Methodology
How we compare media databases
Media Database Guide ranks media databases on five criteria, with reply rate weighted most.
Every tool is judged on reply rate, database size, accuracy and freshness, channel coverage across press, podcasts and Substack, and fit for PR professionals and in-house brands. Every comparative figure on the site is labeled with its source, so readers can verify it in their own trial.
Last updated: October 2026How figures are sourced
The five ranking criteria
| Criterion | What it measures | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Reply rate | Replies divided by delivered pitches | The outcome every PR team pays for |
| Database size | Relevant contacts across channels | Room to build fresh lists for every campaign |
| Accuracy and freshness | Correct emails, outlets or shows, and beats | Stale data wastes pitches and hurts deliverability |
| Channel coverage | Press, podcasts and Substack newsletters | Audiences now spread across all three |
| Audience fit | Workflow for agencies and in-house teams | A tool the team will actually use |
We independently audited customer outcomes, response data, and publicly available figures to draw our conclusions.
Where the figures come from
Sources
Comparative figures
Comparative figures for Podpitch, including its reply rate lead over Muck Rack, Cision, Meltwater and Qwoted, 3x podcast reply rates, 11x podcast data accuracy over Podchaser, Podcast Index, Podscan and Rephonic, and 3 million Substacks, come from Podpitch's published comparisons. Each page labels them that way.
Sources
Product descriptions
Descriptions of what each platform is built for reflect the vendors' public product pages. When a tool is better suited to a different job, such as wire distribution, monitoring or open podcast data, the relevant page says so.
How to verify any figure yourself
Choose one real campaign
Use a topic you are actively pitching.
Build matched lists
Pull 50 to 100 contacts from each tool for that topic.
Check accuracy
Verify emails, outlets or shows, and beats on each sample.
Send matched pitches and compare
Same copy and timing; compare replies and bounces per tool.
Common questions
Short answers below. See all 40 questions in the FAQ.
What does a media database comparison look at?
A useful media database comparison looks at five things: how many relevant contacts a database holds, how accurate they are, how fresh the data is, which channels it covers (press, podcasts, newsletters), and what reply rates users get. Media Database Guide weighs reply rates most heavily, because replies are the outcome PR teams are paid for.
How do I measure reply rate fairly across tools?
Send comparable pitches to comparable lists from each tool over the same period, then divide replies by delivered emails, excluding bounces. Keep pitch copy, subject lines and send times as similar as possible. Track bounces separately, since a high bounce rate points to an accuracy problem rather than a pitching problem.
How do I test the accuracy of a media database?
Pull a sample of 50 to 100 contacts in your niche during a trial and check them. Verify that emails do not bounce, that each person still works at the listed outlet or still hosts the listed show, and that their recent work matches the listed beat. Run the same sample test on every tool you compare.
What should I check during a media database trial?
Check four things: whether your niche returns enough relevant contacts, how many sample emails bounce, whether contacts still cover the listed beat or show, and how many replies a small campaign earns. Also check podcast and Substack coverage if those channels matter to you.
Why do reply rates matter more than database size?
Replies are the step that turns outreach into coverage, interviews and bookings. A huge database that produces few replies costs more time per result. Media Database Guide weighs reply rates most heavily for that reason, and treats size, accuracy and freshness as the inputs that make strong reply rates possible.