PublicInput vs Balancing Act

PublicInput9.2Visit Balancing Act8.0Visit

Higher score PublicInput #1 in Citizen Engagement Software 9.2/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 1 features Visit PublicInput

vs

Balancing Act #8 in Citizen Engagement Software 8.0/10 Free plan · pricing on request Free plan✓ 1 of 1 features Visit Balancing Act

• PublicInput fits best

  Government teams needing multichannel resident engagement

• Balancing Act fits best

  Public agencies seeking budgeting and planning input

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Side by side

Feature	PublicInput 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Balancing Act 8.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.0
Ranking	#1 in Citizen Engagement Software	#8 in Citizen Engagement Software
Best for	Government teams needing multichannel resident engagement	Public agencies seeking budgeting and planning input
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	—	—
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Live chat, Docs	Phone, Email
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features PublicInput 0/1 · Balancing Act 1/1
Participatory budgeting	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Participation methods	Not checked yet	Budget simulations, housing simulations, project selection and ranking, taxpayer receipts, participatory budgeting
Supported languages	Not checked yet	3
Named integrations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Accessibility standard	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Resident CRM unifies custom fields, participation, and community organization tracking Multichannel outreach spans email, SMS, social media, phone, and in-person channels Maps, dashboards, equity analysis, and AI comment tools deepen feedback analysis	Lets residents adjust spending and revenue to explore budget trade-offs Supports housing simulations and project selection and ranking Provides visual reports and downloadable record-level response data
Cons	Pricing requires contacting sales No free plan is available Support channels do not include 24/7 coverage	Focuses on budgeting and planning rather than broad consultation Standard pricing requires contacting the vendor The free plan applies only to qualifying government-associated projects
Our verdict	PublicInput is a public-sector engagement platform from Cityzen Solutions, Inc., designed for local governments, transportation agencies, and consultants. It combines resident CRM, online surveys, interactive maps, project websites, public… Read the review →	Balancing Act gives governments and other organizations web-based tools to gather input on budgets, housing plans and project priorities. Residents can adjust spending and revenue choices, estimate where tax dollars go, and rank projects… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PublicInput — where it wins

  • Resident CRM unifies custom fields, participation, and community organization tracking
  • Multichannel outreach spans email, SMS, social media, phone, and in-person channels
  • Maps, dashboards, equity analysis, and AI comment tools deepen feedback analysis

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires contacting sales
  • No free plan is available
  • Support channels do not include 24/7 coverage

• Balancing Act — where it wins

  • Lets residents adjust spending and revenue to explore budget trade-offs
  • Supports housing simulations and project selection and ranking
  • Provides visual reports and downloadable record-level response data

  Where it doesn't

  • Focuses on budgeting and planning rather than broad consultation
  • Standard pricing requires contacting the vendor
  • The free plan applies only to qualifying government-associated projects

• PublicInput9.2/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad government engagement suite combining resident records, outreach, meetings, mapping, and analytics.

  Visit PublicInputFull verdict →
• Balancing Act8.0/10 · Free plan · pricing on request

  A focused tool for budget, housing and participatory budgeting input.

  Visit Balancing ActFull verdict →