OpenCounter
OpenCounter provides cloud-hosted SaaS permitting portals for U.S. local and county governments. Its platform enables permit discovery, zoning verification, and real-time fee calculation across business, residential, special events, and ADU use cases, serving 25+ municipalities nationwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What OpenCounter does
OpenCounter is a cloud-hosted SaaS platform providing permit discovery, zoning verification, and licensing solutions to U.S. local and county government agencies. Its portfolio comprises four core portals — Business Portal, Residential Portal, Special Events Portal, and ZoningCheck™ — plus Online Applications and ADU Portal modules. The platform is purpose-built for the pre-application phase of permitting, helping constituents identify which permits they need, what they will cost, and what zoning applies to a parcel, without contacting City Hall. Customers include 25+ municipalities and counties such as Cincinnati, Orlando, Miami, Detroit, Fort Worth, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Omaha, and several California cities, with documented outcomes including Cincinnati's reduction of permit research time from days to minutes and a 48-hour deployment of outdoor street dining permits during COVID-19.
The technology stack centers on a real-time fee calculation engine that runs fee estimations across multiple departments and data sets simultaneously, direct Esri ArcGIS REST API integration that pulls zone and overlay geometry from a city's GIS endpoint (so any GIS edit auto-propagates), pre-calculated zoning clearance for every parcel against every use code, intelligent land-use search that maps everyday terms to municipal land use codes, and localization in 35–40+ languages with WCAG 2.0 Level AA accessibility. Hosting is SOC 2/SSAE 16/ISO 27001-compliant from U.S. data centers with SSL and encryption at rest.
The business model is a quote-based SaaS subscription priced by jurisdiction population and the number of portals procured, sold under multi-year contracts that include white-glove implementation (the company performs 99% of implementation work), ongoing code and fee updates, and integration with existing permitting systems of record. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales to municipalities and counties, led by a Government Services team of former city planners and ICC-certified permit technicians. The company was founded around 2013–2015 (sources conflict), operated as a subsidiary of GTY Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: GTYH), and was acquired by Accela in July 2024.
OpenCounter firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenCounter
- Legal name
- Open Counter Enterprises, Inc.
- Website
- https://opencounter.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OpenCounter provides cloud-hosted SaaS permitting portals for U.S. local and county governments. Its platform enables permit discovery, zoning verification, and real-time fee calculation across business, residential, special events, and ADU use cases, serving 25+ municipalities nationwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenCounter industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Government Permitting and Licensing Software
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industry/Vertical Cloud Platforms (e.g., Gov/Healthcare/Financial Cloud Regions) (HDABAAAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Q&A and Knowledge Discovery Platforms (BPAMAAAF)
Keywords
Where OpenCounter is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
OpenCounter business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription for Government Portals: OpenCounter provides cloud-hosted permitting portals to municipalities on a subscription basis. Pricing varies based on the population size of the jurisdiction and the number of portals procured. Implementation and configuration services are included as part of the engagement with ongoing maintenance and code updates provided free of charge for the duration of the subscription.
- Professional Services: Expert setup, configuration, and implementation services are included as part of OpenCounter's white-glove service model. The company performs 99% of implementation work including data configuration, testing, and quality assurance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Quote-based pricing tailored to each jurisdiction's needs |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
OpenCounter product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenCounter sells a cloud-hosted SaaS permit discovery platform that helps municipal and county government applicants answer pre-application permit questions without contacting City Hall. The platform is delivered as four customizable portals (Business Portal, Residential Portal, Special Events Portal, ZoningCheck) with additional Online Applications and ADU Portal modules, all featuring real-time fee calculations, interactive zoning mapping, and multi-language accessibility.
Product overview
OpenCounter is a permit discovery platform providing a suite of SaaS portals for local government permitting and licensing. The portfolio consists of four core portals: Business Portal (for entrepreneurs starting businesses), Residential Portal (for homeowners on home improvement projects), Special Events Portal (for organizing large-scale public events), and ZoningCheck (for site selection and zoning compliance). These portals share a common platform architecture featuring real-time fee calculations, interactive mapping, automated permit scoping, and multi-department workflow integration. Additional offerings include Online Applications for end-to-end permit processing and an ADU Portal for accessory dwelling unit permitting. OpenCounter was acquired by Accela in July 2024.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Business Portal A portal that helps entrepreneurs understand the costs and requirements of starting a business, featuring intelligent land use search, intuitive zoning maps, automatic permit scoping, real-time fee calculation, and analytics. Targeted at city and county government agencies serving business applicants.
- Residential Portal A portal that helps homeowners stay in compliance on home improvement projects, featuring simplified project selection, address search with interactive maps, real-time fee calculations, downloadable summaries, and analytics. Sold to city and county government agencies serving residential permit applicants.
- Special Events Portal A portal that guides event planners through the process of organizing large-scale events in public spaces, featuring powerful route and area builders, intuitive scheduling tools, and seamless department review processes. Sold to city and county government agencies supporting event organizers.
- ZoningCheck A solution that helps applicants understand how zoning ordinances impact site selection and project requirements, featuring intelligent land use search, intuitive interactive zoning maps, comprehensive ArcGIS integration, and localization in 36+ languages. Sold to city and county government agencies.
- Online Applications A module that allows applicants to apply for, track, and receive permits and licenses online. Sold to city and county government agencies as an add-on to OpenCounter's permit discovery portals.
- ADU Portal A portal designed to help with the surge of ADU zoning and permitting requests, guiding homeowners through the ADU permitting process while saving staff time and resources. Includes policy and resource guidance, ADU type determination, fee estimation, and internal workflow integration. Sold to city and county government agencies.
Quantifiable outcome
- Cincinnati cut the time it takes business owners to research how to start or expand their business from a few days to a few minutes
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenCounter
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
OpenCounter technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
OpenCounter partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- AccelacoreAccela acquired OpenCounter in July 2024 to enhance its permitting and licensing experience. The acquisition combines Accela's existing permit processing platform with OpenCounter's permit discovery capabilities, creating a more comprehensive solution for government agencies.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OpenCounter competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- OpenCities (Granicus): OpenCities (Granicus) offers a constituent-facing digital experience platform for permitting, planning, and licensing, overlapping with OpenCounter's pre-application discovery and zoning tools.
- Zencity: Zencity provides AI-driven civic analytics and resident engagement tools for local governments, an adjacent GovTech offering that competes for the same municipal digital-services budget as OpenCounter.
- Avolve (e-PlanSoft / ProjectDox): Avolve's ProjectDox / e-PlanReview delivers electronic plan review and permitting collaboration for local governments, addressing an adjacent workflow within OpenCounter's permit-discovery and applications ecosystem.
Direct peers
- Cloudpermit: Cloudpermit is a purpose-built SaaS permitting and inspection platform for building departments, directly competing for the same municipal customers and digital-permitting workloads that OpenCounter serves.
- OpenGov: OpenGov provides a suite of cloud-based software for state and local governments including permitting, licensing, budgeting, and procurement — directly competing with OpenCounter's pre-application permit discovery and licensing experience.
- SmartGov (CSDC / Questica): SmartGov offers automated permit processing and citizen self-service portals for local governments in North America, directly competing with OpenCounter's core Business and Residential permit portals.
Broad incumbents
- Granicus: Granicus provides a connected-civic experience platform spanning communications, service requests, and permitting workflows for governments, overlapping with OpenCounter's permitting discovery and resident-engagement scope.
- Tyler Technologies (Civic Services): Tyler Technologies serves municipalities with a broad portfolio including ERP, public safety, and civic services (e.g., EnerGov for permitting), making it a large incumbent competing across the same government buyer as OpenCounter.
- Accela: Accela is a leading civic-engagement and government-software platform for permitting, licensing, and code enforcement; it acquired OpenCounter in 2024 and operates the closest comparable end-to-end permitting suite for cities and counties.
Regional players
- Municity (Sire / Bglobal): Municity (formerly part of Bglobal/Sire) provides municipal digital portals for permitting and licensing in Europe, a comparable civic-tech SaaS offering serving similar pre-application workflows in a different geography.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OpenCounter social profiles
Digital presenceOpenCounter compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
OpenCounter financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenCounter leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
OpenCounter funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenCounter M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenCounter
What does OpenCounter do?
OpenCounter sells a cloud-hosted SaaS permit discovery platform that helps municipal and county government applicants answer pre-application permit questions without contacting City Hall. The platform is delivered as four customizable portals (Business Portal, Residential Portal, Special Events Portal, ZoningCheck) with additional Online Applications and ADU Portal modules, all featuring real-time fee calculations, interactive zoning mapping, and multi-language accessibility.
Is OpenCounter a public or private company?
OpenCounter is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was OpenCounter founded?
OpenCounter was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OpenCounter based?
OpenCounter is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does OpenCounter make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscription for Government Portals are the primary driver. The others are professional Services.
Who are OpenCounter's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are OpenCities (Granicus), Zencity and Avolve (e-PlanSoft / ProjectDox). Direct peers are Cloudpermit, OpenGov and SmartGov (CSDC / Questica). Broad incumbents are Granicus, Tyler Technologies (Civic Services) and Accela. Municity (Sire / Bglobal) is listed as a regional player.
Does OpenCounter have an API?
No public API is recorded for OpenCounter.
What industry is OpenCounter in?
OpenCounter's product category is Government Permitting and Licensing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAAAL, Industry/Vertical Cloud Platforms (e.g., Gov/Healthcare/Financial Cloud Regions), with a secondary code of BPAMAAAF, Q&A and Knowledge Discovery Platforms. Its NAICS code is 519290 and its SIC code is 7372.