Is Polco or Semgrep better?

Neither clearly leads. Polco starts at $300/month and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Polco or Semgrep?

Semgrep has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $300/month for Polco and Free for Semgrep.

Does Polco or Semgrep run on more platforms?

Polco runs on Web, Ios, Android. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, windows.

Can I use Semgrep for free?

Yes. Semgrep has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Polco starts at $300/month.

What is Polco best used for?

Polco is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Semgrep is typically brought in for.

What can Polco do that Semgrep cannot?

Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Live Polling, Community Benchmarking, Priority-Based Budgeting. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

Government · head to head

Polco vs Semgrep

Polco

Government

Civic Engagement and Polling Platform

From: $300/month
Free plan: No

Full review Website

Semgrep

Cybersecurity

Open-source static analysis tool for finding security bugs and enforcing code standards.

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Only Semgrep has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Polco interface has a formal, academic tone compared to modern civic engagement platforms; Semgrep free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
They diverge on capability: Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Semgrep covers Static code scanning.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Polco and Semgrep actually diverge.

Attributes where Polco and Semgrep differ
Attribute	Polco	Semgrep
Starting price	$300/month	Free
Pricing model	subscription	freemium
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android	web, api, linux, mac, windows
Category	Government	Cybersecurity
Founded	2015	Unknown

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 Polco

Scientific Surveys
Live Polling
Community Benchmarking
Priority-Based Budgeting
Demographic Analysis
NRC Surveys
ArcGIS
Social Media

Only in Semgrep

Static code scanning
Supply chain scanning
Secrets detection
Cross-file analysis
AI-powered triage and remediation
CI/CD integration

What people use each for

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

Polco

Citizen Servicesnot Semgrep
Records Managementnot Semgrep
Public Safetynot Semgrep
Civic Engagementnot Semgrep

Semgrep

Scanning code for security vulnerabilities in CI/CDnot Polco
Detecting vulnerable open-source dependenciesnot Polco
Finding hardcoded secrets before code shipsnot Polco
Enforcing custom code standards with rule setsnot Polco
Prioritizing findings with AI-assisted triagenot Polco

Where each one falls short

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

Polco

Interface has a formal, academic tone compared to modern civic engagement platforms
Emphasizes surveys and benchmarking over open discussion forums and idea boards
Pricing is custom quote-based without transparent pricing on the website

Semgrep

Free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
Secrets scanning is priced as a separate module ($15/contributor) from Code and Supply Chain.
Self-managed repositories and custom CI/CD require the Enterprise tier.
AI credits are limited per tier and additional usage requires upgrading.

Pricing, plan by plan

Polco

$300/month

Community Engagement$300/month
- Community Surveys
- Live Polling
- Benchmarking

Semgrep

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 10 contributors
- Code and Supply Chain scanning
- 60 AI credits total
Teams$30/month
- Code, Supply Chain, or Secrets scanning per contributor
- Pro rules
- AI-powered triage and remediation
Enterprise$undefined/month
- On-prem support
- Custom CI/CD
- 50 AI credits per developer/month

Which should you pick?

Choose Polco if

You need scientific surveys.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want live polling.

Polco review

Choose Semgrep if

You need static code scanning.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
You also want supply chain scanning.

Semgrep review

Questions people ask

Is Polco or Semgrep better?: Neither clearly leads. Polco starts at $300/month and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Polco or Semgrep?: Semgrep has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $300/month for Polco and Free for Semgrep.
Does Polco or Semgrep run on more platforms?: Polco runs on Web, Ios, Android. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
Can I use Semgrep for free?: Yes. Semgrep has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Polco starts at $300/month.
What is Polco best used for?: Polco is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Semgrep is typically brought in for.
What can Polco do that Semgrep cannot?: Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Live Polling, Community Benchmarking, Priority-Based Budgeting. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Polco: How does Polco ensure survey data quality?

Polco uses scientific survey methodology through the National Research Center, with pre-tested survey questions and verification that participants live in the surveyed area to eliminate outside interference and bad-faith responses.

Source

Semgrep: What does Semgrep cost?

The Free edition covers up to 10 contributors; Teams starts at $30/contributor/month for Code scanning (Supply Chain also $30, Secrets $15); Enterprise is custom-priced.

Source

Polco: What's the difference between Polco and open discussion platforms?

Polco emphasizes scientific surveys and benchmarking over open forums or suggestion boards, prioritizing rigorous data collection for policy decisions over broad community brainstorming.

Source

Semgrep: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the Free edition supports up to 10 contributors and 10 repositories with Code and Supply Chain scanning plus 60 AI credits total.

Source

Semgrep: How is usage metered?

Pricing is per contributor, defined as someone who made at least one commit to a scanned private repository in the past 90 days.

Source

Semgrep: Is there special pricing for startups?

Yes, Semgrep offers special startup pricing upon request for early-stage companies.

Source

Polco vs Semgrep

Polco

Semgrep

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Polco

Only in Semgrep

What people use each for

Polco

Semgrep

Where each one falls short

Polco

Semgrep

Pricing, plan by plan

Polco

Semgrep

Which should you pick?

Choose Polco if

Choose Semgrep if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Polco

More on Semgrep

Keep looking

Other head to heads