Citizen OS

What Citizen OS does

Citizen OS is a civic tech non-profit foundation (Sihtasutus Citizen OS), founded in 2015 and headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, with a wholly-owned regional entity in Jakarta, Indonesia (Yayasan Citizen Partisipasi Indonesia). Its core product is a free, open-source, browser-based participation platform (app.citizenos.com) that enables organisations and communities to run inclusive decision-making through a four-phase workflow: idea gathering, pro-con discussion, voting, and action follow-up. The platform supports configurable voting settings (multiple selection, veto, delegation, neutrals), public/private groups, multiple login methods including Estonian ID-card, Mobile-ID, and Smart-ID for digitally signed votes, and is available in English, German, Estonian, Slovakian, and Russian. Infrastructure is hosted on Heroku, with privacy-friendly analytics via Plausible and localization via Crowdin.

The organization monetizes nothing from the platform itself — no pricing tiers, no ads, no data selling, and no premium features. Operations are funded through individual donations (PayPal and bank transfer) and grants, principally EU programmes including Erasmus+ and the Active Citizens Fund Estonia (mediated by the Open Estonia Foundation in cooperation with NENO). Beyond the platform, Citizen OS runs a portfolio of programs: the Democracy Defenders Accelerator (a 10-month civic society training program), the Democracy Defenders Network (alumni/activist network, launched 2024), civic hackathons, summer/winter schools, democracy festivals, and the Erasmus+ Democra-SI project (2025) engaging 22 partners across 12 countries.

The team is non-hierarchical and operates remotely across Estonia and Indonesia, with approximately 12 part-time core staff including CEO and co-founder Margo Loor, supported by 77 volunteers who contributed to projects in 2024. Named customers and use cases include the Social Democratic Party of Estonia (digital leadership elections), the Estonian Resource Management Union / PARE (online general meetings with record voter attendance), IG Metall (Europe's largest industrial union), the Indonesia Opinion Festival (nearly 4,000 participants in 2020), and Tallinn University. Co-founder Ahti Heinla, CTO of Starship Technologies, serves as advisor.

Name

Citizen OS

Legal name

Sihtasutus Citizen OS

Website

https://citizenos.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Citizen OS is a civic tech non-profit foundation that provides a free, open-source participation platform enabling organizations, communities, political parties, and public institutions to run inclusive decision-making through idea gathering, pro-con discussion, voting, and action follow-up. It is funded by grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Engagement Software

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good) (BPAGALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL), Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Civic engagement platform
• Participatory democracy tools
• Open-source participation software
• E-democracy technology
• Collective decision-making

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallinn

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations via PayPal and bank transfer support platform development and maintenance. Donations cannot currently be deducted from income tax as Citizen OS is not yet on the list of non-profit foundations benefiting from tax incentives.
2. EU and Other Grants: Funded via EU grants (Erasmus+, Active Citizens Fund) and other grant funds. Used for international projects, training programmes, and civic engagement initiatives.
3. Platform is Free: The participation platform is free for everyone and will remain so. No fees, no ads, no data selling. Non-profit model focused on mission rather than revenue generation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Citizen OS provides a free, open-source, browser-based participation platform that enables organisations, communities, and individuals to run collective decision-making through four configurable phases — idea gathering, pro-con discussion, voting, and action follow-up. It supports public and private topics, groups, multi-language UI, and integration with Estonian e-ID systems. The platform is complemented by training programmes such as the Democracy Defenders Accelerator and the volunteer-driven Democracy Defenders Network that build civic society capacity.

Product overview

Citizen OS is a civic tech non-profit offering the Citizen OS Participation Platform as its core free, open-source product, supplemented by international civic engagement programmes and training initiatives. The platform enables democratic decision-making through configurable topic phases (idea gathering, pro-con discussions, voting, and action tracking), while programmes like the Democracy Defenders Accelerator, Democracy Defenders Network, Democra-SI project, civic hackathons, and summer/winter schools support civil society capacity building globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Democracy Defenders Network: A global volunteer-driven participatory network connecting activists who have participated in Citizen OS civic engagement programmes, designed to build skills, foster collaboration, and launch new initiatives for democratic participation.

Products and services

• Citizen OS Participation Platform A free, open-source, browser-based participation platform enabling organisations and communities to engage in inclusive decision-making through four configurable phases: idea gathering, pro-con discussion, voting, and action follow-up. Supports public and private topics, multi-language interface, groups, and various voting methods.
• Democracy Defenders Accelerator A ten-month development programme for civic society activists worldwide that provides training in participatory leadership and civic engagement project design, including online sessions, a bootcamp, mentoring, and project piloting support.
• Democracy Defenders Network A volunteer-driven global network connecting activists from Citizen OS civic engagement programmes and like-minded individuals dedicated to democratic values, focused on building civil society resilience, improving civic space quality, and fostering international cooperation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5434 discussions, 20858 votes, 807 groups, and 14535 users on platform since creation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and founding.

• Nexes InterculturalscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2025Spain-based coordinator of the Erasmus+ Democra-SI project involving 22 partners from 12 countries. Expert in youth work and intercultural dialogue.
• Let's Do It FoundationfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Co-founders of Citizen OS along with Ahti Heinla and Margo Loor. The Let's Do It Foundation coordinates World Cleanup Day, connecting the founding vision rooted in global environmental activism.
• Ahti HeinlafoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder, CTO at Starship Technologies. Serves as advisor. Tech entrepreneur with background in building democratic participation technology.
• People PoweredcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of organizations, government practitioners, researchers, and advocates supporting participatory democracy. Citizen OS is a member. Network rated participation platforms.
• Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organizations (NENO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitizen OS adheres to NENO Good Practice Inclusion Principles and ethical principles for NGOs. Cooperates on civil society development.
• Tallinn UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosts Digital Innovation for Civic Engagement Summer School with Citizen OS. Partner in Erasmus Mundus Master's Programme 'Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Societies'.
• CrowdincoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides free access to translation management platform for open-source software. Volunteers translate platform UI into new languages via Crowdin projects.
• HerokucoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud platform hosting Citizen OS infrastructure. Platform built for security from the ground up, compliant with key industry standards for data protection.
• Plausible AnalyticscoreTechnology or IntegrationPrivacy-friendly web analytics used instead of Google Analytics. No cookies, no PII tracking, GDPR/CCPA/PECR compliant. Made and hosted in the EU.
• 22 Partners from 12 Countries (Democra-SI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerErasmus+ funded Democra-SI project brought together 22 organizations from 12 countries to explore and amplify inclusive democratic narratives across Europe.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• vTaiwan / g0v: Civic-tech initiative combining a government consultation platform (vTaiwan) with a civic-hacker community (g0v) for digital democracy in Taiwan. Comparable as a digitally mediated participatory democracy project with open-source ethos.
• Decidim: Open-source participatory democracy platform used by many European cities and organizations to host assemblies, consultations, and voting. Directly comparable to Citizen OS in mission, open-source distribution, and target users (civic society, municipalities).
• LiquidFeedback: Open-source legislative and decision-making platform with structured proposal, deliberation, and voting workflows. Comparable to Citizen OS in serving political parties, associations, and grassroots democratic organizations.
• Consul: Open-source e-participation platform originally from Madrid, used globally by cities for proposals, debates, and voting. Closely comparable in functionality, open-source licensing, and municipal/civic-society customer base.
• Pol.is: Open-source, real-time deliberation platform using machine-assisted opinion mapping to surface consensus across large groups. Directly comparable as a deliberation/decision tool aimed at civic and public-sector use.
• Loomio: Cooperative-built decision-making platform for groups and organizations, offering proposals, discussion threads, and polls. Comparable to Citizen OS in serving NGOs, associations, and unions for inclusive group decisions.
• Ethelo: Group decision-making and polling platform used by organizations to surface consensus among stakeholders. Comparable to Citizen OS in providing configurable voting and deliberation for organizational decision-making.

Emerging players

• All Our Ideas: Open-source, research-backed crowdsourcing platform for pairwise idea voting. Comparable to Citizen OS's ideation phase and its focus on democratic participation tools.

Others

• People Powered: Global intermediary network for participatory democracy programs, of which Citizen OS is already a member. Comparable as an ecosystem player rather than a competing platform.
• Open Government Partnership: International initiative promoting open government, transparency, and citizen participation across 70+ countries. Comparable as a related ecosystem driving demand for civic participation platforms like Citizen OS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/citizenos
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCahwJw-DTZ24yC1HiDCofhQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/citizenos.web
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citizenos
• Instagraminstagram.com/citizen_os_foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Citizen OS