often used for a city whose legal department has flagged deleted social media comments as a records liability, a police department that must produce social media records under an open records request, an agency under litigation hold needing authenticated social media evidence rather than screenshots, a communications team operating many accounts across departments with no consistent archiving. Of those, a city whose legal department has flagged deleted social media comments as a records liability and a police department that must produce social media records under an open records request are not what March Networks is typically brought in for.
What can ArchiveSocial do that March Networks cannot?
ArchiveSocial covers Continuous capture, Deletion and edit capture, Authenticated records, Records request search. March Networks covers Command Enterprise, Searchlight, Hybrid recording, X-Series hybrid NVRs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ArchiveSocial: Why not just export data from the platforms?

Platform exports do not reliably capture deleted or edited content and carry no chain of custody, which is what makes an archive usable as evidence.

March Networks: Who owns March Networks?

Delta Electronics of Taiwan, which acquired it in December 2021 for 114 million US dollars. Before that it was owned by Chinese manufacturer Infinova, which by January 2020 had a PRC government entity as controlling shareholder.

ArchiveSocial: Are public comments on our posts records?

In many United States jurisdictions yes, and deleted comments have been the subject of litigation against agencies.

March Networks: Is March Networks NDAA compliant?

The company states it is, citing American system-on-chip processors in the majority of its cameras and in its Command Recording Server bundles and X-Series hybrid NVRs. Verify per model, and expect the ownership history to be raised in a federal procurement review.

ArchiveSocial: Who owns ArchiveSocial?

CivicPlus, which acquired it in 2021 and sells it alongside its municipal website and communications products.

March Networks: What is Searchlight?

The layer that overlays ATM, teller and point of sale transaction data on video so investigators search by transaction rather than by time.

ArchiveSocial: How is it priced?

By archived accounts, quoted rather than published. Comparable agency contracts are public records.

March Networks: Is video stored in the cloud?

No, it is hybrid. Video is recorded on a recorder at each site and only required clips move centrally, which is why it suits large branch estates on modest connections.

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