TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Catalyst, by EBM Software

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/ACatalyst from EBM Software in Minneapolis is a cloud-based business performance application suite, designed to provide an environment and workflow for understanding business profitability.N/A

    Meltwater

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/AMeltwater Media Intelligence platform is a set of public relations software tools for media monitoring, social media monitoring, and collecting brand insights. The four areas of functionality are Monitor, Analyze, Distribute, and Engage. (Note that this product combines features from the vendor Meltwater's former Buzz, Press, and News products.)N/A
    Pricing
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareMeltwater
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareMeltwater
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsFlexible and tiered pricing structures available - monthly, 1-3-5- contracts, and more—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareMeltwater
    Considered Both Products
    EBM Software
    No answer on this topic
    Meltwater
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    63%
    Would buy again
    20 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    62%
    Delivers good value for the price
    16 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    69%
    Happy with the feature set
    22 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    63%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    15 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    81%
    Implementation went as expected
    22 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareMeltwater
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    Cision Communications Cloud
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Cision Communications Cloud
    Score8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareMeltwater
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.9
    (2 ratings)
    7.2
    (73 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (10 ratings)
    Usability
    8.8
    (2 ratings)
    5.6
    (5 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.8
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (29 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.1
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareMeltwater
    Likelihood to Recommend
    EBM Software
    [Catalyst, by EBM Software] is well suited to track invoices from vendors to get them paid on time to avoid late fees. [Catalyst, by EBM Software] is less appropriate when paying vendor because that is not a function they currently have. If the system was an all in one system that could track and pay your invoices it would be an amazing software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Meltwater
    Meltwater is well-suited for agencies that have an engagement team who is looking to service a variety of client needs such as social media reporting, public relations outreach, and community management. If you're looking to have a platform serve just one need, you can still use Meltwater but will get more bang for your buck if you are needing a variety of tools.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    EBM Software
    • The GUI is easy to navigate on the iPad mini, which we use for charting.
    • The options are simple so there is very little room for mistakes.
    • Charting is easy and the setup allows for necessary fields that must be completed so charting stays uniform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Meltwater
    • Media research - you can search for relevant publications and journalists to add to your media list.
    • Earned media coverage - you can search for coverage of your brand and find news stories that also include data that may be useful (how many people did the story reach for example).
    • Building media lists - if you have no current existing list, you can build and export one in Excel for example.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    EBM Software
    • The browser closes unexpectedly at times when refreshing the page and you get logged out
    • The incorrect vendor is chosen by Catalyst a few times
    • The Catalyst file is occasionally not placed on time in the folder
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Meltwater
    • The dashboards are not user-friendly, customizable (color, font size, etc.), or worthy of presenting to a client. All of the insights from a dashboard get pulled from the platform and placed into a more client-friendly presentation.
    • Paywalls for certain publications connected to who-knows-what. DowJones racket limits media monitoring capabilities and results in manual searches for a growing number of publications.
    • TVeyes, the broadcast monitoring arm of the media monitoring capabilities, just needs TLC and to become more client-facing. Currently, the links produced to share clips look sketchy, and they have a relatively short shelf life.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Meltwater
    Meltwater works well for our organization and has allowed us to meet our internal goals. We are always open to new products and services that may be able to provide similar or better features; however, our experience has been that many of Meltwater's competitors are not up to the task.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    EBM Software
    Well.... when it works... it's good. When it doesn't it is very frustrating for our staff.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Meltwater
    Once you get some basic training it's pretty easy to use. I would like to see training manuals, or instructional videos to help me explore features I'm not currently using.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    EBM Software
    The support for Catalyst is great and they are usually within the 48 hour response time. There could be a little quicker upload time for invoices that are submitted. They usually show up until the next day on the system and sometimes gives us a stress on time. Overall, the support is quite good
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Meltwater
    Our account rep at Meltwater went dark for a long time. Then, a couple of weeks ago, our new account manager reached out to set up a meeting. Apparently, they had a big shakeup in the company, and there were some personnel changes. Our new account rep was great in discussing the platform's capabilities that were available to us and even offered to schedule a follow-up meeting with his technical team to introduce our new social media team members to the platform and how it could help them with their jobs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Meltwater
    Again, really in-depth and helpful for a program that is really easy to use.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Meltwater
    Walked step by step through program. Very informative on a program that doesn't require much training.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Meltwater
    You are only allowed 15 users, so make sure you've identified who will have access to use the tool.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    EBM Software
    [Catalyst, by EBM Software] is a very easy system to use and is very user friendly. It gives you different ways of researching an invoice and not just one. Catalyst also helps to allow us to research an invoice within seconds and eliminates a lengthy and confusing process. It is a great software for first time users to learn quickly and efficiently.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Meltwater
    I was looking for a full-service option. I did some research. What really sold me was the presentation. They offered products that were helpful, and I wasn’t even aware of them. It is more expensive than the other products that are out there, but you get more. The other companies are good, but Meltwater Media Intelligence is more full service.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    EBM Software
    • Catalyst is better than pencil and paper data analysis. But the app can be very frustrating when it's not working the way it did last week.
    • The GUI is very simple. Sometimes too simple, like there is no way to go back in and edit SOAP note options.
    • New feature roll-outs are mandatory. I understand that no one would opt in to being the guinea pig, but it would be nice if you weren't the first user to try it.
    • The integration with billing software has streamlined the billing notes and saved us money over having two separate systems.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Meltwater
    • As a PR firm, we rely on the media databases that [Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform] supplies to deliver the media exposure that they expect from us.
    • We utilize their tracking of media hits for our overall reporting to our clients.
    • Both of these are advantageous in helping us to not only keep our existing clients happy but also to gain new clients (and, in turn - revenue), as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots