Softwr

Government & Public Sector · head to head

Legistar vs MuckRock

Legistar logo

Legistar

Government & Public Sector

Legislative Management System

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MuckRock logo

MuckRock

Government & Public Sector

FOIA Filing and Research Platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MuckRock has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Legistar pricing is not published; sold by quote through a sales process; MuckRock muckRock's core platform, Squarelet identity service, and DocumentCloud are licensed AGPL-3.0, which requires anyone running a modified version as a network service to release their source code
  • They diverge on capability: Legistar covers Legislation Tracking, MuckRock covers FOIA Filing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Legistar and MuckRock actually diverge.

Attributes where Legistar and MuckRock differ
AttributeLegistarMuckRock
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
Founded19992010

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 Legistar

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

Only in MuckRock

  • FOIA Filing
  • Request Tracking
  • Document Archive
  • Collaboration
  • Agency Directory
  • DocumentCloud
  • News Organizations
  • Research Tools

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Legistar

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

MuckRock

  • Citizen Servicesnot Legistar
  • Records Managementnot Legistar
  • Public Safetynot Legistar
  • Civic Engagementnot Legistar

Where each one falls short

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

Legistar

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

MuckRock

  • MuckRock's core platform, Squarelet identity service, and DocumentCloud are licensed AGPL-3.0, which requires anyone running a modified version as a network service to release their source code

Pricing, plan by plan

Legistar

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Legistar review.

MuckRock

Free
  • BasicFree
    • FOIA Filing
    • Request Tracking
    • Document Archive

Which should you pick?

Choose Legistar if

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

Choose MuckRock if

  • You need foia filing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want request tracking.
MuckRock review

Questions people ask

Is Legistar or MuckRock better?
Neither clearly leads. Legistar starts at On request and MuckRock at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Legistar or MuckRock?
MuckRock has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Legistar and Free for MuckRock.
Does Legistar or MuckRock run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use MuckRock for free?
Yes. MuckRock has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Legistar starts at On request.
What is Legistar best used for?
Legistar is most often used for legislative agenda management, meeting management and video processes, public records management, government transparency. Of those, legislative agenda management and meeting management and video processes are not what MuckRock is typically brought in for.
What can Legistar do that MuckRock cannot?
Legistar covers Legislation Tracking, Meeting Agendas, Voting Records, Public Portal. MuckRock covers FOIA Filing, Request Tracking, Document Archive, Collaboration. Both handle Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Legistar

More on MuckRock

Keep looking

Other head to heads