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News · head to head

Cision vs Synthesio

Cision logo

Cision

News

The complete PR and earned media platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Synthesio logo

Synthesio

Social Media

Enterprise social intelligence platform owned by Ipsos, with market research methodology behind it

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; Synthesio there is no published pricing, no free trial and no self-serve signup, so evaluating Synthesio requires a sales process before you can see whether the data quality suits your category.
  • They diverge on capability: Cision covers Media monitoring, Synthesio covers Global social listening.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cision and Synthesio actually diverge.

Attributes where Cision and Synthesio differ
AttributeCisionSynthesio
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, API
CategoryNewsSocial Media
Founded1867Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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

  • Media monitoring
  • PR Newswire distribution
  • Media database
  • Analytics & reporting
  • Influencer identification
  • Salesforce
  • Google Analytics
  • Slack

Only in Synthesio

  • Global social listening
  • Signals
  • Audience analysis
  • Ecommerce listening
  • Search intelligence
  • Reputation and crisis monitoring
  • Competitive benchmarking
  • ML classification

What people use each for

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

Cision

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

Synthesio

  • A global consumer goods brand that wants social listening and commissioned survey research from the same supplier with aligned methodologynot Cision
  • An insights team tracking product review sentiment across thousands of ecommerce listings in multiple marketsnot Cision
  • A brand entering a new market that needs audience profiling of who already discusses the category therenot Cision
  • A corporate communications function that needs crisis detection across languages it has no in-house analysts fornot 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

Synthesio

  • There is no published pricing, no free trial and no self-serve signup, so evaluating Synthesio requires a sales process before you can see whether the data quality suits your category.
  • Cost is repeatedly cited by reviewers as high relative to peers, and because Ipsos analyst services are priced separately from the platform licence, the quoted software figure is frequently not the figure you end up spending.
  • The interface is dated compared with newer listening tools and the learning curve is steep, which in practice means the platform gets used by one or two trained analysts rather than adopted across a marketing team.
  • Some of the newer AI-driven features have been described by users as glitchy or over-promised relative to the sales demonstration, so insist on testing Signals against your own historical data during evaluation.
  • Historical data access is limited and governed by contract scope rather than being unlimited, so retrospective analysis across several years frequently requires a separately priced data request.

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

Synthesio

On request
  • Synthesio$undefined/year
    • Global social listening across 181 languages
    • Signals generative AI theme detection
    • Audience and ecommerce analysis

Which should you pick?

Choose Cision if

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

Choose Synthesio if

  • You need global social listening.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want signals.
Synthesio review

Questions people ask

Is Cision or Synthesio better?
Neither clearly leads. Cision starts at On request and Synthesio at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cision or Synthesio?
Cision starts at On request and Synthesio at On request.
Does Cision or Synthesio run on more platforms?
Cision runs on Web, Ios, Android. Synthesio runs on Web, API.
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 Synthesio is typically brought in for.
What can Cision do that Synthesio cannot?
Cision covers Media monitoring, PR Newswire distribution, Media database, Analytics & reporting. Synthesio covers Global social listening, Signals, Audience analysis, Ecommerce listening.

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
Synthesio: Who owns Synthesio?

Ipsos, the market research group, acquired it in October 2018 for a reported 50 million USD or more, and it is marketed as an Ipsos company.

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
Synthesio: Can I try it before buying?

No. There is no free trial or self-serve signup; evaluation runs through a sales-led demonstration process.

Synthesio: What is the practical advantage over Brandwatch?

The ability to buy platform licence and Ipsos analyst services from one supplier, with methodology consistent with survey research you may already commission from the same group.

Synthesio: How many languages does it cover?

Synthesio reports coverage across 181 languages and 25 markets, which is among the broadest in the category.

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