Prowly vs Critical Mention (2026), Pitching Tool vs Monitoring

Prowly, now sold as the Semrush AI PR Toolkit¹, is a self-serve PR tool for building lists, writing pitches with AI and sending them. Critical Mention is a monitoring service that tracks TV, radio, online news, podcasts and social, with a contact database as one module. One is mainly for getting coverage. The other is mainly for proving it.

Prices and facts checked October 9, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.

They also buy very differently. Semrush posts prices from $149 a month², while Critical Mention quotes after a demo. Below is a fair comparison as of October 2026, then a clearly marked note on Media List, a monthly database for small teams.

Prowly (Semrush) vs Critical Mention, compared

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Two different jobs

Semrush describes its toolkit as built "for users with little to no prior experience with PR tools"². You search for journalists, add them to lists, write a pitch with AI and send it, then track opens and replies. Pro adds follow-ups and coverage monitoring of news, blogs, Reddit and YouTube².

Critical Mention starts from the other end. It watches what was said about you across more than 2,500 TV and radio stations, online news in 90+ languages and social media, and turns that into reports²⁰. Its database is there for pitching, but buyers mostly talk about clips and reports. "Great for media coverage reporting, but hit or miss for contacts," one wrote²¹.

Who each tool fits best

Choose Prowly (Semrush) if you want to pitch on a budget

• Startup marketers. Posted prices, a self-serve start and AI drafting suit people new to PR.
• Semrush users. PR sits in the same account as your SEO work.
• Teams that want web and Reddit monitoring. Pro and Business track news, blogs, Reddit and YouTube.

Choose Critical Mention if you need broadcast proof

• Agencies whose clients appear on TV. Clips from every US Nielsen DMA, kept in unlimited storage⁹.
• Comms teams that report to leaders. White-label reports with share of voice and publicity values⁹.
• Teams that value a named contact. A 24/7/365 support team plus an account manager.

Cost, side by side

Semrush's prices are public. Base is $149, Pro $279 and Business $499 a month², and yearly billing saves up to 17%, paid up front²². Exports cost extra if you need many. Base includes none, and 200 more cost $149 a month¹⁰.

Critical Mention's are not. Vendr shows a median of $7,950 a year, with deals from $5,920 to $15,400⁶. Reddit buyers have reported paying "$2500/year"²³ and "about $7100 a year"²⁴.

A Prowly magazine article estimates Critical Mention at "between $2,500 and $10,000 per year"²⁵. Prowly is a competitor, so treat that as a rival's estimate.

Critical Mention says its broadcast service lets teams search and download clips from every US Nielsen DMA⁹.

What reviewers say

• Prowly, praise. "I get alerts, send out pitches, track engagement, and the media list is solid with a bit of manual filtering" (2025)²⁶.
• Prowly, complaint. "it was missing some of the journalists I needed" (2022)²⁷. In January 2026 a user wrote, "They have canned their sales and support team"¹⁶.
• Critical Mention, praise. "CM makes easy beautiful reports with data and analysis built in" (2024)²³.
• Critical Mention, complaint. "Overall horrible system setup - slow and clunky to use" (2024)²⁴.

On public sites, Prowly shows about 4.2 from 112 reviews on G2, per a search snippet²⁸, and 2.7 from 4 on Trustpilot²⁹. Critical Mention shows 221 G2 reviews and 13 on Capterra, also per snippets³⁰³¹.

Database depth, compared

Buyers have mixed views on both databases. On Prowly, a 2022 user ran the same search in Muck Rack and Prowly and said "MR pulled 174 results. Prowly pulled 2"²⁷. Semrush also hides some fields until you pay. "Some contact details are only visible if you're on a paid plan," its help center says, including emails and phone numbers³².

On Critical Mention, a paying agency described a "Very outdated media list" in 2024²⁴. Critical Mention says clients can ask for contacts to be added or fixed, and that changes are "updated within 24 hours"¹³. If the list matters, ask each vendor to show you twenty names on your own beat and check them against recent bylines.

Questions to ask before you buy

• For Semrush. How many exports will I need each month, and what will add-ons cost? Is monitoring on my plan? Will I add users at $20 or $45 each?
• For Critical Mention. Which markets and channels are in the package? How many seats? What is the renewal notice, and is the uplift capped?
• For both. What happens to my lists and reports if I cancel?

Can you use both?

Yes, and the jobs barely overlap. Semrush's toolkit handles the pitch, and Critical Mention catches the TV hit. The overlap is the contact database. If you already pay Critical Mention, test its database before paying for a second one, and if you already pay Semrush, check whether 150 or 500 exports a month is enough for the lists you build. That keeps you from paying twice for the same contacts.

A cheaper option for small teams

This section is about our own product, Media List, offered as one more option. Media List is a self-serve database for small teams whose main job is pitching.

Basic is $99 a month with 2,500 exports, which is more exports than Semrush Business gives at $499. Professional is $399 with up to 3 seats and campaigns with follow-ups and open and click tracking. Scale is $999 with up to 10 seats. You pay monthly and cancel anytime from your billing page. The 3-day trial costs $0 today with a card or PayPal and shows real contacts, with up to 25 exports.

You get 31,000+ journalists, editors and producers, 22,000+ of them in the US, plus 189,000+ YouTube channels and 1.2 million podcasts. Every email shows its verification status before export. At full use, Basic works out to about $0.04 per exported contact.

Choose Media List if you are a solo publicist, founder or small agency that wants to export and pitch US contacts month to month. Choose Semrush for AI drafting inside Semrush, or Critical Mention for broadcast monitoring.

A year of costs, two examples

The solo row assumes one person who pitches and wants follow-ups. The agency row assumes three people sharing lists. Critical Mention's figures include monitoring, and Semrush's include AI drafting and web monitoring.

Switching notes

• Leaving Semrush. Export lists within your monthly cap first, since projects are deleted 90 days after you unsubscribe². Submit the full cancellation form while logged in.
• Leaving Critical Mention. Check your order form for the notice clause and download the clips you need.
• Rebuilding a list. Start with your beats and outlets, then filter by US state and media type, such as TV, newspaper, podcast or YouTube.

Questions, answered

What is the difference between Prowly and Critical Mention?

Prowly, now the Semrush AI PR Toolkit, is for finding journalists and sending pitches. Critical Mention is for monitoring TV, radio, online and social coverage.

Is Prowly cheaper than Critical Mention?

Usually. Semrush lists $149 to $499 a month. Critical Mention has no public price, with a Vendr median of $7,950 a year.

Does Prowly monitor TV and radio?

Semrush does not list TV or radio. Its monitoring covers news, blogs, Reddit and YouTube, and only on Pro and Business.

How does Prowly work?

You search its journalist database, add contacts to lists, draft pitches with AI and send from your domain or a connected inbox.

Is Prowly any good?

Reviews are mixed. Users like the all-in-one setup, while some report missing journalists and weak support since the Semrush move.

How much does Prowly cost?

Prowly is now the Semrush AI PR Toolkit. Base is $149 a month, Pro $279 and Business $499.

Does Critical Mention have a free trial?

No trial is listed on its site. You request a demo.

Is there a monthly alternative to both?

Media List bills monthly from $99, with 2,500 contact exports on Basic and no annual contract.

Sources

1. Prowly homepage (now a Semrush hub), checked 2026-10-09
2. Semrush KB, AI PR Toolkit Pricing and Plans, checked 2026-10-10
3. Semrush KB, AI PR overview, checked 2026-10-09
4. Critical Mention, About us, checked 2026-10-10
5. Critical Mention, Pricing, checked 2026-10-10
6. Vendr, Critical Mention pricing data, checked 2026-10-10
7. Critical Mention, Demo, checked 2026-10-10
8. Semrush KB, Media Monitoring, checked 2026-10-09
9. Critical Mention, Broadcast Monitoring, checked 2026-10-10
10. Semrush KB, Checking Usage and Limits, checked 2026-10-10
11. Critical Mention, Licensed Content, checked 2026-10-10
12. Semrush, Digital PR feature page, checked 2026-10-09
13. Critical Mention, Media Contact Database, checked 2026-10-10
14. Semrush KB, AI Media Visibility (AI-Cited Media), checked 2026-10-09
15. Critical Mention, AI Brand Visibility, checked 2026-10-10
16. Reddit r/PublicRelations, What's up with Prowly? (Jan 2026), checked 2026-10-09
17. Critical Mention, Media Monitoring, checked 2026-10-10
18. G2, Critical Mention vs Prowly (search snippet), checked 2026-10-10
19. Semrush, Cancellation and Refund Policy, checked 2026-10-10
20. Critical Mention, Online News Tracking, checked 2026-10-10
21. Reddit r/PublicRelations, Critical Mention Sucks (Mar 2023), checked 2026-10-10
22. Semrush KB, Subscriptions and Toolkits, checked 2026-10-10
23. Reddit r/PublicRelations, Advice on picking between Critical Mention, Meltwater, Muck Rack (May 2024), checked 2026-10-10
24. Reddit r/PublicRelations, Alternative to Critical Mention, possibly Agility PR? (Jun 2024), checked 2026-10-10
25. Prowly magazine, Muck Rack alternatives (vendor estimate), checked 2026-10-10
26. Reddit r/PublicRelations, Muck Rack v Prowly (2025), checked 2026-10-09
27. Reddit r/PublicRelations, Has anyone used Prowly? (2022), checked 2026-10-09
28. G2, Prowly reviews (search snippet, second-hand), checked 2026-10-09
29. Trustpilot, prowly.com, checked 2026-10-09
30. G2, Critical Mention reviews (search snippet), checked 2026-10-10
31. Capterra, Critical Mention reviews (search snippet), checked 2026-10-10
32. Semrush KB, Managing your Contacts, checked 2026-10-09

Product names are trademarks of their owners. Media List is not affiliated with them. Prices and features change; check each vendor's site before you buy.