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Featured vs. Muck Rack
Featured is an AI co-pilot for PR that finds media opportunities and drafts pitches, with public pricing from $0. Muck Rack is a PR suite built on a journalist database, monitoring and reporting, sold by custom quote. Pick Featured for inbound opportunities on a self-serve budget. Pick Muck Rack for a full media relations system on an annual contract.
Updated Prices and plans checked November 10, 2026Sources
The short answer
Different jobs, different budgets
Featured and Muck Rack do 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. Every plan includes every feature, and the prices are public: Free, Lite at $39 a month, Pro at $99 and Pro+ at $299, with 20% off for annual billing.
Muck Rack is a PR suite. Its core is a database of journalists and outlets, with pitching tools, media monitoring and coverage reporting built around it. Muck Rack lists three plans (Starter, Standard and Premier) and quotes each one through sales. Vendr, which tracks software purchases, reports a median Muck Rack contract of $13,000 a year.
The two overlap less than the category label suggests, and a team can run both.
Choose Featured if
- You want reporters, podcasts and publishers that are already asking for sources, not a cold list to work through.
- 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. Muck Rack's own FAQ says solo practitioners often find alternatives better suited to sporadic use, though it points to its Starter tier for individuals.
- You want the searching done for you on a schedule and delivered to Slack or email.
- You need more than press: podcast guesting, awards, speaking and bylined articles in one place.
Choose Muck Rack if
- Your work is proactive media relations at volume, and you need a deep, maintained database of journalists and outlets.
- You report coverage to executives or clients and need dashboards, presentations and sentiment analysis.
- You need print, broadcast or social listening. Muck Rack sells these as add-ons.
- You have budget for an annual contract and want onboarding and a named customer success manager, which Muck Rack lists on Standard and Premier.
Featured wrote this page, so read it with that in mind. Every Muck Rack fact below comes from Muck Rack's own pages or a named third party, checked on November 10, 2026 and linked in the sources.
Side by side
Featured and Muck Rack at a glance
| Featured | Muck Rack | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI co-pilot for PR | PR suite: journalist database, pitching, monitoring, reporting |
| Best for | Founders, solo PR pros, small teams and agencies that want opportunities and drafting help | PR teams that need a media database, monitoring and reporting under one contract |
| Starting price | $0. Free plan | Not published. Quote from sales |
| Paid plans | Lite $39, Pro $99, Pro+ $299 a month. 20% off billed annually | Starter, Standard, Premier. Vendr median: $13,000 a year |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan, no credit card | No free plan listed. Free tools for journalists |
| Contract | Monthly or annual. Change plans any time | Annual contracts are typical, per Vendr |
| Team seats | Team plans include up to 25 logins, no per-seat fee | Priced by number of users and modules |
| How you work | Chat prompts and scheduled workflows | Search, media lists, alerts and dashboards |
| Journalist requests | Yes. HARO, Connectively, Substack, X, LinkedIn | Not listed on pricing page |
| AI visibility | GEO Audit across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini | Generative Pulse and AI Visibility Badges |
| Founded | 2022 | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Scottsdale, Arizona | Miami, Florida |
Checked November 10, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page.
Definitions
What each one is
What is Featured?
Featured 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 Muck Rack?
Muck Rack describes itself as an AI communications platform. PR teams use it to search a database of journalists and media outlets, build media lists, send pitches, monitor coverage and report results. Journalists use Muck Rack for free to keep their own profiles and portfolios current, which helps keep the database fresh. Additions in 2026 include AI Visibility Badges, Curation Engine for monitoring, Newsjacking Opportunities and AI agents such as Media List Agent and Coverage Analyst. Generative Pulse tracks AI visibility. Muck Rack was founded in 2009 and is based in Miami.
Key differences
Five differences that decide it
- 1
Featured starts from the opportunity. Muck Rack starts from the journalist.
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 pulls journalist requests from HARO, Connectively, Substack, X and LinkedIn, matches them to your expertise and drafts a response. In Muck Rack, the first thing you see is a search of people and outlets. You decide who to pitch, build the list and send the outreach. Both approaches earn coverage. Inbound requests tend to suit small teams because the journalist has already said what they need.
- 2
Featured publishes prices. Muck Rack quotes them.
Featured's pricing page lists every plan. Individual plans are Free, Lite ($39 a month), Pro ($99) and Pro+ ($299). Team plans start at $199 a month and include up to 25 logins with no per-seat fee. Annual billing takes 20% off. Muck Rack's pricing page lists Starter, Standard and Premier, each with a Contact us button, and says pricing depends on factors such as the number of users. Vendr reports a median contract of $13,000 a year across 80 purchases, with a range of $8,000 to $20,860, and says annual contracts are typical (data last updated February 2026).
- 3
Featured is chat and workflows. Muck Rack is search, lists and dashboards.
Featured is built around a prompt box. Ask for a one-time search, or tell it to run a workflow every morning and post matches to Slack. There are 13 workflow templates, including an all-in-one digest. Muck Rack is built around structured tools: search filters, saved media lists, pitch tracking, alerts and report templates. In 2026 it added AI agents that work on top of those tools, including Media List Agent (in beta since February) and Coverage Analyst. The structure suits a team with an established process. Asking in plain language suits a team without a dedicated PR hire.
- 4
Both track AI visibility, in different ways.
Featured's GEO Audit runs your buying prompts through ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini, shows whether your brand appears and which sources each engine cites, then points you to the publications worth pitching. It is included in every plan. Muck Rack's Generative Pulse tracks how a brand appears in AI answers over time, and its AI Visibility Badges mark the journalists and outlets that AI answers cite most. On Muck Rack's pricing page the badges are part of Standard and Premier.
- 5
Muck Rack goes deeper on monitoring and reporting.
Featured monitors mentions of your brand, people and competitors across news, blogs, podcasts and YouTube and sends alerts to Slack or email. For a small team, that covers the basics. Muck Rack adds sentiment analysis, coverage reports, dashboards and presentation tools, with print, broadcast and social listening available as add-ons. If measurement is the main reason you are buying PR software, Muck Rack is the stronger fit.
Features
Featured vs. Muck Rack: feature comparison
| Feature | Featured | Muck Rack |
|---|---|---|
| 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. Core database of people and outlets |
| Podcasts | Yes. Search 814,000 active shows for guest spots | Podcast monitoring on Standard and Premier |
| Bylined article and guest post openings | Yes | Not listed |
| Awards and speaking opportunities | Yes | Not listed |
| Newsjacking | Yes. Newsjacking workflow | Yes. Newsjacking Opportunities, for Curation Engine customers |
| Pitching | ||
| AI-drafted pitches | Yes | Yes. PressPal.ai |
| AI agents | Yes. Chat co-pilot and scheduled workflows | Yes. Media List Agent (beta) and Coverage Analyst |
| Media lists | Yes | Yes. Exports are limited on Starter |
| Press release distribution | Yes. Through newswire partners | Add-on |
| Monitoring and measurement | ||
| Media monitoring | Yes. News, blogs, podcasts and YouTube | Yes. Online news, with alerts by email and Slack |
| Print, broadcast and social listening | No | Add-ons |
| Coverage reports and dashboards | Alerts and digests | Yes. Custom dashboards on Premier |
| AI visibility tracking | Yes. GEO Audit, on every plan | Yes. Generative Pulse. Badges on Standard and Premier |
| Buying | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No. Free tools for journalists only |
| Public pricing | Yes | No |
| Self-serve signup | Yes | No. Demo and proposal |
| MCP server for AI assistants | Yes | Announced September 2026, for coverage analysis |
“Not listed” means the feature does not appear on the vendor’s public pricing or product pages as of November 10, 2026.
Pricing
Featured vs. Muck Rack: pricing
Featured publishes its prices. Muck Rack sends a proposal after a demo, so the Muck Rack figures here come from Vendr's purchase data.
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.
Muck Rack pricing
| Plan | Price | Who it is for, per Muck Rack |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Contact sales | Individuals. Basic access |
| Standard | Contact sales | Most PR teams. Listed as most popular |
| Premier | Contact sales | Enterprises and advanced teams |
| Add-ons | Contact sales | Print and broadcast monitoring, social listening, press release distribution |
Vendr reports a median Muck Rack contract of $13,000 a year across 80 purchases, with a range of $8,000 to $20,860, and says annual contracts are typical (last updated February 2026). Sources: muckrack.com/pricing and Vendr.
Using both
Using Featured with Muck Rack
The two products do not replace each other cleanly. One setup is Muck Rack as the system of record for media lists, monitoring and reporting, with Featured covering what Muck Rack's pricing page does not list: inbound journalist requests, podcast guesting, awards and speaking.
There is no direct integration between them today. Because Featured starts at $0, the cost of trying the combination is low.
FAQ
Featured vs. Muck Rack: frequently asked questions
Is Featured a good alternative to Muck Rack?
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 a large journalist database with print, broadcast and social monitoring plus executive reporting. For that, Muck Rack is the better fit.
How much does Muck Rack cost?
Muck Rack does not publish prices. Its pricing page lists three plans (Starter, Standard and Premier) and asks buyers to contact sales for a proposal. Vendr reports a median contract of $13,000 a year across 80 purchases, with a range of $8,000 to $20,860 (data last updated February 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.
Does Muck Rack have a free plan or a free trial?
Muck Rack offers free tools for journalists, such as profiles and portfolios. Its PR platform requires a paid subscription with custom pricing, and the pricing page does not list a free trial. Buyers start with a demo.
Does Featured have a journalist database?
Featured finds journalists by matching your topic against recent coverage, then returns the writers, their outlets and their latest headlines so you can build a list and draft a pitch. It is designed for finding the right few reporters for a story, not for browsing a directory of every journalist.
Which is better for AI visibility, Featured or Muck Rack?
They measure different things. Featured's GEO Audit checks how ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini answer your buying prompts and which sources they cite, and it is included in every plan. Muck Rack's Generative Pulse tracks brand visibility in AI answers over time, and its AI Visibility Badges show which journalists and outlets AI cites most. Featured is the lower-cost way to run an audit. Muck Rack ties AI visibility into a larger monitoring and reporting suite.
Can I use Featured and Muck Rack together?
Yes. A team can use Muck Rack for media lists, monitoring and reporting, and Featured for inbound journalist requests, podcasts, awards and speaking opportunities. Featured starts at $0, so there is little cost to adding it.
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 Muck Rack come from Muck Rack's public pricing and product pages, its press releases and Vendr's published purchase data, all checked on November 10, 2026. Where Muck Rack 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)
- Muck Rack pricing (plans, feature list, FAQ)
- Vendr: Muck Rack pricing data (median, range, contract terms; last updated February 2026)
- Muck Rack: Generative Pulse
- Muck Rack: Above the Fold, Q3 2026 (Curation Engine, Coverage Analyst, MCP, Newsjacking Opportunities; last updated October 26, 2026)
- Muck Rack Launches Media List Agent (The PR Net, February 2026)
- Muck Rack Launches AI Visibility Badges (GlobeNewswire, March 5, 2026)
Featured, Muck Rack 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.
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.