Dot Star Media vs SourceBottle (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, SourceBottle grades higher than Dot Star Media: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
SourceBottle grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dot Star Media
Journalist request alerts from X, Bluesky and direct submissions
SourceBottle
Media call outs and expert profiles for people seeking press
Which one is for you
Pick Dot Star Media if
- Fits if your digital PR coverage comes from #journorequest
- Works for companies with several staff on one email domain, as colleagues are included
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you follow more than 5 topics, as 10 cost £60 a month and all 29 cost £80
- Watch out: prices are in pounds and exclude VAT, and plans are rolling monthly with a one-month minimum and no yearly option
- Not for you if you want alerts in Slack or Microsoft Teams without paying for Gold at £80 a month
- Skip it if you want requests from lifestyle bloggers and influencers, as they're mostly left out
Pick SourceBottle if
- Fits if you want to be quoted in the press and pay nothing to start
- Works for Australian and New Zealand businesses after local coverage
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, with a basic directory listing, 10 keywords and no helpdesk
- Watch out: fees are non-refundable, even for unused time, except where Australian Consumer Law says otherwise, and plans renew automatically
- Not for you if you budget in US dollars, as fees are in Australian dollars though the page shows a plain $ sign
- Pricey if you manage more than 5 experts, as the A$130 Agency plan covers 5 profiles
How we grade them
| 2.2GPADot Star MediaFair | 2.4GPASourceBottleFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBronze is £40 a month before VAT for 5 topics, around the middle of this category. Silver is £60 for 10 and Gold £80 for all 29, with no yearly plan to bring that down. | CUnlimited Pitches is A$65 a month (A$650 a year), around the middle of what this category charges once converted. There's also a pay-per-pitch option at A$25 a pitch, up to 3 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card. Qualifying charities can use it free. | BFree gets you a profile, 10 keywords and unlimited replies to the call outs it emails you, so one person can really live on it. What you don't get is SourceBottle's team pitching you, or helpdesk support. |
| Features | CA filtered #journorequest feed from X and Bluesky plus direct submissions, alerts within about 30 seconds, 29 topics with keyword filters and journalist bios. It does request alerts fully, but that's a smaller job, and influencer requests are left out. | CEmailed call outs, an expert profile in a directory journalists search, and on paid plans a human team that puts you forward for matching call outs. It does the job fully, but it's a small one. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there's little to set up: pick your topics and requests arrive by email, ready to reply to. | BNo rating on record, but there's little to set up: call outs arrive by email and you reply straight to the journalist. A profile with your keywords is the only setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | CEmail and web, with Microsoft Teams and Slack delivery only on Gold at £80 a month. No API on record. | CWeb and email only, with no apps, integrations or API on record. |
| Best for | #journorequest alerts sorted by topic | free media call outs by email |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dot Star Media and SourceBottle. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| Dot Star Media | SourceBottle | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | £40 per month for 5 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly | A$65 per month, billed monthly (Australian dollars) |
| Free plan | None | Free Expert Profile with a basic directory listing and 10 keywords, plus media call outs by email that you can answer without limit. SourceBottle's team does not pitch you. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dot Star Media Ltd | TheSourceBottle Pty Ltd |
| Price read from | dotstar.media | sourcebottle.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dot Star Media
- Prices are in pounds and exclude VAT; no dollar prices are published.
- Plans are rolling monthly with a one-month minimum; there is no yearly plan.
- Teams and Slack delivery need the Gold plan at £80 a month.
- Requests from lifestyle bloggers and other influencers are generally left out of the feeds.
SourceBottle
- Its terms say fees are generally in Australian dollars; the pricing page shows them with a plain $ sign.
- A No Pitch, No Pay option charges A$25 per pitch, up to 3 pitches a month, with no subscription.
- Fees are non-refundable, including for unused time, except where Australian Consumer Law requires; plans renew automatically.
- The free plan gets no pitching, a basic listing and no helpdesk support; helpdesk access starts at Unlimited Pitches.
Key features
Dot Star Media
- Filtered #journorequest feed
- Requests posted on X and Bluesky are checked by automation and people, keeping verified journalists at established outlets and dropping most noise and influencer requests.
- Fast alerts
- The vendor says most alerts arrive within 30 seconds of the journalist posting, as individual emails or digests.
- 29 topics with keyword filters
- Requests are sorted into 29 topics; plans cover 5, 10 or all 29, and topics can be changed whenever a campaign changes.
- Full request details
- Each alert carries the whole request, the journalist's name and biography, and options for replying to them directly.
- Teams and Slack delivery
- The Gold plan can post requests into Microsoft Teams or Slack channels as well as email.
SourceBottle
- Emailed media call outs
- Journalists and bloggers post requests for sources, which go out by email alert; every plan, including the free one, can reply to as many as you like.
- Expert Profile and directory
- A free profile listed in an Expert Directory the media can search, found by keywords: 10 free, 20 on pay per pitch and unlimited on paid plans.
- Human pitching service
- SourceBottle's pitching team searches the directory and puts your profile forward for call outs that match your expertise, uncapped on paid plans.
- Agency plan for PR firms
- One Agency plan covers up to 5 client Expert Profiles, each with unlimited pitching and keywords.
- Priority listing and promotion
- Paid plans get a priority place in the directory and can be featured on SourceBottle's home page and social accounts.
- Free for journalists
- Journalists and bloggers post call outs and search the expert directory at no cost, across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, Ireland and North America.
Plans
Dot Star Media
Bronze£40
per month for 5 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly
Individual request emails, keyword filtering, digests, and each journalist's name and bio. Colleagues on the same email domain are included.
Silver£60
per month for 10 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly
The same features as Bronze across any 10 topics.
Gold£80
per month for all 29 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly
Every topic, plus request alerts delivered to Microsoft Teams or Slack.
SourceBottle
FREEA$0
Expert Profile, basic Expert Directory listing, up to 10 keywords and unlimited replies to emailed call outs.
Unlimited PitchesA$65
per month, billed monthly (A$650 billed yearly)
Unlimited pitching of your profile by SourceBottle's team, unlimited keywords, priority listing, helpdesk support and possible home page features.
AgencyA$130
per month, billed monthly (A$1,300 billed yearly)
Everything in Unlimited Pitches for up to 5 client Expert Profiles, for PR professionals managing several experts.
Ways to pay less
Dot Star Media
- Nonprofit
Free for qualifying charities
Dot Star Media's about page says its journalist enquiry service is free of charge to qualifying charities.
SourceBottle
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
SourceBottle's pricing page says yearly plans get 2 months free: Unlimited Pitches is A$650 a year instead of A$65 a month, and Agency A$1,300.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dot Star Media or SourceBottle?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Dot Star Media starts at £40 per month for 5 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly, and SourceBottle starts at A$65 per month, billed monthly (Australian dollars).
Which has a free plan, Dot Star Media or SourceBottle?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only SourceBottle has a free plan. Dot Star Media does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.