Action Builder vs DearMEP

Action Builder is a toolset for organizing and leadership development, with web and API access. It gives organizations a central place to identify and develop leaders through assessments. Its wall chart brings activist names and information together, while Quick Filter can create activist lists or help organizers map worksites. Teams can assign outreach tasks with targets and timelines, then track campaign activity by user and time period. Organizations can import and export information, and campaigns can sync with an Action Network group. The API supports integration partnerships, but is limited to four calls per second; most access requires an organization-specific key. Partners can request a read-only SQL mirror, typically updated within no more than a minute. The mirror contains sensitive data, including API keys, and its documentation recommends SSL and restricted credential access. Volunteer leaders can use the free Activist user plan. Admin users pay $80 a month per user. Support is available by email Monday through Saturday, and monthly online training and coordinator office hours are offered.

DearMEP is free, open-source software that helps citizens contact elected representatives in the European Parliament. Users can call once or schedule daily or weekly calls, and can also contact politicians by email or social media. The system chooses a representative from the user's country whom it estimates may be persuadable, using voting behavior and feedback. NGOs and activists can adapt the tool for campaigns and other assemblies, or embed a customizable widget on a campaign website. The widget detects the browser language and also lets visitors choose a language; campaign URLs must be added to the instance's allowed origins. DearMEP offers API documentation for advanced integrations and custom client implementations, and is available as web software, an API, or self-hosted software. A new instance requires an account with 46elks, its calling provider. The project says it minimizes personal-data processing and follows privacy-by-design and privacy-by-default, with GDPR compliance. Its privacy design document says IP addresses are used for geolocation and abuse prevention but are not persisted by the application itself; the document notes that some described functionality may not be implemented.