Critical Mention Pricing: How Custom Packages Work and What to Ask
Critical Mention sells custom packages with no published prices. Here's what a package can include as of September 2026, what drives the cost, what to ask on the demo, and cheaper options.
By Editorial Team
7 min read
Critical Mention doesn’t publish prices. As of September 2026, its pricing page is headed “Find the Package That Works for You” and asks you to describe your earned media needs so it can “create a package to meet those needs.” There are no plan names or dollar figures, so every price comes from a sales conversation. The page does list what a package can include, which gives you a starting point for the call.
This guide covers what Critical Mention shows publicly, what is likely to drive the cost, the questions to ask on the demo, and cheaper or free alternatives for broadcast and news monitoring. Everything about Critical Mention here comes from its own website, checked in September 2026. We don’t repeat third-party price estimates, because they can’t be checked against Critical Mention’s own pages. Pricing changes, so check its site and your written quote before you decide.
What Critical Mention is
Critical Mention is a media monitoring platform best known for TV and radio. Its About page says it launched in 2002 as a US media monitoring SaaS provider and was acquired in 2022 by Onclusive, a media intelligence company; the site footer reads “Critical Mention, An Onclusive Company.”
Its product menu covers:
- Broadcast monitoring. The broadcast page says it monitors “more than 2,500 TV and radio stations around the world,” covers every Nielsen Designated Market Area (DMA) in the US, offers “unlimited cloud storage” for clips, and includes international coverage in Europe and the Middle East.
- Online news, social media and podcast monitoring.
- Licensed content and a media contact database for outreach.
- GEO Analytics (AI brand visibility), AP Planner and an API.
The broadcast page also lists real-time email alerts, custom report templates you can white-label with your own logo, metrics such as share of voice, sentiment and publicity value, and Wordplay, its own tool for trimming HD broadcast clips before sharing them.
Critical Mention pricing as of September 2026
The pricing page lists no plans or prices. It says packages can include:
| Package type the page lists | Who it’s aimed at |
|---|---|
| Accounts for large PR agencies working with multiple clients | Agencies monitoring on behalf of many brands |
| Scalable packages for growing PR and communications firms | Smaller agencies and consultancies |
| Tailored plans for individual brands and entities | In-house communications teams |
| Special rates for nonprofits | Charities and nonprofit organizations |
| API access for partners | Platforms that want to build on Critical Mention’s data |
The demo page says a platform consultant “will create a custom demo based on your needs,” which can cover broadcast, online news, licensed content, social media and podcast monitoring, the media contact database, analytics and custom reporting, and real-time alerts. We didn’t find a published free trial offer on the pricing page.
What drives the cost
Critical Mention doesn’t publish a pricing formula or a list of cost factors. Its own pages point to where the price is likely to move, and these are the things to pin down on the call:
- Account type. The pricing page separates large agencies with multiple clients, growing firms and individual brands, so who you are shapes the package.
- Which media you need. Broadcast, online news, social, podcasts, licensed content and the contact database are separate products in the menu. Ask whether each is included or priced on top.
- Geography. US coverage is the core; Europe and Middle East broadcast coverage is described separately. Ask whether international coverage changes the quote.
- Nonprofit status. Special rates are available; say so at the start.
- API use. API access is listed for partners, which suggests it’s a separate arrangement.
Contract terms: what to ask for
We didn’t find subscription terms, renewal rules or cancellation terms published on Critical Mention’s website in September 2026; its footer links a privacy policy but no customer agreement. That doesn’t mean there aren’t terms. It means you’ll only see them in the order form or contract sales sends you.
Before you sign, ask for the full agreement and check:
- The initial term, and whether it auto-renews.
- How much notice you must give to cancel, and to whom.
- Whether the price can rise at renewal, and by how much.
- Whether fees are paid annually in advance, and whether any part is refundable.
- What happens to saved clips and reports if you leave.
- Any usage limits on searches, alerts, clip downloads or users.
How to get a quote, and what to ask
- Write down what coverage you actually need. For example: “local TV news in our three biggest markets,” “national cable news mentions of our CEO” or “podcast mentions of our product category.” The narrower the coverage, the easier it is to compare quotes.
- Estimate your volume. How many brands, people or topics will you track? How many clips a month do you expect to download or share?
- Book the demo or call. The site lists a demo request and a phone number.
- Ask these in writing:
- What’s included in the package, product by product?
- Is the media contact database included or separate?
- Are there limits on users, searches, alerts or clip downloads?
- Is international broadcast coverage extra?
- What are the term, renewal and cancellation rules?
- Is there a trial or a shorter first term?
- Get a second quote. Compare at least one other broadcast monitoring provider.
A worked example: do you need broadcast at all?
This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client.
A hospital system in a mid-sized US city is regularly covered by local TV news, both for good stories and for complaints. Its communications director wants to know within the hour when a story airs, and to send a clip to leadership.
- She checks how much of the coverage that worries her is actually on TV and radio, rather than in online articles that free alerts already catch.
- She asks Critical Mention for a package covering her local DMA only, with online news, and asks separately for the price of the media contact database.
- She compares that with a broadcast quote from another provider and with what Google Alerts and Talkwalker Alerts already show her for free.
If most of the coverage is local TV, a broadcast tool is doing work free tools can’t. If it’s mostly online, she may not need one.
Not sure where to start?
Get a free audit of your search results and review profiles, with a prioritized fix list.
Get a free auditCheaper and free options
Most broadcast monitoring is quote-based. These details come from each company’s own website as of September 2026. Check current pricing before you buy.
| Option | Pricing as of September 2026 | Covers broadcast? |
|---|---|---|
| Our free platform (123 Reputation Management) | Free | No; covers search results, reviews and mentions for your name |
| Google Alerts | Free | No; new web pages only |
| Talkwalker Alerts | Free | No; news, blogs, forums and X |
| Meltwater | Starter, Pro, Enterprise and Agency plans, all through contact sales; no self-serve free trial | Yes, according to Meltwater |
| Cision | Request-pricing form, no published prices | Yes, according to Cision |
| TVEyes | No prices published on its site | Yes; TV, radio and podcasts |
Our free platform
This one is ours, so weigh that. Our free platform tags every page-one result for your name as positive, neutral or negative; watches for new reviews and mentions and alerts you when one needs a reply; tracks every result as owned pages climb and old ones slip; and reports back every month in plain English. It does not monitor TV, radio or podcasts, has no clip library or media contact database, and doesn’t offer review requests, webchat, payments, listings sync, integrations or AI replies. If your real concern is what people find when they search for you after a news story, it covers that part. Start with a free reputation audit, or see our brand monitoring service.
Other tools
Talkwalker Alerts is Talkwalker’s free tool; its paid listening platform is now called Lumen by Talkwalker, and our Talkwalker pricing guide covers it. Meltwater’s FAQ says most contracts are annual with a 12-month minimum and there may be a one-time onboarding charge; see our Meltwater pricing guide. Cision’s pricing link leads to a request form; our Cision pricing guide covers what to ask. For a side-by-side list of news, broadcast and PR tools, see our guide to media monitoring tools, and if you’re new to the subject, start with what media monitoring is.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Critical Mention cost?
Critical Mention doesn’t publish prices. As of September 2026, its pricing page offers custom packages for agencies, growing firms, individual brands and nonprofits, and you get a price through a demo or sales call.
Does Critical Mention offer a free trial?
We didn’t find a free trial offer on its pricing page in September 2026. The main route in is a custom demo. Ask sales whether a trial or pilot is available.
Who owns Critical Mention?
Onclusive. Critical Mention’s About page says it launched in 2002 and was acquired by Onclusive in 2022.
Does Critical Mention offer nonprofit pricing?
Yes. Its pricing page lists “special rates for nonprofits.” The rate itself isn’t published.
Is there a free alternative to Critical Mention?
Not for TV and radio. Free tools such as Google Alerts and Talkwalker Alerts cover web pages and some social media, not broadcast. If broadcast coverage matters to you, compare paid providers.
