BrandMentions vs Semrush AI PR Toolkit (2026): which should you pick?

Pick BrandMentions if

• Fits if you want to know when your brand, or a new link to it, shows up online
• Works for PR and marketing teams tracking sentiment and share of voice against rivals

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you track more than 5 keywords or need faster than daily updates, as hourly starts at Pro ($249 a month billed annually)
• Pricey if you pay short-term: Starter's shortest term is quarterly, at $99 a month
• Not for you if you want a long look first, as there's no free plan, only a 7-day trial
• Watch out: Boolean search and white-label reports start at Expert, and the API at Enterprise from $1,099
• Skip it if you want help winning links, as it monitors and does no outreach

Pick Semrush AI PR Toolkit if

• Fits if you're new to PR and want one place to find and pitch journalists
• Works for agencies comparing several brands' coverage, on the Business plan

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you just want to pitch, as Base is $149 a month with no monitoring or contact exports
• Tight if a team shares it, as each plan has one user and every extra one is $20 a month
• Watch out: add-ons stack up, with 200 more exports at $149 a month and 1,000 more emails at $29
• Not for you if you want a real trial, as sending, contact details and exports stay locked until you pay
• Watch out: the pricing page shows yearly billing, while Semrush's help center gives the same figures as monthly prices

BrandMentions

• There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial; Starter's shortest billing term is quarterly, at $99 a month.
• Starter tracks 5 keywords with daily updates; hourly updates start at Pro and real-time updates at Expert.
• White-label reports and Boolean search start at Expert; the API and up to 10 years of history come only with Enterprise.
• BrandMentions calls itself monitoring software, not a link-building service, and it does not sell links or placements.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

• Prowly itself no longer takes new subscriptions or trials; new customers are pointed to this Semrush toolkit.
• Each plan includes one user; extra users cost $20 a month each.
• Base cannot export contacts or monitor media; 200 more exports cost $149 a month and 1,000 more emails $29.
• The pricing page shows annual billing; Semrush's help center gives the same figures as monthly prices.

BrandMentions

Web and social monitoring

Collects public mentions from social networks, video sites, forums, news, blogs, websites and review sites, plus brand names spoken in videos and podcasts.

Mention and new-link alerts

Email alerts for new mentions and new links, and Flash Alerts written as plain-language rules. Updates run daily on Starter, hourly on Pro and in real time from Expert.

AI sentiment and analysis

Sentiment built on large language models, with 12+ emotions and custom rules. Multilingual sentiment and the AI Assistant start at Pro.

Competitor tracking

Track rivals as keywords and compare volume, reach, share of voice and sentiment across projects, competitors and time periods.

Reports

AI-written reports exported as PDF or editable PowerPoint, on a schedule or on demand. White-label reports start at Expert.

API

A REST API with webhook-style callbacks for new mentions, included on Enterprise plans.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

AI-cited media finder

Lists the media outlets in your industry that AI models cite in their answers, with journalists to pitch at each.

Media database

Profiles of more than 600,000 journalists and outlets, searchable by keyword and location; Pro adds audience and traffic data per outlet.

AI pitch and press release writing

Drafts pitches and press releases with AI on every plan, ready to send from the toolkit's mailing tool.

Email outreach and analytics

Sends pitches from your own authenticated domain and tracks engagement. Pro adds scheduled follow-ups and shows which pitches led to coverage.

Media monitoring

From Pro, watches online news, blogs and forums for mentions, filters out reprints and duplicates, and sends alerts with AI summaries.

Competitive intelligence

Business tracks where competitors get coverage and benchmarks your share of voice, sentiment and reach against theirs.

BrandMentions

• Starter$79

  per month for 5 keywords, billed annually ($99 billed quarterly)

  5,000 mentions a month, 3 projects, 1 user, daily updates, basic AI sentiment and 3 months of data retention.

• Pro$249

  per month for 20 keywords, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)

  30,000 mentions a month, 10 projects, 2 users, hourly updates, multilingual AI sentiment, standard reports and the AI Assistant.

• Expert$399

  per month for 50 keywords, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)

  75,000 mentions a month, 50 projects, 10 users, real-time updates, audience demographics, white-label reports and Boolean search.

• Enterprise$1,099

  per month and up, billed annually ($1,299 billed monthly)

  Custom keyword, mention and user limits, unlimited projects, the API, full historical data and a success manager. Booked through a demo.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

• Base$149

  per month, billed annually

  1 user, AI-cited media finder, media database, AI pitch writing, 250 contacts added and 500 emails a month. No monitoring or exports.

• Pro$279

  per month, billed annually

  Adds media monitoring (3,000 mentions a month), follow-ups, outlet audience data, 500 contacts, 150 exports and 1,250 emails a month.

• Business$499

  per month, billed annually

  Adds competitor tracking, benchmarking and gap ideas, with 50,000 mentions, 1,000 contacts, 500 exports and 3,500 emails a month.

BrandMentions

• Annual discount

  Up to 3 months free with annual billing

  BrandMentions' pricing page lists annual billing at up to 3 months free: Pro is $249 a month billed annually instead of $299 billed monthly.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

No public discounts listed.