Softwr

Government · head to head

MuckRock vs Teleport

MuckRock logo

MuckRock

Government

FOIA Filing and Research Platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Free plan
No
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; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: MuckRock covers FOIA Filing, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MuckRock and Teleport actually diverge.

Attributes where MuckRock and Teleport differ
AttributeMuckRockTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2010Unknown

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 MuckRock

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

Only in Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

What people use each for

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

MuckRock

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

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot MuckRock
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot MuckRock
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot MuckRock
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

MuckRock

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

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 Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is MuckRock or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. MuckRock starts at Free and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MuckRock or Teleport?
MuckRock has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MuckRock and On request for Teleport.
Does MuckRock or Teleport run on more platforms?
MuckRock runs on Web. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use MuckRock for free?
Yes. MuckRock has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport 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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can MuckRock do that Teleport cannot?
MuckRock covers FOIA Filing, Request Tracking, Document Archive, Collaboration. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

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