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Meltwater vs Steno

Meltwater logo

Meltwater

News

Media intelligence and social listening platform

From
$15000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Steno logo

Steno

News

AI transcription and analysis for news and media

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Meltwater real-time accuracy issues reported, particularly for niche industries or non-English content; Steno no free tier available; entry point at $500/month
  • They diverge on capability: Meltwater covers Media monitoring, Steno covers AI transcription.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Meltwater and Steno actually diverge.

Attributes where Meltwater and Steno differ
AttributeMeltwaterSteno
Starting price$15000/year$500/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
Founded20012020

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Steno

  • AI transcription
  • Broadcast search
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Clip creation
  • Media analysis
  • Email
  • API

Both cover

  • Slack
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Meltwater

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

Steno

  • AI-powered content creation platformnot Meltwater
  • Voice and text content generationnot Meltwater
  • Multi-channel content distributionnot Meltwater
  • Programmatic content syndicationnot 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

Steno

  • No free tier available; entry point at $500/month
  • Enterprise plan pricing not published; requires custom quote
  • Premium add-ons (iOS/Android app, Pro Voice) pricing not disclosed

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

Steno

$500/month
  • Starter$500/month
    • 16,500 credits per month
    • 1 Twin
    • Web app deployment
  • Growth$1000/month
    • 40,000 credits per month
    • 2 Twins
    • Web app deployment
  • Scale$2000/month
    • 100,000 credits per month
    • 3 Twins
    • Web app deployment
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • 200,000+ credits per month
    • 5 Twins
    • Web app deployment

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 Steno if

  • You need ai transcription.
  • You also want broadcast search.
Steno review

Questions people ask

Is Meltwater or Steno better?
Neither clearly leads. Meltwater starts at $15000/year and Steno at $500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Meltwater or Steno?
Meltwater starts at $15000/year and Steno at $500/month.
Does Meltwater or Steno run on more platforms?
Meltwater runs on Web, iOS, Android. Steno runs on Web.
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 Steno is typically brought in for.
What can Meltwater do that Steno cannot?
Meltwater covers Media monitoring, Social listening, Influencer discovery, Sentiment analysis. Steno covers AI transcription, Broadcast search, Real-time monitoring, Clip creation. Both handle 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
Steno: What is the minimum cost to start using Steno?

The Starter plan is $500/month with 16,500 monthly credits. Steno does not offer a free tier, and monthly billing options include annual subscriptions with 10-15% savings.

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
Steno: What are Steno credits and how many do I get?

Credits are the universal currency used for content processing, training, and user interactions across text, voice, and video. Starter includes 16,500/month, Growth 40,000/month, Scale 100,000/month, and Enterprise 200,000+/month.

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
Steno: What is a Twin in Steno's pricing?

Twins are included in Steno plans at different quantities: Starter includes 1 Twin, Growth 2, Scale 3, and Enterprise 5. Specific features of Twins are not detailed on the pricing page.

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
Steno: What are Steno's platform fees?

Steno charges monetization platform fees that decrease with plan tier: Starter at 9%, Growth at 8%, Scale at 7%, and Enterprise at 6%.

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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