Is Arnica or Polco better?

Neither clearly leads. Arnica starts at Free and Polco at $300/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Arnica or Polco?

Arnica has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Arnica and $300/month for Polco.

Does Arnica or Polco run on more platforms?

Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. Polco runs on Web, Ios, Android.

Can I use Arnica for free?

Yes. Arnica has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Polco starts at $300/month.

What is Arnica best used for?

Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what Polco is typically brought in for.

What can Arnica do that Polco cannot?

Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning. Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Live Polling, Community Benchmarking, Priority-Based Budgeting.

Cybersecurity · head to head

Arnica vs Polco

Arnica

Cybersecurity

AI-native application security platform detecting and fixing vulnerabilities across the SDLC

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Polco

Government

Civic Engagement and Polling Platform

From: $300/month
Free plan: No

Full review Website

The short version

Only Arnica has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Arnica per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers; Polco interface has a formal, academic tone compared to modern civic engagement platforms
They diverge on capability: Arnica covers AI SAST, Polco covers Scientific Surveys.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arnica and Polco actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnica and Polco differ
Attribute	Arnica	Polco
Starting price	Free	$300/month
Pricing model	Per-identity subscription with annual discount	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, GitHub, IDE	Web, Ios, Android
Category	Cybersecurity	Government
Founded	Unknown	2015

Identical on both: 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 Arnica

AI SAST
Software Composition Analysis
Secrets detection
IaC scanning
Container scanning
SBOM generation
Agentic rules
Pipelineless integration

Only in Polco

Scientific Surveys
Live Polling
Community Benchmarking
Priority-Based Budgeting
Demographic Analysis
NRC Surveys
ArcGIS
Social Media

What people use each for

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

Arnica

Detecting AI-generated vulnerabilities in Copilot and Cursor suggestionsnot Polco
Finding hardcoded secrets before they reach productionnot Polco
Mapping container vulnerabilities back to source codenot Polco
Generating SBOM for supply chain compliance requirementsnot Polco
Scanning infrastructure-as-code for misconfiguration risksnot Polco

Polco

Citizen Servicesnot Arnica
Records Managementnot Arnica
Public Safetynot Arnica
Civic Engagementnot Arnica

Where each one falls short

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

Arnica

Per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers
Overage identity tracking via 90-day PR activity can be unpredictable
Free plan limited to weekly updates, requiring upgrade for real-time scanning
Advanced add-ons (Image Scanning, AI SAST, Agentic Rules Enforcer) pricing not published
On-premises deployment limited to Enterprise tier

Polco

Interface has a formal, academic tone compared to modern civic engagement platforms
Emphasizes surveys and benchmarking over open discussion forums and idea boards
Pricing is custom quote-based without transparent pricing on the website

Pricing, plan by plan

Arnica

Free

FreeFree
- No credit card required
- 14-day trial available
- Weekly risk identification updates
Core Business$360/year
- Monthly billing option at $30/identity/month
- Annual billing at $25/identity/month (17% discount)
- Real-time risk scanning and notifications
Core Enterprise$720/year
- Monthly billing option at $60/identity/month
- Annual billing at $50/identity/month (17% discount)
- All Core Business features

Polco

$300/month

Community Engagement$300/month
- Community Surveys
- Live Polling
- Benchmarking

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnica if

You need ai sast.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, GitHub, IDE.
You also want software composition analysis.

Arnica review

Choose Polco if

You need scientific surveys.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want live polling.

Polco review

Questions people ask

Is Arnica or Polco better?: Neither clearly leads. Arnica starts at Free and Polco at $300/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arnica or Polco?: Arnica has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Arnica and $300/month for Polco.
Does Arnica or Polco run on more platforms?: Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. Polco runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Arnica for free?: Yes. Arnica has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Polco starts at $300/month.
What is Arnica best used for?: Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what Polco is typically brought in for.
What can Arnica do that Polco cannot?: Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning. Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Live Polling, Community Benchmarking, Priority-Based Budgeting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arnica: How are identities defined in Arnica pricing?

Identities are any users and other contributing entities that contributed code and/or had PR activity during the last 90 days. This ensures billing matches active developers.

Source

Polco: How does Polco ensure survey data quality?

Polco uses scientific survey methodology through the National Research Center, with pre-tested survey questions and verification that participants live in the surveyed area to eliminate outside interference and bad-faith responses.

Source

Arnica: What is the annual discount?

Annual prepayment offers approximately 17% savings versus monthly billing. Core Business annual is $300/identity versus $360 for monthly.

Source

Polco: What's the difference between Polco and open discussion platforms?

Polco emphasizes scientific surveys and benchmarking over open forums or suggestion boards, prioritizing rigorous data collection for policy decisions over broad community brainstorming.

Source

Arnica: Can I cancel or downgrade Arnica anytime?

Yes. Subscriptions can be cancelled or downgraded at any time. Overage identities receive automatic protection with true-up invoicing.

Source

Arnica vs Polco

Arnica

Polco

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Arnica

Only in Polco

What people use each for

Arnica

Polco

Where each one falls short

Arnica

Polco

Pricing, plan by plan

Arnica

Polco

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnica if

Choose Polco if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Arnica

More on Polco

Keep looking

Other head to heads