The best media databases, tested and ranked

Cision came first of seven with 4.5 out of 5, far ahead of the rest. It found 92 of our 100 journalists, had valid emails for 79 and valid phone numbers for 76 of them, and got the beat or outlet right for 83. Its typical record was 55 days old, the freshest in the test, and it passed all 8 data and compliance checks, earning 5 for compliance. Our Cision review has the full results.

Cision's media database sits inside CisionOne, a platform for journalist outreach, media monitoring across print, online, TV, radio, social and podcasts, social listening and reporting. The same group owns PR Newswire and Brandwatch, so you can buy press release distribution and social listening from one vendor.

The catches are price, terms and reputation. Cision publishes no prices, sells by quote and is reported to require annual contracts. It has 3.9 out of 5 on G2 from 1,317 reviews but 1.6 on Trustpilot from 33 (both checked November 2026), with complaints about support and auto-renewal.

Agility PR Solutions came second with 3 out of 5. It found 73 of our 100 journalists, with valid emails for 51 and valid phone numbers for 54 of them, and the right beat or outlet for 49. Its weak spots were compliance, at 5 of 8 checks and a score of 2.5, and record age: the typical record was 123 days old. Read our Agility review for the details.

Agility sells media relations, monitoring, social listening, newswire and managed services, alone or as a bundle. Its site claims more than 1.1 million contacts and outlets at 99.6% accuracy, a vendor claim our test didn't bear out. Every solution comes with a dedicated account manager and unlimited onboarding training.

Prices are by quote and billed yearly, in US dollars, Canadian dollars or pounds. Users give it 4.1 out of 5 on G2 from 408 reviews (checked November 2026), with cost the main complaint.

Muck Rack came third with 2.5 out of 5, scoring 2.5 on every part. It found 64 of our 100 journalists, but only 41 of those had a valid email, 41 a valid phone number and 38 the right beat or outlet. Its typical record was 120 days old, and it passed 5 of 8 compliance checks. Our Muck Rack review explains the score.

Muck Rack combines a journalist database with monitoring, reporting and AI tools in one subscription. Profiles with a green badge are meant for full-time journalists and kept by an editorial team of over 100 people, and the company says every listing is reviewed at least once a year. Its AI Media List Agent recommends journalists and reviews a pitch against a list.

It sells Starter, Standard and Premier plans with no public prices, and Starter limits media list exports. It has 4.6 out of 5 on G2 from 350 reviews (checked November 2026), a figure reported by a third party.

Roxhill came fourth with 2.5 out of 5, scoring 2.5 on every part. It found 63 of our 100 journalists, with valid emails for 39 and valid phone numbers for 42 of them, so its phones held up slightly better than its emails. It got the beat or outlet right for 38, its typical record was 132 days old, and it passed 5 of 8 compliance checks. More in our Roxhill review.

Roxhill is a journalist database built for UK media, founded by the person who previously built Gorkana. Its profiles include bios, recent work and pitching preferences, which help you write a better pitch, and monitoring is sold in the same pricing bands.

Pricing is a total annual fee in Core, Boutique, Enterprise and Premium bands, with no monthly plans and no prices on its site. It has 4.4 out of 5 on Capterra from 14 reviews (checked November 2026); users like the easy set-up but say coverage outside the UK is thin.

Listen Notes came fifth with 2 out of 5. It found 56 of our 100 journalists, but only 37 had a valid email, 36 a valid phone number and 30 the right beat or company. Its typical record was 127 days old and it passed 5 of 8 compliance checks. Coverage, at 2.5, was its best part. Our Listen Notes review has the full results.

To be fair, Listen Notes isn't trying to be a PR database. It is a podcast search engine with a developer API, the Listen API, for searching shows, episodes and playlists. It is the only tool here with a free plan and published prices: the free plan allows 150 requests a month, and Pro adds transcripts, advanced search fields and up to 300 results per query.

Free and Pro users must show a Listen Notes logo and can't store data on their own servers, and all Pro sales are final. It has 2.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from just 2 reviews (checked November 2026).

Meltwater came sixth with 2 out of 5. It found 56 of our 100 journalists, but only 30 had a valid email, the fewest in the test, and 31 a valid phone number. It got the beat or outlet right for 33, its typical record was 132 days old, and it passed 5 of 8 compliance checks, which earned its best part score, 2.5 for compliance. Read our Meltwater review.

Meltwater is a monitoring-first suite. Its plans combine media intelligence, social listening, AI visibility tracking and media relations, with influencer marketing on Enterprise and Agency plans. Its AI assistant is called Mira, and higher plans add API and MCP access and custom dashboards.

All four plans, Starter, Pro, Enterprise and Agency, are priced by quote. Most contracts are annual with a 12-month minimum, and there may be a one-time onboarding fee. It has 1.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 17 reviews (checked November 2026), with complaints about renewals, cancellation and price.

Podchaser came last of seven with 2 out of 5, scoring 2 on every part. It found 53 of our 100 journalists, with valid emails for 31 and valid phone numbers for 28 of them, and the right beat or company for 30. Its typical record was 151 days old, the oldest in the test, and it passed 4 of 8 compliance checks, the fewest.

Podchaser is built for podcasts, not newsrooms. It is a large podcast directory that also tracks the people and credits behind shows, and its Pro product lets PR and ad teams search shows, find host and producer contacts and look at audience data.

Pro is sold through sales with no official public price. Its only user rating is 3.6 out of 5 on Trustpilot from a single review (checked November 2026).