Softwr

Government · head to head

CivicPlus vs Sardine

CivicPlus logo

CivicPlus

Government

Civic Engagement Technology

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Sardine logo

Sardine

Cybersecurity

Device intelligence and behaviour biometrics for fraud and compliance

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CivicPlus no public pricing tiers, rates, or cost information available; Sardine signal quality depends on the SDK being embedded in your own web and mobile clients, so fraud improvements become dependent on your app release cycle and any coverage gap is a blind spot.
  • They diverge on capability: CivicPlus covers Government Websites, Sardine covers Device intelligence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CivicPlus and Sardine actually diverge.

Attributes where CivicPlus and Sardine differ
AttributeCivicPlusSardine
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2001Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), 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 CivicPlus

  • Government Websites
  • Agenda Management
  • Mass Notifications
  • Online Forms
  • Social Media Management
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • GovDelivery

Only in Sardine

  • Device intelligence
  • Behaviour biometrics
  • Scam detection
  • Onboarding risk scoring
  • AML transaction monitoring
  • Dispute and chargeback handling
  • Rules editor

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CivicPlus

  • Municipal government softwarenot Sardine
  • City website managementnot Sardine
  • Recreation management for local governmentnot Sardine

Sardine

  • A neobank losing money to authorised push payment scams where the customer genuinely approved the transfernot CivicPlus
  • A crypto exchange trying to detect accounts being operated by remote access rather than by their ownernot CivicPlus
  • A fintech seeing synthetic identity signups that pass document verification but share device characteristicsnot CivicPlus
  • A lender wanting first party fraud signals at application time that a credit bureau file does not containnot CivicPlus

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CivicPlus

  • No public pricing tiers, rates, or cost information available
  • Requires direct contact with sales team for pricing estimates
  • No free trial or freemium tier option listed

Sardine

  • Signal quality depends on the SDK being embedded in your own web and mobile clients, so fraud improvements become dependent on your app release cycle and any coverage gap is a blind spot.
  • Behavioural and device telemetry collection needs a documented lawful basis under GDPR, and EU privacy reviews frequently delay rollouts that were scoped as engineering work.
  • Pricing is per session or per active user, so a consumer product with many low value sessions pays in proportion to traffic rather than to fraud exposure.
  • As a younger private company it lacks the enforcement-tested audit history that a bank examiner expects, which makes it a harder sell inside a regulated bank than inside a fintech.
  • It is strongest on session-time signals and weaker as a system of record for long horizon AML typologies, so larger institutions end up running it alongside a traditional monitoring platform rather than instead of one.

Pricing, plan by plan

CivicPlus

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the CivicPlus review.

Sardine

On request
  • Sardine$undefined/year
    • Priced per user session or per monthly active user
    • Annual contract with volume commitment
    • SDK for web, iOS and Android

Which should you pick?

Choose CivicPlus if

  • You need government websites.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want agenda management.
CivicPlus review

Choose Sardine if

  • You need device intelligence.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want behaviour biometrics.
Sardine review

Questions people ask

Is CivicPlus or Sardine better?
Neither clearly leads. CivicPlus starts at On request and Sardine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CivicPlus or Sardine?
CivicPlus starts at On request and Sardine at On request.
Does CivicPlus or Sardine run on more platforms?
CivicPlus runs on Web, Ios, Android. Sardine runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is CivicPlus best used for?
CivicPlus is most often used for municipal government software, city website management, recreation management for local government. Of those, municipal government software and city website management are not what Sardine is typically brought in for.
What can CivicPlus do that Sardine cannot?
CivicPlus covers Government Websites, Agenda Management, Mass Notifications, Online Forms. Sardine covers Device intelligence, Behaviour biometrics, Scam detection, Onboarding risk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CivicPlus: What does CivicPlus cost?

CivicPlus uses a custom pricing model with no published rates. Interested organizations must fill out a form and speak with a technology strategist to receive a pricing estimate based on specific needs.

Source
Sardine: Does Sardine do document verification?

It focuses on device, behavioural and transaction signals, and integrates identity verification providers rather than being one. Treat it as complementary to a KYC vendor.

CivicPlus: Does CivicPlus offer different pricing for different sized municipalities?

Yes, CivicPlus pricing is customized based on organization size and the specific products selected from their portfolio (websites, recreation management, utility billing, etc.).

Source
Sardine: What does it need from us to work?

An SDK in your web and mobile applications plus transaction feeds. Without the client side collector you lose the signals that differentiate it.

CivicPlus: How do I request pricing from CivicPlus?

Visit civicplus.com/pricing to fill out a form or call 888-228-2233 to speak with a technology strategist about your municipality's requirements and receive a custom estimate.

Source
Sardine: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted, typically per session or per monthly active user with an annual volume commitment.

Share

Related pages

More on CivicPlus

More on Sardine

Keep looking

Other head to heads