HARO vs ResponseSource (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 2.4.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
HARO grades higher on value for money and the free plan. ResponseSource grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ResponseSource
UK journalist request service with a press release wire
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 ResponseSource if
- Fits if you're a UK PR team after national, regional and trade coverage
- Works for consumer brands answering journalists who want products to review
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your market isn't the UK, as its pages describe UK media only
- Pricey if you cover several sectors, as each is a separate yearly subscription from £625 plus VAT at 20%
- Watch out: the price varies by sector and only the £625 floor is published
- Pricey if you also send releases, as Press Release Wire is extra, from £85 a release
- Watch out: the Vuelio media database on the same page is priced only by quote, and the trial is arranged by form or phone
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAHAROGood | 2.4GPAResponseSourceFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | B£625 a year and up per sector, before VAT, and one licence covers a whole office. Split across a team of five that's about £10 a head a month, inside this category's cheaper quarter. On your own it's about £52 a month per sector. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free: all three weekday editions and every request, with no paid tier holding anything back. | CNo free plan, but a free one-week trial of the enquiry service, arranged by form or phone. |
| 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. | CModerated requests from national, regional, trade and consumer journalists, 25 sectors, delivery filters and an office-wide licence. It does the job fully, but only for UK media, and the press release wire is priced on top. |
| 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. | BNo rating on record, but enquiries arrive by email, already checked by a moderation team, and you narrow them with delivery filters. |
| Platforms and integrations | CEmail only, with no app, integrations or API on record. | CWeb and email only, with no apps, integrations or API on record. |
| Best for | free journalist requests in your inbox | UK journalist requests for PR teams |
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 ResponseSource. 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. ResponseSource starts at about $68.86 a month and scores 2.3.
ResponseSource scores higher, and starts $68.86 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other link building tools on the chart, none scores higher than HARO for less, and 2 score higher than ResponseSource 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.
- ResponseSource also covers reports.
At a glance
| HARO | ResponseSource | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | £625 per category / year and up, billed annually (excluding VAT) |
| 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free one-week trial of the Journalist Enquiry Service, arranged by form or phone |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Featured.com | ResponseSource Ltd |
| Price read from | blog.helpareporter.com | responsesource.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.
ResponseSource
- Prices are in pounds and exclude VAT at 20%; each sector category is a separate annual subscription whose price varies.
- The service covers UK media; the pages do not describe requests from other countries.
- Press Release Wire is priced separately: from £85 per release, or £675 for 10 and £1,050 for 20, with extras such as video from £40.
- The Vuelio media database sold on the same page is priced only by quote.
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.
ResponseSource
- Journalist Enquiry Service
- Requests for expert comment, case studies, interviews and products to review arrive by email from UK print, broadcast and online journalists.
- Moderated requests
- A quality control team reviews each request before it goes out, and delivery filters narrow the feed by request, media and sender type.
- 25 sector categories
- Subscribe only to the sectors you work in, from Business & Finance to Travel; each category is priced separately.
- Office-wide licence
- One licence covers an entire office, so a whole PR team can see and answer the same enquiries.
- Press Release Wire
- Sends releases to UK journalists and news desks, hosts them in a customizable newsroom indexed by search engines, and reports on release and newsroom views.
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.
ResponseSource
Journalist Enquiry Service£625
per category / year and up, billed annually
Moderated journalist requests by email for one of 25 sectors; the price varies by category, and one licence covers a whole office.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HARO or ResponseSource?
As of Oct 23, 2026, HARO is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $68.86 a month for ResponseSource. HARO is free, and ResponseSource starts at £625 per category / year and up, billed annually (excluding VAT).
Which has a free plan, HARO or ResponseSource?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only HARO has a free plan. ResponseSource 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.