Guide · Public libraries · Budget

How much does library web filtering cost?

A public library that takes E-Rate discounts for internet access must filter, but E-Rate does not pay for the filter. So the filter is its own line in the library budget. This guide explains the pricing models you will meet, what drives the price in a library, the costs that never show on a quote, and how E-Rate fits in. It ends with our list prices, two worked examples and a budgeting checklist you can take to your board.

E-Rate discounts do not cover the filter Per branch, per device or per appliance For library directors and IT staff

Pricing our hosted CIPA filter

One libraryFrom $99 a month per site, nothing to install. See plans and prices
A library systemA written quote within one business day, each option priced. Ask for a quote
Not sure where you stand?Answer a few questions and see what is in place. Free CIPA readiness check

This guide is general information, not legal or E-Rate advice. Each funding and legal statement comes from an official FCC, USAC or federal source, listed at the end of the page. Prices for other products are not shown here, because list prices change and discounts vary. Ask every vendor for a written quote on the same inputs.

The short answer

The filter is a separate budget line. CIPA makes filtering a condition of E-Rate discounts on internet access and internal connections, but the discounts cannot be used for the filter itself.
Three pricing models are common. A flat fee per building or branch, a fee per device or seat, or an appliance plus a yearly subscription. Filtering is also sold as a feature of a firewall or an internet service, and free tools exist, where the cost moves to staff time.
In a library, the count matters more than the rate. Public PCs, staff computers, patron phones on the Wi-Fi, children's computers and lent laptops all count under some models and not under others.
Staff time is a real cost. Adult unblock requests, wrongly blocked sites, board reports and the yearly CIPA file all take hours. A cheaper licence that takes more desk time can cost more.
Our hosted filter is priced per site. $99 a month per library building or branch, or $990 a year. Patron devices on the filtered Wi-Fi are covered with nothing installed. Only devices that leave the building are priced per device.

Why E-Rate does not pay for the filter

Many directors first meet filtering through E-Rate paperwork, so it is natural to assume E-Rate helps pay for it. It does not.

CIPA is the condition, not a funded service

USAC says applicants must certify CIPA compliance to receive E-Rate discounts on Category One internet access and on all Category Two services: internal connections, managed internal broadband services and basic maintenance of internal connections. A library that receives discounts only for telecommunications services certifies that CIPA does not apply.

The certification covers a technology protection measure on any of the library's computers with internet access. That includes staff computers, not only the public floor. The measure must block visual depictions that are obscene or child pornography for everyone, and those that are harmful to minors when minors use the computer. Under CIPA a minor is anyone under 17.

The FCC rule on filter costs

In its 2001 order putting CIPA into effect, the FCC said the statute is clear: recipients may not receive universal service discounts for technology protection measures. It also said it has no authority to make other CIPA costs eligible if they are not otherwise eligible. In 2024 the FCC denied new requests that E-Rate pay for CIPA implementation costs and pointed back to that 2001 finding.

In practice this means three things:

The E-Rate discount lowers your bills for internet access and for the network inside your buildings.
The filter is paid with other money: the library's operating budget, a city or county budget, a grant, or a Friends group.
If a quote bundles filtering into internet access, a firewall or a managed service, the filtering part cannot receive the discount. Ask your E-Rate adviser how to separate it in your funding request.

Firewalls with filtering features

Some libraries filter with a feature of their firewall. In the funding year 2026 eligible services list, basic firewall services and components stay eligible as Category Two. The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau again declined to make advanced or next-generation firewall features eligible. A firewall's web filtering licence is therefore a cost to plan for outside the discount, even when the box itself was bought with E-Rate support.

What the discount is worth

The filter protects the discount on your connection, so it helps to know the size of that discount. A library's discount depends on the share of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program in the public school district where the library is located. For a library system, it is the district where the main branch or main administrative office is located. Urban or rural status also counts.

Category One discounts run from 20 to 90 percent.
Category Two discounts run from 20 to 85 percent. Tribal libraries can reach 90 percent for Category Two from funding year 2024.
USAC's own example: a library with a 90 percent discount that buys $1,000 of eligible broadband services pays its 10 percent share, $100. E-Rate pays the other $900.

E-Rate's funding year starts on July 1 and ends the following June. If your library budget runs on a different fiscal year, write down which filter costs fall into which budget, so a renewal does not land in a year with no money set aside.

Other money that can pay for a filter

The same law that created CIPA names one federal library source that may be used to buy a technology protection measure: funds under section 231 of the Library Services and Technology Act, the Grants to States program that goes to state library agencies. Whether your state uses LSTA money this way is a decision for your state library agency, so ask them. Our guide to online safety grants for schools and libraries lists other programs to check.

Lent hotspots and devices

The funding year 2026 eligible services list says that off-campus use of E-Rate-funded services is ineligible for support, even when used for an educational purpose, and must be cost-allocated out of a funding request. If you lend hotspots or laptops, both the devices and their filtering are paid with other money. Our guide to library hotspot lending after the 2025 E-Rate change covers the details.

The pricing models you will meet

Vendors package filtering in a few ways. The model matters more than the headline number, because two quotes can count very different things. These descriptions are generic and do not refer to any one product.

Per site or per branch

A flat fee for each library building or branch, whatever happens inside it.

Nothing to count, so the price stays the same when you add public PCs.
Patron devices on the Wi-Fi are usually covered when the filter works at the network.
Ask how a site is defined: a second internet line, a separate Wi-Fi line or a bookmobile may count differently.

Per device, seat or user

A licence for each computer, tablet or named user. Common when software runs on each device.

Clear for library-owned computers and lent laptops.
Patron phones and laptops cannot carry your software, so the Wi-Fi needs a second answer.
Counts move. Ask how true-ups work when you add PCs, and how users are counted when most patrons are anonymous.

Appliance plus subscription

A physical or virtual box at the network edge, bought or leased, plus a yearly fee for updates and support.

Each branch needs a box, or its traffic is routed through a central one.
Hardware is replaced every few years, a capital cost that returns.
Deep inspection of encrypted traffic needs a certificate on each device. Patron devices will not have it.

Bundled with a firewall or internet service

Filtering as a licence on a firewall, or as part of a connection from a provider, a state network or a consortium.

One contract and one renewal.
Hard to see what filtering alone costs, and the filtering part cannot take the E-Rate discount.
Changing the filter can mean changing a much larger contract.

Free tools

Open-source software or free services with public block lists.

No licence line in the budget.
Setup, list upkeep, reports for the CIPA file and the adult unblock process fall on your staff.
Check what records you can show if USAC asks how the filter was working during the funding year.

Hosted DNS filter, per site

A filter run for you on the vendor's servers. You change one setting on the router or firewall.

No box to buy or replace, nothing installed on public PCs or patron devices.
Decides by website, not by single page or video.
Devices that leave the building need their own link to the filter, priced per device.

How each model treats what a library has

What you have	Per site	Per device or seat	Appliance plus subscription
More public PCs next year	No change	More licences	No change until the box runs out of capacity
Patron phones on the Wi-Fi	Covered when filtered at the network	Not covered by device software	Covered if Wi-Fi traffic passes the box
Staff computers	Covered on the same network	Each one needs a licence	Covered if traffic passes the box
A new branch	One more site fee	Licences for its devices	A new box or a link to a central one
Lent laptops at home	Usually an extra per device	Covered by the licence	Not covered away from the box
Budget stability	High	Moves with counts	Spikes at hardware refresh

What drives the cost in a library

Before you ask for quotes, count the things below. Write the counts on one sheet and send the same sheet to every vendor.

Branches and internet lines

Count every building that offers internet access, and every internet line in it. Some branches have a separate line for public Wi-Fi. A per-site price follows the number of buildings. An appliance price follows the number of places where traffic leaves your network.

Public PCs

Under a per-device model, every public PC, catalog station and lab computer is a licence. Under a per-site or network model, the number does not change the price. If you plan to add a computer lab next year, model both cases.

Patron Wi-Fi

Patron Wi-Fi is often the largest group of devices and the one you control least. You cannot install software or certificates on a patron's phone. A filter that works at the network covers those devices without touching them. A per-device product needs a separate solution for the Wi-Fi, and that solution has its own cost. Our guide to library Wi-Fi and patron devices explains the options.

Staff computers

CIPA's filtering certification covers any of the library's computers with internet access. Staff computers are in scope, even if they get lighter rules and adults can have the filter disabled for lawful work. Count them in every quote.

Children's areas and separate rules

Most libraries want stricter rules in the children's area than on the adult floor. Some products price each rule set, profile or zone. Others include them. Ask how many profiles are included and how a children's computer is told apart from an adult one.

Hotspots and devices away from the library

A filter at the router stops at the door. Lent laptops and tablets need their own link to the filter or software on the device. This is almost always priced per device. Count what you lend today and what you plan to lend.

Reporting

Basic activity reports are usually included. Scheduled reports, board-ready summaries and exports for the CIPA file can sit in a higher tier or an add-on. USAC lists a report or other documentation on the use of the filter among the records it requests in a CIPA audit, so check what you get at the price you are quoted.

Setup and staff time

Setup can mean a router setting or a week of work: installing agents, building rules, deploying certificates and importing old lists. After setup, the weekly time goes to unblock requests, wrongly blocked sites and questions at the desk. Ask what setup help is included, and estimate the weekly hours from a reference library of your size.

Contract terms

Multi-year terms can lower the yearly rate but lock you in. First-year discounts can fall away at renewal. Auto-renewal clauses with long notice periods are easy to miss. Read the term, the renewal cap and the notice period before you compare prices.

Costs that never show on a quote

The licence is the cost you can see. These are the ones you find out about later.

Hidden cost	Where it comes from	How to keep it small
Desk time on adult requests	CIPA lets an authorized person disable the filter for an adult's bona fide research or other lawful purpose. If that takes an IT ticket, it takes hours.	A procedure staff can run in a minute at the desk, or one adults can run themselves on adult computers.
Wrongly blocked sites	Health, job, government and library resources caught by broad categories.	A narrow CIPA setting, an always-allow list staff can update, and a quick review route.
Certificate rollout	Inspecting encrypted traffic needs a trusted certificate on every device.	Ask whether inspection is required at all for your policy. It cannot reach patron devices.
Hardware refresh	Appliances age and run out of capacity.	Price the replacement into a five-year view, or choose a model without hardware.
Renewal increases	Introductory prices that end after year one.	A written cap on yearly increases.
Board and CIPA records	Collecting reports from each branch for the board and the funding year file.	Reports per branch and for the whole system from one place.
Switching later	Rebuilding rules, retraining staff, running two filters for a while.	Export rights for your lists and logs in the contract. See switching library web filters.
Privacy review	Checking where browsing records are kept, for how long and who can see them, against your state's library records law.	Ask for retention, access and storage terms in writing before you sign.

Our prices, exactly as listed

Our hosted CIPA filter is a DNS filter that we run for you. You enter two filter addresses on the router or firewall, and every device on that network is filtered. These are the list prices on our pricing page.

Option	Monthly	Yearly (two months free)
CIPA Filter, per site (a library building or branch)	$99	$990
Weathervane board reports, one library	+$79	+$790
Weathervane board reports, whole library system	$149	$1,490
AI Controls, per site	+$49	+$490
App Control for managed iPads and phones, per site	+$29	+$290
Devices away from the network, minimum 25 devices	$0.10 per device	$1 per device

If one library adds both AI Controls and App Control, the plan builder applies the Complete price: $169 a month or $1,690 a year for the filter with both add-ons.

What the site price includes

Every device on the network: public PCs, staff computers, tablets and patron Wi-Fi, with nothing installed on any of them.
The CIPA preset, which blocks adult content and VPN and proxy sites, plus optional categories such as gambling and weapons.
Rules for each site: categories, an always-allow list, an always-block list and a staff PIN.
A staff PIN for adult research that opens adult content for 15, 30 or 60 minutes, then switches back on by itself. VPN and proxy sites stay blocked.
Public encrypted DNS services and browser settings that skip the network filter are blocked by default.
Main and backup filter servers in the United States.
Activity reports, a searchable log with spreadsheet export, a printable report and policy record, the staff bypass log and a monthly email.
Help with the router setting, import of your old block lists and adjusting the rules with you during the first weeks.

How buying works

One library can subscribe online and pick add-ons. A library system gets a written quote within one business day, with each option priced separately.
Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time. Yearly plans run for the year you paid for.
The price is per site, not per patron, public PC or staff computer. Only devices that leave the building are priced per device, because each gets its own private encrypted link to the filter.
The hosted filter is a service. It does not include a copy of our category database, which is licensed separately.

Worked example: one library

The library. One building with public PCs, staff computers and patron Wi-Fi on one internet line, a children's corner, and 30 laptops lent to patrons. The board wants a monthly report on how the connection is used.

Line	Working	Monthly	Yearly
CIPA Filter	1 site	$99	$990
Lent laptops	30 devices at $0.10 a month or $1 a year	$3	$30
Filter and laptops		$102	$1,020
Weathervane, one library	Optional	$79	$790
With Weathervane		$181	$1,810

On monthly billing, the filter alone costs $1,188 over twelve months. Yearly billing costs $990, which is two months less.
The number of public PCs, staff computers and patron phones does not change the price.
The children's corner can get stricter rules: a separate network if it has its own line, or an encrypted link set once on the children's PCs.
If the library lent 20 laptops instead of 30, the 25-device minimum would apply: $2.50 a month or $25 a year.

Worked example: a 10-branch library system

The system. Ten branches, each with its own internet line, public PCs, staff computers, patron Wi-Fi and a children's area. The system lends 200 laptops and tablets. The director wants one board report for the whole system each month.

Line	Working	Monthly	Yearly
CIPA Filter	10 branches at $99 a month or $990 a year	$990	$9,900
Weathervane, whole system	One price for all branches	$149	$1,490
Lent laptops and tablets	200 devices at $0.10 a month or $1 a year	$20	$200
Total at list prices		$1,159	$11,590

Each branch keeps its own categories, lists and staff PIN in one dashboard, so the children's rules can be the same in every branch.
An eleventh branch adds $99 a month or $990 a year. Adding public PCs or Wi-Fi users adds nothing.
If you add AI Controls, it is $49 a month or $490 a year for each branch where you switch it on.
These are list prices for planning. A library system gets a written quote within one business day, with each option priced separately. See web filtering for library systems for what to send with the request.

Comparing two quotes fairly

Two quotes are only comparable when they price the same thing. Turn each one into a five-year cost on the same inputs.

Use one sheet of counts. Branches, internet lines, public PCs, staff computers, lent devices and the profiles you need.
Add every line. Licence, add-ons for reporting or off-site devices, hardware, setup and support tiers.
Add the refresh. If there is hardware, put its replacement in the year it falls.
Add the renewal. Use the written cap on yearly increases, or the vendor's answer if there is no cap.
Add staff time. Estimate weekly hours for unblock requests and list changes, and multiply by a staff hourly cost.
Check what is not covered. Patron Wi-Fi, staff computers and lent devices. A gap means a second product.

The line that surprises most libraries is staff time. If one product needs an hour a week more of desk or IT time, that hour belongs in the comparison.

Budgeting checklist

Use this list when you prepare the budget request or the board paper.

We know which funding triggers CIPA for us: E-Rate discounts on internet access or Category Two, or LSTA money used for computers or internet costs.
The filter has its own budget line, separate from the E-Rate funded connection.
We asked our state library agency whether LSTA funds can help pay for a technology protection measure.
We counted branches, internet lines, public PCs, staff computers and lent devices.
Every quote covers patron Wi-Fi and staff computers, or we priced a second product for the gap.
We know how a children's area gets stricter rules, and whether that costs extra.
We know how adults get the filter disabled for lawful research, and how long it takes staff.
Reports for the board and the CIPA file are included at the quoted price.
Setup help, list import and support hours are written into the quote.
We have a five-year view with hardware refresh and renewal increases.
The contract states the term, the renewal cap, the notice period and our right to export lists and logs.
We have written answers on where browsing records are kept, for how long and who can see them.
We know which budget year each payment falls in, and when the E-Rate funding year starts on July 1.
We have a plan for the first month: who switches the router, who answers desk questions, who files the first reports.

Ready to choose? Our buyer's guide to choosing a library web filter has the questions to ask any vendor and a printable checklist.

Library filtering cost questions

Does E-Rate pay for a library web filter?

No. In its 2001 CIPA order the FCC found that libraries and schools may not receive universal service discounts for technology protection measures, and it repeated this in 2024. E-Rate discounts lower your internet access and internal network costs. The filter that CIPA requires is paid from the library budget or another source.

Can LSTA money pay for a filter?

It can. The Children's Internet Protection Act lets funds under section 231 of the Library Services and Technology Act, the Grants to States program, be used to buy technology protection measures. Whether your state passes such money on for this purpose is up to your state library agency, so ask them.

Do we pay extra for patron phones and laptops on our Wi-Fi?

Not with our hosted filter. It is priced per site, meaning a library building or branch. Every device that uses the filtered network is covered, including patron phones on the Wi-Fi, with nothing installed on them. Only devices that leave the building are priced per device.

Are staff computers part of the price?

Yes. CIPA asks a library to filter any of its computers with internet access, so staff computers are in scope. With our hosted filter, staff computers on the filtered network are covered by the site price.

What does a 10-branch library system pay at your list prices?

The filter costs $99 a month per branch, so $990 a month for 10 branches, or $9,900 a year on yearly billing. Weathervane board reports for the whole system add $149 a month or $1,490 a year. Library systems get a written quote within one business day, with each option priced separately.

Is setup help included?

Yes. Help with the router setting, importing your old block lists and adjusting the rules with you during the first weeks are part of what the hosted filter plan includes.

Can we pay yearly?

Yes. Yearly plans cost ten months, so you get two months free. The filter is $990 a year per site instead of $1,188 on monthly billing.

What happens if we cancel?

Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time. Yearly plans run for the year you paid for. Changing the DNS setting on your router back to what it was ends filtering at once, so plan what replaces it before you stop.

Does buying a filter make us CIPA compliant?

A filter covers the technology part. Your internet safety policy, the public notice and hearing or meeting, and your procedures stay with the library and its board.

Sources

FCC, Report and Order on the Children's Internet Protection Act, FCC 01-120, adopted 30 March 2001, released 5 April 2001, paragraphs 54 and 55 on universal service funding for CIPA compliance: docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-01-120A1.pdf
FCC, Report and Order, FCC 24-76, adopted 18 July 2024, paragraph 101, denying requests that E-Rate pay for CIPA implementation costs: docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-76A1.pdf
FCC Wireline Competition Bureau, funding year 2026 eligible services list, DA 25-1069, released 17 December 2025, on firewalls and off-campus use: docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-1069A1.pdf
USAC, CIPA: which services require certification, requirements and audit documentation: usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/starting-services/cipa/
USAC, Calculating Discounts, library systems and branches: usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/applying-for-discounts/calculating-discounts/
USAC, Discount Matrix, revised January 2024: usac.org
USAC, E-Rate Get Started: the funding year and the $1,000 discount example: usac.org/e-rate/get-started/
47 U.S.C. 254(h)(6), (h)(7) and (l), CIPA provisions for libraries: govinfo.gov
Pub. L. 106-554, section 1721(g), availability of LSTA section 231 funds for technology protection measures, printed as a note to 20 U.S.C. 9134: govinfo.gov

Checked on 2 November 2026. Program rules change each funding year, so confirm details with USAC, your state E-Rate coordinator or your E-Rate adviser.

Put a flat number in your budget

One library: $99 a month per site, or $990 a year, with every device on the network covered. A library system: a written quote within one business day.

See plans from $99 a month Get a quote for your system Or take the free CIPA readiness check