Qwoted Review
Expert source marketplace connecting journalists, podcasters, and PR teams with credible voices across every industry
Qwoted works well as a two-sided marketplace where journalists post source requests and PR professionals respond, with a free tier that makes it genuinely accessible for small agencies and solo practitioners. The pitch limits on free accounts and the lack of API access cap its usefulness for volume-driven programs, but for building authentic media relationships it punches above its price point.
Pros and cons
- Free tier includes access to the expert database, daily opportunity emails, and real-time alerts without a credit card
- White-label option lets agencies present the platform under their own brand for client-facing work
- Two-sided marketplace model means media professionals are actively looking for sources, not just passive recipients
- Team collaboration and administrative dashboard makes it usable for agency environments at the Teams tier
- Built specifically for the media and run by former media professionals since 2017, which shows in the product focus
- Free plan caps pitches at 2 per month, which is not enough to run a real PR program without upgrading
- No API or third-party integrations, making it a standalone workflow that does not connect to CRM or outreach tools
- Pro plan at $149/month does not include white-label, which feels like it belongs at that price tier
- Less depth than traditional media databases like Cision or Roxhill for journalists who are not actively on the platform
- Response delay on the free plan (2-hour lag on alerts) means paying competitors see and respond to opportunities first
What is Qwoted?
Qwoted is a media marketplace that operates differently from traditional PR databases. Rather than giving you a static list of journalist contacts to cold-pitch, Qwoted connects two sides of the media equation: journalists and podcasters post source requests, and brands or experts respond with pitches. The matching is bidirectional, which means media professionals on the platform are already in sourcing mode when they see your response.
The platform serves several distinct groups: journalists and editors looking for credible expert sources, podcasters booking guests, PR and marketing agencies placing clients in coverage, and individual experts or small business founders who want media exposure. This breadth gives it a different character than pure media databases. The free tier is unusual in this category and makes Qwoted a reasonable starting point for teams that do not have budget for premium PR software.
White-label capability is built into the Teams tier, which is notable for an agency-oriented tool. The administrative dashboard lets agency operators manage multiple client programs, track pitch activity, and control team permissions. Qwoted has been running since 2017 and was built by people from media backgrounds, which reflects in design decisions like how source requests are structured and how pitch intelligence surfaces relevant opportunities.
Core features
Expert Source Database and Opportunity Matching
Qwoted's core function is matching credible expert sources with active media requests. Journalists post what they need, and Qwoted surfaces those opportunities to relevant experts and PR teams. The database includes profiles for reporters, editors, producers, and podcasters, with historical pitch performance data that shows which types of pitches have landed coverage at specific outlets.
Real-Time Alerts and Daily Opportunity Emails
As media requests come in, Qwoted pushes real-time notifications to matching experts and PR teams. Free users see a 2-hour delay on alerts, while paid tiers get immediate notification. Daily digest emails aggregate the most relevant open opportunities, useful for practitioners who prefer reviewing a curated list over monitoring a live feed throughout the day.
Pitch Intelligence and Opportunity Research
Beyond responding to inbound requests, Qwoted provides tools to research upcoming editorial opportunities, identify journalists by beat and outlet, and track which pitches are getting traction. This shifts the workflow from reactive to proactive, letting PR teams get ahead of story cycles rather than only responding when a request appears.
Media Pitch Tools and Guest Booking
Qwoted supports pitch creation and management within the platform, including tools designed specifically for podcast guest booking. This is an underserved area in most PR software: the podcast workflow differs from traditional press outreach in how hosts evaluate guests, and Qwoted's background in both media types shows in the tooling.
Team Collaboration and Administrative Dashboard
The Teams tier adds multi-user functionality with an administrative dashboard for oversight of team pitch activity, white-label options for client-facing work, and activity reporting. Agency principals can see what pitches team members are submitting, flag opportunities for specific clients, and track response rates across the account.
Pricing
| 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 |
| Expert database access | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Daily opportunities email | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pitch intelligence | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| White-label | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Team dashboard | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| API access | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Who it is for
The free tier makes Qwoted a legitimate starting point for independent PR consultants who want to build media relationships without committing to expensive database subscriptions. Two pitches a month is limiting, but the expert database access and daily opportunity emails are genuinely useful for staying on top of relevant story angles.
Agencies at the Pro or Teams tier get enough pitch volume and team tooling to run structured media outreach programs for multiple clients. The Teams tier's white-label option is directly useful for agencies that want to present their media relations work through a branded interface.
Academics, executives, and founders who want to share expertise with journalists find Qwoted more approachable than traditional PR tools. The marketplace model means you can be found by media actively looking for sources in your field, rather than having to cold-pitch individual journalists.
Verdict
Qwoted is a well-designed two-sided marketplace for media sourcing that earns its place through a genuinely useful free tier and a model that reduces the friction of PR pitching. The absence of API access and the tight pitch limits on lower tiers hold it back from being a primary tool for volume-driven programs, but as a supplementary channel for media relationship building it delivers real value at reasonable cost.
Frequently asked questions
Does Qwoted replace a traditional media database like Cision or Muck Rack?
Not directly. Qwoted is a marketplace where journalists post active source requests, while traditional media databases give you contact lists for proactive cold outreach. They serve different moments in the PR workflow. Qwoted works well when a journalist is already looking for a source; a media database is what you use when you are initiating contact on your own story angle.
Can you use Qwoted for podcast outreach as well as traditional press?
Yes. Qwoted explicitly serves podcasters and includes tools for guest booking alongside the traditional press sourcing workflow. If podcast placement is part of your media relations program, this dual coverage is a meaningful advantage over platforms that focus exclusively on journalists.
Is there an API for pulling Qwoted data into other tools?
No. Qwoted does not offer an API or native integrations with CRM or outreach platforms. The workflow is self-contained within the Qwoted platform, which works fine as a standalone tool but limits automation possibilities for teams that want pitch activity logged in Salesforce or HubSpot.
What does the 2-hour response delay on the free plan mean practically?
When a journalist posts a source request, free users see it two hours later than Pro or Teams users. On a tight deadline story, that delay can be the difference between landing in the story and being too late. If you are competing with paying Qwoted users for media opportunities in fast-moving news cycles, the Pro upgrade at $149/month removes this disadvantage.