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Government · head to head

MuckRock vs NEOGOV

MuckRock logo

MuckRock

Government

FOIA Filing and Research Platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NEOGOV logo

NEOGOV

Government

Public sector HR suite covering civil service recruiting, onboarding, training and policy management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MuckRock has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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; NEOGOV each module is shallower than the specialist product it competes with, so agencies buying the full suite for coherence accept weaker performance management and learning than they would get separately.
  • They diverge on capability: MuckRock covers FOIA Filing, NEOGOV covers Civil service recruiting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MuckRock and NEOGOV actually diverge.

Attributes where MuckRock and NEOGOV differ
AttributeMuckRockNEOGOV
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2010Unknown

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 MuckRock

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

Only in NEOGOV

  • Civil service recruiting
  • Veterans preference handling
  • GovernmentJobs.com posting
  • Onboarding workflows
  • Learning and training records
  • Policy management

What people use each for

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

MuckRock

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

NEOGOV

  • A city or county HR department that must run scored examinations and ranked eligibility listsnot MuckRock
  • A public safety agency needing policy acknowledgement records that stand up in litigationnot MuckRock
  • An agency replacing a commercial applicant tracking system that cannot handle veterans preferencenot MuckRock
  • A school district or university consolidating recruiting, onboarding and mandated training recordsnot MuckRock

Where each one falls short

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

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

NEOGOV

  • Each module is shallower than the specialist product it competes with, so agencies buying the full suite for coherence accept weaker performance management and learning than they would get separately.
  • Policy management arrived through the PowerDMS acquisition rather than being built in, and the join between it and the rest of the suite still reads as two products.
  • Implementation is long and configuration heavy because the civil service rules that make the product valuable have to be encoded for your jurisdiction, and that work is billed.
  • Pricing is not published and scales with headcount, so a large agency can pay several times what a comparable one pays without knowing it unless someone reads the public contracts.
  • Private equity ownership since the Warburg Pincus investment has coincided with an acquisition led strategy, and buyers should expect further products bolted on rather than deeper integration of the existing ones.

Pricing, plan by plan

MuckRock

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

NEOGOV

On request
  • NEOGOV Suite$undefined/year
    • Quoted per module and scaled by employee headcount
    • Implementation and data migration priced separately from the subscription
    • Available through cooperative purchasing and state term contracts

Which should you pick?

Choose MuckRock if

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

Choose NEOGOV if

  • You need civil service recruiting.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want veterans preference handling.
NEOGOV review

Questions people ask

Is MuckRock or NEOGOV better?
Neither clearly leads. MuckRock starts at Free and NEOGOV at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MuckRock or NEOGOV?
MuckRock has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MuckRock and On request for NEOGOV.
Does MuckRock or NEOGOV run on more platforms?
MuckRock runs on Web. NEOGOV runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use MuckRock for free?
Yes. MuckRock has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. NEOGOV starts at On request.
What is MuckRock best used for?
MuckRock is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what NEOGOV is typically brought in for.
What can MuckRock do that NEOGOV cannot?
MuckRock covers FOIA Filing, Request Tracking, Document Archive, Collaboration. NEOGOV covers Civil service recruiting, Veterans preference handling, GovernmentJobs.com posting, Onboarding workflows.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

NEOGOV: Why not use a commercial applicant tracking system?

Because civil service rules such as ranked eligibility lists, rule of three certification and veterans preference are not expressible in commercial products, so the statutory steps end up in spreadsheets.

NEOGOV: Can I find out what other agencies pay?

Yes. These are public procurements, so executed contract values appear in council agenda packets and state term contract listings. Read several before negotiating.

NEOGOV: What did NEOGOV acquire?

PowerDMS, a policy management and accreditation product, in 2021, which is now sold as the policy module of the suite.

NEOGOV: Is it only for the United States?

Effectively yes. The value is in encoding US civil service and public safety requirements.

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