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Government · head to head

CitizenLab vs Diligent

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Free plan
No
Visit CitizenLabFull review
Diligent logo

Diligent

Cybersecurity

Board management and enterprise GRC platform assembled from Galvanize, Steele and Diligent Boards

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit DiligentFull review

The short version

  • CitizenLab is a digital democracy platform.
  • CitizenLab starts at $500/mo; Diligent prices on request.
  • Only CitizenLab lists participatory Budgeting; only Diligent lists Diligent Boards.
  • Where CitizenLab falls short: CitizenLab has rebranded to Go Vocal and the product now sells under govocal.com.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and Diligent actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and Diligent differ
AttributeCitizenLabDiligent
Starting price$500/monthOn request
Pricing modelSubscriptionQuote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Windows
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

Identical on both: free tier (No).

Not yet recorded: founded for Diligent.

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 Diligent

  • Diligent Boards
  • Entity management
  • Audit and analytics
  • Risk management
  • Third-party risk
  • Ethics and compliance
  • ESG and sustainability
  • Market intelligence

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

Diligent

  • A listed company that wants board papers, entity records and the audit committee reporting pack produced from one governance systemnot CitizenLab
  • An internal audit function moving from sampling to full-population transaction testing using the ACL heritage analytics enginenot CitizenLab
  • A regulated firm consolidating a whistleblower hotline, third-party due diligence and policy attestation after an enforcement findingnot CitizenLab
  • A group needing sustainability disclosure data collected with the same audit trail and controls as financial reportingnot 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

Diligent

  • The platform is an assembly of acquisitions, with the analytics engine from ACL, risk from Rsam, ethics and third-party diligence from Steele and the board portal from Diligent itself, so cross-module reporting and consistent user experience should be tested in a proof of concept rather than assumed
  • Pricing is unpublished and consistently at the top of the market, and organisations that need only one capability, a board portal or an audit analytics tool, generally pay less and get more from a specialist
  • Renewal leverage is weak once the board portal is embedded, because directors are the least willing user group to be migrated and that dependency is well understood by the vendor at renewal time
  • The analytics engine expects real data skills, and audit teams without an analytics-capable member typically use a fraction of what they licensed while paying for all of it
  • Module-by-module implementation means the promised single view of governance and risk usually arrives years after the first purchase, if the later modules are ever funded

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

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

Diligent

On request
  • Diligent One PlatformOn request
    • Quoted by module and user count
    • Board portal seats priced separately from GRC modules
    • Annual subscription, commonly multi-year

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 Diligent if

  • You need diligent boards.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want entity management.
Diligent review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or Diligent better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Diligent at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or Diligent?
CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Diligent at On request.
Does CitizenLab or Diligent run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, iOS, Android. Diligent runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
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 Diligent is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that Diligent cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. Diligent covers Diligent Boards, Entity management, Audit and analytics, Risk management.

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
Diligent: Is Diligent One the same product as Galvanize?

It contains it. Diligent bought Galvanize, the ACL and Rsam merger, for around one billion dollars in April 2021, and its audit analytics and risk modules are that heritage rebranded into Diligent One.

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
Diligent: What does Diligent cost?

Not published. It is quoted by module and user, and board portal seats are priced differently from GRC seats. Expect an annual or multi-year enterprise agreement.

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
Diligent: Can you buy just the board portal?

Yes, Diligent Boards is sold on its own and is the most common entry point. The GRC modules are separate purchases.

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
Diligent: Does it replace a SOC 2 automation tool?

No. Diligent is aimed at enterprise audit, risk and governance, not at automated evidence collection for security certifications.

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