Featured vs MentionMatch (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Featured: it is second in our ranking of link building tools, though MentionMatch grades higher (2.8 against 2.4) on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Featured grades higher on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Featured
AI assistant for PR that finds journalist requests and drafts pitches
MentionMatch
Free matching of B2B writers with expert sources for quotes
Which one is for you
Pick Featured if
- Fits if you're a founder or expert answering journalist requests for press mentions
- Works for agencies watching HARO-style requests for several clients
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, at about 2 to 3 opportunities a week
- Watch out: plans differ only in daily AI allowance, and workflows wait in a queue until it resets
- Not for you if you want pitches sent for you, as it drafts them and you send them
- Pricey if a big team needs it, as Team Pro+ is $1,199 a month on yearly billing, and prices exclude tax
- Skip it if you want earned media only, as it also sells paid article placements and press-release distribution
Pick MentionMatch if
- Fits if you're a B2B marketer or founder who can supply quotes or data
- Works for B2B writers who need original expert quotes
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you work in consumer or general news, as requests are B2B only
- Tight if deadlines are short, as free sources get requests a day later than API subscribers
- Pricey if you only want requests sooner, as the API that sends them instantly is $500 a month
- Watch out: writers are only encouraged, not required, to link to the sources they quote
- Too light for a steady stream from any one title, as each publication can send at most three requests a week
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFeaturedFair | 2.8GPAMentionMatchGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $29 a month billed yearly ($39 monthly), between this category's cheaper quarter and its middle. That buys 5 times the free plan's AI use. Pro is $79 and Pro+ $239, and prices exclude tax. | AThe service is free for sources and writers, and that's the whole product for most people. The paid API is $500 a month, for agencies and software tools that want requests instantly by webhook. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with every feature and no card, but a small daily AI allowance. Featured's own example is 2 to 3 opportunities a week, which is a taste rather than a routine. | BFree with no cap a normal source would reach. But free requests arrive a day later than API subscribers', who also get Verified Sender Status on replies, so free users answer second. |
| Features | BJournalist requests pulled from HARO, Connectively, Substack, X and LinkedIn, a chat that finds podcasts, bylines and awards, scheduled workflows, media monitoring and a check of how AI chatbots describe your brand. It covers the whole job. | CRequests matched by expertise, a writer form with approval, links for quotes used, a public page of today's requests and the API feed. It does matching fully, but that's a smaller job, and B2B topics only. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You ask in plain English, but you'll set up your expertise and workflows, and once the daily allowance runs out, work waits until it resets. | BNo rating on record, but nothing to set up: register as a source, pick your areas and matching requests come by email. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. Results go to Slack or email, and an MCP server connects it to Claude, Cursor and VS Code. | CWeb and email for everyone. The webhook feed to your own endpoint, Airtable, Notion or Asana comes only with the $500 API. |
| Best for | finding press openings and drafting the pitch | free expert quote requests in B2B |
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: Featured and MentionMatch. How we grade
Price against what you get
Featured starts at $29 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. MentionMatch starts at $500 a month and scores 2.3.
Featured scores higher and starts $471 a month lower. Of the other link building tools on the chart, none scores higher than Featured for less, and 6 score higher than MentionMatch for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Featured also covers chat assistant, workflow automation and AI search visibility.
- MentionMatch also covers link outreach.
At a glance
| Featured | MentionMatch | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | $500 per month for the API, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Every feature, including Featured Chat and journalist request matching, on a small daily AI allowance; Featured's example is 2 to 3 opportunities a week. | Free for sources to receive matching requests by email and for writers to submit requests; publications can send up to 3 requests a week. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Featured | Superpath Incorporated |
| Price read from | featured.com | buy.stripe.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Featured
- Every plan has the same features; plans differ only in a daily AI allowance, and workflows queue until it resets.
- Team Pro+ costs $1,199 a month billed annually ($1,499 monthly); Enterprise is billed by usage at API rates.
- Besides earned media, it sells paid article placements and press-release distribution through newswire partners.
- Prices exclude applicable tax.
MentionMatch
- Requests cover B2B topics only, such as marketing, SaaS, sales and SEO, not consumer or general news.
- Free sources get requests a day later than API subscribers, who also get Verified Sender Status on replies.
- The API price was read from its Stripe checkout, which showed rupees from India at Stripe's exchange rate.
- Each publication can submit at most three requests a week, and the team approves each one first.
Key features
Featured
- Journalist requests
- Matches live source requests from HARO, Connectively, Substack, X and LinkedIn to your expertise, sorted by deadline, and drafts a response.
- Featured Chat
- Ask in plain language for podcasts, writers, publications taking bylines, speaking slots or awards, and get a list with pitches drafted.
- Workflows
- Scheduled searches that keep watching for new opportunities and deliver results to Slack, email or the app.
- GEO audit
- Checks how ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini describe your brand and which sources they cite.
- Media and competitor monitoring
- Tracks mentions of your brand, people and competitors across news, blogs, podcasts and YouTube.
- MCP server
- Connects Claude, Cursor, VS Code or your own agents to Featured's opportunity search and workflows.
MentionMatch
- Requests matched by expertise
- Sources pick areas such as marketing, SaaS, sales, SEO, CRO, analytics, AI or ecommerce and receive only requests that match.
- Writer request form
- Writers describe the quotes, anecdotes or data they need; each request is approved first and sent ahead of its deadline, aiming for at least 2 days.
- Links for quotes used
- Writers are encouraged to credit a quote they use with a link to the source's site.
- Today's requests
- A public page lists the current requests, alongside a best-practices guide for answering them.
- API webhook feed
- The paid API sends every request to your own endpoint or to tools such as Airtable, Notion or Asana as it arrives, set up with the team's help.
Plans
Featured
Free$0
All features on a small daily allowance of AI usage, for trying the platform. No card needed.
Lite$29
per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
For one person: 5 times the Free plan's AI usage, plus workflows across saved opportunities.
Pro$79
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
5 times Lite's daily usage, for running several workflows and regular drafting.
Pro+$239
per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
20 times Lite's daily usage, for agencies and power users handling several brands.
Team Lite$159
per month for up to 25 members, billed annually ($199 monthly)
One shared usage pool, an admin dashboard showing each member's activity, shared workflows, central billing and SSO.
Team Pro$399
per month for up to 25 members, billed annually ($499 monthly)
5 times Team Lite's shared pool, priority processing, admin controls, team analytics and priority support.
MentionMatch
Free$0
Sources get requests matched to their expertise by email; writers submit requests for quotes.
MentionMatch API$500
per month, billed monthly
Requests delivered instantly by webhook rather than a day later, plus Verified Sender Status on replies. Checkout shown in rupees at Stripe's stated rate.
Ways to pay less
Featured
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Featured's pricing page lists a 20% saving on annual billing: Lite is $29 a month billed at $348 a year instead of $39 a month.
MentionMatch
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Featured or MentionMatch?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Featured is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $500 a month for MentionMatch. Featured starts at $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly), and MentionMatch starts at $500 per month for the API, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Featured or MentionMatch?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Featured and MentionMatch have a free plan.
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.