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Government · head to head

CentralSquare Asset Management vs TunnelBear

CentralSquare Asset Management logo

CentralSquare Asset Management

Government

Public sector enterprise asset management, sold for years as Lucity

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
T

TunnelBear

Cybersecurity

Consumer VPN with a limited free tier and a bear-themed, beginner-friendly app

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only TunnelBear has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CentralSquare Asset Management the Lucity name is now only a suffix on a CentralSquare product, so long-standing customers should confirm which capabilities carry forward under the current release rather than assuming continuity from the Lucity they know.; TunnelBear free plan's data cap is small compared to competitors offering more generous free allowances.
  • They diverge on capability: CentralSquare Asset Management covers Esri ArcGIS integration, TunnelBear covers Encrypted VPN tunnel.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CentralSquare Asset Management and TunnelBear actually diverge.

Attributes where CentralSquare Asset Management and TunnelBear differ
AttributeCentralSquare Asset ManagementTunnelBear
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Cloud, On-premisewindows, mac, linux, ios, android
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

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 CentralSquare Asset Management

  • Esri ArcGIS integration
  • Public works asset breadth
  • Citizen request intake
  • Condition assessment
  • Inspections
  • Suite integration

Only in TunnelBear

  • Encrypted VPN tunnel
  • Server location switching
  • GhostBear obfuscation
  • Browser extensions
  • Teams account management

What people use each for

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

CentralSquare Asset Management

  • A city consolidating streets, water, parks and facilities maintenance into one asset register instead of four departmental spreadsheetsnot TunnelBear
  • A county needing auditable stormwater and backflow inspection records for a regulatory programmenot TunnelBear
  • A public works department wanting citizen-reported potholes and blocked drains to become work orders without manual re-keyingnot TunnelBear
  • A municipality already running CentralSquare finance that wants asset and work costs to land in the general ledger without an integration projectnot TunnelBear

TunnelBear

  • Casual browsing protection on public Wi-Finot CentralSquare Asset Management
  • Occasional geo-unblocking with a light free allowancenot CentralSquare Asset Management
  • Bypassing network-level VPN blocking via obfuscationnot CentralSquare Asset Management
  • Managing VPN access for a small team with centralized billingnot CentralSquare Asset Management

Where each one falls short

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

CentralSquare Asset Management

  • The Lucity name is now only a suffix on a CentralSquare product, so long-standing customers should confirm which capabilities carry forward under the current release rather than assuming continuity from the Lucity they know.
  • CentralSquare is private-equity owned and grew by acquisition, so asset management competes for development attention against public safety and finance products with larger revenue, and its roadmap is not independently controlled.
  • Pricing is unpublished and quoted per municipality, and asset management is often presented alongside other suite modules, so a department must work to get a clean, unbundled number it can defend at council.
  • Esri ArcGIS is effectively a prerequisite for the spatial capability that makes the product worth buying, and that licence is a separate cost the software quote will not include.
  • It is North America focused, aligned to United States municipal practice, funding structures and regulatory programmes, which limits its fit for local authorities elsewhere.

TunnelBear

  • Free plan's data cap is small compared to competitors offering more generous free allowances.
  • Lacks advanced features like dedicated IP addresses or split-tunneling controls found in some rival VPNs.
  • Server network is smaller than large competitors like NordVPN or ExpressVPN.
  • No standalone router-level app, limiting whole-network protection options.

Pricing, plan by plan

CentralSquare Asset Management

On request
  • CentralSquare Asset Management$undefined/year
    • Subscription or on-premise licensing, quoted per municipality
    • Priced on population, module selection and user counts
    • Esri ArcGIS licensing purchased separately

TunnelBear

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2GB of data per month
    • Access to VPN servers
    • Unlimited devices
  • Unlimited$9.99/month
    • Unlimited monthly data
    • All server locations
    • Cheaper on annual/3-year billing
  • Teams$undefined/month
    • Unlimited data
    • 5 connected devices per user
    • Dedicated account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose CentralSquare Asset Management if

  • You need esri arcgis integration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want public works asset breadth.
CentralSquare Asset Management review

Choose TunnelBear if

  • You need encrypted vpn tunnel.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
  • You also want server location switching.
TunnelBear review

Questions people ask

Is CentralSquare Asset Management or TunnelBear better?
Neither clearly leads. CentralSquare Asset Management starts at On request and TunnelBear at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CentralSquare Asset Management or TunnelBear?
TunnelBear has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CentralSquare Asset Management and Free for TunnelBear.
Does CentralSquare Asset Management or TunnelBear run on more platforms?
CentralSquare Asset Management runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud, On-premise. TunnelBear runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
Can I use TunnelBear for free?
Yes. TunnelBear has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CentralSquare Asset Management starts at On request.
What is CentralSquare Asset Management best used for?
CentralSquare Asset Management is most often used for a city consolidating streets, water, parks and facilities maintenance into one asset register instead of four departmental spreadsheets, a county needing auditable stormwater and backflow inspection records for a regulatory programme, a public works department wanting citizen-reported potholes and blocked drains to become work orders without manual re-keying, a municipality already running centralsquare finance that wants asset and work costs to land in the general ledger without an integration project. Of those, a city consolidating streets, water, parks and facilities maintenance into one asset register instead of four departmental spreadsheets and a county needing auditable stormwater and backflow inspection records for a regulatory programme are not what TunnelBear is typically brought in for.
What can CentralSquare Asset Management do that TunnelBear cannot?
CentralSquare Asset Management covers Esri ArcGIS integration, Public works asset breadth, Citizen request intake, Condition assessment. TunnelBear covers Encrypted VPN tunnel, Server location switching, GhostBear obfuscation, Browser extensions.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CentralSquare Asset Management: Can I still buy Lucity?

Not under that name alone. It is sold as CentralSquare Asset Management powered by Lucity, and quotes and contracts will use the CentralSquare name.

CentralSquare Asset Management: Do I need Esri?

In practice yes. The spatial asset handling that distinguishes the product depends on ArcGIS, licensed separately from Esri.

CentralSquare Asset Management: Is it cloud only?

No. Both hosted subscription and on-premise deployment are available, which matters for municipalities with data residency or network policy constraints.

CentralSquare Asset Management: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted per municipality based on population, modules and users, usually through a public procurement process.

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