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Ground News vs Meltwater

Ground News logo

Ground News

News

See every side of every story

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Meltwater logo

Meltwater

News

Media intelligence and social listening platform

From
$15000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ground News has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ground News only one paid tier (Vantage) is publicly offered; Meltwater real-time accuracy issues reported, particularly for niche industries or non-English content
  • They diverge on capability: Ground News covers News comparison, Meltwater covers Media monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ground News and Meltwater actually diverge.

Attributes where Ground News and Meltwater differ
AttributeGround NewsMeltwater
Starting priceFree$15000/year
Pricing modelfreemiumUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsIos, Android, WebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded20182001

Identical on both: 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 Ground News

  • News comparison
  • Bias ratings
  • Source transparency
  • Blindspot analysis
  • Ownership data
  • Browser extension
  • Ios support
  • Android support

Only in Meltwater

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

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Ground News

  • News consumptionnot Meltwater
  • Media literacynot Meltwater
  • Researchnot Meltwater
  • Fact checkingnot Meltwater

Meltwater

  • Media monitoringnot Ground News
  • Influencer researchnot Ground News
  • Brand trackingnot Ground News
  • Crisis managementnot Ground News

Where each one falls short

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

Ground News

  • Only one paid tier (Vantage) is publicly offered
  • Annual billing required for the disclosed $8.33/month rate
  • Pricing for monthly billing not disclosed

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

Ground News

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic news comparison
    • Bias ratings
    • Limited stories
  • Pro$9.99/month
    • Unlimited stories
    • Blindspot feed
    • Ownership data
  • Vanguard$19.99/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • Support journalism
    • Early features

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 Ground News if

  • You need news comparison.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android, Web.
  • You also want bias ratings.
Ground News review

Choose Meltwater if

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

Questions people ask

Is Ground News or Meltwater better?
Neither clearly leads. Ground News starts at Free and Meltwater at $15000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ground News or Meltwater?
Ground News has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ground News and $15000/year for Meltwater.
Does Ground News or Meltwater run on more platforms?
Ground News runs on Ios, Android, Web. Meltwater runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Ground News for free?
Yes. Ground News has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Meltwater starts at $15000/year.
What is Ground News best used for?
Ground News is most often used for news consumption, media literacy, research, fact checking. Of those, news consumption and media literacy are not what Meltwater is typically brought in for.
What can Ground News do that Meltwater cannot?
Ground News covers News comparison, Bias ratings, Source transparency, Blindspot analysis. Meltwater covers Media monitoring, Social listening, Influencer discovery, Sentiment analysis. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ground News: Does Ground News have a free option?

Yes. Ground News offers free access through its website, browser extension, or mobile app. The free tier shows news stories and basic information.

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
Ground News: How much does Ground News Vantage cost?

Ground News Vantage is $8.33/month when billed annually, with no hidden fees. Users can cancel anytime.

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
Ground News: What features does Ground News Vantage include?

Ground News Vantage includes blindspot analysis, global coverage maps, unlimited saved stories, full coverage comparison, ownership and funding transparency, bias and factuality ratings, and the My News Bias dashboard.

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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