Meltwater vs. Planable

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Meltwater
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Meltwater 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
Planable
Score 6.2 out of 10
N/A
Planable is a social media management tool built for team collaboration. It provides a single workspace to create content, show draft posts in context, collect feedback, move work to approval, and publish. The interface supports multi view options including calendar, feed, grid, and list, and offers collaboration with shareable views so external stakeholders can review without learning a new system. The platform centralizes posts and assets, reducing handoffs and keeping context intact for…
$33
per month per workspace
Pricing
MeltwaterPlanable
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic
$33
per month per workspace
Pro
$49
per month per workspace
Enterprise
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MeltwaterPlanable
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor the basic plan we have this description: 60 posts/ workspace/ month Unlimited users 4 social pages/ workspace 2 types of approval Feed & Calendar views 3 campaigns/ workspace Engagement add-on available Analytics add-on available For the Pro plan: 150 posts/ workspace/ month Unlimited users 10 social pages/ workspace 3 types of approval Feed, Calendar & Grid views 10 campaigns/ workspace Engagement add-on available Analytics add-on available Enterprise (Custom) Unlimited posts Multi-level approvals Feed, Calendar, Grid & List views Pay by bank/ wire transfer Dedicated account manager Unlimited campaigns SSO integration Engagement add-on available Analytics add-on available
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
MeltwaterPlanable
Considered Both Products
Meltwater
Chose Meltwater
We chose Meltwater because we can create actual queries and search on forums, which many other platforms lack. We found that other services tend to focus only on social media.
Chose Meltwater
Meltwater does not limit competitive searches in the same way that Crayon and Klue do. Meltwater also captures different sources of information than aggregation tools. While Meltwater doesn’t provide access to expert reports like a different platform that I rely on for deep …
Chose Meltwater
I believe they are fairly evenly matched, Meltwater has better search options but it really goes back and forth on who has the most updated contacts.
Chose Meltwater
Meltwater has more detail in its analytics, and is far more complex.
Chose Meltwater
Meltwater serves as an all-in-one platform, so it has benefitted us greatly in being able to service a variety of needs in one place. Having a streamlined platform is important to our team since it can feel counterproductive to visit a variety of products to service one …
Chose Meltwater
Cision PRWeb has a more robust toolset and provides more precise metrics and analysis, as well as a better media outreach database of journalists.
Chose Meltwater
I started using Meltwater because of a client. I do find it much easier to use than Cision. I hear good things about Muck Rack and recently had a demo. That's probably the one I would use if I were to leave Meltwater. Cision has always been difficult to use, in my opinion.
Chose Meltwater
I have tried several platforms but continue coming back to Meltwater. Even though we are a national company, I like the global reach that Meltwater offers.
Chose Meltwater
We actually use both Cision and Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform. I prefer Cision over Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform in that the analytics are better, plus the competitor tracking has made my job SO much easier. After working with the customer service/technical …
Chose 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 …
Chose Meltwater
Meltwater is our primary tool, however, we have engaged TVEyes as broadcast media has not been a strength of Meltwater. We would love to see that change and use Meltwater for all needs.
Chose Meltwater
Meltwater is a do-everything platform so it automatically ranks above these two programs. That said, due to these two programs focusing on both incredibly thorough reporter contact databases and tv/radio monitoring, their specialties are reliable when needed.
Chose Meltwater
Cision and LexisNexis are better for accessing articles behind paywalls. I've found that social-specific tools like Sprout Social or Sprinklr seem to be better for monitoring social media mentions. However, Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform may have upped its "social game" …
Chose Meltwater
Sprout Social was only limited to social media publishing. Not what we needed as a PR firm that works in the media landscape.
Chose Meltwater
[In my opinion,] Meltwater [Media Intelligence Platform]'s media database simply doesn't stack up to what Cision offers. It doesn't matter how nice the interface is if the data included in the database you're pulling from isn't complete or well organized. Cision can be clunky, …
Chose Meltwater
The functionality, customer service, and quality of databases are all better with Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform. I have used Cision in the past and have not been as happy with it.
Chose Meltwater
Crayon [Intel Pro] is slightly better, but not by much. If you are set on using a service like this, I'd choose it, but Crayon [Intel Pro] is more expensive. [In my opinion, it is] best to use an intern [where] you can target their efforts, not some hit-and-miss AI program.
Chose Meltwater
We've used Cision [PRWeb] for their media database for a long time, and then we've used TrendKite for media tracking [and] reporting, as well. While we're new to [Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform], [concerning] media tracking [and] reporting, it seems to be as good or …
Chose Meltwater
Cision acquired TrendKite which we loved. I was worried that TrendKite would not be supported as well so we switched to Meltwater.

Years ago Meltwater was a fine choice. Now ... it is so bad it's hard to even imagine how they get by with the state of the product and the very …
Chose Meltwater
Meltwater is the most expensive option with the worst customer service. Terrible experience.
Chose Meltwater
Meltwater is a fully reinforced software and its features outweigh the purpose of Mention, but they are similar in that they provide insight into where your brand is being discussed and who is talking about it. I was able to find what I needed out of Mention, within Meltwater, …
Chose Meltwater
We originally had Salesforce/Radian6 and switched to Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform to align with what other similar brands were using, and because at that time, Salesforce was experiencing technical issues. After a year and a half with Meltwater Media Intelligence …
Chose Meltwater
TrendKite is much more flexible with an unlimited amount of dashboards, searches, metrics on a particular dashboard, and more. There are pricing systems with all platforms sure, but to add broadcast is outrageous. Not to mention, their live chat staff has been rude in the past …
Planable
Features
MeltwaterPlanable
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Meltwater
-
Ratings
Planable
10.0
Ratings
22% above category average
Content planning and scheduling00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Content optimization00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Channel coverage/integration
Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Product A and Product B
Meltwater
-
Ratings
Planable
10.0
Ratings
17% above category average
Twitter00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Facebook00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
LinkedIn00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Google+00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Instagram00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Pinterest00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Meltwater
-
Ratings
Planable
10.0
Ratings
22% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
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MeltwaterPlanable
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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
MeltwaterPlanable
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.5
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
MeltwaterPlanable
Likelihood to Recommend
If you practice media relations in your role, Meltwater is helpful. You can do research to find relevant publications and journalists, build media lists, export them to share with a team or client and you can also keep notes on your campaigns. I like using it for research, although I do research outside the platform, as well, to be sure to be thorough (and some of the info in the database is outdated). I would say if you don't practice media relations, it's probably not as useful. There are other tools that do a better job if you want to search for media or social media mentions, for example. If you are looking for an all-in-one media relations tool that's relatively easy to use, Meltwater is probably a good fit.
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It needs the ability to save hashtags. Some of the other tools offer this, so I emailed Planable and asked them to consider adding it.
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Pros
  • Up to date contact information. It is actually relevant and active info, not always the case with others.
  • The user interface is better than most tools. While not perfect, it's pretty easy to figure out how to get what you want.
  • Their support is excellent. Anytime I've needed help I can call, but better than this, they proactively call and assist.
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  • Plan posts on multiple platforms at once
  • Approval workflow
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Cons
  • Their tracking system for media mentions isn't perfect - we have stumbled across several posts mentioning our company/product that were not picked up by the platform. While frustrating, we send these URLs to our rep and their tech team ensures that that website will be monitored moving forward.
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  • Add hashtags in the tool so you can save them for future use
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Likelihood to Renew
We have had great success with Meltwater Buzz the past 2 years. The reporting has been great for our board reports, seeing the conversations going on between our followers helps us to learn who our audience is and what we can do better on our social media. The analytics we see on Meltwater Buzz we could not get anywhere else
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No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
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It does what you need, but could have a bit more features for the price. $30 a month just to post things on Facebook or Instagram is a bit steep, given that that's all you can do.
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Support Rating
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.
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Emailed them a month ago to add hashtags, but they didn't add the functionality yet. Given that the product has stayed exactly the same since, I'm guessing the developers don't want to add this feature so I give the support a rating of 1.
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In-Person Training
Again, really in-depth and helpful for a program that is really easy to use.
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
Walked step by step through program. Very informative on a program that doesn't require much training.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
You are only allowed 15 users, so make sure you've identified who will have access to use the tool.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Meltwater serves as an all-in-one platform, so it has benefitted us greatly in being able to service a variety of needs in one place. Having a streamlined platform is important to our team since it can feel counterproductive to visit a variety of products to service one client's needs. So, Meltwater has been essential in ensuring our needs are met through one destination.
Read full review
Cheaper, however, Kontentino does have the ability to save hashtags.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Improved PR reporting, for sure.
  • Competitor analysis for clients and ourselves.
  • A great ability to track the news and understand particular news drivers for certain industries, allowing us to get our client in front of the media at or before the perfect moment.
Read full review
  • Ability to post on any social media platform with 1 click. It adjusts the layout for you, pictures, adding action buttons, etc.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Planable Screenshots

Screenshot of Planable weekly content calendar in grid view showing scheduled posts with images, times, and platforms.Screenshot of Facebook analytics dashboard in Planable with follower growth, post count, impressions, and engagement trends.Screenshot of Planable interface showing comment thread with suggestions on a social media post draft for team collaboration.Screenshot of Approval settings panel in Planable showing user roles, toggle switches, and auto-scheduling option.Screenshot of Planable workspace permissions view showing team and client roles with customizable access for content collaboration.