Muck Rack vs Cision vs Prowly – 2025 Pricing & Feature Comparison

Choosing the right PR software isn’t just about features — it’s about finding the best fit for your team’s size, goals, and pace of work. If you’re part of a small in-house comms team or a fast-moving PR agency, tools built for massive enterprise teams can feel overwhelming, overpriced, and unnecessarily complex.

That’s why platforms like Prowly and Muck Rack are often considered better-suited alternatives to legacy giants like Cision. But how do they really compare — and which is the smartest choice for your team?

In this guide, we’ll break down the differences between Muck Rack, Cision, and Prowly from the perspective that matters most: what will actually help your lean team secure better media coverage, faster?

Muck Rack vs. Cision vs. Prowly comparison

Most PR tools offer the same surface-level functionality — they help you find journalists, send pitches, and monitor coverage. But what sets them apart is who they’re really built for and how well they support the daily challenges of your specific team.

Here’s how these three platforms compare when you look beyond the feature lists:

→ Prowly: built for small and medium teams

Prowly is designed for small to medium-sized PR teams and agencies that need powerful tools without the complexity or enterprise-level price tags.

Ideal for:

• In-house comms teams (1–10 people) in growing brands and medium-sized companies.
• Agencies with dynamic workloads, shifting client rosters, and tight timelines.
• PR pros who need an intuitive platform that saves time and scales easily.
• Teams with limited budgets that need flexibility— like monthly plans, no hidden fees.

💡 Prowly helps teams like shePR boost efficiency and ROI by simplifying campaign execution and client collaboration—all in one place. Read how shePR boosts efficiency and ROI with Prowly.

→ Cision: built for enterprises

Cision is a legacy platform used by large corporate PR and marketing teams. It’s powerful, but also expensive, complex, and often overkill for small or mid-sized teams. Many of its strengths — like investor relations tools and global media intelligence — are most relevant to enterprise use cases.

Best for: 

• Global corporations, agencies with 50+ clients, or teams needing extensive press release distribution and investor comms.

Limitations for small teams: 

• Steep learning curve, long contracts, high cost, slow support.

→ Muck Rack: media database first

Muck Rack is widely known for its journalist database and media monitoring tools. It’s easier to use than Cision and better suited to smaller teams — but often emphasizes quantity of contacts over targeting precision.

Best for: 

• Teams that prioritize media monitoring and want quick access to a large journalist database.

Limitations: 

• Less emphasis on AI-powered targeting or traffic-based insights. Premium pricing may still be a stretch for small agencies.

Muck Rack vs Cision:

• Cision offers deep media database access and built-in PR Newswire distribution, ideal for investor comms and corporate PR.
• Muck Rack is known for its streamlined media database and alerting tools, but lacks advanced AI-powered targeting or content creation features.

For small or midsize PR teams, especially those managing niche stories or juggling multiple clients, a more strategic and data-driven approach often yields better results than mass distribution or general outreach.

Now let's dive into the full Cision vs Muck Rack vs Prowly software comparison to help you make the best choice for your PR strategy.

Quick comparison overview

At a glance, here’s how Prowly compares to Cision and Muck Rack — based on the kind of PR team you are, the outcomes you need, and the resources you have available.

Transparent pricing breakdown

Price is one of the main factors in choosing a PR software provider. And with some companies charging over $10,000 per year, that's not too surprising.

Muck Rack and Cision both offer only annual plans and are quite pricey. Although they do not publicly list their pricing, we estimate Muck Rack's pricing to be around $15,000/yr per year and Cision's pricing to start around $10,000, with the average being from $12,000 to $15,000 per year.

The price can go up dramatically depending on the chosen features, media database regions, the size of your team, and other factors. Unfortunately, the factors that go into the price are also not transparent or publicly available.

Prowly offers monthly and annual plans, the latter of which allows you to save up to 30%. Two different plans are available, each with a list of the features you'll get so you know exactly what you're paying for.

Feature comparison

While all three platforms support the basics of PR workflow — media database, outreach, monitoring — the way they help you get results varies significantly. Here's how the platforms compare on key features that matter to modern PR teams:

Feature #1: Media database

If you’re primarily looking for a media database, check out our guide to choosing the best media database for PR — but here’s what you need to know when comparing Prowly, Muck Rack, and Cision.

A media database is the engine behind every PR campaign. But for small teams, access alone isn't enough. What matters most is how quickly and accurately you can find relevant journalists — not just how many names are in a spreadsheet.

Where others fall short:

• Cision gives you access to a massive global database, but the search tools can feel outdated and overwhelming.
• Muck Rack offers a more user-friendly experience but still centers on contact volume over data relevance.

How Prowly does it differently:

• AI-powered journalist search: Go beyond beat filters — discover relevant contacts using natural language keywords.

• Semrush integration: See real traffic data for media outlets, so you target channels that actually reach your audience.
• Automated enrichment: Get context like topics covered, recent articles, and publication focus — all on one screen.
• Contact organization: Group, tag, and manage contacts by campaign, client, or niche with shared CRM functionality.

Whether you're pitching a niche fintech launch or a sustainable beauty brand, Prowly helps you build smarter, targeted lists — without wasting time sifting through irrelevant profiles.

Feature #2: Media monitoring

Cision, Muck Rack, and Prowly all offer media monitoring tools to help PR teams track brand mentions, competitor activity, industry trends, and campaign performance across online news, blogs, podcasts, and more.

But the difference lies in how usable and actionable that data is — especially for lean teams.

Where others fall short:

• Cision delivers robust media intelligence across channels, but it's built for enterprise-scale reporting — often too complex and costly for smaller teams.
• Muck Rack offers real-time journalist alerts and basic coverage tracking, but lacks deeper analytics and customizable reporting tools.

How Prowly does it differently:

• Custom keyword alerts: Stay ahead on brand mentions, industry trends, and competitor activity — in real time.
• Full-spectrum monitoring: Track coverage across online news, blogs, social media, print, and broadcast — all in one place.
• Visual dashboards: Instantly understand the impact of your PR efforts with clean, insight-driven visuals.
• Client-ready reporting: Export beautiful, data-backed reports with just a few clicks — no need for extra formatting tools.

Feature #3: AI & Automation

AI is one of the most transformative trends in PR software — but not all platforms make it actionable for everyday users. While Cision and Muck Rack offer some automation, Prowly builds AI directly into the tasks PR pros do every day, helping you work faster and pitch smarter.

How Prowly helps you get more done in less time:

• Story angle generation: Drop in your key idea and get fresh, newsworthy story angles to kickstart your pitch.
• AI-assisted draft builder: Respond to guiding prompts — what’s new, why it matters — and instantly shape a compelling press release.
• Smart editing assistant: Refine tone, length, and clarity to match your audience and brand voice.
• AI-powered journalist matching: Prowly recommends the contacts most likely to care about your topic based on your release content — saving you hours of manual list building.

Whether you're juggling multiple clients or racing a product launch deadline, Prowly’s AI tools give you a creative edge and help you ship high-impact campaigns faster.

Feature #4: PR Reports

Being great at PR isn’t enough — you also need to show your impact. Whether you're reporting back to clients, marketing leads, or the C-suite, clear and compelling reports make all the difference.

But not all platforms make reporting easy, especially for smaller teams without dedicated analysts or designers.

Where others fall short:

• Cision offers deep reporting capabilities, but they’re often tied to complex dashboards and enterprise-level workflows. It’s powerful — if you have the time (and budget) to master it.
• Muck Rack provides basic coverage summaries and PDF exports, but customization is limited and reports can feel one-size-fits-all.

If you're looking for a PR report, read this guide to choose the best reporting tool for PR.

Prowly empowers PR teams and agencies to build professional reports without the manual hassle. Key features include:

• Automatic data collection covering media reach, sentiment, and coverage volume
• Custom-branded reports ideal for client or stakeholder presentations
• Drag-and-drop visual elements to highlight impact in a clear, digestible way
• Quick export to PDF or web link, perfect for sharing results instantly

Whether you're preparing a monthly wrap-up for a startup CEO or showcasing wins to a demanding client, Prowly gives you the tools to show your PR value — quickly and clearly.

Feature #5: Press release creation & newsroom management

Creating press releases is a core part of any PR workflow — but managing distribution, formatting, and brand consistency can be time-consuming without the right tools. That’s where a built-in newsroom and press release builder become real time-savers.

How the platforms compare:

• Cision includes press release distribution via its PR Newswire service — but it’s designed for mass syndication, not day-to-day newsroom management or content personalization.
• Muck Rack lets you pitch press releases via email, but lacks a newsroom module or built-in content creation support.

What makes Prowly stand out:

• Integrated press release builder: Easily write and design press releases with structured layouts, media embeds, and brand styling — no coding or formatting needed.
• Branded newsroom hosting: Create a public-facing newsroom to house all your PR content — searchable, indexed by Google, and fully customizable.
• Multimedia support: Embed videos, images, PDFs, or logos to make your press releases richer and more engaging.
• Direct publishing & pitching: Send your press release to selected journalists right from the same interface — no copy-pasting or switching tools.

From drafting your story to sharing it with the media (or hosting it for stakeholders), Prowly streamlines the entire content creation and publishing process — all in one tool.

Feature #6: PR outreach & sending press releases

Once your press release is ready, getting it into the right inbox at the right time, with the right message is what determines your success. But many platforms still treat pitching like a manual task, offering little insight or support along the way.

Where others fall short:

• Cision supports bulk outreach, but personalization is limited, and email analytics are basic unless you're on a high-tier plan.
• Muck Rack enables direct pitching and journalist alerts, but lacks smart features like subject line testing, follow-up automation, or detailed engagement analytics.

How Prowly elevates your outreach:

• Personalized pitching at scale: Customize messages for individual journalists, without losing efficiency.
• AI-powered subject lines and email content: Increase open rates and stand out in crowded inboxes.
• Automated follow-ups: Set reminders or automated second touches based on journalist engagement.
• Advanced email analytics: See who opened, clicked, or ignored your pitch — and use that data to optimize your next send-out.
• Deliverability support: Prowly guides you through domain authentication best practices so your emails land where they’re supposed to — not in spam.

With Prowly, outreach becomes smarter, not harder. You can pitch with purpose, track what works, and continuously improve your results — all on a single platform.

Tool reviews

Without free trials and transparent pricing plans available on Cision's and Muck Rack's sites, making the final choice might get easier once you read user reviews. Here's what users say about each platform based on reviews from G2.com.

Muck Rack

Advantages of Muck Rack:

I like that I can build robust coverage reports, get automated daily alerts, and easily follow and pitch to a list of journalists.
Muck Rack's "coverage reports" and "who shared my link" tools help us track media hits and journalist engagement in ways we couldn't before. They've also given us access to and insight into journalists who didn't know covered our company.
Good UX; the interface is very, very easy to use.

Disadvantages of Muck Rack:

I've had some difficulty getting the coverage reports to match what I've gotten with other tools; I'm unsure if that's a user error or related to the tool's back-end functionality.
Although [Muck Rack] is a bit pricey for solo practitioners, it is very much priced for agency-level users.
Word tracking often leads to too many emails or updates that are not thorough enough to catch the important articles.

Cision

Advantages of Cision:

Cision makes it easy to find relevant media to target for pitches, identify their target demographic, and efficiently build lists.

I like their media monitoring capabilities. We monitor the media hits of over 1,500 individuals, and Cision helped us set up this system. It's by no means perfect, but it works much better than what we were previously using.

Disadvantages of Cision:

The information for journalists in Cision can sometimes be outdated, and I've come across several journalists who are simply not listed. I wish this database were more accurate and up to date.
Building reports to look at how you would like to look graphically is not easy for a user without requesting help from customer assistance.
Customer service or an account rep is not always attentive to your needs. Sometimes, it could take days or weeks to get a response.

Expensive!

Prowly

Advantages of Prowly:

I like how simple adding contacts to a customized media list is. The user interface is really user-friendly, and the automation capabilities take care of some of the hard work associated with link building for you—individualizing and increasing your outreach could not be easier.
Ease of use and that the team is very helpful, there is no upcharge to get help to set up the press release in the most effective way.

Disadvantages of Prowly:

There is a bit of a learning curve, and support is on European time.
I only wish there we more categories in the journalist database!

Conclusion

We hope this Muck Rack vs. Cision vs. Prowly comparison helped you answer some of your questions and made choosing the right PR software easier. If you're ready to start testing PR platforms, you can always try Prowly completely free of charge for 14 days. No CC is required, and no strings attached.

Cover photo by NeONBRAND