Roxhill vs Meltwater: earned media depth vs all-in-one breadth

Roxhill vs Meltwater
Home/Product News/Roxhill vs Meltwater: earned media depth vs all-in-one breadth
Roxhill is a global media intelligence platform built around earned media: journalist relationships, press coverage, and spokesperson performance, with social monitoring built in. Meltwater takes a broader view, combining that with social listening and influencer tracking in a single dashboard. The right choice depends on whether your work is earned-media-first or spans social and press together.

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Key takeaway - Roxhill vs Meltwater


  • Roxhill is a media intelligence platform built around earned media monitoring, journalist outreach, and spokespeople analytics. Meltwater is also a global media intelligence platform that includes social listening and press monitoring in a single dashboard.
  • UK trade press and depth favour Roxhill. It's designed to catch niche, low-volume B2B and regional coverage that a global, cross-market platform can miss.
  • Both offer social media monitoring as a self-service feature. Roxhill also offers expert analyst-led social reporting.
  • Neither publishes pricing. Both require a demo and a tailored quote, with packages scoped around platform access, modules, and team requirements.
  • The right pick depends on scope. In-house UK comms teams and PR agencies tend to get more from Roxhill's earned-media focus. Enterprise organisations with global, cross-channel reporting needs tend to lean toward Meltwater.

Roxhill Media vs Meltwater: What are they?

Roxhill and Meltwater are both media intelligence platforms built to help comms professionals manage media relations, monitor coverage, and measure PR performance.

They overlap on many of the basics, but each leans into a different set of priorities.

Roxhill Media is built specifically for PR and communications teams. It brings together journalist insights, media monitoring and social media monitoring, spokespeople analytics, editorial opportunity discovery, and media relationship management, all aimed at helping teams plan, run, and measure earned media campaigns. Its strongest coverage is in the UK, the US, and MENA.

Meltwater takes a broader view, combining media, social, and consumer intelligence into a single platform. Alongside media monitoring and media relations, it adds social listening, consumer insights, and analytics, so teams can track brand conversations and coverage side by side rather than switching tools.

Who are Roxhill and Meltwater best for?

Roxhill tends to suit in-house PR teams, public affairs professionals, and agencies whose work centres on media relations, journalist engagement, and the measurement of earned media performance. Its media database and monitoring tools make it especially useful for organisations whose communications strategy is built primarily around press coverage.

Meltwater is often the pick for organisations that need communications intelligence spanning PR, social media, marketing, and brand reputation. With its broader mix of media monitoring, social listening, consumer insights, and analytics, it works well for cross-functional communications teams or businesses with global operations.

Which platform should you choose?

It depends on your priorities.

  • If your focus is on building media relationships and managing earned media, Roxhill offers a PR-first approach.
  • If you need a broader view of brand conversations across news, social, and digital channels, Meltwater may be the better fit.

In short, the right choice depends on whether your monitoring needs sit mainly with earned media or span both social and press.

Roxhill vs Meltwater: capability overview

CapabilityRoxhillMeltwater
Media monitoringMonitors press, broadcast, and online news coverage, with tools designed around earned media measurement and PR reporting.Online news, print, broadcast, social and podcast monitoring across global media sources.
Media databaseUK-focused journalist database with contact details, editorial interests, and media relationship insights.Global media database supporting journalist research and media outreach.
Spokespeople analyticsTracks spokesperson visibility and performance across earned media coverage.Provides broader media and communications analytics rather than dedicated spokespeople measurement.
Custom metrics and reportingCustom PR metrics focused on earned media performance, including coverage analysis and spokesperson impact.Provides configurable dashboards covering media, social, and audience insights.
Social media researchSocial media insight research is available through Roxhill's Bespoke Insights managed service.Native social listening across conversations, sentiment and trends, with managed reporting available.
Social media monitoringSelf-service social media monitoring is available through Roxhill's Media Monitoring platform as a built-in feature.Built-in social listening capabilities to monitor conversations, sentiment, trends, and brand mentions across social platforms.
Influencer trackingNot a core platform capability.Includes influencer identification and monitoring tools.
Consumer insightsAvailable through Bespoke Insights as a managed research service.Available as part of the platform through consumer intelligence tools.

How do Roxhill and Meltwater compare for UK earned media monitoring

Roxhill and Meltwater both offer media monitoring, but they’re built for different purposes.

Roxhill is designed around UK PR and earned media workflows, whereas Meltwater provides broader media intelligence across global markets and channels

Coverage areaRoxhillMeltwater
National press & online newsUK-focused media monitoring across national press and online news.In the UK, it monitors online news, digital media, and press coverage and provides print clippings analytics.
UK trade pressExtensive coverage monitoring for UK trade press. Roxhill reliably captures niche B2B trade publications without missing low-volume, high-value industry mentions.Monitors trade and industry publications as part of its wider media intelligence offering, with a broader cross-market approach. Automatically indexes digital trade journals, national UK news, and niche industry blogs in real time.
Regional pressSupports monitoring of UK regional coverage, provides comprehensive tracking across the UK's regional, local, and provincial press.Provides regional media monitoring as part of its wider media coverage offering.
Broadcast monitoringTracks broadcast coverage as part of earned media monitoring.Tracks broadcast coverage across TV and radio alongside other media channels.

Social media monitoring comparison of Roxhill and Meltwater

Both platforms cover social, but they extend it in different directions.

Roxhill and Meltwater both offer built-in social monitoring. Roxhill also gives you access to a team of analysts through Bespoke Insights, who do the research and reporting for you. Meltwater extends its platform differently, adding influencer tracking and consumer intelligence as in-platform tools.

CapabilityRoxhillMeltwater
Self-service social media monitoringUsers can switch on social media monitoring within Roxhill's Media Monitoring platform.Users can set up searches, monitor conversations, and analyse results directly within the platform.
Social analyticsSelf-service dashboards in the social media monitoring platform, plus analyst-led analysis through Bespoke Insights.Provides dashboards and analytics for tracking social performance, sentiment, audience behaviour, and conversation trends.
Keyword matchingPrompt-based. Teams describe what they want in plain language and LLMs surface matching coverage.Boolean-based. Teams build search strings, combined with AI and natural language processing for broader matching.
Mention organisationTeams can organise social mentions by campaign, spokesperson, or story into dedicated folders.Groups data by dynamic tags, saved searches, and workspaces.
Social media researchAvailable through Roxhill's Bespoke Insights managed service, where research and analysis are delivered by analysts.Provides native social listening capabilities and managed custom reports.

Overview of Roxhill and Meltwater media database and journalist outreach

A media database is central to PR teams that need to identify relevant journalists, build targeted media lists, and manage outreach. Roxhill and Meltwater both provide journalist and media contact information, but they take different approaches

CapabilityRoxhillMeltwater
Media Database depthDetailed journalist profiles including roles, beats, editorial interests, and contact information, and insights from journalist interviews.Global media database with journalist contact profiles including direct emails, phone numbers, social media handles, job titles, assigned beats, and languages.
UK trade press journalist dataUK trade and specialist media database, covering B2B publications alongside national and regional press.Includes digital and print trade publications, journalist and editor profiles, and sector-specific monitoring across B2B markets.
Database updatesMaintained by in-house researchers across the UK, US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with a focus on keeping journalist information, roles, and editorial interests relevant for PR teams.Regularly updated to reflect changes in journalists, publications, and media organisations.
Journalist discovery and targetingJournalist Assistant helps users identify relevant journalists for specific stories and campaigns, making it easier to target outreach.Provides search and filtering tools to find relevant journalists and build targeted media lists.
Distribution and outreach toolsThe built-in distribution tool supports media list creation and journalist outreach workflows.Includes broader media outreach and distribution functionality, allowing teams to send releases, manage campaigns, and track results.
Roxhill Media database journalist profile

David Williams

Technology Correspondent

FT Financial Times

Contact details

Articles

Top Topics

1
Smart Phones
Consumer Electonics
12
2
AI & Automation
Internet & Software
9
3
Device Innovation
Telecoms
8
4
Market Dynamics
Internet & Software
7
5
Electronics & Devices
Industrial/Electronics
5

Articles

Top Communities

FAANGS 7
Telecoms 8
Consumer Electronics 12
Software 9
Industrial Electronics 5
Illustrative media database profile card. Sample article and community data.

What reporting and measurement tools do Roxhill and Meltwater offer?

PR and comms teams can measure performance and generate reports in both Roxhill and Meltwater.

Meltwater’s broader platform enables measurement across communications and social analytics, whereas Roxhill Media is built primarily around earned media reporting and PR metrics.

CapabilityRoxhillMeltwater
Custom metricsCustom PR metrics tailored to campaign objectives. Teams can track, analyse, and visualise campaign performance based on specific goals.Custom scoring system. Teams can create unique scoring models based on publication, title mentions, etc.
Share of Voice (SOV)Brand, competitors and spokesperson Share of Voice.Brand and competitor Share of Voice dashboards.
Sentiment analysisAI-powered sentiment analysis.Media and social sentiment analysis.
Salience scoringSalience scoring (AAA, AA, A) to measure prominence.Available within the custom scoring framework.
Spokespeople analyticsDedicated spokesperson visibility and performance reporting.Included within broader media analytics.
Press release trackingPress release performance tracking.Campaign and distribution reporting.
Reporting outputsBranded chart exports and custom reports.Interactive dashboards and enterprise reporting.
Board-level reportingAvailable through Bespoke Insights managed analyst service.Enterprise reporting and executive dashboards within the platform.

What is the difference in reporting at Roxhill and Meltwater?

Roxhill’s reporting is built around earned media measurement, including custom PR metrics, salience scoring, spokesperson analytics, and branded reporting. Organisations that need bespoke analysis or board-level reporting can also draw on Bespoke Insights, which provides analyst-led research and reporting.

Meltwater offers a broader reporting suite that combines media monitoring, social analytics, Share of Voice, and enterprise dashboards on a single platform, which suits organisations that report across multiple communication channels.

Media Monitoring Report

Weekly Summary

3 – 9 Aug 2026

Salience Score

78 /100
▲ +4 vs last wk

Mentions

1,284
▲ +12% vs last wk

Share of Voice

23%
▼ −2pp vs last wk

Sentiment Score

62 /100
— flat vs last wk
Illustrative weekly media monitoring summary. Sample data.

How do Roxhill and Meltwater pricing plans compare?

Pricing for Roxhill and Meltwater is not publicly listed. Both platforms typically require organisations to request a demo or speak with their sales teams to receive a tailored quote.

Pricing factorRoxhillMeltwater
Public pricingPricing is provided through a tailored quote.Pricing is provided through a tailored quote.
PackagesCore, Boutique, Enterprise, and Premium packages.Starter, Pro, Enterprise, and Agency packages.
Pricing modelPackages can be tailored based on platform access, features, and service requirements.Plans are tailored based on the products, modules, users, and business requirements.
Demo requiredYes.Yes.
Contract termsVary depending on subscription package and organisational requirements.Vary depending on the selected plan, platform configuration, and business requirements.

Which platform is right for you?

In-house UK comms teams

Roxhill Media is generally the stronger fit for UK-based in-house teams, thanks to its depth in UK journalist data and its focus on earned media reporting. Teams whose day-to-day work centres on pitching, monitoring, and reporting on press coverage tend to find everything they need in one platform.

PR agencies

Roxhill suits agencies whose client work centres on media relations, journalist outreach, and earned coverage measurement. Its combined database, monitoring, and spokesperson tools let agency teams manage research, outreach, and reporting without switching between platforms.

Enterprise organisations with global operations

Meltwater is generally the better fit for large organisations operating across multiple markets, given its broader reach across media monitoring, social listening, and cross-channel reporting. Teams that need to track brand conversations alongside press coverage across regions tend to lean on Meltwater’s broader remit.

Boutique consultancies

The right choice here depends on scope. Roxhill works well for consultancies focused purely on PR and media relations, while Meltwater suits those also covering social and brand monitoring for clients.

Marketing teams running occasional PR campaigns

Teams without a dedicated press office may find Meltwater’s broader toolset useful if PR sits alongside social and marketing measurement. Roxhill remains a strong option too, particularly if PR is becoming a more central function and the team wants to start with media relations tools first.

Roxhill vs Meltwater: feature comparison table

FeatureRoxhillMeltwater
Earned media monitoringStrong. Platform built specifically around earned media measurement and PR reporting.Strong. Broad monitoring across news, broadcast, social, and podcasts.
Social media monitoringStrong. Users can access it as a self-service feature within the media monitoring platform.Strong. Native, self-service social listening built into the platform.
UK trade press depthStrong. Dedicated focus on niche UK B2B and trade publications.Limited. Covered as part of a broader, cross-market approach rather than a UK specialism.
Media databaseStrong. UK-focused, with detailed editorial and relationship insights.Limited. Large global database, less UK-specific depth.
Journalist outreachStrong. List building, targeting, and distribution built into one workflow.Strong. Broader outreach and distribution tools across a larger contact base.
Measurement and reportingStrong. Custom PR metrics, salience scoring, and spokesperson-level analysis.Strong. Configurable scoring and enterprise dashboards.
Social analyticsStrong. Cross-channel analytics within social media monitoring dashboards, plus analyst-led analysis through Bespoke Insights.Strong. Self-service dashboards for sentiment, performance, and audience trends.
Customer supportStrong. Online and dedicated UK-based account management support.Limited. Standard account support, less personalised.

COMPARISON: ROXHILL MEDIA AND MELTWATER

Frequently Asked Questions

The main difference is focus. Roxhill is built specifically around earned media and PR, journalist relationships – especially in the UK, US and MENA regions, coverage measurement, and spokesperson performance. Meltwater is a broader media intelligence platform that also covers social listening, influencer tracking, and consumer insights as core, self-service features. If your work is mostly UK press and PR reporting, Roxhill is built closer to that workflow. If you need social and media monitoring under one roof, Meltwater covers more ground natively.
Both monitor earned media well, but Roxhill is more UK-specific. Its database and media monitoring are built around relationships with UK national, regional, and trade press outlets. Meltwater’s earned media monitoring is strong, too, but it sits alongside broader global and social monitoring.

Roxhill tends to go deeper here. It’s built to catch niche, low-volume B2B and trade publications that broader platforms can miss. Meltwater covers trade and industry publications too, but as part of a wider cross-market approach rather than a UK trade press specialism.

Both track broadcast and regional press. Meltwater covers TV and radio broadcast monitoring alongside its other media channels, and includes regional coverage as part of its wider media monitoring. Roxhill’s regional and broadcast tracking is more explicitly built around UK earned media, with comprehensive coverage across regional, local, and provincial press.

It depends on team size and scope. In-house UK comms teams that primarily need media monitoring, journalist relations, and PR reporting often find Roxhill’s UK focus, dedicated account support, and the integrated platform a good fit. Teams that also need social listening, influencer tracking, or global monitoring alongside PR may get more out of Meltwater’s wider feature set.

Roxhill offers a UK-focused journalist database with editorial interest and relationship insights, dedicated spokesperson visibility and performance tracking, salience scoring (AAA, AA, A) to measure how prominently a brand features in coverage, and dedicated UK-based support. Meltwater covers adjacent ground for media and social analytics, dashboards, and broader outreach tools, but these Roxhill features are built specifically around UK PR measurement rather than being available natively in Meltwater.

Roxhill doesn’t publish fixed pricing. Like Meltwater, pricing is provided through a tailored quote. What’s included depends on the package (Core, Boutique, Enterprise, or Premium) and is scoped around platform access, features, and service requirements, so it’s worth getting a quote based on your team’s specific needs rather than assuming a fixed starting point.

Core monitoring and spokesperson analytics are included in Roxhill’s standard monitoring platform, while services such as social listening and consumer insights are delivered separately through its Bespoke Insights managed service. Meltwater’s monitoring, social, and analytics tools are generally part of the wider platform, though which modules are included depends on the plan (Starter, Pro, Enterprise, or Agency). In both cases, it’s worth confirming exactly what’s bundled versus billed separately when getting a quote.

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MEDIA INTELLIGENCE YOU CAN TRUST

We’re with you,
every step of the way

One login. Multiple solutions.

Roxhill’s all-in-one media intelligence platform will save you time, highlight your impact, and drive your business forward.

Click a product to explore its features.

Roxhill provides trusted media intelligence to over 11,000 PR professionals worldwide, helping them find the right contacts, track brand mentions, and prove campaign success - all from one intuitive platform.