Featured · Compare
Featured vs. Cision
Featured is an AI co-pilot for PR that finds media opportunities and drafts pitches, with public pricing from $0. Cision is a media monitoring and intelligence company whose platform, CisionOne, is sold by quote. Pick Featured for inbound opportunities on a self-serve budget. Pick Cision for monitoring across print, broadcast and social with a large journalist database.
Updated Prices and plans checked November 12, 2026Sources
The short answer
Featured vs. Cision: the short answer
Featured and Cision are built for different jobs. Featured is an AI co-pilot for PR. You type what you want in plain language, and Featured finds live opportunities (journalist requests, podcasts, bylined articles, awards, speaking slots), drafts the pitch, and can repeat the search on a schedule. The prices are public: Free, Lite at $39 a month, Pro at $99 and Pro+ at $299, with at least 20% off for annual billing.
Cision describes CisionOne as the all-in-one platform for real-time media intelligence. It covers media monitoring, reporting, social listening and journalist outreach, and Cision also owns PR Newswire and Brandwatch. Cision does not publish prices. Its pricing page lists four packages and says pricing is provided during a short consultation. Vendr, which tracks software purchases, reports a median Cision contract of $12,625 a year.
A small team that wants coverage can start with Featured today. A communications team that has to monitor and report on coverage across many channels is the buyer Cision is built for.
Choose Featured if
- You want reporters, podcasts and publishers that are already asking for sources.
- You need to see the price and start today. Featured has a free plan and no sales call.
- You are a founder, a solo practitioner or a small agency without an annual software budget.
- You want HARO queries. HARO was a Cision product until 2024 and is now run by Featured.
Choose Cision if
- You need monitoring across print, online, TV, radio, podcasts and social. Cision says CisionOne covers 190+ countries and 96 languages.
- You want a large maintained database. Cision lists 500k+ validated journalists and outlets.
- You send press releases at volume and want PR Newswire in the same vendor relationship.
- You have budget for a quoted contract and want Cision's professional services.
Featured wrote this page, so read it with that in mind. Every Cision fact below comes from Cision's own pages or a named third party, checked on November 12, 2026 and linked in the sources.
Side by side
Featured and Cision at a glance
| Featured | Cision | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI co-pilot for PR | Media monitoring and intelligence platform (CisionOne) |
| Best for | Founders, solo PR pros, small teams and agencies that want opportunities and drafting help | PR and communications teams that need monitoring, reporting and outreach in one platform |
| Starting price | $0. Free plan | Not published. Pricing by consultation |
| Paid plans | Lite $39, Pro $99, Pro+ $299 a month. At least 20% off billed annually | Four packages, each quoted. Vendr median: $12,625 a year |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan, no credit card | None listed. Demo and consultation |
| How you work | Chat prompts and scheduled workflows | Mention streams, dashboards, media lists and releases |
| Journalist requests | Yes. HARO, Connectively, Substack, X, LinkedIn | Not listed |
| Journalist database | Finds writers from recent coverage | 500k+ validated journalists and outlets |
| AI visibility | GEO Audit across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini | AI Visibility Dashboards across nine AI platforms |
| Press release wire | Through newswire partners | PR Newswire, a Cision brand |
Checked November 12, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page.
Definitions
What each one is
What is Featured?
Featured (featured.com) is the AI co-pilot for PR. It is a chat-first product: ask for journalist requests on your topic, podcasts that book guests like you, or awards your company can win, and Featured returns a matched list and drafts the pitch. Workflows run the same searches on a schedule and deliver results to Slack or email. Featured relaunched in this form on June 2, 2026. The company also owns and operates HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and Connectively, which supply many of its journalist requests. Featured is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
What is Cision?
Cision's site describes the company as AI-powered media monitoring and intelligence for PR and comms. Its platform, CisionOne, combines media monitoring, insights and reporting, social listening and journalist outreach. Cision also owns PR Newswire for press release distribution, Brandwatch for consumer intelligence and Trajaan for search intelligence. The company traces its origins to 1876 and says more than 75,000 organisations rely on it. Cision owned HARO from 2014 until it shut the service down in 2024.
Key differences
Featured vs. Cision: key differences
- 1
Featured starts from the opportunity. Cision starts from the coverage.
In Featured, the first thing you see is a request: a reporter on deadline, a podcast booking guests, an award with an open deadline. Featured matches those to your expertise and drafts a response. CisionOne opens on mention streams and dashboards that show what has already been published about you, your competitors and your industry. Its outreach tools then work from a database of journalists. One product is built to earn coverage, the other to track and report it.
- 2
Featured publishes prices. Cision quotes them.
Featured's pricing page lists every plan, from Free to Pro+ at $299 a month, with team plans from $199 a month. Cision's pricing page lists four packages (Journalist Outreach, Media Monitoring, Media Monitoring + Social and CisionOne Suite) and says it will recommend a package and provide pricing during a short consultation. Vendr reports a median contract of $12,625 a year across 108 purchases, with a range of $3,150 to $30,945 (last updated February 2026). SpendHound reports an average of $10,751 a year for companies with 50 to 1,000 employees and $180,131 for companies with more than 1,000 (page last updated October 29, 2026).
- 3
HARO moved from Cision to Featured.
Cision acquired HARO's parent company in 2014, renamed the service Connectively in 2024 and shut it down that December. Featured acquired HARO in April 2025 and relaunched it as a free email newsletter, then relaunched Connectively as a separate platform in May 2026. Journalist requests from both now appear in Featured. Cision's pricing page does not list journalist requests as a feature.
- 4
Cision goes much deeper on monitoring.
Featured monitors mentions of your brand, people and competitors across news, blogs, podcasts and YouTube and sends alerts to Slack or email. CisionOne monitors print, online, TV, radio, podcasts, magazines and social, and Cision says its sources span 190+ countries and 96 languages. It adds reporting dashboards, a React Score that flags harmful content, and social publishing. If monitoring is the reason you are buying, Cision is the stronger fit.
- 5
Both track AI visibility, in different ways.
Featured's GEO Audit runs your buying prompts through ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini, shows which sources each engine cites and points you to publications worth pitching. It is included in every plan. Cision's AI Visibility Dashboards, powered by Trajaan, track visibility and share of voice across nine AI platforms inside CisionOne and link cited journalists to their outreach profiles.
Features
Featured vs. Cision: feature comparison
| Feature | Featured | Cision |
|---|---|---|
| Finding opportunities | ||
| Journalist requests (reporters asking for sources) | Yes. From HARO, Connectively, Substack, X and LinkedIn | Not listed |
| Journalist and outlet search | Yes. Builds lists from recent coverage | Yes. Database of 500k+ journalists and outlets |
| Podcasts | Yes. Search 814,000 active shows for guest spots | Podcast monitoring |
| Bylined article and guest post openings | Yes | Not listed |
| Awards and speaking opportunities | Yes | Not listed |
| Pitching | ||
| AI-drafted pitches | Yes | Yes. AI-powered pitching in CisionOne |
| Scheduled workflows | Yes. 13 workflow templates | Real-time and scheduled alerts |
| Press release distribution | Yes. Through newswire partners | Yes. Release tools in CisionOne, and PR Newswire |
| Monitoring and measurement | ||
| Media monitoring | Yes. News, blogs, podcasts and YouTube | Yes. Print, online, TV, radio, podcasts, magazines, social |
| Social listening and publishing | No | Yes. CisionOne Social |
| Coverage reports and dashboards | Alerts and digests | Yes. Instant Insights dashboards and reports |
| AI visibility tracking | Yes. GEO Audit, on every plan | Yes. AI Visibility Dashboards |
| Buying | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Public pricing | Yes | No |
| Self-serve signup | Yes | No. Consultation with sales |
“Not listed” means the feature does not appear on the vendor’s public pricing or product pages as of November 12, 2026.
Pricing
Featured vs. Cision: pricing
Featured publishes its prices. Cision provides pricing in a consultation, so the Cision figures here come from purchase data published by Vendr and SpendHound.
Featured pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Billed annually | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Every feature, with a starter daily allowance |
| Lite | $39 | $29 a month ($348 a year) | 5x the AI usage of Free |
| Pro | $99 | $79 a month ($948 a year) | 5x the usage of Lite |
| Pro+ | $299 | $239 a month ($2,868 a year) | 20x the usage of Lite |
| Team Lite | $199 | $159 a month ($1,908 a year) | Up to 25 logins sharing one usage pool |
| Team Pro | $499 | $399 a month ($4,788 a year) | 5x the pool of Team Lite |
| Team Pro+ | $1,499 | $1,199 a month ($14,388 a year) | 20x the pool of Team Lite |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited members, usage billed at API rates |
Every Featured plan includes every feature. Plans differ only by daily AI usage. Source: featured.com/pricing.
Cision pricing
| Package | Price | What it covers, per Cision |
|---|---|---|
| Journalist Outreach | By consultation | Journalist contacts, AI-powered pitching, press release distribution, outreach reporting |
| Media Monitoring | By consultation | Mentions across print, online, TV, radio, podcasts and magazines, with dashboards and alerts |
| Media Monitoring + Social | By consultation | Media Monitoring plus social listening and social channel management |
| CisionOne Suite | By consultation | Outreach, monitoring, insights and social in one package |
Vendr reports a median Cision contract of $12,625 a year across 108 purchases, with a range of $3,150 to $30,945 (last updated February 2026). SpendHound reports an average of $10,751 a year for companies with 50 to 1,000 employees and $180,131 a year for companies with more than 1,000 (page last updated October 29, 2026). Sources: cision.com, Vendr and SpendHound.
Using both
Using Featured with Cision
The two products cover different parts of the work. One setup is CisionOne as the system of record for monitoring, reporting and press release distribution, with Featured covering inbound journalist requests, podcast guesting, awards and speaking.
There is no direct integration between them today. Featured starts at $0, so a team can test the combination without a second contract.
FAQ
Featured vs. Cision: frequently asked questions
Is Featured a good alternative to Cision?
It depends on the job. Featured is a good alternative if you mainly want media opportunities and pitch drafting at a self-serve price: it has a free plan, and paid plans run from $39 to $299 a month. It is not a replacement if you need monitoring across print, broadcast and social, executive reporting or a press release wire. For those, Cision is the better fit.
How much does Cision cost?
Cision does not publish prices. Its pricing page lists four packages and says pricing is provided during a short consultation. Vendr reports a median contract of $12,625 a year across 108 purchases, with a range of $3,150 to $30,945 (last updated February 2026). SpendHound reports an average of $10,751 a year for companies with 50 to 1,000 employees (page last updated October 29, 2026).
How much does Featured cost?
Featured has a free plan. Paid individual plans are Lite at $39 a month, Pro at $99 and Pro+ at $299, or $29, $79 and $239 a month when billed annually. Team plans include up to 25 logins and start at $199 a month. Every plan includes every feature. Plans differ by daily AI usage.
What is a good Cision alternative for a small business, startup or freelancer?
Featured fits a small business, a startup or a freelance PR consultant that wants press coverage without a quoted contract. It has a free plan and paid plans from $39 a month, and it finds journalist requests, podcasts, awards and speaking slots that match what you do. If you need broadcast monitoring or a press release wire, Cision or another PR suite is the closer match.
Does Cision still run HARO?
No. Cision renamed HARO to Connectively in 2024 and shut it down in December of that year. Featured acquired HARO in April 2025 and runs it today as a free email newsletter of journalist requests.
Does Cision have a free plan or a free trial?
Cision's pricing page does not list a free plan or a free trial. Buyers start by speaking to an expert, who recommends a package and provides pricing.
Can I use Featured and Cision together?
Yes. A team can use CisionOne for monitoring, reporting and distribution, and Featured for inbound journalist requests, podcasts, awards and speaking opportunities.
Who owns Featured?
Featured is an independent company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It also owns and operates HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and Connectively.
Sources
Sources and how we checked
Featured wrote this page. Facts about Featured come from our own product and pricing pages. Facts about Cision come from Cision's public site and purchase data published by Vendr and SpendHound, read on November 12, 2026. Where Cision does not publish a detail, we say so. We do not have access to private pricing.
- Featured pricing (plans, prices, usage multipliers)
- Featured features (feature list and data sources)
- Featured workflows (workflow templates)
- Cision: CisionOne (platform, database size, monitoring coverage)
- Cision: compare solutions and request pricing (four packages, pricing by consultation)
- Cision: AI Visibility (dashboards, nine AI platforms, Trajaan)
- About Cision (brands, history, customers)
- Vendr: Cision pricing data (median, range, purchase count; last updated February 2026)
- SpendHound: Cision pricing (average contract value by company size; page last updated October 29, 2026)
- About HARO (HARO's history with Cision and Featured)
Featured, Cision and other product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at support@featured.com and we will correct it.
Keep comparing
More comparisons
See what Featured finds for you
Ask for journalist requests, podcasts or awards on your topic. Free to start, and no credit card is needed.