Softwr

Software · head to head

Meltwater vs Cision

Meltwater logo

Meltwater

Software

Media intelligence and social listening platform

From
$15000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cision logo

Cision

Software

The complete PR and earned media platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • They diverge on capability: Meltwater covers Social listening, Cision covers PR Newswire distribution.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Meltwater and Cision actually diverge.

Attributes where Meltwater and Cision differ
AttributeMeltwaterCision
Starting price$15000/yearOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Founded20011867

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Meltwater

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

Only in Cision

  • PR Newswire distribution
  • Media database
  • Analytics & reporting
  • Influencer identification
  • Google Analytics
  • Microsoft 365
  • Ios support
  • Android support

Both cover

  • Media monitoring
  • Salesforce
  • Slack
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Meltwater

  • Media monitoring
  • Influencer researchnot Cision
  • Brand trackingnot Cision
  • Crisis managementnot Cision

Cision

  • Press release distributionnot Meltwater
  • Media monitoring
  • PR measurementnot Meltwater
  • Media outreachnot Meltwater
  • Crisis communicationsnot Meltwater

Both are used for media monitoring, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

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

Cision

Nothing recorded yet. See the Cision review.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Cision

On request
  • Cision Communications CloudFree
    • Media monitoring
    • Media database
    • PR analytics
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full platform access
    • PR Newswire distribution
    • Custom integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose Meltwater if

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

Choose Cision if

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

Questions people ask

Is Meltwater or Cision better?
Neither clearly leads. Meltwater starts at $15000/year and Cision at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Meltwater or Cision?
Meltwater starts at $15000/year and Cision at On request.
Does Meltwater or Cision run on more platforms?
Meltwater runs on Web, iOS, Android. Cision runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Meltwater best used for?
Meltwater is most often used for media monitoring, influencer research, brand tracking, crisis management. Of those, influencer research and brand tracking are not what Cision is typically brought in for.
What can Meltwater do that Cision cannot?
Meltwater covers Social listening, Influencer discovery, Sentiment analysis, Competitive intelligence. Cision covers PR Newswire distribution, Media database, Analytics & reporting, Influencer identification. Both handle Media monitoring, Salesforce, Slack, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Meltwater

More on Cision

Keep looking

Other head to heads