Softwr

Government & Public Sector · head to head

CKAN vs Legistar

CKAN logo

CKAN

Government & Public Sector

Open Source Data Portal Platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Legistar logo

Legistar

Government & Public Sector

Legislative Management System

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Legistar pricing is not published; sold by quote through a sales process
  • They diverge on capability: CKAN covers Dataset Management, Legistar covers Legislation Tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CKAN and Legistar actually diverge.

Attributes where CKAN and Legistar differ
AttributeCKANLegistar
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
Founded20061999

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 Legistar

  • Legislation Tracking
  • Meeting Agendas
  • Voting Records
  • Public Portal
  • Document Management
  • Video Streaming
  • Microsoft Office
  • Records Systems

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 Legistar
  • Self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an APInot Legistar

Legistar

  • Legislative agenda managementnot CKAN
  • Meeting management and video processesnot CKAN
  • Public records managementnot CKAN
  • Government transparencynot 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

Legistar

  • Pricing is not published; sold by quote through a sales process

Pricing, plan by plan

CKAN

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Data Management
    • API Access
    • Visualization

Legistar

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Legistar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose CKAN if

  • You need dataset management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want data harvesting.
CKAN review

Choose Legistar if

  • You need legislation tracking.
  • You also want meeting agendas.
Legistar review

Questions people ask

Is CKAN or Legistar better?
Neither clearly leads. CKAN starts at Free and Legistar at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CKAN or Legistar?
CKAN has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CKAN and On request for Legistar.
Does CKAN or Legistar 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. Legistar starts at On request.
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 Legistar is typically brought in for.
What can CKAN do that Legistar cannot?
CKAN covers Dataset Management, Data Harvesting, API Access, Visualization. Legistar covers Legislation Tracking, Meeting Agendas, Voting Records, Public Portal. Both handle Web support.
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