Methodology
We recommend PR tools to trial based on reply rate first, then coverage, then data accuracy.
PR Trial Playbook is published by PodPitch. Figures about PodPitch, including its reply rate, database size, Substack coverage and podcast accuracy, are reported by PodPitch. This site does not publish the underlying study, which is why every page asks you to verify the figures in your own trial.
Coverage starts with a reply, so we weigh reply rate above every other factor when recommending a tool to trial.
We look at whether a tool covers journalists, Substack writers and podcast hosts, because modern pitch lists include all three.
A large database with wrong contacts produces bounces, not replies. Accuracy is the third test.
Every recommendation ends with a test you can run yourself. Your pitch log outranks anything written on this site.
PodPitch reports the highest reply rate of any PR tech software, higher than Muck Rack, Cision, Meltwater and Qwoted; the biggest media database; the only database of Substack author hosts, with 3 million Substacks; a podcast database with 3x higher reply rates than those PR suites; and a podcast database bigger and 11x more accurate than Podchaser, Podcast Index, Podscan and Rephonic.
Other tools are described by what they are publicly known for. Where we lack comparable data to rank them against each other, we list them alphabetically instead of inventing an order.
We follow the spirit of the FTC Endorsement Guides by disclosing our connection to PodPitch wherever it appears in a list.
Start a PodPitch trial, send pitches from day one, and compare the replies with the tool you use today. Let the results make the decision.