A journalist database earns its keep two ways: the data has to be accurate—right reporter, right beat, current contact—and you have to be able to pitch from it without copy-pasting into Gmail. The catch is price: the best databases are sales-led and run into five figures. Our top pick is Muck Rack, with an SR Score of 89, for a database that updates itself from published work. But because cost matters, JournoFinder (84) at $99/month and Anewstip (82) from $150/month are the realistic picks for most teams.
The ranking
| Rank | Tool | Best for | Entry price | SR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muck Rack | Self-updating accuracy | ~$5,000/yr (sales-led) | 89 |
| 2 | JournoFinder | Budget database + alerts | $99/mo | 84 |
| 3 | Anewstip | Cheap large search index | from $150/mo | 82 |
| 4 | Cision | Enterprise breadth | ~$7,000+/yr (sales-led) | 81 |
| 5 | Roxhill | UK media depth | from ~£6,450/yr | 80 |
| 6 | Prezly | Pitching + bring-your-own data | from $100/mo | 78 |
| 7 | Semrush PR Toolkit | PR data inside an SEO suite | Pro $139.95/mo | 75 |
Methodology
The Tool Score v2026 rubric weights five criteria summing to 100:
- Data accuracy & coverage (30) — size, freshness, and correctness of journalist records.
- Pitching & contact tools (25) — pitch workflow, personalization, contact management.
- Value for money (20) — what you get at a realistic plan relative to price.
- Monitoring & reporting (15) — coverage tracking, alerts, campaign reports.
- Transparency (10) — published pricing and honest limits.
Data accuracy and pitching lead because a stale database wastes pitches. Transparency is scored honestly—closed five-figure pricing loses points even on excellent products.
Muck Rack
The modern standard. Muck Rack auto-indexes journalists by their published articles and social activity, so beats and contacts stay current, and its pitching and monitoring are mature. Pricing is closed; public estimates put entry near $5,000/year, most teams at $12,000–$15,000, larger deployments above $25,000.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Data accuracy & coverage | 29/30 |
| Pitching & contact tools | 23/25 |
| Value for money | 14/20 |
| Monitoring & reporting | 14/15 |
| Transparency | 9/10 |
Trade-off: opaque, five-figure pricing rules it out for many small teams.
JournoFinder
A budget journalist database plus query-alert system: search journalists by topic for emails and social handles, and get notified of relevant source requests. Pricing is $99/month or $189/year. Remarkable value; coverage and data depth trail the enterprise tools.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Data accuracy & coverage | 23/30 |
| Pitching & contact tools | 21/25 |
| Value for money | 20/20 |
| Monitoring & reporting | 12/15 |
| Transparency | 10/10 |
Trade-off: smaller database and lighter pitching than Muck Rack.
Anewstip
A large, searchable index of 1M+ journalists by topic, keyword, and outlet, starting at $150/month. Strong for discovery at a low price; pitching and monitoring are basic compared with full PR suites.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Data accuracy & coverage | 24/30 |
| Pitching & contact tools | 18/25 |
| Value for money | 19/20 |
| Monitoring & reporting | 11/15 |
| Transparency | 10/10 |
Trade-off: search-led; thin workflow once you’ve found a contact.
Cision
The legacy enterprise platform: huge media database, wire distribution, and broad monitoring. Sales-led pricing, often $7,000+/year. Comprehensive but heavy and pricey; many teams use a fraction of it.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Data accuracy & coverage | 27/30 |
| Pitching & contact tools | 21/25 |
| Value for money | 12/20 |
| Monitoring & reporting | 14/15 |
| Transparency | 7/10 |
Trade-off: opaque high pricing and enterprise complexity.
Roxhill
A UK-focused database with 190,000+ detailed profiles including pitching preferences; packages run roughly £6,450–£25,000/year. Best-in-class for UK media; regionally focused and priced for agencies.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Data accuracy & coverage | 26/30 |
| Pitching & contact tools | 21/25 |
| Value for money | 13/20 |
| Monitoring & reporting | 12/15 |
| Transparency | 8/10 |
Trade-off: UK-centric; little value for US-focused outreach.
Prezly
A PR CRM with public pricing from $100/month: strong pitching, branded newsrooms, and coverage tracking, but a bring-your-own contact database rather than a large pre-built index. Great workflow and transparency; you supply the journalist data.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Data accuracy & coverage | 19/30 |
| Pitching & contact tools | 22/25 |
| Value for money | 18/20 |
| Monitoring & reporting | 13/15 |
| Transparency | 10/10 |
Trade-off: no big built-in database—best paired with a discovery tool.
Semrush PR Toolkit
After Prowly was discontinued as a standalone in December 2025 and folded into Semrush, its media features live in the Semrush AI PR Toolkit (plans from $139.95/month) with reduced limits. Convenient for existing Semrush users; the journalist data is thinner than dedicated databases.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Data accuracy & coverage | 19/30 |
| Pitching & contact tools | 19/25 |
| Value for money | 16/20 |
| Monitoring & reporting | 12/15 |
| Transparency | 9/10 |
Trade-off: reduced limits versus the former standalone Prowly.
Verification
- Muck Rack — self-updating database and pricing estimates verified via muckrack.com and Prezly/Vendr guides.
- JournoFinder — $99/month and $189/year pricing verified on journofinder.com listings.
- Anewstip — 1M+ journalist index and $150/month pricing verified via Anewstip and review guides.
- Cision — pricing estimate and breadth verified via industry pricing guides.
- Roxhill — profile count and £6,450–£25,000 packages verified via UK Government Digital Marketplace.
- Prezly — $100/month pricing and CRM features verified on prezly.com.
- Semrush PR Toolkit — Prowly-to-Semrush transition verified via Prowly/Semrush.
Related rankings
- Best Digital PR Tools 2026: 7 Platforms Scored
- Best Press Release Distribution 2026: 7 Scored
- Best HARO Alternatives 2026: 7 Platforms Scored
- Best A/B Testing Tools 2026: 7 Platforms Scored
Frequently asked questions
- What is a journalist database?
- It's a searchable directory of reporters and outlets with beats, contact details, and recent coverage, used to find and pitch the right journalist for a story. The best ones update automatically from journalists' published work so contacts stay current.
- What is the best journalist database in 2026?
- Muck Rack tops our scoring for self-updating data and integrated pitching, but it's sales-led and expensive. JournoFinder at $99/month and Anewstip from $150/month are far cheaper alternatives with respectable coverage.
- How much do journalist databases cost?
- A lot, at the top end. Muck Rack is sales-led with public estimates near $5,000/year entry and $12,000–$15,000 for most teams; Cision is often $7,000+/year; Roxhill runs £6,450–£25,000. Budget options like JournoFinder ($99/mo) and Anewstip ($150/mo) publish prices.
- Do I need a journalist database or a source-request tool?
- Different jobs. A database lets you proactively pitch specific journalists; a source-request tool (Featured, Qwoted) lets you respond to journalists' open requests. Many PR teams use both—database for targeted pitches, request tools for inbound opportunities.