CKANvs
CivicPlus
CivicPlus: Civic Engagement Technology
CKAN
Open Source Data Portal Platform
As of 30 August 2026, CKAN is free to use. CKAN is the world's leading open-source data portal platform used by governments worldwide to publish and manage open data. Softwr lists it under Government. CKAN is made by Open Knowledge Foundation, launched in 2006, available on Web.
Overview
What CKAN does
CKAN is the world's leading open-source data portal platform used by governments worldwide to publish and manage open data. The platform provides dataset management, harvesting, visualization, and API access for transparent government data initiatives.
What people use it for
- Publishing open government datasets in a searchable public data portal
- Self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an API
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about CKAN.
- The package install path requires Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 64-bit specifically; other operating systems must use the source install
- Only Solr 9 and Solr 8 are supported, and from CKAN 2.10 they are the only Solr versions supported at all
- A working deployment requires PostgreSQL, Solr, Redis, nginx, supervisor and uWSGI to be installed and maintained separately
- Python 3.10 or later is required
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of CKAN
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- CKANvsAccela
Accela: Civic Solutions for Modern Government
- CKANvsGranicus
Granicus: Digital Government Experiences Platform
- CKANvsDocuWare
DocuWare: Document Management and Workflow Automation
Pricing
What CKAN costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Open Source
Free
- Data Management
- API Access
- Visualization
Capabilities
Features
Dataset Management
Data Harvesting
API Access
Visualization
Extensions
DataPusher
Integration with DataPusher
Harvester
Integration with Harvester
Third-party Tools
Integration with Third-party Tools
Web support
Available on web
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is CKAN open-source and what license is it available under?
Yes, CKAN is an open-source data management system built on Python and available on GitHub. The license terms are available on their GitHub repository.
SourceDoes CKAN offer commercial support for organizations?
Yes, CKAN offers commercial support through certified providers including Link Digital and Datopian. Support includes advisory services, application development, integration, managed hosting, and web development.
SourceWho is responsible for hosting costs when running CKAN?
Organizations deploying CKAN are responsible for their own hosting infrastructure. Commercial providers like Datopian and Link Digital offer managed hosting services if organizations prefer not to self-host.
SourceBehind it
Who makes CKAN
- Company
- Open Knowledge Foundation
- Based in
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
Keep looking
Where to go from CKAN
- CKAN alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- CKAN pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- CKAN badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Government softwareThe full category
- Best Government softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Government software for
Compare CKAN with
- Granicus
- DocuWare
- Accela
- CivicPlus
- Socrata
- DataSF
- mySidewalk
- Laserfiche
- IAPro
- Bidnet Direct
- eCode360
- Axon Records
- CitizenLab
- ClearGov
- DemandStar
- MyRec.com
- Legistar
- eCode360
Other Government software
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12 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for CKAN, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on CKAN
CKAN alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
CKAN pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare CKAN
Put it head to head with anything we hold
CKAN badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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