Roxhill vs Meltwater 2026: UK Media Database vs Global Monitoring
Roxhill is a UK-first journalist database for pitching. Meltwater is a global media monitoring and analytics platform for tracking coverage. UK PR teams often run both, not one or the other.
Roxhill wins on: UK and European journalist depth, beat-level editorial intelligence, pitch-side workflow.
Meltwater wins on: global coverage monitoring, sentiment and share-of-voice analytics, broadcast and podcast tracking.
SMB budget? Pair MentionAgent ($99/mo) for outreach with Brand24 or Google Alerts for monitoring at a fraction of enterprise cost.
Roxhill and Meltwater both serve PR teams, but they don't compete head to head. Roxhill answers "who should I pitch?" Meltwater answers "what is being said about us once we land coverage?"
If you're trying to decide between them, you're probably already running one and weighing whether to add the other, or sizing a UK PR program from scratch. The right answer depends on whether your bottleneck is finding the right journalist or proving coverage value to stakeholders.
Quick comparison
| Feature | Roxhill | Meltwater |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Journalist database + pitching | Media monitoring + analytics |
| Primary use case | Find and pitch the right reporter | Track coverage, sentiment, share of voice |
| Geographic strength | UK and European | Global |
| Pricing model | Custom, annual | Custom, annual |
| Typical entry cost | Low to mid four-figures per year (SMB) | $1,000+/mo, often higher |
| Free trial | Demo only | Demo only |
| Monitoring scope | Light (Twitter, journalist activity) | News, social, broadcast, print, podcasts |
| Outreach tools | Built-in email outreach | Limited (monitoring-focused) |
| Best for | UK PR teams pitching journalists | Enterprise teams tracking coverage globally |
What is Roxhill?
Roxhill is a journalist database focused on UK and European media. It's known for beat-level editorial intelligence: detailed journalist profiles, recent stories, what they're working on, and what kinds of pitches they actually accept.
PR professionals use it to build targeted media lists and run pitch outreach. The platform leans toward depth (what each journalist covers in detail) rather than breadth (the largest possible contact count).
Key strengths:
- Strongest UK and European journalist coverage in the market
- Beat-level editorial intelligence, not just contact data
- Built-in pitching workflow with media list building
- Trusted by UK in-house PR teams and agencies
Key weaknesses:
- UK-first, less depth outside Europe
- Custom pricing, sales call required to get a quote
- Annual contracts
- No real media monitoring or analytics module
What is Meltwater?
Meltwater is a global media intelligence platform. It monitors millions of sources across news, social media, podcasts, broadcast, and print, and turns coverage into analytics: sentiment, share of voice, geographic spread, and reach.
It's used by enterprise communications teams that need to prove the value of PR programs to executives and boards. See our full Meltwater pricing guide and Meltwater alternatives for cheaper monitoring stacks.
Key strengths:
- Global coverage across news, social, broadcast, podcasts, print
- Sentiment, share of voice, reach, and trend analytics
- Real-time alerts on brand and competitor mentions
- Enterprise reporting suitable for executive readouts
Key weaknesses:
- Expensive: $1,000+/mo with annual contracts the norm
- Custom pricing, must request a quote
- Limited pitching workflow (it's monitoring-first)
- Overkill for SMB teams with simple coverage tracking needs
Pricing comparison
Both tools use custom pricing, but the ranges and contract terms differ meaningfully.
| Tier | Roxhill | Meltwater |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Custom, annual | Custom, annual |
| Entry | Low to mid four-figures per year for SMB | ~$1,000/mo for entry monitoring |
| Mid-market | Higher seat counts, agency tiers | $1,500 to $3,000/mo typical |
| Enterprise | Custom per-seat agency quotes | $5,000+/mo, full intelligence suite |
| Free trial | Demo only | Demo only |
Exact numbers depend on team size, geography, modules, and contract length. Both vendors discount meaningfully for multi-year commitments.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Roxhill | Meltwater | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK journalist depth | Strongest in market | Decent | Roxhill |
| Global coverage monitoring | Light | Comprehensive | Meltwater |
| Pitching workflow | Built in | Limited | Roxhill |
| Sentiment + share of voice | No | Yes | Meltwater |
| Broadcast monitoring | No | Yes | Meltwater |
| Beat-level editorial intelligence | Yes | No | Roxhill |
| Real-time alerts | Limited | Yes | Meltwater |
| Executive reporting | Light | Enterprise-grade | Meltwater |
| Outreach automation | Manual pitching | Not the focus | Tie (neither automates) |
You run PR for a UK SaaS company and your top bottleneck is "we don't know who to pitch in tech press." Which tool should you buy first?
Right. The bottleneck is journalist discovery and pitching. Roxhill is built for that job. Meltwater would only show you who's already writing about competitors, not solve the pitch side.
Meltwater is for tracking coverage that already exists. To solve "who do I pitch?", Roxhill's beat-level journalist intelligence is the right purchase. Add monitoring later once you're earning coverage.
Pick the right tool in 30 seconds
- UK PR team, bottleneck is journalist discovery? Roxhill.
- Need to prove PR value to executives with sentiment and share of voice? Meltwater.
- Need both broadcast monitoring and pitching? Run both, or step up to Cision.
- SMB budget under $500/mo? Skip both. Pair MentionAgent (outreach) with Brand24-style monitoring.
Who should choose Roxhill?
- UK and European in-house PR teams
- UK-focused PR agencies pitching tech, business, lifestyle, or trade press
- Teams that prioritize relevant journalist depth over raw contact count
- Operations where the bottleneck is finding the right person to pitch
Who should choose Meltwater?
- Enterprise communications teams reporting PR impact to executives
- Global brands tracking coverage across regions and languages
- Teams needing broadcast, podcast, and print monitoring
- Operations where the bottleneck is proving PR value, not earning coverage
A simpler alternative: MentionAgent + free monitoring
Roxhill plus Meltwater is a serious investment, often more than $30K per year combined. If your team is small or the goal is just "earn editorial mentions and know when they happen," there's a cheaper path.
MentionAgent ($99/mo flat) automates the outreach side: it finds relevant blogs and publications in your niche, writes personalized pitches, sends them for approval, and follows up. No database to search, no list to build, no campaigns to configure.
For monitoring, free Google Alerts catches most online mentions. Adding a paid listening tool (Brand24 from $79/mo) covers social plus deeper alerts. Together that stack runs under $200/mo, against $2,500+/mo for Roxhill plus Meltwater.
Outreach on autopilot
MentionAgent finds relevant publications, writes personalized pitches, and runs follow-ups. $99/mo flat. No journalist database to search, no annual contract.
Start Getting Mentioned For $99/moRelated
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Frequently asked questions
Is Roxhill or Meltwater better for PR?
They serve different jobs. Roxhill is a UK-focused journalist database with deep beat coverage and editorial intelligence, used to find and pitch the right reporter. Meltwater is a global media monitoring platform for tracking coverage, sentiment, and share of voice after publication. UK PR teams often pair them rather than choose between them.
How much do Roxhill and Meltwater cost?
Both use custom pricing and require a sales call. Roxhill quotes typically land in the low to mid four-figures per year for SMB plans, scaling up for agency seats. Meltwater is enterprise-priced, typically $1,000+/month with annual contracts, often higher once monitoring volume and analytics modules are added.
Can Roxhill replace Meltwater?
No. Roxhill is a journalist database for outreach. Meltwater is a media monitoring and intelligence platform for tracking coverage. They don't overlap meaningfully. Replacing Meltwater requires a monitoring tool like Brand24, Mention, or Cision's monitoring module.
Is Roxhill UK-only?
Roxhill's strength is UK and European media coverage. It has expanded internationally, but the deep beat-level editorial intelligence the platform is known for skews UK-first. For US-first or truly global database needs, Muck Rack or Cision are stronger.
Is there a simpler alternative to using both?
Yes. MentionAgent ($99/mo flat) automates the outreach side end to end: it finds relevant publications, writes personalized pitches, and follows up. For monitoring, free Google Alerts plus a low-cost listening tool like Brand24 covers most SMB needs. The Roxhill plus Meltwater pairing is built for agencies and brands with enterprise PR budgets.
Do Roxhill and Meltwater integrate?
There's no native deep integration between the two. UK PR teams typically run them as separate workflows: Roxhill for finding the right journalist and pitching, Meltwater for tracking the coverage that results and reporting on share of voice.