Softwr

News · head to head

Cision vs Roxhill

Cision logo

Cision

News

The complete PR and earned media platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Roxhill logo

Roxhill

Marketing

UK-focused journalist database and media monitoring, founder-owned and annual only

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cision no transparent pricing published for media monitoring and PR tools; Roxhill the database is UK-centric by reviewers’ own account, with weak US, Australian and broader Asian journalist coverage, so any multi-market programme needs a second vendor and the single-vendor cost case disappears.
  • They diverge on capability: Cision covers PR Newswire distribution, Roxhill covers Journalist database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cision and Roxhill actually diverge.

Attributes where Cision and Roxhill differ
AttributeCisionRoxhill
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
CategoryNewsMarketing
Founded1867Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

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
  • Salesforce
  • Google Analytics
  • Slack
  • Microsoft 365

Only in Roxhill

  • Journalist database
  • Journalist profiles
  • Media lists and distribution
  • Media requests and alerts
  • Bespoke newsletters
  • Historical search
  • Journalist Assistant

Both cover

  • Media monitoring

What people use each for

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

Cision

  • Press release distributionnot Roxhill
  • Media monitoringnot Roxhill
  • PR measurementnot Roxhill
  • Media outreachnot Roxhill
  • Crisis communicationsnot Roxhill

Roxhill

  • A UK in-house press office that needs journalist contacts with current pitching preferences rather than a scraped byline list.not Cision
  • An agency tracking forward features across UK trade and consumer titles to place clients into planned coverage months ahead.not Cision
  • A communications team monitoring named spokespeople and measuring their share of voice against competitors in UK media.not Cision
  • A UK public sector body procuring through G-Cloud that needs EEA-hosted media monitoring with a published framework price band.not Cision

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

Roxhill

  • The database is UK-centric by reviewers’ own account, with weak US, Australian and broader Asian journalist coverage, so any multi-market programme needs a second vendor and the single-vendor cost case disappears.
  • Contact records go stale: reviewers report old email addresses and phone numbers, distribution bounces, and there is no self-serve verification step before you send.
  • At roughly 200,000 to 300,000 journalists it is far smaller than the million-plus figures Cision and Prowly claim, with repeated complaints about thin trade, academic and journal coverage.
  • Selling is annual only with no monthly plan and a trial functionally restricted to around two weeks, so you cannot genuinely pilot before a twelve-month commitment, which is a poor fit for project or retainer agency work.
  • Licence bands are 1, 3 and 5 seats, and extra logins, workspaces, smart folders, historical search, share of voice and the spokespeople platform are all chargeable add-ons, so a team of eight to fifteen pays well above any headline band.
  • Search behaviour is described as counter-intuitive and sometimes returns implausibly few results, which means a null result cannot be trusted and lists need manual cross-checking.
  • Monitoring accuracy takes time to settle after switching, so coverage is missed in the first weeks after a cutover, which is a real gap risk if you time the migration badly.

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

Roxhill

On request
  • Core$undefined/year
    • 1 licence
    • Standard database access
    • Journalist Assistant
  • Boutique$undefined/year
    • 3 licences
    • Adds press release distribution
    • 3 workspaces, 6 smart folders, 10 spokespeople, 3 newsletters
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • 5 licences
    • 5 workspaces, 10 smart folders, 5 newsletters
    • Spokespeople platform
  • Premium$undefined/year
    • Everything in Enterprise
    • Insights analysis and bespoke reporting
    • Competitor share of voice

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 Roxhill if

  • You need journalist database.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want journalist profiles.
Roxhill review

Questions people ask

Is Cision or Roxhill better?
Neither clearly leads. Cision starts at On request and Roxhill at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cision or Roxhill?
Cision starts at On request and Roxhill at On request.
Does Cision or Roxhill run on more platforms?
Cision runs on Web, Ios, Android. Roxhill 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 media monitoring are not what Roxhill is typically brought in for.
What can Cision do that Roxhill cannot?
Cision covers PR Newswire distribution, Media database, Analytics & reporting, Influencer identification. Roxhill covers Journalist database, Journalist profiles, Media lists and distribution, Media requests and alerts. Both handle Media monitoring.

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
Roxhill: How much does Roxhill cost?

Not published on the vendor site, but the UK G-Cloud 14 listing discloses £6,450 to £25,000 per instance per year. Use that as your anchor.

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
Roxhill: Is Roxhill owned by Cision or Access Intelligence?

No. Companies House shows a single individual holding over 75% of shares and no corporate PSC. It is founder-controlled and unfunded. Note the founder previously sold Gorkana to Cision, so ask for a change-of-control clause.

Roxhill: Is it usable for US or APAC media relations?

Not well. Reviewers describe US, Australian and Asian coverage as materially weaker than UK. Budget for a second database.

Roxhill: Can I buy monthly?

No. Contracts are annual, sales-gated, with a trial of around two weeks.

Share

Related pages

More on Cision

More on Roxhill

Keep looking

Other head to heads