At a glance
| Criteria | PressPilot | Cision |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | 30 EUR for 100 credits | Around 7,200 USD per year (estimated) |
| Contract | Month to month, no commitment | Annual, multi-year upsell |
| Pricing visible | Yes, public page | No, sales quote only |
| AI writing included | Yes, on every plan | Add-on, extra cost |
| Journalist database size | 5,000+ verified, opted-in | 400,000+ raw (accuracy variable) |
| Custom newsroom | Included | Add-on |
| SEC disclosures | No | Yes, through affiliated wires |
| Best for | Startups, scale-ups, agencies, SMBs | Public companies, enterprise PR |
Where PressPilot wins
- Transparent pricing. Public, predictable, no quote required.
- AI writing on every plan. No add-on fees for core features.
- Verified journalist base. Fewer contacts, higher accuracy and opt-in.
- No annual contract. Month to month, cancel any time.
- Modern newsroom included. SEO-ready pages hosted on your subdomain.
Where Cision wins
- SEC and regulated disclosures. Formal filings infrastructure built in.
- Global enterprise scale. Footprint for multi-country Fortune 500 comms.
- Raw database size. Useful if you need breadth over precision.
- Analytics depth. Heavy reporting for enterprise comms teams.
Who should pick PressPilot
B2B startups, SaaS companies, scale-ups, PR agencies, and in-house comms leads at SMBs who want professional press release distribution without a five-figure annual contract and without gated AI features.
Who should pick Cision
Public companies, large corporate comms teams with strict regulatory needs, global multi-market PR operations, and organizations that already have Cision embedded in their workflow and do not have the runway to migrate.
How to migrate from Cision to PressPilot
- Export your media list from Cision as CSV
- Remove inactive contacts (bounces, unsubscribes)
- Import to PressPilot and map the fields
- Send a test release to a small segment
- Run in parallel for one cycle, then cut over
Frequently asked questions
- Is PressPilot cheaper than Cision?
- Yes. PressPilot starts at 30 EUR for 100 journalist credits with no annual contract. Cision starts around 7,200 USD per year on a 12-month contract (verified via Prezly Academy and public third-party data, April 2026). For most SMBs, SaaS companies and agencies, PressPilot is between 5 and 20 times cheaper on a per-release basis.
- Does PressPilot have as many journalists as Cision?
- Cision advertises a larger raw database (400,000+ contacts) but the database suffers from well-documented accuracy issues (see Muck Rack State of Journalism 2026). PressPilot focuses on a smaller, verified and opted-in journalist base (5,000+) structured by beat, with an accuracy SLA. More contacts does not equal more coverage.
- Can I migrate from Cision to PressPilot without losing data?
- Yes. You can export your media list from Cision as CSV, clean it, import it to PressPilot and start sending. PressPilot does not lock contacts to the platform. The migration usually takes less than a day.
- Does PressPilot offer AI writing like Cision?
- PressPilot includes AI writing built on modern LLMs. Cision has announced AI features but they are positioned as add-ons with separate pricing. PressPilot AI is included on every plan.
- What about enterprise needs like SEC disclosures?
- If you need regulated disclosures for public companies (SEC, AMF, FCA), Cision or Business Wire are more appropriate because they carry the formal filings infrastructure. PressPilot is built for non-regulated announcements: product launches, funding, partnerships, hires, awards and events.
Ready to try a transparent alternative?
No contract, no sales call, no hidden add-ons. Start with 100 credits and see if PressPilot fits your workflow.