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Meltwater vs NewsBlur

Meltwater logo

Meltwater

News

Media intelligence and social listening platform

From
$15000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NewsBlur logo

NewsBlur

News

A personal news reader bringing people together

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only NewsBlur 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; NewsBlur the free account is limited to 64 sites
  • They diverge on capability: Meltwater covers Media monitoring, NewsBlur covers Intelligence training.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Meltwater and NewsBlur actually diverge.

Attributes where Meltwater and NewsBlur differ
AttributeMeltwaterNewsBlur
Starting price$15000/yearFree
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
Founded20012010

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Meltwater

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

Only in NewsBlur

  • Intelligence training
  • Story sharing
  • Original site view
  • Text view
  • Blurblogs
  • Pocket
  • Instapaper
  • Evernote

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Meltwater

  • Media monitoringnot NewsBlur
  • Influencer researchnot NewsBlur
  • Brand trackingnot NewsBlur
  • Crisis managementnot NewsBlur

NewsBlur

  • Reading RSS feeds with training that filters by author, tag or titlenot Meltwater
  • Archiving full article content from followed sitesnot Meltwater
  • Following a large number of feeds with fast refreshnot 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

NewsBlur

  • The free account is limited to 64 sites
  • Search and text view extraction require Premium at $36 per year
  • Premium is capped at 1,024 sites and Premium Archive at 4,096 sites
  • Full content archiving and the Daily Briefing require Premium Archive at $99 per year
  • The fastest 5 to 15 minute feed refresh and regex training require Premium Pro at $29 per month
  • Site following is capped at 10,000 even on the top tier

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

NewsBlur

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • Follow up to 64 sites
    • Real-time RSS updates
    • Train stories by author, tag, title
  • Premium$36/year
    • Follow up to 1024 sites
    • 5x more frequent updates
    • River of News, search, saved stories with tags
  • Premium Archive$99/year
    • Follow up to 4096 sites
    • Web feeds from any website
    • Story clustering, daily briefing, full archive and search
  • Premium Pro$29/month
    • All Archive features plus up to 10000 sites
    • Feeds fetched every 5 to 15 minutes
    • Regex training, priority support

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 NewsBlur if

  • You need intelligence training.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want story sharing.
NewsBlur review

Questions people ask

Is Meltwater or NewsBlur better?
Neither clearly leads. Meltwater starts at $15000/year and NewsBlur at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Meltwater or NewsBlur?
NewsBlur has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15000/year for Meltwater and Free for NewsBlur.
Does Meltwater or NewsBlur run on more platforms?
Meltwater runs on Web, iOS, Android. NewsBlur runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use NewsBlur for free?
Yes. NewsBlur 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 NewsBlur is typically brought in for.
What can Meltwater do that NewsBlur cannot?
Meltwater covers Media monitoring, Social listening, Influencer discovery, Sentiment analysis. NewsBlur covers Intelligence training, Story sharing, Original site view, Text view. 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
NewsBlur: Is NewsBlur free?

NewsBlur offers a free tier allowing users to follow up to 64 RSS feeds with real-time updates, story training, and public sharing.

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
NewsBlur: What does Premium plan include?

Premium plan costs 36 dollars per year and includes following up to 1024 sites with 5x more frequent updates, River of News feature, search functionality, and saved stories with tags.

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
NewsBlur: Is there a free trial?

Every new NewsBlur account starts with a free 30-day premium trial. No credit card is required to start.

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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