Softwr

Government · head to head

ClearGov vs Falco

ClearGov logo

ClearGov

Government

Financial Transparency for Government

From
$200/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Falco logo

Falco

Cybersecurity

CNCF-graduated runtime threat detection for Linux and Kubernetes using eBPF

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Falco has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ClearGov no pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no cost structure or model at all; Falco falco detects and alerts but does not block; stopping an attack requires wiring up Falco Talon or your own response tooling, so out of the box a confirmed detection still means a human intervening after the fact.
  • They diverge on capability: ClearGov covers Budget Visualization, Falco covers eBPF kernel instrumentation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ClearGov and Falco actually diverge.

Attributes where ClearGov and Falco differ
AttributeClearGovFalco
Starting price$200/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: 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 ClearGov

  • Budget Visualization
  • Financial Benchmarking
  • Capital Planning
  • Digital Budget Books
  • Public Dashboards
  • Tyler Munis
  • OpenGov
  • Excel

Only in Falco

  • eBPF kernel instrumentation
  • System call rules engine
  • Container and Kubernetes context
  • Default rule set
  • Falcosidekick
  • Falco Talon
  • Plugins framework
  • DaemonSet deployment

What people use each for

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

ClearGov

  • municipal budget and financial transparencynot Falco
  • government finance analytics and reportingnot Falco
  • civic engagement and public recordsnot Falco

Falco

  • A platform team that needs to know when a shell is opened inside a production container, which image scanning cannot detect because it happens at runtimenot ClearGov
  • A regulated business required to evidence host and container intrusion detection on Kubernetes nodes for an auditnot ClearGov
  • A security team wanting a vendor-neutral detection layer whose rules they can read and modify rather than a black-box agentnot ClearGov
  • A cluster where a compromised dependency might write to sensitive paths or open unexpected outbound connections, and only kernel-level visibility will catch itnot ClearGov

Where each one falls short

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

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

Falco

  • Falco detects and alerts but does not block; stopping an attack requires wiring up Falco Talon or your own response tooling, so out of the box a confirmed detection still means a human intervening after the fact.
  • The default rule set is noisy in real clusters and generates a large volume of benign matches from normal operational activity; without weeks of tuning, alert fatigue sets in and the team stops reading the feed, which is the usual failure mode.
  • There is no storage, console, search or case management in the project, so a working detection capability means also running Falcosidekick, an event store, a dashboard and alert routing, all of which you build, host and maintain.
  • The modern eBPF driver requires kernel 5.8 or later; older hosts fall back to the legacy probe or the kernel module, which brings driver-building against kernel headers and the operational fragility that comes with it on every kernel upgrade.
  • Per-node syscall instrumentation carries measurable CPU overhead on busy hosts, and the cost scales with syscall volume rather than with cluster size, so the noisiest and most performance-sensitive workloads are exactly the ones that feel it most.

Pricing, plan by plan

ClearGov

$200/month
  • Transparency$200/month
    • Budget Visualization
    • Benchmarking
    • Public Dashboards

Falco

Free
  • Falco (open source)Free
    • Apache 2.0 licence, CNCF graduated project
    • eBPF and kernel module drivers
    • Full rules engine and default rule set

Which should you pick?

Choose ClearGov if

  • You need budget visualization.
  • You also want financial benchmarking.
ClearGov review

Choose Falco if

  • You need ebpf kernel instrumentation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want system call rules engine.
Falco review

Questions people ask

Is ClearGov or Falco better?
Neither clearly leads. ClearGov starts at $200/month and Falco at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ClearGov or Falco?
Falco has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $200/month for ClearGov and Free for Falco.
Does ClearGov or Falco run on more platforms?
ClearGov runs on Web. Falco runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Falco for free?
Yes. Falco has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ClearGov starts at $200/month.
What is ClearGov best used for?
ClearGov is most often used for municipal budget and financial transparency, government finance analytics and reporting, civic engagement and public records. Of those, municipal budget and financial transparency and government finance analytics and reporting are not what Falco is typically brought in for.
What can ClearGov do that Falco cannot?
ClearGov covers Budget Visualization, Financial Benchmarking, Capital Planning, Digital Budget Books. Falco covers eBPF kernel instrumentation, System call rules engine, Container and Kubernetes context, Default rule set.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ClearGov: How much does ClearGov cost?

ClearGov pricing is not published; you must schedule a demo or contact [email protected] to request pricing information.

Source
Falco: Does Falco block attacks?

No. It detects and emits events. Response requires Falco Talon or your own automation on top.

ClearGov: Does ClearGov offer a free trial?

ClearGov does not publish a free trial option; pricing inquiry and trial availability must be discussed through a demo request with their sales team.

Source
Falco: Is Falco owned by Sysdig?

Sysdig created and open sourced it, but it graduated within the CNCF in February 2024, so governance sits with the foundation rather than the vendor.

ClearGov: What is ClearGov's pricing model?

ClearGov appears to operate on a custom, quote-based pricing model; costs are tailored to specific municipalities based on population size, features, and implementation requirements.

Source
Falco: What does it cost?

The project is Apache 2.0 with no licence fee. The cost is the storage, routing, tuning and staff time needed to make its output useful.

ClearGov: How do I get a ClearGov pricing quote?

Visit cleargov.com and click the demo scheduling button, or email [email protected]; provide details about your municipality size and required features for an accurate quote.

Source
Falco: What kernel version do I need?

Kernel 5.8 or later for the default modern eBPF driver. Older hosts need the legacy eBPF probe or the kernel module.

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