Softwr

Government · head to head

Bonfire vs Silent Eight

Bonfire logo

Bonfire

Government

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

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Silent Eight logo

Silent Eight

Cybersecurity

AI adjudication of sanctions screening and AML alerts

From
On request
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.; Silent Eight automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.
  • They diverge on capability: Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bonfire and Silent Eight actually diverge.

Attributes where Bonfire and Silent Eight differ
AttributeBonfireSilent Eight
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux
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 Bonfire

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

Only in Silent Eight

  • Alert adjudication
  • Narrative generation
  • Name screening automation
  • Quality assurance
  • Shadow mode
  • Model transparency 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 Silent Eight
  • A procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and emailnot Silent Eight
  • A university or health system applying public procurement rules without a public procurement systemnot Silent Eight
  • An agency wanting suppliers to self register and receive addenda automatically rather than by mailing listnot Silent Eight

Silent Eight

  • A bank whose level one screening team spends most of its time closing obvious false name matchesnot Bonfire
  • A payments institution with alert volumes growing faster than it can recruit and train analystsnot Bonfire
  • A compliance function asked by a regulator to demonstrate consistency of alert decisions across offshore teamsnot Bonfire
  • An institution that has just tightened screening thresholds after an enforcement action and cannot staff the resulting alert increasenot 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.

Silent Eight

  • Automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.
  • It does not improve detection, so an institution with a poorly tuned monitoring system automates the handling of bad alerts rather than fixing why they exist.
  • Pricing is tied to alert volume, which means efficiency gains elsewhere that reduce alerts also reduce the vendor bill in a way sales teams structure minimums against.
  • The headcount saving is only realised if the institution actually reduces the analyst pool, and many banks redeploy rather than cut, leaving the business case unrealised on paper.
  • As a mid-sized private vendor serving tier one banks, concentration risk cuts both ways; the loss of one large client materially affects the company, and buyers should ask about financial stability during diligence.

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

Silent Eight

On request
  • Iris$undefined/year
    • Priced by alert volume adjudicated
    • Deploys against existing screening and monitoring systems
    • Shadow mode evaluation period

Which should you pick?

Choose Bonfire if

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

Choose Silent Eight if

  • You need alert adjudication.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want narrative generation.
Silent Eight review

Questions people ask

Is Bonfire or Silent Eight better?
Neither clearly leads. Bonfire starts at On request and Silent Eight at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bonfire or Silent Eight?
Bonfire starts at On request and Silent Eight at On request.
Does Bonfire or Silent Eight run on more platforms?
Bonfire runs on Web. Silent Eight runs on Web, Linux.
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 Silent Eight is typically brought in for.
What can Bonfire do that Silent Eight cannot?
Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, Sealed submission intake, Scored evaluation workspace, Audit trail. Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication, Narrative generation, Name screening automation, Quality assurance.

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.

Silent Eight: Does Silent Eight replace our screening system?

No. It consumes alerts from your existing screening and monitoring systems and decides them. The detection layer stays where it is.

Bonfire: Is it full procure to pay?

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

Silent Eight: Will a regulator accept AI closing alerts?

It depends on your jurisdiction and your model governance evidence. Banks typically run extended shadow mode first and phase auto-closure by alert type.

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.

Silent Eight: Where is the company based?

Singapore, with offices in New York, London and Warsaw.

Bonfire: Can we see what other agencies pay?

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

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