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Cision vs Meltwater

Cision logo

Cision

News

The complete PR and earned media platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Meltwater logo

Meltwater

News

Media intelligence and social listening platform

From
$15000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cision no transparent pricing published for media monitoring and PR tools; Meltwater real-time accuracy issues reported, particularly for niche industries or non-English content
  • They diverge on capability: Cision covers PR Newswire distribution, Meltwater covers Social listening.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cision and Meltwater actually diverge.

Attributes where Cision and Meltwater differ
AttributeCisionMeltwater
Starting priceOn request$15000/year
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Founded18672001

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (News).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cision

  • PR Newswire distribution
  • Media database
  • Analytics & reporting
  • Influencer identification
  • Google Analytics
  • Microsoft 365
  • Ios support
  • Android support

Only in Meltwater

  • Social listening
  • Influencer discovery
  • Sentiment analysis
  • Competitive intelligence
  • PR analytics
  • Report automation
  • Crisis monitoring
  • HubSpot

Both cover

  • Media monitoring
  • Salesforce
  • Slack
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cision

  • Press release distributionnot Meltwater
  • Media monitoring
  • PR measurementnot Meltwater
  • Media outreachnot Meltwater
  • Crisis communicationsnot Meltwater

Meltwater

  • Media monitoring
  • Influencer researchnot Cision
  • Brand trackingnot Cision
  • Crisis managementnot Cision

Both are used for media monitoring, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cision

  • No transparent pricing published for media monitoring and PR tools

Meltwater

  • Real-time accuracy issues reported, particularly for niche industries or non-English content
  • Limited media contact database at 380,000-400,000 contacts compared to competitors like Cision
  • Cumbersome dashboard navigation and reporting interface requiring multi-step menu access for data exports
  • Annual contracts with limited ability to scale down; risky for businesses with fluctuating needs

Pricing, plan by plan

Cision

On request
  • Cision Communications CloudFree
    • Media monitoring
    • Media database
    • PR analytics
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full platform access
    • PR Newswire distribution
    • Custom integrations

Meltwater

$15000/year
  • Essentials$15000/year
    • Core media monitoring
    • Brand mention tracking
    • Industry trend monitoring
  • Suite$25000/year
    • Media monitoring
    • Social listening
    • Cross-department analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Cision if

  • You need pr newswire distribution.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want media database.
Cision review

Choose Meltwater if

  • You need social listening.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want influencer discovery.
Meltwater review

Questions people ask

Is Cision or Meltwater better?
Neither clearly leads. Cision starts at On request and Meltwater at $15000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cision or Meltwater?
Cision starts at On request and Meltwater at $15000/year.
Does Cision or Meltwater run on more platforms?
Cision runs on Web, Ios, Android. Meltwater runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Cision best used for?
Cision is most often used for press release distribution, media monitoring, pr measurement, media outreach. Of those, press release distribution and pr measurement are not what Meltwater is typically brought in for.
What can Cision do that Meltwater cannot?
Cision covers PR Newswire distribution, Media database, Analytics & reporting, Influencer identification. Meltwater covers Social listening, Influencer discovery, Sentiment analysis, Competitive intelligence. Both handle Media monitoring, Salesforce, Slack, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cision: How much does Cision cost?

Cision does not publish standard pricing on its website. The company offers media monitoring, journalist outreach, and social listening tools through CisionOne platform with pricing based on media monitoring scope, number of keywords, and service level. Contact sales for quotes.

Source
Meltwater: How much does Meltwater cost?

Meltwater does not publish pricing; all quotes require a sales call and annual contract. Median annual cost is approximately $25,000, with mid-market PR teams typically paying $15,000-$40,000 depending on users, coverage volume, and features.

Source
Cision: What services does Cision offer?

Cision offers media monitoring, instant insights and reporting, journalist outreach, social listening and management, professional services, and CisionOne AI. All services are part of the CisionOne unified platform.

Source
Meltwater: What sources does Meltwater monitor?

Meltwater monitors 200M+ online publications, 400,000+ traditional media sources, 20,000+ podcasts, TV/radio across all 210 US DMAs, and social platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, WeChat, and Weibo.

Source
Meltwater: What languages does Meltwater support?

Meltwater provides global multilingual support with consistent accuracy across 100+ languages for sentiment analysis and content classification.

Source
Meltwater: Does Meltwater include journalist/media contact information?

Meltwater's media database includes approximately 380,000-400,000 contacts, smaller than competitors like Cision (1.1M). Media database and GenAI Lens are separate paid add-ons.

Source
Meltwater: Can I export Meltwater reports?

Yes, Meltwater generates custom dashboards and reports tailored to stakeholders. Mira AI assistant can generate summaries and insights from monitoring data.

Source
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