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Meltwater vs The Old Reader

Meltwater logo

Meltwater

News

Media intelligence and social listening platform

From
$15000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
The Old Reader logo

The Old Reader

News

A classic RSS reader for the modern web

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only The Old Reader has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • They diverge on capability: Meltwater covers Media monitoring, The Old Reader covers RSS reading.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Meltwater and The Old Reader actually diverge.

Attributes where Meltwater and The Old Reader differ
AttributeMeltwaterThe Old Reader
Starting price$15000/yearFree
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
Founded20012012

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 The Old Reader

  • RSS reading
  • Social sharing
  • Following friends
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • OPML import/export
  • Third-party apps
  • Browser bookmarklet
  • Ios support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Meltwater

  • Media monitoringnot The Old Reader
  • Influencer researchnot The Old Reader
  • Brand trackingnot The Old Reader
  • Crisis managementnot The Old Reader

The Old Reader

  • RSS readingnot Meltwater
  • News aggregationnot Meltwater
  • Social readingnot 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

The Old Reader

Nothing recorded yet. See the The Old Reader 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

The Old Reader

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100 subscriptions
    • Social features
    • Web access
  • Premium$3/month
    • 500 subscriptions
    • Search history
    • Priority refresh
  • Supporter$5/month
    • Unlimited subscriptions
    • All premium features
    • Support development

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 The Old Reader if

  • You need rss reading.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want social sharing.
The Old Reader review

Questions people ask

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