HARO vs Qwoted (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick HARO: it is third in our ranking of link building tools, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 1.8.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
HARO grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. Qwoted grades higher on features. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Qwoted
Marketplace where reporters request expert sources and PRs pitch
Free plan · from $149/mo
Which one is for you
Pick HARO if
- Fits if you're a founder or expert who wants to pitch reporters without paying anything
- Works for journalists and podcast hosts who need an expert source on deadline
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to search or filter requests, as that's in Connectively, a separate platform
- Too light for PR teams that need to track pitches and replies, as HARO is only an email digest
- Watch out: one spam strike gets an account banned, and requests can't offer guest posts, link swaps or payment
- Watch out: every edition carries paid ads, and there are no weekend editions
- Not for you if you're counting on links, as the journalist picks whom to quote and whether to credit or link back
Pick Qwoted if
- Fits if you're an expert who wants press quotes without hiring a PR agency
- Works for PR agencies placing several clients in news stories
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, at 2 pitches a month, requests 2 hours late and no rollover of unused pitches
- Skip it if you draft pitches with AI, as its terms ban it and even light AI editing can get a pitch flagged
- Not for you if you'd rather pitch by email, as every pitch has to go through Qwoted
- Pricey if a team shares it, as team features and white labeling need the custom-priced Teams plan
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say whether Pro's $149 a month is billed monthly or yearly
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAHAROGood | 1.8GPAQwotedWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree for sources and journalists, with no paid plan at all. The ads in each edition pay for it, so the cost lands on advertisers rather than on you. | DPro is $149 a month, and the page doesn't say whether that's billed monthly or yearly. That's the start of this category's dearest tenth, for 35 pitches a month, and team features need the custom-priced Teams plan. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free: all three weekday editions and every request, with no paid tier holding anything back. | CThe free Basic plan gives you a profile reporters can search, alerts and 2 pitches a month. Requests show up 2 hours late, though, and unused pitches don't roll over, so you'll hit the wall fast. |
| Features | DOne narrow function: an email of staff-checked requests three times a weekday, answered by email, plus podcast guest requests and journalist profiles. Search, filters and response tracking sit in Connectively, a separate platform from the same owner. | CReporter requests, expert profiles in a searchable database, alerts, pitch intelligence that shows how crowded a request is, and an events and awards list. It does the journalist-request job fully, but that's a smaller job. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to set up: sign up, the requests land in your inbox and you reply by email. | CNo rating on record. You build expert profiles before pitching, and the rules are strict: pitches go through Qwoted only, and even lightly AI-edited ones can get flagged. |
| Platforms and integrations | CEmail only, with no app, integrations or API on record. | CWeb only, with no apps, no integrations and no API on record. New requests also come by email. |
| Best for | free journalist requests in your inbox | answering reporters who need expert quotes |
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: HARO and Qwoted. How we grade
Price against what you get
HARO has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Qwoted starts at $149 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and HARO starts $149 a month lower. Of the other link building tools on the chart, none scores higher than HARO for less, and 22 score higher than Qwoted 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
- HARO also covers link outreach.
- Qwoted also covers reports.
In commonFree planWebJournalist requests
At a glance
| HARO | Qwoted | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $149 per month (billing basis not stated) |
| Free plan | Free for sources and journalists: three weekday editions of journalist requests and pitching by email, with no charge to receive the newsletter or pitch. | Basic plan: a profile in the database reporters search, real-time alerts and a daily email of requests, and 2 pitches a month, with a 2-hour delay on new requests. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Featured.com | Qwoted, Inc. |
| Price read from | blog.helpareporter.com | qwoted.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HARO
- HARO is an email digest; filtering, search and response tracking are in Connectively, a separate platform from the same owner.
- Each edition carries paid ads, which is how the free service is funded.
- Requests may not ask for guest posts, link swaps or payment, and HARO bans accounts for spam under a one-strike policy.
- Staff review and schedule requests 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST on weekdays, and there are no weekend editions.
Qwoted
- Free accounts get 2 pitches a month and see requests 2 hours late; unused pitches do not roll over.
- Pitches must be sent inside Qwoted; pitching its requests by email breaks the community guidelines.
- Qwoted's terms ban AI-written pitches, and its help center warns that even light AI editing can get a pitch flagged.
- Team features and white labeling need the custom-priced Teams plan; the pricing page does not say how Pro is billed.
Key features
HARO
- Three editions every weekday
- Requests arrive in a Morning (5:35 a.m. ET), Afternoon (12:35 p.m. ET) and Evening (5:35 p.m. ET) email, Monday to Friday.
- Pitching by email
- Sources reply to a request by email. Journalists' real addresses are hidden behind masked ones so they cannot be scraped into pitch lists.
- Reviewed requests
- Staff check each request: outlets need a Domain Authority of 20 or 10,000 monthly visitors, and HARO says it turns down about 32% of requests.
- AI detection on pitches
- Every pitch gets a score from Pangram for how likely it is to be AI-written, and journalists can filter out the ones flagged.
- Journalist profiles
- Reporters can claim a free profile; each request links to it so sources can check who is asking, and verified reporters' requests are listed first.
- Podcast guest requests
- A Podcasts category lets hosts and producers ask for guests, so sources can pitch shows as well as articles.
Qwoted
- Media requests
- Reporters post calls for expert sources or products, and you answer them with a pitch sent inside Qwoted, with read receipts.
- Expert profiles
- Set up profiles for yourself, your clients or your company's spokespeople; they appear in the expert database that reporters search.
- Alerts
- Real-time alerts and a daily email flag new requests that match your experts' topics; free accounts see new requests two hours late.
- Pitch intelligence
- Shows how many pitches a request has had, how many were read or answered and who is pitching. Free accounts see it only after pitching.
- Events and awards database
- Pro and Teams list industry events and awards in one place as further PR openings.
- Team tools
- On Teams, several people can represent and reply for the same expert, with white-label branding, an admin dashboard and weekly activity reports.
Plans
HARO
Free$0
Every edition and every request, for both sources and journalists. The service is paid for by ads placed in the newsletter.
Qwoted
Basic$0
2 pitches a month (5 shared by a team on the free plan), with new requests shown after a 2-hour delay.
Pro$149
per month (billing basis not stated)
35 pitches a month with no delay, pitch intelligence before you pitch, opportunity research and the events and awards database.
TeamsCustom
Unlimited pitches, several people representing the same experts, profile view alerts, white labeling, weekly reports and premium support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HARO or Qwoted?
As of Oct 23, 2026, HARO is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $149 a month for Qwoted. HARO is free, and Qwoted starts at $149 per month (billing basis not stated).
Which has a free plan, HARO or Qwoted?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both HARO and Qwoted 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.