TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cision PRWeb

    Score7 out of 10
    N/ACision PRWeb aims to impact customer behavior by providing efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels including search, social media and with industry-specific partner websites, bloggers and influencers.

    $99

    per news release

    iContact

    Score6.8 out of 10
    N/AiContact is an email marketing solution that was acquired by Vocus in 2012. The product is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and is aimed at SMBs with unlimited sending as a key feature.

    $14

    per month

    Pricing
    Cision PRWebiContact
    Editions & Modules
    Basic
    $99
    per news release
    Standard
    $205
    per news release
    Advanced
    $305
    per news release
    Premium
    $405
    per news release
    1500 Users
    $15.00
    per month
    2500 Users
    $25.00
    per month
    5000 Users
    $45.00
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision PRWebiContact
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cision PRWebiContact
    Considered Both Products
    Cision
    Chose Cision PRWeb
    PRWeb stood out against all of their other competitors because their staff was much more willing to answer questions I had about their product.
    Incentivized
    iContact
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    67%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    71%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    67%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Cision PRWebiContact
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Cision PRWeb and iContact
    Feature
    Cision PRWeb
    -
    Ratings
    iContact
    6.6
    26 Ratings
    20% below category average
    WYSIWYG email editor00 Ratings7.024 Ratings
    Dynamic content00 Ratings7.021 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content00 Ratings5.021 Ratings
    Landing pages00 Ratings7.014 Ratings
    A/B testing00 Ratings5.017 Ratings
    Mobile optimization00 Ratings7.021 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting00 Ratings7.025 Ratings
    List management00 Ratings8.025 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences00 Ratings6.015 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Cision PRWeb and iContact
    Feature
    Cision PRWeb
    -
    Ratings
    iContact
    8.0
    26 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings8.026 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings8.025 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings8.015 Ratings
    Pre-Send Testing
    Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Cision PRWeb and iContact
    Feature
    Cision PRWeb
    -
    Ratings
    iContact
    7.0
    1 Ratings
    15% below category average
    URL Validation00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Link Tracking00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Image Validation00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Inbox Display00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Spelling and Grammar Check00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Spam Testing00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Email Previews00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cision PRWebiContact
    Small Businesses
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Mad Mimi
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cision Communications Cloud
    Score8 out of 10
    Campaign Monitor by Marigold
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Emma by Marigold
    Score8.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision PRWebiContact
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (14 ratings)
    8.0
    (45 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    3.4
    (19 ratings)
    Usability
    7.0
    (4 ratings)
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.9
    (9 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cision PRWebiContact
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cision
    Wire press release distribution is often a luxury purchase, especially at the price point. In my experience Cision acts as if it's destined to win everyone's business just because of its name. Too often we've found ourselves being turned off by the arrogance and taking our business (and our clients' business) to alternative companies that are happy to have us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    I would only recommend it if someone was a small business. I think they are the best suited for companies who will send out a coupon or offer here and there. The most recent updates made it more complicated to use for more complicated processes. It is easy to train someone on the program, and so quick to learn. But I would also only stick to the simpler things. I also think the colorful templates are great, and show great creativity. But again, it is hard to justify recommending the program when it isn't WYSIWYG.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cision
    • PRWeb is fairly easy to use to issue press releases. They have a review process that will look over your release before submission although this review is not going to catch spelling and grammatical errors.
    • I've seen our press releases posted on industry relevant websites thanks to the reach that PRWeb provided us.
    • Although I never used it because we subscribed to a different service, PRWeb allows you to create and send email blasts within their OutMarket marketing platform.
    • I enjoy the ability to add a quote call out in the release.
    • I also like that images or videos can be added to the release.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    • Contact management. iContact is really great for entering all your contact. You are able to put them onto different lists, and let them choose which lists they would like to be a part of as well. There are many data fields provided to fill in information.
    • Emailing. We use the email feature at least once a month. They are always improving and adding new features, which is very helpful in presenting content in a new and exciting way to our readers. There are many options with remade templates and themes, or you can add your own.
    • Insights. It is really helpful being able to have the data to see what is working and what isn't. It is nice to be able to go back and see how things went in the past compared to now. Opens, clicks, shares, etc.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cision
    • Increasing the volume of media that can receive communication would help - going from 5,000 to 7,500 or 10,000 would be a massive help.
    • Providing a social media platform in which to send out either X posts, LinkedIn, and Facebook posts to media as an alternative communication would help
    • Increasing the number of podcasters and there contact details would help.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    • We also would like to send transactional messages which don't require an opt-out, this is a challenge with iContact. (May be a feature with pro?)
    • The regular version of iContact doesn't support event management or logic flows for automated messaging.
    • Custom form fields have limited field type options (can't build a drop-down).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cision
    We are unlikely to renew PRWeb because I feel that the costs outweigh the benefits of the service. For a company like ours (small business with about 60 employees) we don't have enough press that warrants monthly coverage. We may look at using PRWeb on an as needed basis, 3-4 times a year for single submissions, but that would be the extent of it. I could see PRWeb being much more beneficial for large companies that are constantly needing to issue press.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    iContact has been a quick and easy way to send any announcements and news directly to email and social media subscribers. Its tracking and reporting capabilities turn a simple email into a marketing campaign that can be used as a tool to efficiently gauge reader response and customer satisfaction, and ultimately to reach potential customers. The consistency and excellent customer service is what makes this program a pleasant experience.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cision
    The Cision PRWeb platform is mostly intuitive. It is broken into Monitoring, Social, Insights, and Outreach sections. The way Mention Streams are set up and organized has confused employees who are new to the dashboard. Under Outreach, the Launchpad and Activities tabs are a little bit redundant and could probably be consolidated.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    I rate iContact as an easy to use program due to its user friendly dashboard and user interface. Most companies of small to medium size do not have a dedicated marketer, therefore it is someone multitasking who may or may not have this kind of experience. iContact makes it relatively simple and can actually expand one's knowledge in the area of business promotion.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    No answers on this topic
    iContact
    iContact is regularly up and running. Only once has it been unavailable for maintenance, which is to be expected and even desired for optimal performance when needed.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Cision
    I have only required support from PRWeb on two separate occasions and they handled my issues without any problems. I was a bit confused at first not sure if they had received my requests but shortly after I received responses and was able to move forward with my press release.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    They have always been responsive to any issues or concerns that have arisen with our account. Our customer account manager participates in our monthly county-wide communicators meetings via telephone to ensure that we are getting the most from the service. He also analyzes our lists to help us weed out inactive contacts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Cision
    No answers on this topic
    iContact
    The templates are difficult to customize, and they don't render well in email platforms
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Cision
    Implementation of PRWeb required very little of Strouse. It was a quick process and we were almost immediately ready to use the platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    i wouldn't be using it if i wasn't satisfied. time is money
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Cision
    It is not an "either-or" situation. If a company really wants to put a release out on the wire, one service might be better suited for it than the other. For when a company wants to target certain countries or vertical markets (e.g. Latin America), PR Newswire would be the proper choice.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    I didn't have a say in the decision because I wasn't with the company at the time. I listed HubSpot here because I know we used it in conjunction with iContact for email automation, but HubSpot Email was only recently built-out to the point where it is today. Now, iContact and HubSpot are no longer integrated.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cision
    No answers on this topic
    iContact
    iContact stays the same with the number of users added or taken away. It certainly remains reliable despite increased usage, and so, can be considered scaleable in that aspect.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cision
    • It was definitely a cost decision for us, but the ability to have access to their media database was by far the most useful and needed tool for us.
    • For tracking media hits, it saved us time tracking the majority of hits. Where it didn't save us time was with smaller, more niche media.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    iContact
    • We have a template for webinars that we send every month. We just edit it and send. This couldn't be easier (once you know where to find it).
    • We like the breakdown of statistics in the dashboard. They're easy to read.
    • iContact isn't a comprehensive solution, so it is only one of a few products we use for marketing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots