Softwr

Government · head to head

Polco vs Socket

Polco logo

Polco

Government

Civic Engagement and Polling Platform

From
$300/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Socket logo

Socket

Cybersecurity

Supply chain security platform detecting and blocking malicious dependencies

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Socket 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; Socket team plan requires minimum 5-developer commitment, expensive for small teams
  • They diverge on capability: Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Socket covers Malware detection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Polco and Socket actually diverge.

Attributes where Polco and Socket differ
AttributePolcoSocket
Starting price$300/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer-developer monthly subscription with tiered access
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, CLI, GitHub
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded20152021

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 Socket

  • Malware detection
  • Automatic blocking
  • AI behavior analysis
  • Reachability analysis
  • Slack integration
  • SBOM support
  • SAML SSO
  • GitHub Actions scanning

What people use each for

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

Polco

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

Socket

  • Blocking zero-day malware attacks in JavaScript dependenciesnot Polco
  • Managing CVE false positives with precomputed reachability analysisnot Polco
  • Securing Python and Go supply chains at scalenot Polco
  • Automating compliance requirements for regulated industriesnot Polco
  • Real-time threat notifications via Slack integrationnot 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

Socket

  • Team plan requires minimum 5-developer commitment, expensive for small teams
  • Business plan $50/dev/month becomes costly for teams exceeding 20 members
  • Enterprise pricing requires custom consultation with no transparent pricing
  • Free plan limited to individual developers without team collaboration
  • Reachability analysis improvement (90% false positive reduction) only on Enterprise

Pricing, plan by plan

Polco

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

Socket

Free
  • FreeFree
    • For individual developers
    • Detects 70+ risk types
    • Blocks malicious dependencies automatically
  • Team$25/month
    • Per developer on minimum 5 developers
    • Precomputed reachability analysis cuts 60% false positives
    • Slack alerts for threats
  • Business$50/month
    • Per developer on minimum 20 developers
    • All Team features
    • Compliance integrations with Vanta
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Function-level reachability eliminates up to 90% irrelevant CVEs
    • Multi-repository system support
    • Named account manager

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 Socket if

  • You need malware detection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, GitHub.
  • You also want automatic blocking.
Socket review

Questions people ask

Is Polco or Socket better?
Neither clearly leads. Polco starts at $300/month and Socket at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Polco or Socket?
Socket has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $300/month for Polco and Free for Socket.
Does Polco or Socket run on more platforms?
Polco runs on Web, Ios, Android. Socket runs on Web, CLI, GitHub.
Can I use Socket for free?
Yes. Socket 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 Socket is typically brought in for.
What can Polco do that Socket cannot?
Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Live Polling, Community Benchmarking, Priority-Based Budgeting. Socket covers Malware detection, Automatic blocking, AI behavior analysis, Reachability 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
Socket: How many zero-day attacks does Socket detect?

Socket detects over 100 zero-day attacks weekly across JavaScript, Python, and Go ecosystems.

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
Socket: What is precomputed reachability analysis?

Socket's precomputed reachability analysis cuts CVE false positives by 60% automatically on Team plans, and up to 90% on Enterprise plans through function-level analysis.

Source
Socket: Is there a discount for annual billing?

Yes. Socket offers a 20% discount for annual commitments across all subscription tiers.

Source
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