Meltwater is PR software that helps PR specialists track and analyze media coverage, social media trends, and online news. Choosing the right PR tool is challenging; you need to weigh all the pros and cons, feature sets, and, of course, pricing.
Today, we’ll discuss Meltwater pricing—how much It costs, where you can find its pricing, and how it compares to other PR tools.
If pricing is your primary concern, consider skipping the comparison and giving Prowly a try for free.
What is the reason why we're discussing Meltwater, and how much does it cost?
There is no info on Meltwater pricing plans on their website, so you have to do a lot of research on your own. We did that research for you.
Meltwater pricing
Based on our research, Meltwater pricing goes for $6,000-10,000 per year on average.
Key takeaways:
- Meltwater pricing is not disclosed publicly, and potential customers must talk to sales to get a custom quote.
- The cheapest plans start at $6,000 and can go up to $12,000 annually, depending on the feature set and usage.
- You can only buy Meltwater with an annual contract; monthly subscriptions are unavailable.
- It’s uncertain if you can access a free trial - but you can request a demo.
Unfortunately, you can’t check how much Meltwater will cost you on their website because there is simply no information. You will need to contact their sales team to get information about actual Meltwater pricing.
How we found this data
To get accurate information about Meltwater pricing, we searched the Internet to find what real Meltwater users were saying about their monthly costs.
As this user states, Meltwater costs their company around $10,000 annually. However, it seems pretty tame compared to Muck Rack, which comes in at $20,000 annually.
Another user states that their annual Meltwater costs are $8,000, which includes the database and monitoring.
Here is one more, saying that they pay $6,000 per year:
From this account, you can see that the initial price was about $16,000 per year. However, a deal can always be negotiated, and the price could be lowered.
Meltwater alternatives
Tired of searching for Meltwater monthly pricing and want a tool that shows you how much it costs right on their website?
Keeping your options open is always a great idea, and here are some Meltwater alternatives you should consider for PR.
Provider | Pricing | Contract length | # of contacts | Free trial |
Meltwater | From $6,000/yr* | Yearly only | >380,000 | No |
Prowly | From $258/mo | Monthly or yearly | >1,000,000 | Yes |
Muck Rack | From $10,000/yr* | Yearly only | >300,000 | No |
Cision | From $7,200/yr* | Yearly only | >1,400,000 | No |
Propel | From $2,400/yr* | Yearly only | >1,000,000 | No |
Agility PR | Undisclosed | Yearly only | >1,000,000 | No |
How does Meltwater compare to Prowly?
The main contrast is in the pricing plans. Prowly offers flexible pricing options suitable for any organization size, making it a great choice if you're looking for affordable PR software without compromising on features.
Meltwater | Prowly | |
Pricing | From $6,000/yr | From $258/mo |
Setup fee | Unknown | Free |
Media database size | > 380,000 | > 1,000,000 |
Press release creator | No | Yes |
Press release distribution | Yes | pitching, sending press releases through email, following up |
PR CRM | Yes | Yes |
Online newsroom | No | Yes |
Media monitoring | Yes | Yes |
Support | Very responsive | Very responsive |
Media database
Both providers offer high-quality media databases with contacts from local and international media sources.
If you're only interested in finding a media database, check out our guide on picking the best one for PR.
With Prowly, you can access more than 1 million contacts; Meltwater has about 400 thousand.
The distinctive factors among various media databases are their contact quantity, update frequency, and pricing. But it's crucial to consider not just the quantity but also the quality of media contacts. This can vary based on the location and beat you're interested in. This can especially be the case outside of the US, where the relevance of contacts may vary.
To determine which option best suits you, ask for a sample or sign up for a free trial.
With Prowly, you get a free 7-day trial with full search access.
It's unclear if Meltwater offers a free trial. Although its product pages suggest you can find out more during a demo call, it's not clear if this will give you a complete view of its contacts.
Media monitoring
Meltwater and Prowly provide essential media monitoring tools for tracking news and online mentions. They also include social media listening features.
Here’s a list of the best social media listening tools to choose from.
PR reports
Both platforms provide PR reporting tools, streamlining the creation process for PR reports.
However, user reviews on G2 indicate that Prowly has slightly better results in measurements, monitoring data, and the transformation of media monitoring into visually appealing PR reports.
The availability of a free trial for Meltwater remains uncertain, making it challenging to assess their PR report creation functionality. However, with Prowly, you can use the 7-day trial period to explore and create your PR reports.
Additional features
Meltwater doesn’t provide a press release creator or online newsroom, which are valuable for businesses of any size.
On the other hand, Prowly offers an AI-based press release creator, empowering PR professionals to input essential information and generate a polished press release within moments, requiring only minor editing.
Prowly provides an online newsroom, offering a centralized space to showcase key information for your company and clients. This feature facilitates easy access for journalists and media members when covering stories related to your brand.
Conclusion
Meltwater offers a rich feature set for media professionals, whether in an agency setting or as part of a business's PR team. Unfortunately, without transparent pricing, it’s hard to evaluate if you're on a budget or just trying to compare it to the alternatives, as you have to sit through lengthy sales calls to discover the pricing for your use case.
Prowly offers a media database, press release creator, and media monitoring that lets you manage all aspects of your PR strategy in one place. Its pricing is transparent and easy to understand.
We hope this comparison has answered some of your inquiries and simplified your decision-making process regarding selecting appropriate PR software.
If you're ready to begin evaluating PR platforms, you can explore Prowly for a full 7 days at no cost. No credit card information is needed, and there are no strings attached.