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Employee Engagement · head to head

Firstup vs Onclusive

Firstup logo

Firstup

Employee Engagement

Intelligent communication platform for workforce engagement

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Onclusive logo

Onclusive

Marketing

Media monitoring, journalist database and PR measurement assembled from six acquired companies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Firstup none of the three packages carries a published price; every tier shows Get a Quote and the page directs buyers to Talk to sales; Onclusive onclusive was assembled from at least six acquired companies inside about a year, and users still encounter different interfaces, inconsistent data definitions and separate support paths depending on which module they are in, so training and internal reporting are harder than a single-product vendor.
  • They diverge on capability: Firstup covers AI-powered delivery, Onclusive covers Global media monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Firstup and Onclusive actually diverge.

Attributes where Firstup and Onclusive differ
AttributeFirstupOnclusive
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android, API
CategoryEmployee EngagementMarketing
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Firstup

  • AI-powered delivery
  • Personalized content
  • Multi-channel communication
  • Analytics and insights
  • Mobile app
  • Campaign management
  • Employee segmentation
  • Integrations

Only in Onclusive

  • Global media monitoring
  • Broadcast monitoring
  • Social listening
  • Media contacts database
  • Newsroom and press office
  • Sentiment and tone analysis
  • Share of voice reporting
  • Crisis detection

What people use each for

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

Firstup

  • Targeted internal communications to email, mobile app and desktop channelsnot Onclusive
  • Reaching frontline and deskless employees who lack corporate emailnot Onclusive
  • Automated employee journeys for onboarding and lifecycle momentsnot Onclusive

Onclusive

  • A multinational communications team that needs print, broadcast and online coverage across twenty markets reported in one dashboard rather than through three regional vendorsnot Firstup
  • A public affairs team that must evidence share of voice against named competitors for a quarterly board reportnot Firstup
  • A PR agency running press office and media enquiry workflow for several client brands from one systemnot Firstup
  • A corporate affairs function that needs early warning on a coverage spike outside its own time zone, with broadcast clips retrievable for legal reviewnot Firstup

Where each one falls short

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

Firstup

  • None of the three packages carries a published price; every tier shows Get a Quote and the page directs buyers to Talk to sales
  • AI content creation, intelligent delivery timing, translations and user generated content all require the Professional package
  • Employee journey automation, the flow builder and journey analytics require the top Premier package
  • Intranet capabilities are a paid add-on on top of any package rather than part of the platform
  • No free tier, trial price or self-serve signup is published

Onclusive

  • Onclusive was assembled from at least six acquired companies inside about a year, and users still encounter different interfaces, inconsistent data definitions and separate support paths depending on which module they are in, so training and internal reporting are harder than a single-product vendor.
  • Pricing is not published and is scoped by market coverage, source count and user seats, which makes competitive benchmarking difficult and means renewal increases are hard to challenge without a parallel quote from Cision or Meltwater.
  • Broadcast monitoring coverage is uneven by country, so a global contract can look complete on paper while a specific market you care about has thin local radio or regional television coverage; verify your priority markets by name before signing.
  • The company carries private-equity ownership and acquisition-related debt financing, which historically in this category has meant pressure on support headcount and above-inflation renewal pricing rather than product investment.
  • Automated sentiment classification on news copy remains error-prone, especially for irony, quoted criticism and industry jargon, so teams reporting sentiment to executives generally need a human review step that erodes the labour saving the tool was bought for.

Pricing, plan by plan

Firstup

On request
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • AI personalization
    • Multi-channel delivery
    • Analytics

Onclusive

On request
  • Onclusive$undefined/year
    • Global media monitoring
    • Broadcast and print coverage
    • Onclusive Social listening

Which should you pick?

Choose Firstup if

  • You need ai-powered delivery.
  • You also want personalized content.
Firstup review

Choose Onclusive if

  • You need global media monitoring.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want broadcast monitoring.
Onclusive review

Questions people ask

Is Firstup or Onclusive better?
Neither clearly leads. Firstup starts at On request and Onclusive at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Firstup or Onclusive?
Firstup starts at On request and Onclusive at On request.
Does Firstup or Onclusive run on more platforms?
Firstup runs on Web. Onclusive runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
What is Firstup best used for?
Firstup is most often used for targeted internal communications to email, mobile app and desktop channels, reaching frontline and deskless employees who lack corporate email, automated employee journeys for onboarding and lifecycle moments. Of those, targeted internal communications to email, mobile app and desktop channels and reaching frontline and deskless employees who lack corporate email are not what Onclusive is typically brought in for.
What can Firstup do that Onclusive cannot?
Firstup covers AI-powered delivery, Personalized content, Multi-channel communication, Analytics and insights. Onclusive covers Global media monitoring, Broadcast monitoring, Social listening, Media contacts database.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Firstup: What are Firstup's pricing tiers?

Firstup offers three main tiers: Essential (basic employee communication reach), Professional (intelligent delivery with AI content creation), and Premier (hyper-personalized experiences at scale). An Employee Intranet add-on is available for any tier.

Source
Onclusive: Is Onclusive one product or several?

Several. It was formed from Kantar Reputation Intelligence, PRgloo and the original Onclusive in January 2022, then absorbed Critical Mention and Digimind later that year, and the modules retain distinguishable lineages.

Firstup: How much does Firstup cost?

Actual dollar amounts are not published. Customers must request a quote or speak directly with Firstup's sales team to receive pricing information.

Source
Onclusive: Who owns it?

Symphony Technology Group, a US private equity firm, with debt financing on the Critical Mention acquisition from Stellus Capital Management.

Firstup: Do you offer volume discounts?

Firstup's pricing page includes a FAQ header for this question but does not provide the answer in the published content. This requires direct contact with sales.

Source
Onclusive: What happened to Digimind?

Digimind was acquired in July 2022 and rebranded as Onclusive Social in October 2022. If social listening is your main requirement, that is the platform you are evaluating.

Firstup: Is pricing built to scale with workforce growth?

Yes. Firstup describes its pricing as built to grow with your workforce, meaning the cost structure adjusts as your organization changes.

Source
Onclusive: Does it publish pricing?

No. Contracts are annual and quoted according to markets monitored, sources covered and seat count.

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