HARO Pricing in 2026: Is Help a Reporter Out Free?
Short answer: HARO is free in 2026. Both journalists and sources use it at no cost, there are no paid tiers, and there's no pay-per-pitch. Featured.com monetizes the 3x daily newsletter through sponsorships instead of charging users. Here's the full pricing story, including why it was briefly paid and what that means for you now.
HARO pricing today
| User type | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Sources (experts) | $0 | 3x daily query digests, unlimited pitches |
| Journalists | $0 | Post queries, receive pitches, filter AI responses |
| Sponsors | Custom | Ad placement inside the newsletter |
There's no free trial because there's no paid product. Sign up at helpareporter.com, verify your email, and start receiving queries.
HARO is part of the broader digital PR channel mix. For paid tools in the same space, see our digital PR tools roundup.
How HARO makes money if it's free
Under Featured.com, HARO's revenue comes from:
- Newsletter sponsorships. Ads inside the 3x daily email digests.
- Featured.com's paid platform. A separate product where companies and experts pay for proactive matching, analytics, and guaranteed quote placements. HARO itself stays free.
This model only works because HARO's audience (journalists + serious experts) is valuable to sponsors. The free-for-users side funnels interested experts into Featured.com's paid side.
Why HARO was briefly paid (and how that ended)
- Pre-2024: HARO was free under Cision with a basic tier that covered most user needs. Paid tiers existed but most journalists and experts used the free version.
- 2024: Cision rebranded HARO to Connectively and introduced a tiered subscription model from $29 to $149/month, plus pay-per-pitch. Users pushed back, engagement dropped.
- December 9, 2024: Connectively shut down. Cision announced the platform was being retired to focus on CisionOne.
- Early 2025: Featured.com acquired HARO from Cision.
- April 22, 2025: HARO relaunched free under Featured.com, with the classic 3x daily email format and added AI/spam filters.
What happened to Connectively's paid tiers ($29-$149/month)?
Right. Connectively's paid tiers ended when the platform shut down in December 2024. Featured.com's relaunched HARO is free for everyone.
Connectively's paid tiers ended when it shut down on December 9, 2024. Featured.com relaunched HARO as free in April 2025.
Hidden costs (time is the real price)
HARO is free in dollars, but it has real time costs. Our HARO review and pitch-writing guide cover how to keep time-per-placement low.
- 3 emails per day with 40-100 queries each. Scanning takes 5-15 min per digest.
- Writing a pitch takes 10-30 minutes per query. Quality pitches need real effort.
- Response speed matters. Popular queries get hundreds of pitches within the first hour.
- Hit rate is low. Expect to pitch 10-20 times before one gets used. For niche experts, the ratio is better.
If you value your time at $50/hour and pitch 2 queries per weekday, you're spending the equivalent of $100-$500/week for HARO mentions, even though the platform itself is free.
Paid HARO-style alternatives
If you want more predictable volume or proactive matching, paid platforms do exist:
| Platform | Pricing | What you get vs HARO |
|---|---|---|
| Featured.com | Paid tiers (custom) | Proactive query matching, analytics, guaranteed quotes |
| Qwoted | Free tier + paid | More curated queries, beat filtering |
| JustReachOut | From ~$200/mo | Direct journalist outreach, not reactive queries |
| SourceBottle | Free + paid | Australia/NZ focused, similar email-digest format |
See our HARO alternatives guide for a full comparison.
You want expert mentions but don't have time to scan 3 emails a day and pitch within an hour. What's a better fit?
Right. HARO doesn't have premium tiers. If time is your constraint, proactive outreach tools (MentionAgent) run mention campaigns in the background, no daily digest scanning.
HARO is free but time-expensive. Proactive outreach tools (MentionAgent, $99/mo) automate mention campaigns so you don't need to scan 3 digests a day.
A journalist at a major outlet uses your HARO quote. How much do you pay HARO?
Right. HARO doesn't charge per placement, per pitch, or per subscription. You keep the full mention and backlink at no cost to the platform.
HARO is free. No per-placement, per-pitch, or subscription charges. The platform makes money from newsletter sponsors, not users.
HARO is free, but slow. Add proactive outreach to scale.
HARO wins when a journalist happens to ask your exact expertise. MentionAgent proactively finds relevant blogs and pitches them for you, automated outreach at $99/mo.
Start Getting Mentioned For $99/moFrequently asked questions
How much does HARO cost in 2026?
Nothing. HARO is free under Featured.com. There are no paid tiers, no pay-per-pitch, and no subscription.
Why did HARO used to have paid tiers?
Cision rebranded HARO to Connectively in 2024 and introduced paid tiers ($29-$149/month). Users rejected the change and Connectively shut down on December 9, 2024. Featured.com bought HARO and relaunched it free on April 22, 2025.
How does HARO make money if it's free?
Newsletter sponsorships in the 3x daily digests, and funnel from HARO users into Featured.com's separate paid expert platform.
Are there paid alternatives worth considering?
Featured.com's paid platform, Qwoted's paid tiers, and JustReachOut (~$200/mo) are all viable if you want proactive matching or more control. See our HARO alternatives.
Do I need a credit card to sign up?
No. Sign up with just an email at helpareporter.com. No credit card required because there's no paid tier.
Is there a sponsorship cost for brands?
HARO sells newsletter sponsorships arranged directly with Featured.com (pricing isn't public). Sponsoring doesn't give you priority as a source, it's a separate advertising product.
Does Featured.com charge sources for premium features?
HARO itself is free. Featured.com runs a separate paid platform with proactive matching and guaranteed placements, but that's a different product. The HARO email digest has no premium tiers.
Can journalists post queries for free?
Yes. Journalists submit queries free, experts receive them in the 3x daily digests. Featured.com doesn't charge either side.