Cision vs Critical Mention (2026), Suite vs Broadcast Specialist
Cision is a full communications suite. It sells a large global media database, monitoring across many channels, reports and the PR Newswire wire. Critical Mention is narrower. It is a monitoring service known for TV and radio clips, with a contact database as one module. If you need distribution and a big database, Cision covers more. If broadcast proof is the job, Critical Mention is the specialist.
Prices and facts checked October 8, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.
Here is how they compare as of October 2026, what buyers report paying, and who each one suits. A short, clearly marked section near the end covers Media List, a monthly option for small teams that mainly pitch.
Cision vs Critical Mention at a glance
| Row | Cision (CisionOne) | Critical Mention |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A suite with a database, monitoring, reports and wire distribution | Media monitoring, owned by Onclusive since 202212 |
| Price on the site | No. "Complete the form, and one of our experts will reach out"3 | No. "we will create a package to meet those needs"4 |
| What sets the price | "users, features, and service levels"5 | Package type, from single brands to large agencies4 |
| Vendr median a year | $12,6256 | $7,9507 |
| Price rises | Vendr lists "Annual price escalations (3-7%)"6 | A Vendr buyer was proposed an 8% uplift, then about 4.5%7 |
| Billing | "All fees are invoiced annually in advance, and are non-cancellable and non-refundable"8 | 12-month terms, per a Vendr buyer. Terms not published |
| Database size | "over 500,000 media profiles across 225 countries and territories"9 | "millions of records", with no journalist count10 |
| Contact fields | Email, phone, address, social links, biography and more5 | Filters by location, topic and job title, export to CSV10 |
| TV and radio clips | Included, but its FAQ says clips "expire after 28 days"5 | More than 2,500 stations, with unlimited cloud storage for clips11 |
| Reports | PDF, HTML and CSV reports, scheduled email reports and dashboards5 | White-label reports with your logo11 |
| API | Up to five API keys per organisation12 | TV, radio and podcast content and archives13 |
| Onboarding | "most teams find that a one-hour session is sufficient"5 | Custom demo, then a dedicated account manager14 |
| Data after you leave | Each party "will delete all data and content to which it no longer has a license"8 | Not published |
| Reviews | TrustRadius 8 out of 10 from 45815. Trustpilot 1.6 from 3216 | G2 221 reviews and Capterra 13, per search snippets1718. Trustpilot 019 |
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Who each tool fits best
Choose Cision if you want one big suite
- Global agencies. A database that spans 225 countries and territories suits teams pitching in many markets.
- Brands that send wire releases. Cision also sells PR Newswire distribution, priced per release20.
- In-house teams that want monitoring and reports together. Scheduled email reports, dashboards and newsletters sit in one login5.
Choose Critical Mention if broadcast is the priority
- Agencies with TV-heavy clients. Clips from every US Nielsen DMA11 are kept in unlimited storage, not for 28 days.
- Smaller teams with a mid-size budget. Its Vendr median of $7,950 sits below Cision's $12,625.
- Teams that want a person on call. Brands get "24/7/365 support and a dedicated account manager"14.
What buyers pay
Both quote after a call. These figures come from buyer reports and Vendr, not from price lists.
- Cision, database only. "I pay $3500 for the media database. I have two users"21.
- Cision, database plus monitoring. A client "paying $10k - 2 seats. Database + news monitoring"21. Another team pays "About $13k a year" for database, monitoring and social listening with four users21.
- Critical Mention, small accounts. One user said "I only pay $2500/year" after three years22. A small agency paid about $7,100, rising to $7,60023.
- Critical Mention, Vendr range. $5,920 to $15,400 a year, with a median of $7,9507.
So for monitoring alone, Critical Mention's reported deals tend to land lower. Cision's database-only deals can also be modest. Cision buyer reports rise as seats and channels are added.
Critical Mention also describes its service as tracking broadcast, online news and social media, a useful scope check when comparing quotes14.
Monitoring, compared
This is where the two meet head on. Cision monitors many channels and adds reports, dashboards and newsletters5. Its own FAQ notes that TV and radio clips from April 2023 onward "expire after 28 days"5. Critical Mention was built on broadcast. It searches more than 2,500 TV and radio stations, keeps clips in unlimited cloud storage, and lets you trim HD clips in its Wordplay editor11.
For online news, Critical Mention covers sources in 90+ languages24, adds social and podcast tracking2526, and sells paywalled sources as licensed content27. A recurring complaint is noise. One agency said "it pulls in so much irrelevant information even with specific keywords or phrases that are for our clients"23. Cision draws its own complaints. "The forced switch to Cision One was frustrating and not at all user friendly," one user wrote28.
The media database, compared
Cision calls its product a "human-curated database of verified journalists and media outlets"9. Reviews range from "Excellent database"15 to "As a media database I think cision is overpriced and not great"29. Critical Mention's database draws similar mixed views. Reddit users have called it "hit or miss for contacts"30 and "Very outdated media list"23. Critical Mention says requested changes are "updated within 24 hours"10. Test both on a beat you know well, using names you can check yourself.
Questions to ask in each demo
- For Cision. Which monitoring channels are in the quote, and how long are TV and radio clips kept? Is PR Newswire priced separately? What is the yearly escalation?
- For Critical Mention. How many seats and markets are included? Can the database find the reporters on your top beat? What notice does the order form require before renewal?
- For both. Ask the rep to run one of your real searches live, and count how many results are people you would actually pitch.
Contracts and switching
- Leaving Cision. Fees are invoiced annually in advance and are "non-cancellable and non-refundable" unless your order says otherwise8. When the licence ends, each party deletes data it no longer has a licence to8, so plan to rebuild lists rather than carry exports over. One Trustpilot reviewer cited "unreasonable auto renewal policies"16.
- Leaving Critical Mention. No terms are published. A Reddit reply said contracts "should have a clause" with 30, 60 or 90 days' notice30. Check your own order form.
- Using both. Some teams keep a suite for the database and wire, and Critical Mention for clips. Align the renewal dates if you do.
A cheaper option for small teams
This section covers our own product, Media List, so read it as one option among several. Media List is a self-serve media database for small teams whose main job is finding and pitching journalists and creators.
Basic costs $99 a month, Professional $399 with up to 3 seats, and Scale $999 with up to 10. You pay monthly, there is no annual contract, and you cancel from your billing page. The 3-day trial is $0 today with a card or PayPal and includes up to 25 exports.
The database holds 31,000+ journalists, editors and producers, 22,000+ of them in the US, plus 189,000+ YouTube channels and 1.2 million podcasts. Exports you take are licensed to your organisation for its own outreach. Each email shows its verification status first, and bounced exports are replaced at no cost. That works out to about $0.04 per exported contact at full use.
Choose Media List if you are a solo publicist, founder or small agency that needs a US pitch list month to month. Choose Cision or Critical Mention if you need wire distribution, global depth or broadcast monitoring.
A year of costs, two examples
| Buyer | Cision | Critical Mention | Media List |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo publicist | About $3,500 for the database, 2 users21 | About $2,500 to $7,600 in 2024 reports2223 | Basic, $1,188 over 12 months |
| 3-person agency | About $10,000 for 2 seats with monitoring21 | Vendr median $7,9507 | Professional, $4,788 over 12 months |
The solo row assumes one person who pitches from their own inbox. The agency row assumes three people sharing lists. Cision and Critical Mention figures include monitoring, so compare the parts you will use.
Is Cision or Critical Mention easier to start?
Cision says most teams need about a one-hour onboarding session5. Critical Mention starts with a custom demo built by a platform consultant31. Neither has a self-serve checkout, so plan for at least one sales call and a contract review before day one. If you need to start pitching this week, a self-serve database can cover the gap while the bigger contract is signed.
Questions, answered
What is the difference between Cision and Critical Mention?
Cision is a full suite with a global database, monitoring, reports and PR Newswire. Critical Mention focuses on broadcast and online monitoring, with a contact database as one module.
Which is cheaper, Cision or Critical Mention?
Neither publishes prices. Vendr reports medians of $12,625 a year for Cision and $7,950 for Critical Mention.
How much does Cision cost?
Cision quotes after a form and a call. Buyers report about $3,500 for the database with two users and about $10,000 with monitoring.
Does Cision monitor TV and radio?
Yes. Its FAQ says TV and radio clips from April 2023 onward expire after 28 days.
Who owns Critical Mention?
Onclusive bought Critical Mention in May 2022. The site now says it is owned by Onclusive.
Is Cision free to use?
No. Cision sells annual contracts invoiced in advance, after a demo.
Can I keep my Cision lists if I leave?
Cision's agreement says each party deletes data it no longer has a licence to at termination. Plan to rebuild your lists in the new tool.
What is a cheaper alternative to Cision for pitching?
Media List starts at $99 a month with monthly billing. It is built for finding and pitching journalists and creators.
Sources
- Critical Mention, About us, checked 2026-10-10
- Daily Research News Online, Onclusive buys Critical Mention (May 2022), checked 2026-10-10
- Cision, Request Pricing, checked 2026-10-09
- Critical Mention, Pricing, checked 2026-10-10
- Cision, Discover CisionOne onboarding overview and common questions, checked 2026-10-09
- Vendr, Cision pricing data, checked 2026-10-09
- Vendr, Critical Mention pricing data, checked 2026-10-10
- Cision, Master Subscription Agreement (last updated 25 September 2025), checked 2026-10-09
- Cision, Journalist Outreach, checked 2026-10-09
- Critical Mention, Media Contact Database, checked 2026-10-10
- Critical Mention, Broadcast Monitoring, checked 2026-10-10
- Cision, Media Database Service Appendix (20 Feb 2026), checked 2026-10-09
- Critical Mention, API, checked 2026-10-10
- Critical Mention, Media Monitoring, checked 2026-10-10
- TrustRadius, Cision Communications Cloud reviews, checked 2026-10-09
- Trustpilot, cision.com, checked 2026-10-09
- G2, Critical Mention reviews (search snippet), checked 2026-10-10
- Capterra, Critical Mention reviews (search snippet), checked 2026-10-10
- Trustpilot, criticalmention.com, checked 2026-10-10
- Prezly Academy, PR Newswire pricing (third-party guide), checked 2026-10-08
- Reddit r/PublicRelations, How much do you pay for Cision, etc? (Mar 2025), checked 2026-10-09
- Reddit r/PublicRelations, Advice on picking between Critical Mention, Meltwater, Muck Rack (May 2024), checked 2026-10-10
- Reddit r/PublicRelations, Alternative to Critical Mention, possibly Agility PR? (Jun 2024), checked 2026-10-10
- Critical Mention, Online News Tracking, checked 2026-10-10
- Critical Mention, Social Media Monitoring, checked 2026-10-10
- Critical Mention, Podcast Monitoring, checked 2026-10-10
- Critical Mention, Licensed Content, checked 2026-10-10
- Reddit r/PublicRelations, Cision One, User Experience? (2025), checked 2026-10-09
- Reddit r/PublicRelations, Cision users (May 2025), checked 2026-10-09
- Reddit r/PublicRelations, Critical Mention Sucks (Mar 2023), checked 2026-10-10
- Critical Mention, Demo, checked 2026-10-10
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