Softwr

Marketing · head to head

Insider vs Roxhill

Insider logo

Insider

Marketing

Omnichannel personalisation platform with web experimentation and WhatsApp as first-class channels

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: Insider delivery depends heavily on the assigned account team, so results vary by region and a team change mid-contract can be felt immediately in campaign output.; 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: Insider covers Architect journeys, Roxhill covers Journalist database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Insider and Roxhill actually diverge.

Attributes where Insider and Roxhill differ
AttributeInsiderRoxhill
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, REST APIWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).

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 Insider

  • Architect journeys
  • Web and app personalisation
  • WhatsApp commerce
  • Predictive segments
  • InStory and InMobile
  • Experimentation

Only in Roxhill

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

What people use each for

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

Insider

  • A retailer in a WhatsApp-first market that needs conversational commerce rather than more email volumenot Roxhill
  • Personalising category and product pages by segment without waiting for engineering release cyclesnot Roxhill
  • A marketing team without in-house campaign operations that needs the vendor to build and run journeysnot Roxhill
  • Unifying web, app and messaging targeting on one profile store after outgrowing separate point toolsnot Roxhill

Roxhill

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

Where each one falls short

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

Insider

  • Delivery depends heavily on the assigned account team, so results vary by region and a team change mid-contract can be felt immediately in campaign output.
  • The suite is licensed by module, so the platform fee quoted at the start typically excludes the channels and predictive features that make the business case work.
  • Template-driven web personalisation targets the rendered DOM, which breaks on single-page applications that re-render after the template applies unless a developer wires in the framework hooks.
  • Reporting exports are limited compared with warehouse-native tools, so teams that want campaign data alongside finance data end up pulling it through the API on a schedule.
  • Contracts are annual and negotiated per traffic band, so a seasonal spike in visitors can push you into a renegotiation rather than a metered overage.

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

Insider

On request
  • Insider Growth Management Platform$undefined/year
    • Licensed by module and by monthly traffic or user volume
    • Channels such as WhatsApp, SMS and email priced separately
    • Annual contract with an assigned delivery team

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 Insider if

  • You need architect journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want web and app personalisation.
Insider 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 Insider or Roxhill better?
Neither clearly leads. Insider 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, Insider or Roxhill?
Insider starts at On request and Roxhill at On request.
Does Insider or Roxhill run on more platforms?
Insider runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API. Roxhill runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Insider best used for?
Insider is most often used for a retailer in a whatsapp-first market that needs conversational commerce rather than more email volume, personalising category and product pages by segment without waiting for engineering release cycles, a marketing team without in-house campaign operations that needs the vendor to build and run journeys, unifying web, app and messaging targeting on one profile store after outgrowing separate point tools. Of those, a retailer in a whatsapp-first market that needs conversational commerce rather than more email volume and personalising category and product pages by segment without waiting for engineering release cycles are not what Roxhill is typically brought in for.
What can Insider do that Roxhill cannot?
Insider covers Architect journeys, Web and app personalisation, WhatsApp commerce, Predictive segments. Roxhill covers Journalist database, Journalist profiles, Media lists and distribution, Media requests and alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Insider: Is WhatsApp actually usable at scale here?

Yes. It is a supported primary channel with catalogue and template message support, though WhatsApp conversation fees from Meta are passed through and are separate from the licence.

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.

Insider: Can we run it without vendor help?

You can, but the pricing assumes a managed relationship. Teams with strong in-house campaign operations often find they are paying for services they do not use.

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.

Insider: Does it work for B2B?

Rarely a good fit. The segmentation, recommendations and channel mix are built around high-frequency consumer behaviour.

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.

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