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Government · head to head

CitizenLab vs Recorded Future

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Recorded Future logo

Recorded Future

Cybersecurity

Intelligence-driven cybersecurity

From
$25000/year
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; Recorded Future no pricing published; all three tiers (Core, Professional, Elite) require sales contact for quotes
  • They diverge on capability: CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Recorded Future covers Real-time threat intelligence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and Recorded Future actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and Recorded Future differ
AttributeCitizenLabRecorded Future
Starting price$500/month$25000/year
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Api, Cloud
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded20152009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Recorded Future

  • Real-time threat intelligence
  • Vulnerability intelligence
  • Internet-wide data analysis
  • Insikt group intelligence
  • Brand intelligence
  • API-first platform
  • Alert and notification system
  • Custom reporting

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

Recorded Future

  • Threat intelligence and monitoringnot CitizenLab
  • Dark web monitoring and brand protectionnot CitizenLab
  • Third-party risk managementnot CitizenLab
  • Security operations and incident responsenot 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

Recorded Future

  • No pricing published; all three tiers (Core, Professional, Elite) require sales contact for quotes
  • Pricing depends on organization size, usage levels, and services in addition to tier selection
  • API usage limits vary by package but limits not specified on pricing page

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

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

Recorded Future

$25000/year
  • Threat Intelligence$25000/year
    • Threat feeds
    • IP reputation
    • Domain analysis
  • Vulnerability Intelligence$35000/year
    • CVE monitoring
    • Patch intelligence
    • Vulnerability trending
  • Complete Intelligence$50000/year
    • All features
    • Analyst access
    • Dedicated feed

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 Recorded Future if

  • You need real-time threat intelligence.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cloud.
  • You also want vulnerability intelligence.
Recorded Future review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or Recorded Future better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Recorded Future at $25000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or Recorded Future?
CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Recorded Future at $25000/year.
Does CitizenLab or Recorded Future run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. Recorded Future runs on Web, Api, Cloud.
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 Recorded Future is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that Recorded Future cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls. Recorded Future covers Real-time threat intelligence, Vulnerability intelligence, Internet-wide data analysis, Insikt group intelligence.

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
Recorded Future: What are the main pricing tiers offered by Recorded Future?

Recorded Future offers three tiers: Core (foundational intelligence), Professional (marked most-popular with automation and autonomous threat hunts), and Elite (comprehensive coverage including third-party risk assessment). Specific pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
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
Recorded Future: What is included in Recorded Future's Core pricing tier?

Core tier includes cyber operations monitoring with threat and malware insights, digital risk protection covering dark web monitoring and credential detection, and the new digital risk hub. Exact cost depends on organization size and usage.

Source
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
Recorded Future: What features does Recorded Future Professional tier add?

Professional tier adds autonomous threat hunts, continuous threat monitoring, automated threat preventions, external intelligence ingestion, and external asset discovery. Pricing is custom-quoted based on organization size and services.

Source
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
Recorded Future: How does Recorded Future handle user limits and API access?

Recorded Future does not limit the number of platform users or integrations across any tier. API usage limits vary by package tier but exact limits are not specified on the public pricing page.

Source
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