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Meltwater vs Ground News

Meltwater logo

Meltwater

Software

Media intelligence and social listening platform

From
$15000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
G

Ground News

Software

See every side of every story

From
Free
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: Meltwater real-time accuracy issues reported, particularly for niche industries or non-English content; Ground News blindspot analysis, the global coverage map, full coverage comparison, ownership and funding transparency, bias and factuality ratings and the My News Bias dashboard are all Vantage subscriber features
  • They diverge on capability: Meltwater covers Media monitoring, Ground News covers News comparison.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Meltwater and Ground News differ
AttributeMeltwaterGround News
Starting price$15000/yearFree
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidIos, Android, Web
Founded20012018

Identical on both: 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

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

Only in Ground News

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

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Meltwater

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

Ground News

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

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

Ground News

  • Blindspot analysis, the global coverage map, full coverage comparison, ownership and funding transparency, bias and factuality ratings and the My News Bias dashboard are all Vantage subscriber features
  • Saved stories are unlimited only on Vantage
  • The advertised $8.33 a month price is the annual rate, so paying monthly costs more

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

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Meltwater if

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

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

Questions people ask

Is Meltwater or Ground News better?
Neither clearly leads. Meltwater starts at $15000/year and Ground News at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Meltwater or Ground News?
Ground News has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15000/year for Meltwater and Free for Ground News.
Does Meltwater or Ground News run on more platforms?
Meltwater runs on Web, iOS, Android. Ground News runs on Ios, Android, Web.
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 Meltwater best used for?
Meltwater is most often used for media monitoring, influencer research, brand tracking, crisis management. Of those, media monitoring and influencer research are not what Ground News is typically brought in for.
What can Meltwater do that Ground News cannot?
Meltwater covers Media monitoring, Social listening, Influencer discovery, Sentiment analysis. Ground News covers News comparison, Bias ratings, Source transparency, Blindspot analysis. Both handle 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
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