Dot Star Media review (2026): is it worth £40 a month?
Journalist request alerts from X, Bluesky and direct submissions
Dot Star Media report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 23, 2026
Best for #journorequest alerts sorted by topic
Dot Star Media emails you journalist requests from #journorequest on X and Bluesky and from direct submissions, sorted into 29 topics and mostly within 30 seconds. Prices are in pounds before VAT and rise with the number of topics, there's no yearly plan, and Slack or Teams delivery needs the £80 plan.
Who Dot Star Media is for
- Fits if your digital PR coverage comes from #journorequest
- Works for companies with several staff on one email domain, as colleagues are included
Who Dot Star Media is not for
- 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
Why Dot Star Media gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyBronze 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.
- CFree plan and trialNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card. Qualifying charities can use it free.
- CFeaturesA 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.
- BEase of useNo rating on record, but there's little to set up: pick your topics and requests arrive by email, ready to reply to.
- CPlatforms and integrationsEmail and web, with Microsoft Teams and Slack delivery only on Gold at £80 a month. No API on record.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Dot Star Media's own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/dot-star-media#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/dot-star-media.svg" alt="Dot Star Media: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Dot Star Media stands among link building tools
Dot Star Media's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 26 of the 50 other link building tools we grade, and level with 10.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 44 of 50) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at about $52.88 a month, against a middle price of $49 for the category: 23 of the 41 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 51 link building tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Dot Star Media’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 8 of 50, level with 26
- CFree plan and trialAbove 20 of 50, level with 22
- CFeaturesAbove 4 of 50, level with 34
- BEase of useAbove 44 of 50, level with 6
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 50, level with 27
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 45 link building tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Dot Star Media, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Dot Star Media you would be making a network of journalists who post requests for sources. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $634.58 a year.
What you could make
- Link outreach: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A network of journalists who post requests for sources.
What this rests on. Dot Star Media’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Dot Star Media?
Dot Star Media is a UK journalist request service run by two former members of the ResponseSource team. It picks requests from verified journalists out of #journorequest posts on X and Bluesky, adds ones journalists submit directly, sorts them into 29 topics and emails them to subscribers, most within 30 seconds of posting. Subscribers reply to the journalist directly, and plans are priced by how many topics you follow.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
Dot Star Media pricing
As of Oct 23, 2026, Dot Star Media is a paid product with a free trial, starting at £40 per month for 5 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly.
- Starts at
- £40 per month for 5 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | £40per 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 | £60per month for 10 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly | The same features as Bronze across any 10 topics. |
| Gold | £80per month for all 29 topics, excluding VAT, billed monthly | Every topic, plus request alerts delivered to Microsoft Teams or Slack. |
Read from dotstar.media on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Dot Star Media before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- NonprofitFree for qualifying charities
Dot Star Media's about page says its journalist enquiry service is free of charge to qualifying charities.
Stated on dotstar.media
Works with
Dot Star Media alternatives
- Dot Star Media vs ResponseSource
Free trial · from £625/yr
- Dot Star Media vs SourceBottle
Free plan · from $65/mo
- Dot Star Media vs Editorielle
From £10/mo
- Dot Star Media vs Qwoted
Free plan · from $149/mo
Common questions
Does Dot Star Media have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Dot Star Media is listed for Web.
Does Dot Star Media have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Dot Star Media is listed for Web.
Is Dot Star Media open source?
Dot Star Media is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 23, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 23, 2026.