Softwr

Government · head to head

CKAN vs Tyler Brazos

CKAN logo

CKAN

Government

Open Source Data Portal Platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tyler Brazos logo

Tyler Brazos

Government

Mobile Law Enforcement Technology

From
$800/month
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; Tyler Brazos brazos is now sold as Tyler Enforcement Mobile and tylertech.com/products/brazos redirects to the Enforcement Mobile page
  • They diverge on capability: CKAN covers Dataset Management, Tyler Brazos covers Mobile Citations.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CKAN and Tyler Brazos actually diverge.

Attributes where CKAN and Tyler Brazos differ
AttributeCKANTyler Brazos
Starting priceFree$800/month
Pricing modelfreesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebIos, Android, Windows
Founded20061966

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Government).

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 Tyler Brazos

  • Mobile Citations
  • Field Reporting
  • License Scanning
  • Database Queries
  • Crash Reporting
  • Tyler CAD/RMS
  • NCIC
  • State DMV

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

Tyler Brazos

  • Electronic citation issuance from a patrol vehicle or handheld devicenot CKAN
  • Field reporting and crash reports for law enforcementnot CKAN
  • Feeding citation data into court case managementnot 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

Tyler Brazos

  • Brazos is now sold as Tyler Enforcement Mobile and tylertech.com/products/brazos redirects to the Enforcement Mobile page
  • No pricing is published; Tyler routes all enquiries through contact and demo requests with no published rate, minimum or cost driver
  • The product is sold only to public sector agencies

Pricing, plan by plan

CKAN

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

Tyler Brazos

$800/month
  • Mobile Suite$800/month
    • Mobile Citations
    • Field Reporting
    • Database Queries

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 Tyler Brazos if

  • You need mobile citations.
  • You work on Ios, Android, Windows.
  • You also want field reporting.
Tyler Brazos review

Questions people ask

Is CKAN or Tyler Brazos better?
Neither clearly leads. CKAN starts at Free and Tyler Brazos at $800/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CKAN or Tyler Brazos?
CKAN has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CKAN and $800/month for Tyler Brazos.
Does CKAN or Tyler Brazos run on more platforms?
CKAN runs on Web. Tyler Brazos runs on Ios, Android, Windows.
Can I use CKAN for free?
Yes. CKAN has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tyler Brazos starts at $800/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 Tyler Brazos is typically brought in for.
What can CKAN do that Tyler Brazos cannot?
CKAN covers Dataset Management, Data Harvesting, API Access, Visualization. Tyler Brazos covers Mobile Citations, Field Reporting, License Scanning, Database Queries.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CKAN: Is CKAN open-source and what license is it available under?

Yes, CKAN is an open-source data management system built on Python and available on GitHub. The license terms are available on their GitHub repository.

Source
CKAN: Does CKAN offer commercial support for organizations?

Yes, CKAN offers commercial support through certified providers including Link Digital and Datopian. Support includes advisory services, application development, integration, managed hosting, and web development.

Source
CKAN: Who is responsible for hosting costs when running CKAN?

Organizations deploying CKAN are responsible for their own hosting infrastructure. Commercial providers like Datopian and Link Digital offer managed hosting services if organizations prefer not to self-host.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on CKAN

More on Tyler Brazos

Keep looking

Other head to heads