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Government · head to head

CitizenLab vs MyRec.com

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MyRec.com logo

MyRec.com

Government

Recreation management for small parks departments, priced on your annual revenue with no contract

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; MyRec.com the annual fee scales with department revenue, so a successful department pays more for the same software as its programme income grows.
  • They diverge on capability: CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, MyRec.com covers Revenue-based annual fee.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and MyRec.com actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and MyRec.com differ
AttributeCitizenLabMyRec.com
Starting price$500/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer year by department annual revenue
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 MyRec.com

  • Revenue-based annual fee
  • Programme registration
  • Facility reservations
  • Point of sale
  • League scheduling
  • Everything included

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

MyRec.com

  • A town recreation department of one or two staff moving off paper registration forms and a shared spreadsheetnot CitizenLab
  • A department that wants to choose its own payment processor rather than accept the software vendor ratenot CitizenLab
  • Replacing a system that charges per module, where every new programme type triggered an upsellnot CitizenLab
  • A department needing field permits and league scheduling without buying a facilities management suitenot 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

MyRec.com

  • The annual fee scales with department revenue, so a successful department pays more for the same software as its programme income grows.
  • It is built for small and mid-sized departments and lacks the permitting, aquatics and multi-facility depth a large city requires.
  • Credit card processing is explicitly excluded from the fee, so the total cost depends on a merchant agreement the department must source and negotiate itself.
  • Integration surface is thin, with no meaningful connection to municipal ERP or finance systems, meaning revenue reconciliation is a manual export.
  • The vendor is small, so there is limited third-party consulting capacity and a narrow bench for support during peak registration periods.

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

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

MyRec.com

On request
  • MyRec.com$undefined/year
    • Single annual fee calculated from department annual revenue
    • Third parties report entry around 2,850 to 3,445 USD per year
    • Site build, onboarding and training included

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 MyRec.com if

  • You need revenue-based annual fee.
  • You also want programme registration.
MyRec.com review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or MyRec.com better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and MyRec.com at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or MyRec.com?
CitizenLab starts at $500/month and MyRec.com at On request.
Does CitizenLab or MyRec.com run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. MyRec.com runs on Web.
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 MyRec.com is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that MyRec.com cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. MyRec.com covers Revenue-based annual fee, Programme registration, Facility reservations, Point of sale.

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
MyRec.com: How is MyRec priced?

A single annual fee calculated from your department annual revenue, using a calculator on the MyRec site. Third parties report entry around 2,850 to 3,445 USD a year.

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
MyRec.com: Is there a setup fee?

No. Site build, onboarding and training are included in the annual fee.

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
MyRec.com: Are card fees included?

No. Credit card processing is separate and you arrange your own merchant account.

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
MyRec.com: Is there a contract?

No long-term contract is required, which is unusual in municipal software.

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