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Insurance · head to head

Duck Creek Policy vs Milestone XProtect

Duck Creek Policy logo

Duck Creek Policy

Insurance

Flexible policy administration for modern insurers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Milestone XProtect logo

Milestone XProtect

Cybersecurity

Open platform video management software with perpetual per-device licences

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Milestone XProtect has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Duck Creek Policy no pricing published on vendor website; enterprise solution requires custom engagement; Milestone XProtect care Plus is presented as optional but is not in practice: without it, perpetual licences stop receiving version upgrades and eventually you cannot add a current camera because your frozen version does not support it.
  • They diverge on capability: Duck Creek Policy covers Policy lifecycle management, Milestone XProtect covers Open device support.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Duck Creek Policy and Milestone XProtect actually diverge.

Attributes where Duck Creek Policy and Milestone XProtect differ
AttributeDuck Creek PolicyMilestone XProtect
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOne-time purchase per device licence, plus annual Care Plus
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWindows, Web, iOS, Android
CategoryInsuranceCybersecurity
Founded2000Unknown

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 Duck Creek Policy

  • Policy lifecycle management
  • Product configuration
  • Rating engine
  • Underwriting workbench
  • Forms management
  • Billing integration
  • Multi-line support
  • Real-time quoting

Only in Milestone XProtect

  • Open device support
  • Perpetual device licences
  • Federated architecture
  • Failover recording
  • Evidence export
  • Smart Map
  • Integration platform
  • Video summarisation

What people use each for

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

Duck Creek Policy

  • Policy administrationnot Milestone XProtect
  • Underwriting workflowsnot Milestone XProtect
  • Rating and pricingnot Milestone XProtect
  • Claims managementnot Milestone XProtect
  • Billing operationsnot Milestone XProtect

Milestone XProtect

  • A city or transport operator running tens of thousands of cameras across federated sitesnot Duck Creek Policy
  • An enterprise with mixed legacy camera brands that refuses to standardise on one manufacturernot Duck Creek Policy
  • A critical infrastructure site needing failover recording servers and tamper-evident evidence exportnot Duck Creek Policy
  • An integrator building a bespoke security application on top of an open VMS platformnot Duck Creek Policy

Where each one falls short

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

Duck Creek Policy

  • No pricing published on vendor website; enterprise solution requires custom engagement
  • Modular product architecture means customers can mix/match components, making standard pricing impossible

Milestone XProtect

  • Care Plus is presented as optional but is not in practice: without it, perpetual licences stop receiving version upgrades and eventually you cannot add a current camera because your frozen version does not support it.
  • Per-device licensing means multi-sensor and multi-imager cameras consume several licences each, so a headline camera count badly understates the true licence cost of a modern design.
  • It is Windows only for servers and needs a properly designed server and storage architecture, so the software price is a fraction of a project that also needs recording servers, storage and an integrator.
  • Complexity requires trained staff or a certified integrator; organisations that install it without either end up running a large deployment on default settings and never using the features they paid for.
  • Milestone retired Kite from its portfolio in favour of Arcules from January 2025, which stranded buyers who had standardised on Kite and is a reminder that the cloud side of the portfolio has changed direction more than once.

Pricing, plan by plan

Duck Creek Policy

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Duck Creek Policy review.

Milestone XProtect

Free
  • XProtect Essential+Free
    • Free for up to 8 cameras
    • No recording time limit
    • No vendor support included
  • XProtect Express+$109/one-time
    • Perpetual device licence, distributor list price
    • Single site, single server
    • Care Plus purchased separately per device per year
  • XProtect Professional+$177/one-time
    • Perpetual device licence, distributor list price
    • Multiple recording servers
    • Edge storage retrieval
  • XProtect Expert$282/one-time
    • Perpetual device licence, distributor list price
    • Failover recording servers
    • Advanced video wall and evidence handling

Which should you pick?

Choose Duck Creek Policy if

  • You need policy lifecycle management.
  • You also want product configuration.
Duck Creek Policy review

Choose Milestone XProtect if

  • You need open device support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want perpetual device licences.
Milestone XProtect review

Questions people ask

Is Duck Creek Policy or Milestone XProtect better?
Neither clearly leads. Duck Creek Policy starts at On request and Milestone XProtect at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Duck Creek Policy or Milestone XProtect?
Milestone XProtect has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Duck Creek Policy and Free for Milestone XProtect.
Does Duck Creek Policy or Milestone XProtect run on more platforms?
Duck Creek Policy runs on Web. Milestone XProtect runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Milestone XProtect for free?
Yes. Milestone XProtect has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Duck Creek Policy starts at On request.
What is Duck Creek Policy best used for?
Duck Creek Policy is most often used for policy administration, underwriting workflows, rating and pricing, claims management. Of those, policy administration and underwriting workflows are not what Milestone XProtect is typically brought in for.
What can Duck Creek Policy do that Milestone XProtect cannot?
Duck Creek Policy covers Policy lifecycle management, Product configuration, Rating engine, Underwriting workbench. Milestone XProtect covers Open device support, Perpetual device licences, Federated architecture, Failover recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Duck Creek Policy: How much does Duck Creek Policy cost?

Duck Creek does not publish pricing. Policy is an enterprise solution for insurance carriers where implementation scope, data migration complexity, and customization requirements determine total cost of ownership. Interested prospects must contact Duck Creek's sales team through their 'Talk to Sales' call-to-action.

Source
Milestone XProtect: Is XProtect really free for small sites?

Essential+ is free for up to eight cameras with no recording time limit, but it comes with no vendor support and no multi-server capability.

Duck Creek Policy: Is Duck Creek Policy a modular system?

Yes, customers can adopt Duck Creek products individually (Policy, Rating, Billing, Claims, etc.) or in combination. This modularity means pricing varies based on which products and integration depth customers require.

Source
Milestone XProtect: Are licences perpetual or annual?

Device licences are perpetual. The annual cost is Care Plus, the support and software update contract, which you need to stay on current versions.

Milestone XProtect: What happens if I do not renew Care Plus?

The system keeps recording, but you stop getting version upgrades, and over a few years that blocks you from adding newer cameras.

Milestone XProtect: Who owns Milestone?

Canon. The portfolio also includes BriefCam analytics and Arcules cloud video, with Arcules replacing Milestone Kite from January 2025.

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