Muck Rack is a journalist research database on an annual contract: 5,000 USD a year for one seat, 13,000 USD at the median (Prezly, August 2026; Vendr, February 2026). PressPilot is a sending tool from 29 EUR a month per 100 journalists (excl. VAT), no contract, with AI writing and a hosted newsroom included. Different jobs, very different bills.
The short answer
Muck Rack answers the question "who should I pitch, and what did they publish last week". PressPilot answers "write this release and get it in front of 200 relevant journalists today". They are complementary far more often than they are competing. If budget forces a choice, the test is simple: count the hours your team spends researching journalists in a normal week. Above two hours, the research tool earns its contract. Below thirty minutes, you are paying five figures for a contact list you could rent per campaign.
How Muck Rack actually prices
Muck Rack does not publish a rate card, and muckrack.com/pricing returned HTTP 403 to automated readers when we checked on 3 September 2026. Plans are named Starter, Standard and Premier, each building on the previous one, and Standard is where unlimited media list exports and AI-powered journalist recommendations start (Rephonic, 26 August 2026). Every plan is a 12-month contract with no monthly option and no free trial (Prezly, August 2026; AuthorityTech, 23 July 2026).
| Benchmark | Annual cost (USD) | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Basic licence, one user | 5,000 | Prezly Academy (August 2026), same figure in Rephonic (26 August 2026) |
| Typical buyer, all sizes | About 10,000 | Prezly Academy (August 2026) |
| Median real contract | 13,000, from 8,000 to 20,860 | Vendr, 59 deals (February 2026) |
| Full spread of reported quotes | 3,500 (1 seat) to 53,000 (7 to 9 seats) | Rephonic, 24 quotes (26 August 2026) |
| Editorial estimate, mid-market to enterprise | 10,000 to 25,000 | AuthorityTech (23 July 2026) |
| Add-on modules and services | Plus 10 to 30% of the base subscription | Vendr (February 2026) |
The full breakdown, including the negotiation levers and what buyers saved, is in the Muck Rack pricing guide.
PressPilot pricing side by side
PressPilot has no seats and no subscription requirement. One credit is one journalist contacted. Packs are 60 EUR for 100 credits, 195 EUR for 500, 340 EUR for 1,000 and 750 EUR for 2,500, with optional subscriptions that cost less per credit: 29 EUR per month for 100 credits, 79 EUR for 300 and 179 EUR for 800, all excl. VAT (presspilot.io/pricing, October 2026). Credits never expire, so an unused month costs nothing.
| Usage over one year | Muck Rack (USD) | PressPilot (EUR) | What the gap buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| One person, research only, no sending | 5,000, basic licence | Not applicable | Research is the job PressPilot does not do |
| 12 campaigns of 100 journalists | 5,000 at the entry licence, and sending still happens elsewhere | 348 on the 29 EUR monthly plan, or 460 on credit packs | AI writing, hosted newsroom, open and reply tracking included |
| 12 campaigns of 300 journalists | 13,000 at the median contract | 948 on the 79 EUR Team plan (300 credits a month), or about 1,150 on packs | Same workflow, no seats, no renewal date |
| Contract shape | Annual only, no trial | None, credits never expire | You can stop for a quarter without losing anything |
PressPilot vs Muck Rack, feature by feature
| Feature | PressPilot | Muck Rack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 29 EUR a month for 100 credits, 0.25 to 0.60 EUR per journalist depending on the plan | 5,000 USD a year for one seatPrezly, Rephonic (August 2026) |
| Median annual spend | What you send, nothing else | 13,000 USDVendr, 59 deals (February 2026) |
| Journalist database size | 45,476 journalistslive count, September 2026 | 250,000+ contactsAuthorityTech (23 July 2026) |
| Journalist research and pitch history | No archive of published work | Core product: profiles built from what reporters publish |
| AI press release writing | Yes, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese | No writing; AI journalist recommendations from the Standard planRephonic (26 August 2026) |
| Hosted newsroom | Yes, included | No |
| Media monitoring | No | Yes, part of the platform |
| Open and reply tracking | Yes, per campaign | Yes, tied to individual reporters |
| Contract and trial | No contract, free account, credits never expire | Annual only, no free trialPrezly (August 2026), AuthorityTech (July 2026) |
| Seats | No seat licences | Price scales directly with licensed usersVendr (February 2026) |
| Data residency | EU hosting, GDPR | Not stated on the pricing page |
| Regulated disclosure | No | No |
3 scenarios where PressPilot wins
Scenario 1: a startup with a few hundred euros a year for PR
A Series A SaaS sends four product announcements a year to tech journalists. On Muck Rack that means a 5,000 USD annual licence before a single email leaves, and the sending still happens in another tool. On PressPilot, four campaigns of 200 journalists is 800 credits: one 1,000-credit Scale pack at 340 EUR covers the year, with the drafts written and the releases hosted.
Scenario 2: an agency rotating five small clients
A two-person agency runs light research and sends about two campaigns a week. Muck Rack quotes at that size sit between 4,650 and 10,000 USD in Rephonic's data, and Vendr's low is 8,000 USD. PressPilot at 100 journalists per campaign is roughly 10,000 credits a year, or 2,400 EUR on 1,000-credit packs, and every client gets its own newsroom. The trade: no pitch history, no coverage tracking.
Scenario 3: corporate comms, eight announcements a year
A comms team ships product launches, partnerships and hires eight times a year and does almost no journalist profiling. A 5,000 USD entry licence is 625 USD per announcement for a database they open eight times. Eight campaigns of 200 journalists on PressPilot is 1,600 credits, about 480 EUR on packs, with AI drafts and the newsroom included.
2 scenarios where Muck Rack still wins
Scenario 1: pitching by name, every day
An agency working enterprise software accounts needs to know which reporters covered a competitor last month, what angle they took and whether a previous pitch landed. Muck Rack builds that from published work and keeps the pitch history against each name. PressPilot has 45,476 journalists and no archive of what they wrote. At that job the research tool is not expensive, it is the product.
Scenario 2: a team that needs monitoring under the same contract
A comms department that reports coverage and share of voice upward every month needs monitoring, not just sending. Muck Rack covers it, and Meltwater covers it more deeply at a 25,800 USD median contract (Vendr, February 2026). PressPilot has no monitoring at all, and adding a separate monitoring tool can wipe out the saving.
The hybrid stack: Muck Rack for research, PressPilot for sending
The common arrangement is not a replacement. Keep Muck Rack on the smallest plan that still exports lists, use it to build and qualify the list, then send from PressPilot so the release is written, hosted and tracked in one pass. A 5,000 USD entry licence plus 348 EUR for a year of the Startup plan (twelve campaigns) lands under 6,000 USD a year, against a 13,000 USD median contract for the full Muck Rack bundle plus whatever you pay to send. Check what your plan allows before you rely on it: unlimited media list exports start at Standard, not Starter (Rephonic, 26 August 2026).
How to decide in an afternoon
- Count the research hours. Above two hours a week of journalist profiling, keep a research tool. Below thirty minutes, rent contacts per campaign instead.
- Count the seats that log in weekly. Muck Rack prices per licensed user (Vendr, February 2026), and Rephonic's quotes go from 5,000 USD at one seat to 53,000 USD at seven to nine.
- Count the campaigns. Twelve campaigns of 100 journalists cost 348 EUR a year on the PressPilot Startup plan. Compare that with the licence you are being quoted, not with the list price.
- Ask for the export clause in writing before you sign or leave, so your media lists come out as CSV with the lawful basis recorded.
- Run one release both ways while both tools are live, and compare open rate, reply rate and coverage you can attribute.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Muck Rack cost compared to PressPilot?
- A basic one-user Muck Rack licence is reported at 5,000 USD a year and the median real contract at 13,000 USD (Prezly, August 2026; Vendr, February 2026). PressPilot charges from 29 EUR a month for 100 journalist credits, or 340 EUR for a one-off pack of 1,000, with no contract. Twelve campaigns of 100 journalists cost 348 EUR a year on the Startup plan.
- When should I use Muck Rack over PressPilot?
- When journalist research is the daily job. Muck Rack builds profiles from what reporters actually publish and tracks pitches and coverage against them, with a database listed at 250,000+ contacts (AuthorityTech, July 2026). PressPilot has 45,476 journalists (live count, September 2026) and no research archive. If you need to know what a reporter wrote last week before you pitch, keep Muck Rack.
- Does Muck Rack include press release writing or a newsroom?
- No. Muck Rack is a journalist database with pitching, monitoring and reporting. It does not draft releases and it does not host a public newsroom. PressPilot includes AI writing in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese and a hosted newsroom in the credit price, which is the main reason teams pair the two or swap one for the other.
- Does Muck Rack have a free trial or a monthly plan?
- Neither. Muck Rack sells annual contracts only, with no month-to-month option and no free trial, only a sales demo (Prezly, August 2026; AuthorityTech, 23 July 2026). PressPilot has a free account, charges only when you send, and credits never expire.
- Can I replace Muck Rack with PressPilot?
- Partly. PressPilot replaces the sending half: targeting, AI drafting, distribution, newsroom, open and reply tracking. It does not replace journalist research, pitch history or coverage monitoring. Teams that send a handful of campaigns a month and research lightly can drop Muck Rack; teams that pitch by name every day should keep it and move only the sending.
- Is Muck Rack worth 13,000 USD a year?
- It depends on seats and on how often you research. Vendr's median across 59 deals is 13,000 USD, from 8,000 to 20,860 USD (February 2026), and Rephonic's 24 buyer quotes run from 3,500 USD for one seat to 53,000 USD for 7 to 9 seats (26 August 2026). At 5,000 USD for one seat and a dozen campaigns a year, that is about 400 USD per campaign before you write anything.
- How many journalists does each tool cover?
- Muck Rack is listed at 250,000+ contacts and Cision at 1,400,000+ in the same comparison table (AuthorityTech, 23 July 2026). PressPilot has 45,476 journalists (live count, September 2026), weighted towards Europe and the four languages the product writes in. Size is not the whole story, but PressPilot is the smaller database and we say so.
- Do I need a wire alongside either tool?
- Only for regulated disclosure. Neither Muck Rack nor PressPilot files with the SEC or distributes on financial wires. Earnings, guidance and other Reg FD material still need PR Newswire, Business Wire or GlobeNewswire. Our Business Wire pricing guide puts a 400-word national release at 760 USD (Prezly, August 2026).
Related guides
- Muck Rack pricing 2026: what buyers actually pay
- 7 best Muck Rack alternatives 2026
- Prowly vs Muck Rack
- Cision vs PressPilot
- Press release distribution guide 2026
- PressPilot pricing
Keep the research, move the sending
PressPilot starts at 29 EUR a month for 100 journalist credits, with AI writing in four languages, a hosted newsroom and reply tracking included. No contract, no seats, no renewal date. It is not a research archive and it is not a wire, and we would rather you knew that before you sign up.