Government & Public Sector · head to head
CKAN vs ClearGov
ClearGov
Government & Public Sector
Financial Transparency for Government
- From
- $200/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only CKAN has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: CKAN the package install path requires Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 64-bit specifically; other operating systems must use the source install; ClearGov no pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no cost structure or model at all
- They diverge on capability: CKAN covers Dataset Management, ClearGov covers Budget Visualization.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CKAN and ClearGov actually diverge.
Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Government & Public Sector).
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 CKAN
- Dataset Management
- Data Harvesting
- API Access
- Visualization
- Extensions
- DataPusher
- Harvester
- Third-party Tools
Only in ClearGov
- Budget Visualization
- Financial Benchmarking
- Capital Planning
- Digital Budget Books
- Public Dashboards
- Tyler Munis
- OpenGov
- Excel
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CKAN
- Publishing open government datasets in a searchable public data portalnot ClearGov
- Self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an APInot ClearGov
ClearGov
- Budget transparency and reporting for local governmentnot CKAN
- Publishing municipal financial data for residentsnot CKAN
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CKAN
- The package install path requires Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 64-bit specifically; other operating systems must use the source install
- Only Solr 9 and Solr 8 are supported, and from CKAN 2.10 they are the only Solr versions supported at all
- A working deployment requires PostgreSQL, Solr, Redis, nginx, supervisor and uWSGI to be installed and maintained separately
- Python 3.10 or later is required
ClearGov
- No pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no cost structure or model at all
- No cost driver such as population, budget size or user count is named
- The only routes to a figure are an email address and a demo booking
Pricing, plan by plan
CKAN
Free- Open SourceFree
- Data Management
- API Access
- Visualization
ClearGov
$200/month- Transparency$200/month
- Budget Visualization
- Benchmarking
- Public Dashboards
Which should you pick?
Choose CKAN if
- You need dataset management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want data harvesting.
Choose ClearGov if
- You need budget visualization.
- You also want financial benchmarking.
Questions people ask
- Is CKAN or ClearGov better?
- Neither clearly leads. CKAN starts at Free and ClearGov at $200/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CKAN or ClearGov?
- CKAN has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CKAN and $200/month for ClearGov.
- Does CKAN or ClearGov run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use CKAN for free?
- Yes. CKAN has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ClearGov starts at $200/month.
- What is CKAN best used for?
- CKAN is most often used for publishing open government datasets in a searchable public data portal, self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an api. Of those, publishing open government datasets in a searchable public data portal and self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an api are not what ClearGov is typically brought in for.
- What can CKAN do that ClearGov cannot?
- CKAN covers Dataset Management, Data Harvesting, API Access, Visualization. ClearGov covers Budget Visualization, Financial Benchmarking, Capital Planning, Digital Budget Books. Both handle Web support.