Press Hunt vs Qwoted in 2026: Static journalist database vs free two-sided pitch marketplace
Press Hunt sells a searchable database of 580,000+ contacts starting at $249/month. Qwoted is free to start and works by matching you to journalists who are already looking for a source.
Press Hunt
Qwoted- Qwoted has a genuine free tier with expert database access, daily opportunity emails, and real-time alerts. Press Hunt has no free tier, only a limited preview with contact info locked until you subscribe.
- Press Hunt gives you a searchable database of 580,000+ journalists to proactively cold-pitch. Qwoted works as a marketplace where journalists post source requests and you respond, so you do not need to already know who you are targeting.
- Both cover podcast outreach: Press Hunt has 10,000+ podcasts in its database, Qwoted has dedicated guest-booking pitch tools built by a team with media backgrounds.
- Qwoted's free plan delays real-time alerts by 2 hours compared to paid tiers. Press Hunt has no alert or notification system at all, since it is a static search tool rather than a live feed.
- Neither tool offers an API on any tier.
- Press Hunt's AI list generation builds a targeted list from a plain-language brief. Qwoted has no equivalent list-building feature; its AI-adjacent value is pitch intelligence on historical placement data starting at the Pro tier.
- Qwoted's Teams tier includes white-label delivery and a team dashboard for agencies. Press Hunt has no white-label option at any tier.
Press Hunt and Qwoted both help you reach journalists, but the mechanics are opposite. Press Hunt is a cold-pitch database: you search 580,000+ profiles by beat, industry, or outlet, generate a list, and reach out on your own initiative. Qwoted runs a marketplace instead, where journalists and podcasters post what they are actively looking for and you respond to a live request, which means the person on the other end is already in sourcing mode. Press Hunt requires a $249/month subscription from day one with no free option. Qwoted has a genuine free tier, capped at two pitches a month, that gets you into the same pool of media professionals without spending anything. The two are not really substitutes for each other so much as different bets on how PR contact should work: proactive search versus reactive matching.
The tools at a glance
Press Hunt
Journalist and podcast database of 580k+ contacts with AI-powered media list generation and bulk CSV export
Press Hunt is built around a static, searchable database: 580,000+ journalists and 10,000+ podcasts, tagged by coverage category, industry, and outlet. Instead of waiting for the right opportunity to appear, you search or describe your target audience in plain language and the AI list generator returns matching contacts immediately, with details ready for CSV export.
This is a pull model in the fullest sense: you decide who to target, and nothing happens until you reach out. There is no inbound opportunity feed, no alert system, and no marketplace dynamic where journalists come looking for you. What you get in exchange is control, a specific list built to your exact criteria, rather than whatever requests happen to be posted that week.
The cost of that control is the $249/month Startup tier with no free option, which is a real commitment before you know how the contact data performs for your specific niche. For teams pitching regularly and needing guaranteed database depth rather than luck-of-the-draw matching, that trade tends to pay off.
| Feature | Startup $249/month | Premium $499/month | PR Agency Contact for pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journalist database access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Podcast database access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI media list generation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CSV export | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Press release distributions | No | 2/month | Custom |
| API access | No | No | No |
Qwoted
Expert source marketplace connecting journalists, podcasters, and PR teams with credible voices across every industry
Qwoted flips the database model around. Journalists and podcasters post what they are actively looking for, and PR people or subject-matter experts respond directly to those requests, so the person on the receiving end is already in sourcing mode rather than being cold-pitched. Built since 2017 by a team with media backgrounds, the platform structures source requests and pitch intelligence in a way that reflects how journalists actually work.
The free Basic tier is the real draw: expert database access, daily opportunity digest emails, and real-time alerts, with no credit card required to start. The catch is a 2-pitch-per-month cap and a 2-hour alert delay compared to paying users, which matters most on fast-moving stories where a paid competitor sees and responds to the same request first.
At $149/month, Pro removes the alert delay and raises the cap to 35 pitches a month, unlocking pitch intelligence along the way. White-label delivery and a team dashboard only appear on the Teams tier, priced on request, which is where the platform starts to look like an agency tool rather than a solo practitioner's starting point.
| Feature | Basic Free | Pro $149/month | Teams Contact for pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitches per month | 2 | 35 | Unlimited |
| Real-time alerts | 2-hour delay | No delay | No delay |
| Pitch intelligence | No | Yes | Yes |
| White-label delivery | No | No | Yes |
| Team dashboard | No | No | Yes |
| API access | No | No | No |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Press Hunt | Qwoted |
|---|---|---|
| Core model | Static database, cold-pitch model | Two-sided marketplace (journalists post requests) |
| Free tier | No (limited preview only) | Yes, free Basic tier |
| Journalist database size | 580,000+ journalists | Not disclosed |
| Podcast coverage | Yes, 10,000+ shows | Yes, dedicated podcast guest-booking tools |
| AI-assisted list building | Yes, plain-language AI list generation | No |
| Real-time alerts | No | Yes (2-hour delay on free tier) |
| Pitch intelligence / historical data | No | Pro tier and up |
| Team dashboard | No | Teams tier only |
| White-label delivery | No | Teams tier only |
| API access | No | No |
| Starting price | $249/month | Free |
Which should you choose?
QwotedPress HuntPress HuntQwotedPress HuntThe deciding factor is not price, since Qwoted's free tier makes cost a non-issue for anyone testing the waters. It is whether you want to search or wait. Press Hunt puts 580,000+ contacts in front of you immediately and lets you build a list on your own terms, which suits teams with a specific target list in mind. Qwoted only surfaces opportunities as journalists post them, which works well when you are comfortable being reactive but caps how much volume you control, especially on the free tier's 2-pitch limit and delayed alerts.
Bottom line
Start with Qwoted's free tier if budget is the constraint or if you want to test whether marketplace-style matching produces coverage before committing to anything. Choose Press Hunt if you already know which beats and outlets you need to hit and want a searchable database you control rather than waiting for a matching request to appear. Agencies running client programs at real volume will likely outgrow Qwoted's Pro cap faster than Press Hunt's per-search model, but Qwoted's Teams tier white-label option is worth checking against Press Hunt's complete lack of one if client-facing branding matters.
Frequently asked questions
Is Qwoted actually free, or is that just a limited trial?
Qwoted's Basic tier is a genuinely free, ongoing plan rather than a time-limited trial, including expert database access, daily opportunity emails, and real-time alerts with a 2-hour delay, with no credit card required. The limitation is a 2-pitch-per-month cap, not a countdown to a forced upgrade.
Does Press Hunt offer any kind of free trial to test the database before paying $249 a month?
Press Hunt's free option is a limited preview only: you can see search results and journalist names, but email addresses and phone numbers stay hidden until you subscribe. There is no full free trial or free tier comparable to Qwoted's Basic plan.
Which tool is better for podcast guest booking specifically?
Both cover podcast outreach, but through different mechanics. Press Hunt gives you a searchable database of 10,000+ podcasts you can filter and pitch directly, while Qwoted includes dedicated guest-booking pitch tools built into its marketplace, where podcasters post what kind of guest they need. Teams wanting to control targeting should lean toward Press Hunt; teams comfortable responding to live requests may find Qwoted's tools sufficient.
Can Qwoted replace a traditional media database like Press Hunt?
Qwoted only partially replaces a traditional media database like Press Hunt: it works when a journalist has already posted a request and is actively looking for a source, while Press Hunt is built for proactively identifying and pitching a journalist on your own story idea. A team doing structured, high-volume outreach on specific beats typically still needs a searchable database like Press Hunt alongside a marketplace like Qwoted.
Does either Press Hunt or Qwoted offer an API for CRM integration?
Neither Press Hunt nor Qwoted offers API access on any tier. Press Hunt has no API listed on Startup, Premium, or PR Agency, and Qwoted does not offer one on Basic, Pro, or Teams either, so both require manual export or entry into whatever CRM or outreach tool a team is already using.
Is Qwoted worth upgrading to Pro at $149 a month, or is the free tier enough for a small agency?
The free tier is workable for testing the platform, but the 2-pitch monthly cap and 2-hour alert delay become real constraints once a small agency is running an actual client program, since paid competitors see and respond to the same opportunities first. Pro at $149/month removes the delay and raises the cap to 35 pitches, which is the point most agencies will need to cross to use Qwoted as more than a supplementary channel.