2024 Cision Pricing: How Much Does Cision Cost?

Cision is the oldest PR tool on the market, known for its extensive features, capabilities, and strong brand recognition. However, despite its legendary status, its pricing remains a mystery and is nowhere to be found on their website.

The question is, why does one of the oldest names in PR keep potential customers in the dark about its costs? Dive in to see if this powerhouse of a tool is worth the investment and what the prices might look like.

• What is Cision?
• How much does Cision cost?
• Is Cision worth it?
• Cision alternatives to consider
• How does Cision compare to Prowly?
• How much does Cision PR Newswire cost?
• PR Newswire alternatives
• What is PRWeb’s pricing like?
• PRWeb alternatives: what are they?

If you’re looking for an effective all-in-one solution that doesn’t put the “spray and pray” method at the forefront, it’s time to give Prowly a try.

What is Cision?

Cision is a public relations software and services provider. It owns several smaller companies that help organizations and businesses manage their communications and brand reputation. It also has a robust set of features, such as analytics, media monitoring, social media listening, and outreach.

Curious to see how other PR tools compare to Cision? Check out this guide to the Top 30+ Digital PR Tools in 2024. There, you'll find breakdowns of both paid and free to use PR tools.

Cision has the largest media database from all PR tools on the market—1.4 million contacts.

💡 However, keep in mind that quantity doesn’t always mean quality. The best way to evaluate a media database is to start a free trial and check it out for yourself.

Although Cision is a robust tool and has features such as newsrooms, press release distribution, and media monitoring, it doesn’t have a press release creator, automated follow-up emails, or things like free training.

Prowly’s Media Database has over 1 million contacts, but the real game changer is the way it enhances contact searches with unique features:

👉🏼 Partnership with Semrush provides exclusive data on audience and traffic.
👉🏼 AI keyword suggestions expand search possibilities, opening new coverage opportunities and targeting niche topics.

How much does Cision cost?

Based on our own data and third-party sources, we estimate Cision to start from $7,200 per year on average.

Speaking of money and paying for tools, the cost of Cision isn't readily available online. But there are some online forums where people chit chat and say their prices start at $7,200 per year.

However, keep in mind this information comes from discussion forums, and not from Cision.

You can easily find out the price for yourself by signing up for a demo with their Sales Team. Then, of course, they will then assign you to a salesperson and try to sell you the services they believe you need.

The more services you need, the higher your price will be.

The more people you need to collaborate with, the more you'll pay as well. Bottom line, it's an expensive tool.

Is Cision worth it?

In terms of the cost, Prowly's plans start at $258 per month. That's Cision's (alleged) price cut in half. Imagine, you can save all of that, and spend it on something else, like influencer packages or on personalizing your approach with journalists even more?

In terms of functionalities, Prowly is an all-around, all-in-one PR tool that's easy to use even if you've never laid hands on a tool like this before.

We don’t charge setup fees, you can start a free trial whenever you'd like, and can hop on a free onboarding call with a dedicated Customer Success Manager whenever your schedule allows.

Since we don't believe in "spray and pray" nor sending mass emails hoping they stick with someone somewhere, Prowly provides you with features that help foster long-term relationships with journalists (think automated follow-ups!).

What we’ve found:

👉 Does Cision offer a free trial?
No.

👉 How much does Cision cost?
Undisclosed, but estimates start at $7,200/year.

👉 How long is Cision's contract length?
At least one year.

👉 What businesses do they cater to?
Larger corporations and global agencies.

👉 What AI features does CisionOne provide?
You can't learn much about AI or other features until you book a demo call with a sales representative.

👉 Is setup free?
No, so make sure to add the expense of the setup fee to the top of the price.

Cision alternatives to consider

If you’re looking for Cision alternatives, there’s a lot of different tools to choose from depending on what you need and what your budget looks like.

Keep in mind that some tools are pricey only because they’ve been on the market for a long time and have better brand recognition.

*Estimated pricing based on third-party-data and publically available reviews 

Get to know the top 7 Cision alternatives in this detailed comparison. The article includes PRNewswire alternatives.

How does Cision compare to Prowly?

Both Cision and Prowly are top tools on the PR tech market, but there are key differences that can influence your choice.

This section will cover pricing, contract length, free trials, features, and onboarding to help you decide. Let’s take a closer look at what types of teams each platform is best suited for.

Cision is tailored for large PR teams, such as in-house corporate comms or huge marketing teams, and big agencies with extensive workflows and budgets that can accommodate longer contracts and advanced features.

Prowly, in contrast, focuses on small to medium teams, including in-house comms teams and smaller agencies. These teams often face unpredictability, time constraints, and the need for easy-to-use tools that fit their dynamic needs without the complexity or high costs of enterprise software.

Understanding these differences will help you determine which platform best suits your team’s needs.

To check out different tools you might want to use other than Cision, check out this detailed comparison article about Cision alternatives.

Pricing and contract length

While Prowly's pricing starts at $258 per month, Cision pricing is not readily available to the public because they don't have it anywhere on their website.

So, how much does Cision cost? We've done some digging and online discussion websites and forums say their prices start at around $7,200 per year. That's about twice as expensive as Prowly is for basic capabilities.

Another key difference that goes hand-in-hand with pricing is contract length.

👉🏼 Prowly allows for month-to-month plans, where you don't need to commit to anything long term.

👉🏼 Conversely, Cision makes it mandatory to purchase an annual subscription if you want to use their platform.

Free trial

When it comes to a lot of PR tools, you're essentially buying sight unseen. So many of them don't even allow you to see the inside of the tool before you purchase it, even if you sign up for your initial demo with a salesperson.

At Prowly, you can get a 7-day free trial to see what the app looks like, what capabilities it has, and try it out for yourself. More than enough to see whether the tool is right for your business needs.

Features and capabilities

While Prowly and Cision are both effective PR tools, there are certain differences between them.

👉 Prowly is easy to use, affordable, and focused on a data-driven approach for PR specialists who want to foster lasting relationships with journalists.

Plus the AI Assistant is now a game changer that takes digital PR to another level, from helping to create compelling press releases, through searching for contacts in the Media Database, to personalized pitching. Basically, everything small and medium sized PR agencies might need.

👉 Cision on the other hand, has a huge media database, complex tools, and more features geared towards large businesses and corporations.

CisionOne also offers AI driven features, but you can’t learn what that means exactly until you book a demo with their sales rep.

Free training and onboarding

Prowly gives all incoming users the opportunity to schedule a free, dedicated training session to help them quickly become proficient with the platform.

In contrast, Cision doesn't offer such free training or free onboarding support, leaving users to navigate the platform completely on their own if they don't want to pay big bucks for it.

How much does Cision PR Newswire cost?

Cision’s PR Newswire is a press release marketing agency acquired by Cision in 2016. In comparison to PRWeb (which is also owned by Cision and serves nearly the same purpose), it has many more functionalities. 

According to third-party online sources, its pricing structure is clearly defined by the needs of their clients.

Again, it’s a service dedicated mostly to large companies, who need to fullfil their PR duties by sending press releases and information via newswires.

👉🏼 One national press release (in the US) of under 400 words costs $805.

👉🏼 For each additional 100 words, you have to whip out another $245. There’s also more variations of what you can get, such as social distribution and to send it out to specific industry publications.

👉🏼 There’s also separate pricing for state and local outlets and regional and top markets, oscillating between $350 and $475 for press releases under 400 words.

Hold on though! You might look at these numbers and ask yourself: well, that’s not so bad, is it?

However, keep in mind that if you want to add an image, video, or audio—that’s another $325 bucks. Logo? Add $495 to your bill as well.

These prices can add up quickly and, let’s be quite honest, for branding and “first impression” purposes, you can’t send out a press release without a logo and additional multimedia nowadays.

If you can pitch instead of sending press releases via newswire, there's another solution.

Prowly lets you personalize and customize your press releases without charging you more. If you’re interested in reading up on more alternatives, check out this detailed breakdown of PRNewswire alternatives. 

PR Newswire alternatives

One of Cision's most popular features is their press release distribution software, designed to amplify stories by ensuring publication, boosting social media shares, and driving engagement from journalists and target audiences.

At Prowly, we believe in moving beyond the traditional "spray and pray" approach. With personalization on the rise, generic press releases often go unread. Prowly focuses on personalized outreach, ensuring your message reaches the right people with the impact it deserves.

Plus, we offer not only a more personalized option, but also a more affordable one—sending a press release through PR Newswire will cost you around $1500 more than preparing a pitch send out through Prowly.

However, if you were looking for something less pricey than Cision and want to give press release distribution a go, here are some paid alternatives you may want to check out:

• EIN Presswire (starting at $99.95/release): a tool for businesses of all sizes, where their distribution service gives users access to a worldwide media network, media monitoring, RSS feed, and some SEO capabilities.
• Globe Newswire (no pricing information): although it's difficult to speak about their pricing plans, Globe Newswire prides itself in being the best distribution network for corporate press releases, financial disclosures, investor notes etc.
• Newswire (starting at $349/release): offering both local and global distribution, Newswire also has media monitoring and a media database. While they're more expensive than competitors, they have a bit more by way of capabilities than other solutions.
• Presswire (starting at $250/release): this tool ensures maximum global visibility by providing press release distribution in regions such as North America, Europe, Asia, and more. They also offer translation services across multiple languages.
• 24-7 Press Release Newswire (starting at $29/release): tailor-made for small businesses, this solution provides press release distribution services, real-time news content, an RSS feed, and a news widget.
• PRWeb (starting at $105/release): similar to PRNewswire since they both come from Cision, however they were largely created with different target markets and clients in mind.
• PR.com (starting at $60/release): with a user-friendly platform, PR.com offers several different packages depending on your needs. Their paid options (there's a free one as well) include social media distribution, search-optimized images, and comprehensive reports.
• Business Wire (starting at $475/release): great if you want to spread your message overseas, since it's one of the best tools for international press release distribution.
• eReleases (starting at $399/release): reviews say that clients choose them for their ease-of-use and for having a clear pricing package with detailed descriptions.

Need more information? Check out this in-depth article about the Best Press Release Websites in 2024 (including free press release services).

What is PRWeb’s pricing like?

PRWeb is a press release marketing agency managed and owned by Cision. Both PRWeb and PRNewswire are owned by Cision, which is quite interesting since these companies are nearly the same, though both offer slightly different features to different target markets.

Think of it this way: PRWeb is one of the top alternatives for PRNewswire, but with different capabilities. However, there's certainly many different press release distribution websites.

Curious about PRWeb cost?

PRWeb is more affordable than Cision or PRNewswire and is focused on digital PR and SEO. It's still a press release distribution service, where you can create a press release from templates or from scratch. However, in comparison to other tools, it has limited capabilities.

Let's take a look at their four different pricing plans:

Basic ($110/press release)

• No limit on the number of media assets
• Their team will tag your content with relevant keywords
• You'll get it published in 48 hours

Standard ($230/press release)

• Everything you get in Basic
• Additional syndication to their PRNewswire websites

Advanced ($340/press release)

• Everything you'd get in Basic and Standard
• You can choose one of their media lists and get an email distributed there
• Plus, now turnaround time goes from 48 hours to 24 hours

Premium ($455/press release)

• The most robust plan, includes everything the others have
• For this price, you'll also get your press release distributed to a network of influential bloggers

PRWeb alternatives: what are they?

Though PRweb is a popular solution, it's worth exploring other highly popular platforms that can help you get your message out there faster and better.

#1 Prowly

• Press release distribution is one thing, but have you considered personalizing your pitch? Prowly encourages PR specialists to use the platform to create specially tailored content, instead of sending out a mass "spray and pray" email.
• With a detailed Media Database, full of contact information and audience analytics for outlets, personalizing has become easier and less time-consuming than ever before.

💸 Starts at $258 per month for an all-in-one PR solution.

#2 Newswire

• Newswire is a media tech company that assists clients in spreading their news widely through traditional press release distribution services.
• This platform also offers a media database, media pitching feature, media monitoring, and a media room.

💸 A single, domestic press release (for US only) starts at $349, but can go up to $899.

#3 Business Wire

• This company is known to have a wide reach internationally. Therefore, if your goal is to pitch to countries outside of the US and use press release distribution as a means of spreading your message, this would be an option.
• While they offer tools that can help show your stakeholders some ROI, they don't have a media database of their own (they do have a partnership with Muck Rack though).

💸 Their most affordable option starts at $475 per press release.

Conclusion 

While Prowly and Cision are both powerful PR tools, they serve distinct types of PR teams:

Prowly is specifically designed for small to medium-sized teams, such as in-house comms teams at growing brands or medium-sized companies, as well as agile agencies dealing with unpredictable projects and time constraints.

• Prowly’s intuitive, affordable platform offers an all-in-one solution tailored to the real-world needs of these teams, making PR tasks simpler and more effective.
• Its AI Assistant elevates digital PR by streamlining everything from press release creation to contact searches and pitching, empowering teams to work efficiently and focus on building strong media relationships.

Cision, in contrast, is built with larger organizations in mind.

• It’s particularly well suited for big corporations, stock-listed companies, and large PR agencies that require comprehensive media intelligence and need to manage complex communications. Such companies have duties related to distributing announcements via wire services, which SMEs don’t.
• Cision’s strengths lie in supporting clients with regulatory obligations, including the distribution of official announcements via wire services, making it a good fit for those with corporate and compliance needs.
• However, its advanced features, higher costs, and emphasis on large-scale operations make it a tool that better suits enterprise clients, while smaller and medium teams may find it to be much more than what they need.

To see how Prowly can help your PR efforts, try a free trial or book a demo today.