Software · head to head
CitizenLab vs Citizen
The short version
- Only Citizen has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: CitizenLab citizenLab has rebranded to Go Vocal and the product now sells under govocal.com; Citizen the App Store listing for Citizen: Safety & Live Video (seller sp0n, Inc., matched) states the base app is free but gates police/fire scanner audio, detailed incident archives and multiple alert zones behind a Citizen Premium subscription tier, whose price is not disclosed in the listing.
- They diverge on capability: CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Citizen covers Real-time Alerts.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and Citizen actually diverge.
| Attribute | CitizenLab | Citizen |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $500/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android | Ios, Android |
| Founded | 2015 | 2016 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 CitizenLab
- Participatory Budgeting
- Idea Management
- Online Consultations
- Surveys & Polls
- AI-powered Analysis
- Single Sign-On
- Open Data Portals
- GIS Systems
Only in Citizen
- Real-time Alerts
- 911 Monitoring
- Live Video
- Safety Map
- Personal Safety
- Emergency Services
- Social Media
- Location Services
Both cover
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CitizenLab
- Running community consultation and participatory budgeting for a citynot Citizen
- Collecting resident input through surveys, ideation, mapping and votingnot Citizen
- Centralising engagement data across multiple municipal departmentsnot Citizen
Citizen
- Citizen Servicesnot CitizenLab
- Records Managementnot CitizenLab
- Public Safetynot CitizenLab
- Civic Engagementnot CitizenLab
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CitizenLab
- CitizenLab has rebranded to Go Vocal and the product now sells under govocal.com
- No prices are published on the plans page; every tier requires scheduling a demo
- The Essential plan allows only 1 active project and 1 admin seat, with no project manager seats
- Standard is limited to 4 admin seats and 5 project manager seats, and Premium to 8 admin seats and 25 project manager seats
- Standard restricts Sensemaking to Light, capped at 30 inputs; auto-insights require Premium
- The integrated Konveio document annotation and Echo blended engagement methods are excluded from Standard and require Premium
- Auto-translation on Premium is limited to 3 languages
- Custom fonts and other premium styling options are Premium only
- Priority support is Premium only
- Plans are split by population band, with separate ladders for cities under and over 100K population
Citizen
- The App Store listing for Citizen: Safety & Live Video (seller sp0n, Inc., matched) states the base app is free but gates police/fire scanner audio, detailed incident archives and multiple alert zones behind a Citizen Premium subscription tier, whose price is not disclosed in the listing.
Pricing, plan by plan
CitizenLab
$500/month- Government$500/month
- Participatory Budgeting
- Idea Collection
- Surveys
Citizen
Free- BasicFree
- Real-time Alerts
- Incident Feed
- Safety Map
Which should you pick?
Choose CitizenLab if
- You need participatory budgeting.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want idea management.
Choose Citizen if
- You need real-time alerts.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android.
- You also want 911 monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is CitizenLab or Citizen better?
- Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Citizen at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or Citizen?
- Citizen has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/month for CitizenLab and Free for Citizen.
- Does CitizenLab or Citizen run on more platforms?
- CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. Citizen runs on Ios, Android.
- Can I use Citizen for free?
- Yes. Citizen has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CitizenLab starts at $500/month.
- What is CitizenLab best used for?
- CitizenLab is most often used for running community consultation and participatory budgeting for a city, collecting resident input through surveys, ideation, mapping and voting, centralising engagement data across multiple municipal departments. Of those, running community consultation and participatory budgeting for a city and collecting resident input through surveys, ideation, mapping and voting are not what Citizen is typically brought in for.
- What can CitizenLab do that Citizen cannot?
- CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. Citizen covers Real-time Alerts, 911 Monitoring, Live Video, Safety Map. Both handle Ios support, Android support.