Softwr

Government · head to head

Granicus vs Periscope Holdings

Granicus logo

Granicus

Government

Digital Government Experiences Platform

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Granicus pricing is custom-quoted and not publicly available; Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • They diverge on capability: Granicus covers Citizen Communications, Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Granicus and Periscope Holdings actually diverge.

Attributes where Granicus and Periscope Holdings differ
AttributeGranicusPeriscope Holdings
Starting price$500/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Granicus

  • Citizen Communications
  • Meeting Management
  • Digital Forms
  • Website Management
  • Records Management
  • Salesforce
  • Microsoft 365
  • Google Workspace

Only in Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

What people use each for

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

Granicus

  • Citizen Servicesnot Periscope Holdings
  • Records Managementnot Periscope Holdings
  • Public Safetynot Periscope Holdings
  • Civic Engagementnot Periscope Holdings

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot Granicus
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot Granicus
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot Granicus
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot Granicus

Where each one falls short

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

Granicus

  • Pricing is custom-quoted and not publicly available
  • Complex sales process for government agencies
  • Integration with legacy government systems can be challenging

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

Granicus

$500/month
  • Government Starter$500/month
    • Communications Cloud
    • Meeting Management
    • Digital Services

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

Which should you pick?

Choose Granicus if

  • You need citizen communications.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want meeting management.
Granicus review

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Questions people ask

Is Granicus or Periscope Holdings better?
Neither clearly leads. Granicus starts at $500/month and Periscope Holdings at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Granicus or Periscope Holdings?
Granicus starts at $500/month and Periscope Holdings at On request.
Does Granicus or Periscope Holdings run on more platforms?
Granicus runs on Web, Mobile. Periscope Holdings runs on Web.
What is Granicus best used for?
Granicus is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Periscope Holdings is typically brought in for.
What can Granicus do that Periscope Holdings cannot?
Granicus covers Citizen Communications, Meeting Management, Digital Forms, Website Management. Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Granicus: How many government agencies use Granicus?

Over 5,500 federal, state, and local government agencies use Granicus, reaching more than 300 million citizen subscribers.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

Granicus: What does Granicus Engagement Cloud provide?

Granicus Engagement Cloud combines government communications, website management, meeting and agenda management, records management, and citizen service digitization.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

Granicus: What are the main features of Granicus?

Granicus provides tools for managing public communications, citizen feedback collection, community event management, online surveys, event registration, and live-streaming capabilities.

Source
Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

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