Prices and facts checked October 3, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.
Muck Rack and Critical Mention do different jobs. Muck Rack is built around a journalist database for pitching, with monitoring added on.
Critical Mention is a broadcast and online monitoring service, with a contact database as one module. Some teams that can afford it run both.
Below is a side-by-side view as of October 2026, then who each tool suits, what buyers pay, and what reviewers say. Near the end there is a clearly marked section on Media List, a cheaper option for small teams that mainly need contacts.
How do Muck Rack and Critical Mention compare?
Neither one publishes a price. Vendr's median is $13,000 a year for Muck Rack and $7,950 for Critical Mention.
| Row | Muck Rack | Critical Mention |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Journalist database and pitching | Media monitoring, owned by Onclusive1 |
| Published price | None. "Pricing depends on a few factors specific to your team including the number of users"2 | None. "we will create a package to meet those needs"3 |
| Vendr median a year | $13,0004 | $7,9505 |
| How you buy | Demo request, no checkout2 | Custom demo with a platform consultant6 |
| TV and radio monitoring | Broadcast is an add-on2 | More than 2,500 stations, clips from every US Nielsen DMA7 |
| Online news | Included on all tiers2 | Included, in 90+ languages8 |
| Journalist database | The core product. Ads claim "400K+ Contacts in 60 Countries"9 | "millions of records" for reporters, bloggers, producers and influencers, no journalist count10 |
| Profile checks and updates | Badge needs bylines at verified outlets in the last 30 days11 | Changes requested through a feedback tool are updated within 24 hours10 |
| Sending pitches | From your own Gmail or Outlook12 | Not described on its site. Lists export to CSV10 |
| AI features | AI Media List Builder on Standard and Premier2 | AI Brand Visibility tracks how AI tools mention you13 |
| Support | Live chat on all tiers, instructor-led onboarding above Starter2 | 24/7/365 support team14 |
| Contract | Annual. Cancel by email to your success manager, with no refund for the current year15 | 12-month renewals with an annual uplift, per a Vendr buyer5 |
| Shared logins | "Generic or shared emails cannot be used for accounts"15 | Not stated |
| G2 view (snippet) | Reviewers "preferred the direction of Muck Rack" on roadmap16 | 221 reviews on G2, per a search snippet17 |
See each product side by side
What is the real difference, in buyers' words?
On Reddit, PR people tend to split the two by task. Monitoring goes to Critical Mention, and contacts go to Muck Rack.
- "Critical mention is the better monitoring and reporting software. Muckrack is the better database and pitching tool. We use both for those reasons". A Reddit user, May 202418.
- "Historically, they’re used just for broadcast clips. You want muckrack for contacts." A Reddit user in an earlier thread19.
That matches what each company sells.
- Muck Rack. Its pricing page sorts its plans by database access and export limits.
- Critical Mention. Its site leads with TV and radio, online news, social and podcasts, then lists the database further down.
Which tool fits your team?
Pick Muck Rack if pitching comes first, and Critical Mention if coverage proof comes first.
Choose Muck Rack if
- You are an agency pitching national and trade press. One Reddit user called it "the most up to date and accurate database" while noting it is the most expensive20.
- You are a solo publicist who can prepay a year. A one-seat agency starter plan was reported at $4,40021.
- You are a founder who wants to pitch from your own inbox. Muck Rack connects to Gmail or Outlook so pitches look personal.
Choose Critical Mention if
- You are an agency whose clients appear on local TV. Clips from every US Nielsen DMA, with unlimited cloud storage7 and the Wordplay clip editor7, make broadcast reports simple.
- You are an in-house team that reports to executives. Reviewers praise its reports. "CM makes easy beautiful reports with data and analysis built in"18.
- You want round-the-clock help. Critical Mention offers a 24/7/365 support team, and one user has had "the same dedicated customer support person for the last three years"18.
Critical Mention says its packages are tailored to a buyer's earned-media needs, so a demo is the starting point for a quote3.
What does each one cost?
Critical Mention's Vendr median is lower, at $7,950 a year. Neither posts a price, so these are buyer reports and benchmark data, labelled as such.
- Muck Rack. Vendr reports a median of $13,000 a year4. Reddit buyers reported $4,400 for one seat21 and "$5,750 for 2 seats"21.
- Critical Mention. Vendr reports a median of $7,950 a year, with deals from $5,920 to $15,4005. One long-time user said, "I only pay $2500/year"18, and a small agency was "Paying about $7100 a year now, and it is increasing to $7600"22.
- Shopping both. A buyer who talked to Critical Mention, Meltwater and Muck Rack in 2024 said "we’ve been given offers between $6K to $8K"18.
The lower median is not a fair swap. A team that needs both broadcast monitoring and a strong database may end up paying for two tools.
How good is the data, as reviewers see it?
Muck Rack's database gets most of the praise. Critical Mention's database gets more mixed comments.
- "national and trade ... about 90%. Local reporters maybe closer to 70%" One Muck Rack user's estimate of email accuracy23.
- "Great for media coverage reporting, but hit or miss for contacts. Not their strong point". A Critical Mention user, 202319.
- "Very outdated media list" One of the problems a paying agency listed for Critical Mention, June 202422.
These are reviewers' words, so ask each vendor to run your own beat search in the demo.
On monitoring, Critical Mention leads on broadcast. It says it covers more than 2,500 TV and radio stations7. Muck Rack sells broadcast as an add-on2.
What to ask in each demo
- Run a search for your own beat and the cities you pitch, and count the contacts you would really use.
- Ask how often contacts are checked, and what happens when an email bounces.
- Ask which monitoring sources are included and which are add-ons.
- Ask for the renewal terms, any yearly price uplift, and the notice period in writing.
How do teams use both on one launch?
List work comes before launch day, and monitoring work comes after.
Picture a consumer brand launching a product in five cities.
- Before launch. The team needs the right reporters, assignment editors and producers in each market.
- After launch. It needs to prove what aired on local TV and what ran online.
Muck Rack covers the first half well and some of the second through online news alerts. Critical Mention covers the second half in depth, with broadcast clips and reports, and offers a database for the first.
One agency described doing exactly this, grabbing "all the assignment editors and news directors" in one city from Muck Rack, then reporting results with Critical Mention18.
How do contracts and switching work?
Both are sold by the year, so plan any switch around your renewal date.
- Leaving Muck Rack. Email your Customer Success Manager to cancel. Muck Rack's terms say you will not get back fees for the annual cycle in which you cancel15.
- Leaving Critical Mention. Its terms are not published, so read your order form. A Reddit reply suggested contracts "should have a clause" giving 30, 60 or 90 days' notice19.
- Running both. Align the two renewal dates so you can review the pair at once.
Is there a cheaper option for small teams?
This section is about our own product, Media List. It is a self-serve media database from $99 a month for people who mainly need to find and pitch journalists and creators.
- Prices on the page. Basic is $99 a month, Professional is $399 with up to 3 seats, and Scale is $999 with up to 10 seats.
- Monthly billing. No annual contract, and you can cancel anytime from your billing page.
- Trial. The 3-day trial is $0 today with a card or PayPal, and you can export up to 25 contacts.
- Coverage. 36,000+ journalists, editors and producers, 26,000+ of them in the US, plus 189,000+ YouTube channels and 1.2 million podcasts.
- Email status. Each email shows its verification status before you export.
- Campaigns. Professional adds campaigns with follow-ups and open and click tracking.
- Cost per contact. At full use, about $0.04 per exported contact.
Media List suits a solo publicist, founder or small agency that wants a monthly list tool. Muck Rack or Critical Mention suit you if you need a full PR suite or broadcast monitoring.
Is Muck Rack free, and can Critical Mention replace it?
Muck Rack is free only for journalists, and Critical Mention can replace it for monitoring, while the buyers quoted here keep Muck Rack for pitching.
Is Muck Rack free?
Only for journalists. Muck Rack says journalists "never pay for Muck Rack access"2.
PR users buy an annual plan after a demo. Critical Mention has no free version listed on its site either.
Can Critical Mention replace Muck Rack?
For monitoring and reports, it can. For pitching, the Reddit buyers quoted here say no, and some keep Muck Rack for lists.
One agency explained the split. "I spend more time pitching and being able to build MR lists is super valuable to me"18.
If pitching is your main job, start your test with a database, then add monitoring if clients ask for clip reports.
