Softwr

Government · head to head

CitizenLab vs March Networks

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
March Networks logo

March Networks

Cybersecurity

Banking and retail video with transaction overlay, sold by a Canadian firm that changed from Chinese to Taiwanese ownership

From
On request
Free plan
No
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; March Networks the ownership history is a live compliance question: Chinese-owned via Infinova from 2011, with a PRC government entity as controlling shareholder by January 2020, before the December 2021 sale to Delta Electronics of Taiwan, and any US federal or contractor buyer should expect to document that chain during a procurement review.
  • They diverge on capability: CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, March Networks covers Command Enterprise.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and March Networks actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and March Networks differ
AttributeCitizenLabMarch Networks
Starting price$500/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 March Networks

  • Command Enterprise
  • Searchlight
  • Hybrid recording
  • X-Series hybrid NVRs
  • Health monitoring
  • ATM and teller integration
  • Retail loss prevention analytics
  • Evidence export

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

March Networks

  • A bank investigating a disputed ATM withdrawal who needs the clip for that transaction, not two hours of timelinenot CitizenLab
  • A credit union refreshing 200 branches in phases where analogue and IP cameras must coexist on one recordernot CitizenLab
  • A restaurant chain overlaying till exceptions on video across hundreds of locationsnot CitizenLab
  • A transit operator needing video retrieval from vehicles and stations without shipping terabytes over the networknot 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

March Networks

  • The ownership history is a live compliance question: Chinese-owned via Infinova from 2011, with a PRC government entity as controlling shareholder by January 2020, before the December 2021 sale to Delta Electronics of Taiwan, and any US federal or contractor buyer should expect to document that chain during a procurement review.
  • NDAA compliance is stated at the product level and rests on American system-on-chip processors in the majority of cameras and in specific recorder lines, which means it must be confirmed per model rather than assumed across the catalogue.
  • The platform is engineered around banking and retail workflows, so buyers outside those verticals pay for transaction integration they will never use and get a less developed general security experience than from a Genetec or Milestone.
  • No pricing is published and everything is quoted through integrators, so a multi-hundred-site estate cannot be budgeted without a design exercise and there is no benchmark against which to test a quote.
  • Hybrid recording means a recorder in every branch, which is hardware to install, monitor, service and eventually replace at every location, and that refresh cycle is a recurring capital event that cloud rivals avoid entirely.

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

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

March Networks

On request
  • Command Enterprise and Searchlight$undefined/year
    • Per-recorder and per-channel licensing quoted through integrators
    • Searchlight business intelligence licensed separately
    • X-Series hybrid recorders purchased per site

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 March Networks if

  • You need command enterprise.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want searchlight.
March Networks review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or March Networks better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and March Networks at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or March Networks?
CitizenLab starts at $500/month and March Networks at On request.
Does CitizenLab or March Networks run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. March Networks runs on Windows, 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 March Networks is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that March Networks cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. March Networks covers Command Enterprise, Searchlight, Hybrid recording, X-Series hybrid NVRs.

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
March Networks: Who owns March Networks?

Delta Electronics of Taiwan, which acquired it in December 2021 for 114 million US dollars. Before that it was owned by Chinese manufacturer Infinova, which by January 2020 had a PRC government entity as controlling shareholder.

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
March Networks: Is March Networks NDAA compliant?

The company states it is, citing American system-on-chip processors in the majority of its cameras and in its Command Recording Server bundles and X-Series hybrid NVRs. Verify per model, and expect the ownership history to be raised in a federal procurement review.

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
March Networks: What is Searchlight?

The layer that overlays ATM, teller and point of sale transaction data on video so investigators search by transaction rather than by time.

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
March Networks: Is video stored in the cloud?

No, it is hybrid. Video is recorded on a recorder at each site and only required clips move centrally, which is why it suits large branch estates on modest connections.

Share

Related pages

More on CitizenLab

More on March Networks

Keep looking

Other head to heads