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Government · head to head

CitizenLab vs Clariti

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Clariti logo

Clariti

Government

Permitting, licensing and land management for local government, built natively on Salesforce

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CitizenLab citizenLab has rebranded to Go Vocal and the product now sells under govocal.com; Clariti salesforce platform licences sit underneath the subscription and are not always visible in the initial quote, so the fully loaded cost can be materially higher than the comparison against Accela or Tyler suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Clariti covers Permitting workflows.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and Clariti actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and Clariti differ
AttributeCitizenLabClariti
Starting price$500/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Government).

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 Clariti

  • Permitting workflows
  • Business licensing
  • Inspections
  • Code enforcement
  • Public portal
  • Salesforce platform tooling

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 Clariti
  • Collecting resident input through surveys, ideation, mapping and votingnot Clariti
  • Centralising engagement data across multiple municipal departmentsnot Clariti

Clariti

  • A city already standardised on Salesforce that wants permitting inside the same platformnot CitizenLab
  • An agency replacing a legacy permitting system whose vendor was acquired and whose roadmap stallednot CitizenLab
  • A county needing configurable workflows across permits, licensing and code enforcementnot CitizenLab
  • An IT department that wants to configure and report on its own permitting workflows without vendor ticketsnot 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

Clariti

  • Salesforce platform licences sit underneath the subscription and are not always visible in the initial quote, so the fully loaded cost can be materially higher than the comparison against Accela or Tyler suggests.
  • Building on Salesforce means the agency inherits Salesforce release cycles and pricing changes, neither of which Clariti controls.
  • It has far less accumulated edge case handling than the incumbents, so unusual fee schedules, historic district rules or state mandated reporting can become configuration projects.
  • Professional services dominate the first year cost, as with every permitting implementation, and agencies that budget only for licence are the ones whose projects stall.
  • The install base is smaller than Accela or Tyler, so there are fewer peer agencies to call for reference and fewer trained implementation consultants in the market.

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

$500/month
  • Government$500/month
    • Participatory Budgeting
    • Idea Collection
    • Surveys

Clariti

On request
  • Clariti$undefined/year
    • Quoted by agency size and module scope
    • Salesforce platform licences are a separate cost underneath the subscription
    • Implementation and configuration services typically exceed first year licence cost

Which should you pick?

Choose CitizenLab if

  • You need participatory budgeting.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want idea management.
CitizenLab review

Choose Clariti if

  • You need permitting workflows.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want business licensing.
Clariti review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or Clariti better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Clariti at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or Clariti?
CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Clariti at On request.
Does CitizenLab or Clariti run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. Clariti runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Clariti is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that Clariti cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. Clariti covers Permitting workflows, Business licensing, Inspections, Code enforcement.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CitizenLab: How many projects can Essential tier teams manage?

The Essential tier is designed for teams starting small and is limited to 1 active project with 1 admin seat and no project manager seats.

Source
Clariti: Do we need Salesforce licences as well?

Yes. Clariti runs on the Salesforce platform, and those licences are a separate line item. Insist on a fully loaded quote.

CitizenLab: How many projects can Standard and Premium tiers manage?

Both Standard and Premium tiers support unlimited projects. Standard includes 4 admin seats and 5 project manager seats, while Premium includes 8 admin seats and 25 project manager seats.

Source
Clariti: How does it compare with Accela?

Accela has far deeper accumulated handling of edge cases. Clariti offers a more modern and configurable platform, at the price of Salesforce underneath.

CitizenLab: Does Enterprise tier have any user seat limits?

No, the Enterprise tier is designed for organizations aiming to embed engagement deeply within their infrastructure and includes unlimited admin seats and project managers.

Source
Clariti: Can we see what other agencies paid?

Yes. Permitting contracts are public records and award notices routinely list implementation and annual subscription values.

CitizenLab: What are the specific pricing amounts for each tier?

Specific pricing amounts are not disclosed on the plans page. The company directs interested organizations to talk to their team for personalized pricing offers.

Source
Clariti: Is it suitable for a small town?

Usually not. The platform cost and implementation effort suit mid sized and larger agencies.

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