Softwr

Government · head to head

Bonfire vs Recorded Future

Bonfire logo

Bonfire

Government

Public sector sourcing and bid evaluation software with scored, auditable award decisions

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Recorded Future logo

Recorded Future

Cybersecurity

Intelligence-driven cybersecurity

From
$25000/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bonfire it is a sourcing and evaluation tool rather than full procure to pay, so requisitions, purchase orders and invoicing stay in the finance system and the join between them is the agency's problem.; Recorded Future no pricing published; all three tiers (Core, Professional, Elite) require sales contact for quotes
  • They diverge on capability: Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, Recorded Future covers Real-time threat intelligence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bonfire and Recorded Future actually diverge.

Attributes where Bonfire and Recorded Future differ
AttributeBonfireRecorded Future
Starting priceOn request$25000/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Api, Cloud
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown2009

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 Bonfire

  • Solicitation posting
  • Sealed submission intake
  • Scored evaluation workspace
  • Audit trail
  • Supplier portal
  • Requirement matrices

Only in Recorded Future

  • Real-time threat intelligence
  • Vulnerability intelligence
  • Internet-wide data analysis
  • Insikt group intelligence
  • Brand intelligence
  • API-first platform
  • Alert and notification system
  • Custom reporting

What people use each for

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

Bonfire

  • An agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation recordnot Recorded Future
  • A procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and emailnot Recorded Future
  • A university or health system applying public procurement rules without a public procurement systemnot Recorded Future
  • An agency wanting suppliers to self register and receive addenda automatically rather than by mailing listnot Recorded Future

Recorded Future

  • Threat intelligence and monitoringnot Bonfire
  • Dark web monitoring and brand protectionnot Bonfire
  • Third-party risk managementnot Bonfire
  • Security operations and incident responsenot Bonfire

Where each one falls short

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

Bonfire

  • It is a sourcing and evaluation tool rather than full procure to pay, so requisitions, purchase orders and invoicing stay in the finance system and the join between them is the agency's problem.
  • Since the acquisition path from GTY to GI Partners to Euna Solutions, Bonfire sits in a portfolio alongside products it once competed with, which narrows a shortlist that appears independent.
  • Suppliers must register on the portal to bid, and small local vendors reliably complain about the extra account, which can reduce responses on low value solicitations.
  • Pricing is quoted rather than published and scales with solicitation volume, so an agency with a few very large procurements pays a model designed around throughput.
  • Contract management after award is thin compared with dedicated contract lifecycle products, so agencies often buy a second system for the obligations the award created.

Recorded Future

  • No pricing published; all three tiers (Core, Professional, Elite) require sales contact for quotes
  • Pricing depends on organization size, usage levels, and services in addition to tier selection
  • API usage limits vary by package but limits not specified on pricing page

Pricing, plan by plan

Bonfire

On request
  • Bonfire$undefined/year
    • Quoted by agency size and annual solicitation volume
    • Supplier side registration is free, which is how the vendor network grows
    • Implementation and training quoted separately from subscription

Recorded Future

$25000/year
  • Threat Intelligence$25000/year
    • Threat feeds
    • IP reputation
    • Domain analysis
  • Vulnerability Intelligence$35000/year
    • CVE monitoring
    • Patch intelligence
    • Vulnerability trending
  • Complete Intelligence$50000/year
    • All features
    • Analyst access
    • Dedicated feed

Which should you pick?

Choose Bonfire if

  • You need solicitation posting.
  • You also want sealed submission intake.
Bonfire review

Choose Recorded Future if

  • You need real-time threat intelligence.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cloud.
  • You also want vulnerability intelligence.
Recorded Future review

Questions people ask

Is Bonfire or Recorded Future better?
Neither clearly leads. Bonfire starts at On request and Recorded Future at $25000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bonfire or Recorded Future?
Bonfire starts at On request and Recorded Future at $25000/year.
Does Bonfire or Recorded Future run on more platforms?
Bonfire runs on Web. Recorded Future runs on Web, Api, Cloud.
What is Bonfire best used for?
Bonfire is most often used for an agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation record, a procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and email, a university or health system applying public procurement rules without a public procurement system, an agency wanting suppliers to self register and receive addenda automatically rather than by mailing list. Of those, an agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation record and a procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and email are not what Recorded Future is typically brought in for.
What can Bonfire do that Recorded Future cannot?
Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, Sealed submission intake, Scored evaluation workspace, Audit trail. Recorded Future covers Real-time threat intelligence, Vulnerability intelligence, Internet-wide data analysis, Insikt group intelligence.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bonfire: Who owns Bonfire?

Euna Solutions. Bonfire was acquired by GTY Technology in 2019, GTY was taken private by GI Partners in 2022, and the portfolio was rebranded Euna Solutions in 2023.

Recorded Future: What are the main pricing tiers offered by Recorded Future?

Recorded Future offers three tiers: Core (foundational intelligence), Professional (marked most-popular with automation and autonomous threat hunts), and Elite (comprehensive coverage including third-party risk assessment). Specific pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
Bonfire: Is it full procure to pay?

No. It covers sourcing and evaluation through award. Purchase orders and invoicing remain in the finance system.

Recorded Future: What is included in Recorded Future's Core pricing tier?

Core tier includes cyber operations monitoring with threat and malware insights, digital risk protection covering dark web monitoring and credential detection, and the new digital risk hub. Exact cost depends on organization size and usage.

Source
Bonfire: What is the real value?

A defensible, time stamped evaluation record when an award is protested, which is the expensive failure mode in public procurement.

Recorded Future: What features does Recorded Future Professional tier add?

Professional tier adds autonomous threat hunts, continuous threat monitoring, automated threat preventions, external intelligence ingestion, and external asset discovery. Pricing is custom-quoted based on organization size and services.

Source
Bonfire: Can we see what other agencies pay?

Yes. These contracts are public records. Read several comparable awards before negotiating.

Recorded Future: How does Recorded Future handle user limits and API access?

Recorded Future does not limit the number of platform users or integrations across any tier. API usage limits vary by package tier but exact limits are not specified on the public pricing page.

Source
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