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Government · head to head

mySidewalk vs PublicInput

mySidewalk logo

mySidewalk

Government

Community data dashboards for local government and public health, prewired to federal datasets

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PublicInput logo

PublicInput

Government

Inclusive Community Engagement

From
$400/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: mySidewalk it produces analysis and presentation rather than operational change, so the value has to be re argued at every renewal against services with more visible outputs.; PublicInput all three plans, Listen, Engage and Engage Plus, are listed as Request Pricing with no published rate, minimum or cost driver
  • They diverge on capability: mySidewalk covers Prewired federal datasets, PublicInput covers Virtual Public Meetings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which mySidewalk and PublicInput actually diverge.

Attributes where mySidewalk and PublicInput differ
AttributemySidewalkPublicInput
Starting priceOn request$400/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
FoundedUnknown2014

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 mySidewalk

  • Prewired federal datasets
  • Margin of error handling
  • Custom geographies
  • Published dashboards
  • Local data integration
  • Report generation

Only in PublicInput

  • Virtual Public Meetings
  • Online Surveys
  • Comment Management
  • Multi-language Support
  • Engagement Analytics
  • Zoom
  • Microsoft Teams
  • GovDelivery

What people use each for

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

mySidewalk

  • A public health department producing a community health needs assessment on deadlinenot PublicInput
  • A city applying for federal funding that requires demographic and disparity evidence for a service areanot PublicInput
  • An agency that lost its only analyst who understood American Community Survey margins of errornot PublicInput
  • A council wanting published neighbourhood indicator dashboards residents can browsenot PublicInput

PublicInput

  • Civic engagementnot mySidewalk
  • Government consultationnot mySidewalk
  • Public input collectionnot mySidewalk

Where each one falls short

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

mySidewalk

  • It produces analysis and presentation rather than operational change, so the value has to be re argued at every renewal against services with more visible outputs.
  • Budget frequently comes from a grant, which means the subscription is exposed when the grant cycle ends rather than being protected as core infrastructure.
  • The prewired datasets are American, so the platform has effectively no value outside United States federal statistical sources.
  • Analytical depth is bounded by what the platform exposes, so an agency with a genuine analyst will hit the ceiling and move to a statistical environment.
  • Small area estimates remain small area estimates, and presenting them as polished dashboards can lend unwarranted confidence to figures whose error bars overlap.

PublicInput

  • All three plans, Listen, Engage and Engage Plus, are listed as Request Pricing with no published rate, minimum or cost driver
  • HTML and CSS customization, custom workflows and approvals, and external system integration with Accela and ESRI are listed as Enterprise Capabilities rather than core platform features
  • Public meetings functionality is sold under a separate Meetings plan rather than being included with the Engagement plans
  • Getting a plan requires booking a consultation and a tailored demo rather than self serve signup

Pricing, plan by plan

mySidewalk

On request
  • mySidewalk$undefined/year
    • Quoted annually by agency scope and dataset needs
    • Custom geography and local data integration work priced separately
    • No public price list, though agency contracts are public records

PublicInput

$400/month
  • Enterprise$400/month
    • Virtual Meetings
    • Surveys
    • Comment Management

Which should you pick?

Choose mySidewalk if

  • You need prewired federal datasets.
  • You also want margin of error handling.
mySidewalk review

Choose PublicInput if

  • You need virtual public meetings.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want online surveys.
PublicInput review

Questions people ask

Is mySidewalk or PublicInput better?
Neither clearly leads. mySidewalk starts at On request and PublicInput at $400/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, mySidewalk or PublicInput?
mySidewalk starts at On request and PublicInput at $400/month.
Does mySidewalk or PublicInput run on more platforms?
mySidewalk runs on Web. PublicInput runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is mySidewalk best used for?
mySidewalk is most often used for a public health department producing a community health needs assessment on deadline, a city applying for federal funding that requires demographic and disparity evidence for a service area, an agency that lost its only analyst who understood american community survey margins of error, a council wanting published neighbourhood indicator dashboards residents can browse. Of those, a public health department producing a community health needs assessment on deadline and a city applying for federal funding that requires demographic and disparity evidence for a service area are not what PublicInput is typically brought in for.
What can mySidewalk do that PublicInput cannot?
mySidewalk covers Prewired federal datasets, Margin of error handling, Custom geographies, Published dashboards. PublicInput covers Virtual Public Meetings, Online Surveys, Comment Management, Multi-language Support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

mySidewalk: What problem does it actually solve?

Correct use of American Community Survey and federal health data for small geographies, which is difficult and is usually held by one person in an agency.

PublicInput: How much does PublicInput cost?

PublicInput does not publish pricing on their website. Customers must request a demo or book a meeting to receive a quote based on their specific needs.

Source
mySidewalk: Is it useful outside the United States?

No. Its value is the maintained pipeline into US federal statistical datasets.

PublicInput: What pricing plans does PublicInput offer?

PublicInput offers Engagement Plans and Meetings Plans, but specific pricing for each plan is not publicly available and requires contacting their sales team.

Source
mySidewalk: Who buys it?

Mostly public health departments and city planning or performance teams, often funded from a grant that requires the evidence it produces.

mySidewalk: Can we see comparable contract values?

Yes. Agency contracts are public records and appear in council and health board agenda materials.

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