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Government · head to head

CitizenLab vs Grype

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Grype logo

Grype

Cybersecurity

Vulnerability scanner for container images and filesystems

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Grype 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; Grype depends on public vulnerability databases, so coverage and false positives vary by ecosystem
  • They diverge on capability: CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Grype covers Image and filesystem scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and Grype actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and Grype differ
AttributeCitizenLabGrype
Starting price$500/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2015Unknown

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 CitizenLab

  • Participatory Budgeting
  • Idea Management
  • Online Consultations
  • Surveys & Polls
  • AI-powered Analysis
  • Single Sign-On
  • Open Data Portals
  • GIS Systems

Only in Grype

  • Image and filesystem scanning
  • SBOM-driven
  • Wide ecosystem coverage
  • Pipeline friendly

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

Grype

  • Re-scanning stored SBOMs as new CVEs are published, without rebuilding imagesnot CitizenLab
  • Failing CI when a build introduces a known vulnerabilitynot CitizenLab
  • Auditing what is actually installed inside a third-party imagenot 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

Grype

  • Depends on public vulnerability databases, so coverage and false positives vary by ecosystem
  • No triage, exception tracking or reporting UI — that is Anchore’s commercial product
  • Overlaps heavily with Trivy, and most teams pick one rather than running both

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

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

Grype

Free
  • GrypeFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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 Grype if

  • You need image and filesystem scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want sbom-driven.
Grype review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or Grype better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Grype at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or Grype?
Grype has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/month for CitizenLab and Free for Grype.
Does CitizenLab or Grype run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. Grype runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
Can I use Grype for free?
Yes. Grype 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 Grype is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that Grype cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. Grype covers Image and filesystem scanning, SBOM-driven, Wide ecosystem coverage, Pipeline friendly.

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
Grype: Is Grype free?

Yes, open source from Anchore. Anchore Enterprise is the paid platform around it.

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
Grype: What is the difference between Grype and Syft?

Syft generates the software bill of materials; Grype matches that inventory against vulnerability data. They are designed to be used together.

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
Grype: Grype or Trivy?

They cover similar ground. Trivy is broader out of the box, including misconfiguration and secret scanning; Grype pairs more cleanly with an SBOM-first workflow.

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
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