Looking for a GovQA alternative?
GovQA is now sold as Records Request Management inside the Granicus Operations Cloud. It is a capable enterprise records platform. For a small local government, it is usually the wrong size, and the pricing model, not the sticker, is what deserves your attention. Here is an honest comparison, with every figure sourced from public procurement records.
What GovQA is now
GovQA built its name as the enterprise FOIA platform for state agencies and other large multi-department records operations. After the Granicus acquisition, the product was renamed Records Request Management (RRM) and folded into the Granicus Operations Cloud[1]. The product did not disappear. But if you are evaluating “GovQA” today, you are evaluating a module inside a large government-software suite, quoted deal by deal.
That matters for two reasons. First, pricing: there is no public price list, and the contract structure layers a platform fee with add-on modules, including single sign-on, extra storage, developer environments, and redaction licenses priced per named user[4] [5]. Second, fit: the platform is engineered for organizations with dedicated records staff across many departments. A township or small city clerk buying it gets enterprise workflow, and enterprise overhead with it.
Dekree vs. GovQA (Granicus RRM), side by side
| Feature | Dekree | GovQA / Granicus RRM |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing published on the website | ||
| Records-request software, small-agency price | FOIA from $199/mo ($2,388/yr), published Starter tier | $4,300 to $45,000 in documented small-agency deals, varies by scope[7] |
| Implementation fee | None | Documented from $5,100 in public contracts[3] |
| Redaction | Included: permanent, server-side | Per-named-user licenses, $175 to $318 per user per year in MI contracts[4] [5] |
| Unlimited users | ||
| One platform for the whole compliance job | Six products a la carte: FOIA, Open Meetings, Records & Retention, Public Document Portal, Reports, and free Payments; full suite capped at $499/mo (Starter) | Separate Granicus product lines, quoted separately |
| Records retention with Michigan DTMB schedules | Included in the suite: every current DTMB local-government schedule built in | Not in the records-request product |
| Online FOIA fee payments | Included free: the resident pays the processor fee, funds settle to your own bank | Payment connector billed separately (~$200/mo in the Michigan contract)[2] |
| Public records portal | Hosted portal, or embed the request form and released records into your own website | Hosted portal |
| Contractual annual escalator | No escalator written into the agreement | ~3%/yr in the Michigan contract[2] |
| Michigan statute logic built in | Fee worksheet math per MCL 15.234, business-day deadlines with state holidays, exemption citations per MCL 15.243 | Configurable, general-purpose |
| Duplicate-request detection | Similar-request alert on open requests, with one tap to link them | Yes: the "Similar Request" alert |
| Deflection at intake | Offers the resident already-published records and posted meeting minutes before they file | Yes: predictive deflection |
| Get all your data back out | Free, any time, no clawback: full export from Settings, stated up front | Governed by your contract; offboarding and any export fees not published |
Competitor figures are deal-specific contract prices from public procurement documents, not a vendor price list. Configurations differ and may include modules the Dekree number does not cover. Ask every vendor for an itemized, five-year quote.
What the public record shows, sized honestly
The best-documented GovQA deals sit at two very different scales, and it is only fair to read them that way. At the small end, Washington grant records show agencies paying $4,300 to $45,000 depending on scope: Centralia at $4,300 for a citywide expansion, Mount Vernon at $8,900, Ferry County at $17,000, and Spokane County at $45,000 across 55 departments[7].
At the large end, Michigan state agencies buy through the MiDEAL cooperative contract (aggregate value $2,083,181[2]), where documented configurations run from $28,916 to $83,383 per year[3] [4] [5]. Those are state-agency deployments, not township quotes. No vendor prices a 3,000-resident township like a state department, and neither would we. The reason those contracts matter to a small government is not the sticker. It is the pricing model they document: an implementation fee, per-named-user redaction licenses, module add-ons, and a built-in annual escalator. That structure applies at every size, so the question to ask any vendor is the five-year, all-in total for your configuration.
One timing note if you are a Michigan local that piggybacked on MiDEAL pricing: the current term of the state cooperative contract runs through September 30, 2026[2], which makes this a natural moment to re-check what you are paying for.
Where Dekree is different
Dekree was built for the other end of the market: the Michigan township, village, or city where one clerk handles FOIA, meeting notices, minutes, and records, usually alongside four other jobs. The pricing model reflects that. Every price is published at dekree.ai/pricing: FOIA starts at $199/mo for organizations under 5,000 residents, each product is priced on its own, and if you want everything, the full suite is capped at $499/mo at that size. There are no implementation fees and no per-user charges. Redaction is included, not licensed per seat.
And because a Michigan clerk experiences FOIA and the Open Meetings Act as one workload, Dekree puts the whole job on one platform: FOIA requests, meeting notices, agendas, minutes drafted from the recording, chaptered and searchable meeting video, records retention on the Michigan DTMB schedules, online fee payments at no added cost, and a public portal you can host or embed directly in your existing website. Every board you run, the planning commission, the ZBA, each authority, gets its own meetings, notices, minutes, and FOIA routing. It is built on the statutes (MCL 15.231 et seq. and MCL 15.261 et seq.) rather than configured after the fact. You buy the products you need, and the suite cap means the whole stack never costs more than $499/mo at the Starter tier.
Who each one is actually for
An honest read. Different tools fit different organizations, and the right answer depends on your size, budget, and how much of the work you want the software to do.
GovQA / Granicus RRM tends to fit
- State agencies and the largest multi-department records operations
- Organizations that need litigation-hold and legal-review workflows at enterprise scale
- Enterprises already standardized on the Granicus suite
- High-volume request operations (thousands of requests a year) with dedicated IT support
Dekree tends to fit
- Michigan townships, villages, cities, and districts, with published pricing under 25,000 residents
- Counties and larger organizations too: the same statute-native workflow, quoted to the organization
- One clerk (or a small team) handling FOIA and meetings together
- Multi-board organizations: every commission, ZBA, and authority gets its own meetings, notices, minutes, and FOIA routing
- Boards that want a price they can approve administratively, published up front
- Organizations that want redaction, deadlines, drafting, online fee payments, meeting video, and records retention included, not sold as add-ons
Do not take a comparison table’s word for it. Ours included.
The product is public. Watch it run, do the math on your own numbers, and click through the same screens a clerk uses, before you ever book a call.
Common questions
Is GovQA still called GovQA?
Not anymore. Granicus acquired GovQA and now sells it as Records Request Management (RRM) inside the Granicus Operations Cloud. The govqa.com website redirects to granicus.com.
What does GovQA cost?
Granicus does not publish RRM pricing, and every deal is configured individually. In public records, smaller agencies have paid $4,300 to $45,000 depending on scope, and large state-agency configurations run far higher. Implementation fees and add-on modules (SSO, storage, per-named-user redaction licenses) are typically extra at every size.
Does Dekree include redaction?
Yes. Permanent, server-side redaction is included in the FOIA product at every tier. There are no per-user redaction licenses. The original document is preserved in admin-restricted storage and the released copy has the redacted text removed from the file itself.
Is Dekree only a FOIA tool?
No. FOIA is one of six products on the same platform: FOIA, Open Meetings (notices, agendas, minutes drafted from the recording, and chaptered meeting video), Records & Retention on the Michigan DTMB schedules, a Public Document Portal you can host or embed in your own website, Reports, and free online fee Payments. Buy only what you need; the full suite is capped at $499/mo for organizations under 5,000 residents.
Can we switch from GovQA to Dekree?
Yes. Dekree imports your existing request log, document archive, and meeting calendar as part of onboarding, at no implementation fee. Most organizations are running within a week. See the migration plan at dekree.ai/switch.
If we ever leave Dekree, can we take our data with us?
Yes, at any time and at no cost. Any administrator can download the organization’s full request history, meetings, minutes, and every stored file from Settings, as spreadsheets and documents. There is no export fee, no waiting period, and no clawback, and your records stay readable in Dekree even if a subscription lapses. That is deliberate: the common vendor pattern is to make leaving expensive or slow, and easy data portability out is part of how Dekree competes.
Sources
- [1] Granicus product page: "Records Request Management is the new name for GovQA." granicus.com/product/records-request-management-govqa (accessed July 2026)
- [2] State of Michigan MiDEAL contract 180000000650, "Public Records Request System (FOIA)," GovQA/Granicus. Contract PDF, michigan.gov/dtmb procurement library
- [3] Michigan DNR configuration, contract 180000000650 (Change Notice 10): $28,916 year one rising to $36,813 by year five, including $5,100 one-time implementation
- [4] Michigan LARA configuration, contract 180000000650: $83,383/yr (2022-23 renewal), including redaction at $318 per named user
- [5] Michigan MDHHS configuration, contract 180000000650: $57,062-$58,773/yr, including 50 redaction licenses at $12,000/yr
- [6] NFOIC, "Portal to Compliance": records-portal pricing study covering GovQA and NextRequest pricing mechanics
- [7] Washington Secretary of State, local records-technology grant awards (2025): Centralia $4,300; Mount Vernon $8,900; Ferry County $17,000; Spokane County $45,000
Competitor pricing reflects publicly available procurement documents and published materials as of the date above. Contract pricing varies by configuration; confirm current figures with each vendor. Dekree pricing is published in full at dekree.ai/pricing.