Neither vendor publishes a price, so this is a choice on model and ecosystem.
CivicRec is the better fit for a municipality already on the CivicPlus website platform that wants its rec catalog, 311 and process automation from one vendor on an annual license. ACTIVENet is the better fit for a large city or county that needs enterprise scale, childcare and BI access and accepts a per-transaction fee model with a substantial implementation. Community centers, associations and YMCA branches that are not a government department usually need a third option.
Enterprise parks and recreation platform priced per transaction.
Recreation management from CivicPlus for local government.
Communal is listed as a third column because organizations comparing these two usually need the same things it was built for: memberships, programs and facilities in one database at a flat price.
| Feature | ACTIVENet | CivicPlus Recreation Management | Communal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership management | Included | Included | IncludedTiers, custom fields, segments |
| Automated renewals | Included | Included | IncludedReminders and auto-renew |
| Digital membership cards (Apple / Google Wallet) | Not listed | Not listed | IncludedIncluded in every plan |
| Event registration & ticketing | Included | Included | Add-onPrograms & events, +$50/mo |
| Program & class registration | Included | Included | Add-onWaitlists, capacity, attendance, rosters |
| Facility booking & rentals | Included | Included | Add-onFrom +$50/mo; approvals, invoices, agreements, iCal |
| Volunteer shifts & hour tracking | Included | Included | IncludedShifts, hours, auto volunteer discounts |
| Donations & fundraising | Not listed | Not listed | IncludedIncluded; donor covers fees option |
| Automatic tax receipts | Not listed | Not listed | IncludedAutomatic |
| Member self-service portal | Included | Included | Included |
| Email campaigns | Included | Included | IncludedCampaigns and segments |
| Website builder | Not listed | Not offered | Not offeredWorks beside your site |
| Public API | Included | Included | IncludedREST API, Zapier webhooks, MCP server |
| Detail | ACTIVENet | CivicPlus Recreation Management | Communal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Quote (per transaction) | Quote only | $75/mo |
| Pricing model | Transaction-based + implementation | Annual license, quote | Flat, by member band (to 250 members at the floor) |
| Contract | Multi-year agreements typical for municipal deals (not published) | Not published (annual/multi-year typical for government SaaS) | No contracts, prorated billing, cancel any module any time |
| Payment fees | Processing fee is a percentage plus dollar amount per registration;Detailsagency can absorb or pass to participant; exact rates via account manager | Integrated payment processing; rates not published | Card-processing application fee set in your agreement, often 2%; no monthly minimums |
| Free trial | No free trial | No free trial | Free trial, no credit card |
Pick CivicRec if your municipality already runs its website on CivicPlus and you want the rec catalog, 311 and workflow automation to share that platform, on an annual license. Pick ACTIVENet if you are a large city or county that needs enterprise hosting, childcare, POS at scale and BI access through ACTIVE Hub, and your budget can carry a per-transaction fee model plus an implementation engagement. Pick neither if you are a community center, association or YMCA branch: both assume a government department as the customer and neither publishes a price.
This is a comparison of two undisclosed prices, so compare the models. ACTIVENet charges a percentage plus a dollar amount on each registration, which the agency absorbs or passes to residents, on top of a hosted annual minimum and an upfront implementation engagement described by the vendor as mostly consulting. CivicRec charges an annual license by quote with integrated payment processing at unpublished rates, and reviewers say its pricing runs higher than competitors. Before either demo, write down your annual registration count, average registration price, number of facilities and staff seats, and ask each vendor for a five-year total including implementation, minimums, processing and escalation. Neither offers a free trial, so that quote is your only cost evidence.
| If you are... | Lean towards |
|---|---|
| A municipality already on the CivicPlus website platform | CivicRec |
| A department that wants an annual license rather than per-registration fees | CivicRec |
| A large city or county with childcare, many sites and a BI team | ACTIVENet |
| A department that passes processing fees to participants and has high volume | ACTIVENet |
| A department whose staff struggled with a complicated admin before | CivicRec (ease-of-use reputation) |
| A community center, association or YMCA branch outside local government | Neither; see the third option |
If you landed on this page because your rec center, community association or YMCA branch is comparing the two names everyone in municipal rec mentions, check whether you are actually the buyer they were built for. Communal was built for small towns, community centers and associations: memberships with household accounts and resident pricing by map boundary, program registration with waitlists and attendance, facility booking with approvals and invoices, donations with tax receipts and volunteer shifts, at $75/mo flat to 250 members, programs +$50/mo, facilities from +$50/mo, no contract, free scoped migration and a 30-day self-serve trial. The trade is plain: no website builder, no native mobile app, no childcare module, and it is not built for a large municipal procurement. Communal is our product; the comparison above is drawn from the two vendors' published materials and reviews.
Short answers, with the numbers where they exist.
Neither publishes pricing. ACTIVENet describes a transaction-based model with upfront consulting; a 2011 Costa Mesa proposal showed a $3.94 fee on a $105 registration and a $12,000 annual hosted minimum, and third parties estimate implementation at $10,000 to $150,000. CivicRec is sold on an annual license by quote; reviewers cite higher pricing than competitors. Get both quotes on the same registration volume and compare them, not the brochures.
Both cover activities, leagues, facilities, memberships and POS with household accounts and resident pricing. CivicRec is praised for ease of use and responsive support, but reviewers report League Manager bugs, slow POS transactions and limited iOS mobile functionality. ACTIVENet is the broader product with childcare, mobile apps and ACTIVE Hub, but its admin is described as dated and its reporting hard to customize.
Its main advantage is deep integration with CivicPlus municipal websites, 311 and process automation; CivicRec itself has no website builder. If your city site is on another platform, that advantage mostly disappears and you are comparing two quote-only rec suites on features and total cost.
Neither publishes terms. ACTIVENet deals with municipalities are typically multi-year. CivicRec's contract is not published; annual or multi-year is typical for government SaaS. Neither offers a free trial. Ask for the renewal, price-escalation and exit clauses before you sign.
Both are built for local government buyers. A community center, community association or YMCA branch that sells memberships, runs programs, rents rooms and takes donations is usually better served by a tool priced by member count. Communal is $75/mo flat to 250 members with programs +$50/mo and facilities from +$50/mo, no contract, free migration and a 30-day trial. It is not designed for a large municipal RFP.