Petitions.com vs OpenPetition: An In-Depth Comparison

1. Who Controls the Supporter Relationship?

OpenPetition keeps the platform between you and your signers. It does not give the petition initiator the signers' email addresses, and even postal addresses are not fully visible to you. You can message supporters only through the platform, and only about the petition itself — so the relationship with your supporters belongs to the platform, not to you.

Petitions.com: Your Petition. Your Data. Your Rules.

If you choose to collect email addresses or phone numbers, you get full, direct access to that information and can export your whole signature list. This allows you to:

• Build an Independent Movement: Contact your supporters directly for future campaigns, without depending on any platform.
• Stay GDPR-Compliant: You define the specific purposes for collecting personal data, set your own retention periods, and signatories consent to each purpose individually.
• Communicate Directly: Send thank-you notes, organize local events, or survey your supporters.

2. A Moderated Civic Platform vs. a Flexible Tool

OpenPetition is a curated, moderated platform tied to specific regions and parliaments, and it governs much of how your petition is published and handled. That fits a classic civic petition aimed at a German or European parliament, but it leaves far less in your hands than a self-service tool.

Petitions.com is a flexible, self-service tool. You publish on your own terms, for any cause and any country, and you decide how and to whom you deliver your signatures. There is no quorum gatekeeping and no region restriction — the campaign, and the data behind it, is yours.

3. Professional & Campaign Features

Petitions.com adds self-service tools that go beyond OpenPetition's civic model:

• Custom Data Fields & Consent: Collect exactly the information your campaign needs, with a separate consent for each purpose.
• AI Assistant & Rich Content: Let AI help draft your title, text and cover image, and tell your story with photos, video and formatted text.
• Team Collaboration: Grant different levels of access to translators, moderators, and co-organizers.
• Multilingual Petitions: Run one petition in several languages that are cross-linked automatically and share a single signature list — ideal for international campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does OpenPetition give me my signers' email addresses?

No. OpenPetition does not give the petition initiator the signers' email addresses, and you can only contact supporters through the platform. On Petitions.com, if you choose to collect email addresses, you get full, direct access to them.

Is OpenPetition free?

Yes. OpenPetition is a non-profit funded by donations, and it is free to start a petition. Petitions.com is also free to create and run.

What is the difference between OpenPetition and Petitions.com?

OpenPetition is a moderated civic platform that forwards qualifying petitions to German and European parliaments through a quorum system. Petitions.com is a flexible self-service tool for any cause and any country, giving you direct control over your supporter data and how you deliver your signatures.

Which platform is better for an international campaign?

Petitions.com is built for international campaigns: you can run one petition in several languages sharing a single signature list, and you are not tied to a specific country's parliaments or quorum. OpenPetition is optimized for German and European parliamentary petitions.