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Government · head to head

PublicInput vs Socket

PublicInput logo

PublicInput

Government

Inclusive Community Engagement

From
$400/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: PublicInput all three plans, Listen, Engage and Engage Plus, are listed as Request Pricing with no published rate, minimum or cost driver; Socket team plan requires minimum 5-developer commitment, expensive for small teams
  • They diverge on capability: PublicInput covers Virtual Public Meetings, Socket covers Malware detection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PublicInput and Socket actually diverge.

Attributes where PublicInput and Socket differ
AttributePublicInputSocket
Starting price$400/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer-developer monthly subscription with tiered access
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, CLI, GitHub
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded20142021

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 PublicInput

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

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.

PublicInput

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

Socket

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

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

PublicInput

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

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 PublicInput if

  • You need virtual public meetings.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want online surveys.
PublicInput 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 PublicInput or Socket better?
Neither clearly leads. PublicInput starts at $400/month and Socket at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PublicInput or Socket?
Socket has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $400/month for PublicInput and Free for Socket.
Does PublicInput or Socket run on more platforms?
PublicInput 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. PublicInput starts at $400/month.
What is PublicInput best used for?
PublicInput is most often used for civic engagement, government consultation, public input collection. Of those, civic engagement and government consultation are not what Socket is typically brought in for.
What can PublicInput do that Socket cannot?
PublicInput covers Virtual Public Meetings, Online Surveys, Comment Management, Multi-language Support. Socket covers Malware detection, Automatic blocking, AI behavior analysis, Reachability analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Socket: How many zero-day attacks does Socket detect?

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

Source
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
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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