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Government & Public Sector · head to head

CitizenLab vs NextRequest

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government & Public Sector

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NextRequest logo

NextRequest

Government & Public Sector

Public Records Request Management

From
$300/month
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; NextRequest now sold as part of the CivicPlus product line rather than standalone, and nextrequest.com redirects into the CivicPlus site
  • They diverge on capability: CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, NextRequest covers Request Intake.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and NextRequest actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and NextRequest differ
AttributeCitizenLabNextRequest
Starting price$500/month$300/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Government & Public Sector), founded (2015).

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 NextRequest

  • Request Intake
  • Workflow Management
  • Document Redaction
  • Public Portal
  • Reporting
  • Document Systems
  • Email
  • Payment Processors

Both cover

  • Web support

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

NextRequest

  • Receiving and routing public records and FOIA requestsnot CitizenLab
  • Tracking request status and statutory deadlines centrallynot CitizenLab
  • Redacting documents before release with RapidReviewnot CitizenLab
  • Invoicing and collecting payment for records requestsnot CitizenLab
  • Publishing a public-facing request portal for residentsnot 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

NextRequest

  • Now sold as part of the CivicPlus product line rather than standalone, and nextrequest.com redirects into the CivicPlus site
  • Pricing is not published
  • Aimed at government agencies, so it is not a general purpose request or ticketing tool

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

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

NextRequest

$300/month
  • Standard$300/month
    • Request Management
    • Document Redaction
    • Public Portal

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 NextRequest if

  • You need request intake.
  • You also want workflow management.
NextRequest review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or NextRequest better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and NextRequest at $300/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or NextRequest?
CitizenLab starts at $500/month and NextRequest at $300/month.
Does CitizenLab or NextRequest run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. NextRequest 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 NextRequest is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that NextRequest cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. NextRequest covers Request Intake, Workflow Management, Document Redaction, Public Portal. Both handle Web support.
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