9 Best HARO Alternatives of 2025 (Help A Reporter Out)

I’ll never forget the day HARO died. December 9th, 2024 felt like losing a trusted friend who’d helped me secure hundreds of media features over the last 6 years.

And while it has now been resurrected under Featured.com, I used alternative platforms for securing backlinks and coverage during the time HARO was down. This article is my top recommendations that I’ve been using the most.

Overall, the best HARO alternative in 2025 is JournoFinder Alerts.

My evaluation criteria focused on three key factors: the number of opportunities to pitch on your topic of expertise, placement success rates, and cost-effectiveness. The platforms below delivered the highest ROI for the brands I run.

Quick Comparison: Top HARO Alternatives

1. JournoFinder Alerts – Best Overall HARO Alternative

Pros:

• AI-powered journalist request aggregation from multiple sources
• Real-time, hyper-relevant alerts tailored to your expertise
• Smart filtering to cut out noise and low-quality requests

Cons:

• Primarily focused on English-speaking media markets

JournoFinder Alerts makes it incredibly easy to find press opportunities without sifting through HARO’s clunky daily emails. The platform pulls journalist requests from all the major request services as well as across social media, bringing everything together in one unified dashboard. Instead of wasting time checking multiple platforms, you get a single, streamlined feed of opportunities.

Rather than relying on basic keyword matching, JournoFinder’s AI uses semantic search to surface every journalist request that’s relevant to your expertise, even when the exact wording does not match. For example, if you are a “nutritionist,” you will also see requests for dietitians, wellness coaches, or healthy cooking experts.

What I really like about JournoFinder is how it saves you time. You get instant alerts from across the web, filtered by authority and quality, so you only see the requests worth pitching. The #JournoRequest system keeps you ahead of competitors by ensuring you are among the first to respond.

At $49 per month or $490 annually, JournoFinder is the most affordable and effective paid HARO alternative available today.

2. Source of Sources (SOS) – Best Free HARO Alternative

Pros:

• Created by HARO’s original founder Peter Shankman
• Completely free email-based service with three daily digests

Cons:

• Basic email format without advanced filtering options
• Strict quality control that removes users for off-topic pitches

Source of Sources represents Peter Shankman’s return to media relations after his frustration with Connectively’s declining quality. The platform operates on the honor system with a simple rule: only respond if you genuinely have valuable insights to offer. Any off-topic pitches result in immediate removal from the list, ensuring higher quality interactions for both journalists and sources.

The platform delivers journalist requests through email digests sent up to three times daily, maintaining the familiar HARO format that PR professionals know and trust. Each request includes detailed information about the journalist, their outlet, deadline requirements, and specific source needs, allowing for targeted and relevant responses.

What makes SOS particularly valuable is its founder’s commitment to quality control. When Peter Shankman receives reports from journalists about irrelevant pitches, the offending users are immediately removed from the platform. This strict moderation helps maintain the platform’s reputation and ensures journalists continue using the service.

The simplicity of SOS is both its strength and limitation. While the straightforward email format makes it accessible to all PR professionals regardless of technical expertise, it lacks the advanced features found in premium platforms like keyword alerts, journalist filtering, or performance analytics. For budget-conscious professionals or those starting their media outreach journey, SOS provides an excellent foundation for understanding journalist request dynamics.

Since launching, SOS has attracted attention from major media outlets and PR professionals seeking a reliable, no-cost alternative to paid platforms. The platform’s growth potential is significant, especially with Peter Shankman’s industry reputation and commitment to maintaining high editorial standards.

3. Featured.com – Best Conversion Rates

Pros:

• Highest conversion rate among all HARO alternatives according to industry data
• Now owns the official HARO brand and domain
• Requires only 4-5 sentences for successful placements

Cons:

• All published content includes “Brought to you by Featured.com” attribution
• 80% business/20% lifestyle content split may limit some niches

Featured.com, formerly known as Terkel, has earned recognition for delivering the highest conversion rates among journalist outreach platforms, with users needing only four to five sentences to secure successful placements. In April 2025, Featured acquired the HARO brand from Cision, revitalizing the platform and positioning itself as HARO’s spiritual successor.

The platform’s success stems from its unique approach to content creation. Rather than simply connecting journalists with sources, Featured creates entire pieces of content for publishers, handling the selection of insights, verification of expertise, and content assembly process. This comprehensive service saves journalists significant time while ensuring higher-quality final articles.

Featured’s journalist network includes impressive publications. Major outlets like Fortune, Fast Company, Yahoo, and Zapier regularly use Featured to source expert commentary, giving users access to high-authority backlink opportunities. The platform’s editorial team reviews all submissions, prioritizing responses from subject matter experts with demonstrated authority and firsthand experience.

For sources, Featured offers transparent tracking capabilities. The “Track Your Answer” feature provides visibility into whether submitted insights will be published, helping users understand their success rates and optimize future responses. This transparency is particularly valuable for PR professionals managing client expectations and campaign ROI.

The platform operates on a freemium model, allowing users to respond to three requests monthly at no cost. Paid plans start at $11 per month (or $19 billed monthly) and include unlimited responses, advanced SEO insights showing Domain Rating and link types, plus keyword alert capabilities.

One consideration for SEO-focused users is Featured’s attribution requirement. All published content must include a “Brought to you by Featured.com” line, which some SEO professionals believe may slightly devalue resulting backlinks, though they remain beneficial for authority building.

4. Qwoted – Best for Premium Publications

Pros:

• Strictest vetting process ensures high-quality expert pool
• Access to top-tier media outlets and prestigious publications
• Real-time matching technology with verified journalist profiles

Cons:

• Expensive pricing with limited free plan functionality
• Two-hour delay for free users makes competition nearly impossible

Qwoted specializes in connecting experts with top-tier media outlets, offering access to prestige publications that rival personal networking opportunities. The platform’s strength lies in its rigorous vetting process, which includes interviews and IP tracking to ensure only qualified experts can access journalist requests.

Users report securing coverage in major publications including Forbes, Men’s Health, Woman’s World, and Medical News Today through Qwoted’s network. This success stems from the platform’s focus on quality over quantity, with fewer but higher-caliber opportunities compared to volume-focused alternatives.

The platform’s matching technology alerts users to real-time media opportunities specific to their expertise areas. Qwoted offers detailed journalist profiles, trending topics, reporter preferences, and audience data to help users craft more targeted and successful pitches. This intelligence gives users significant advantages in understanding journalist needs and tailoring responses appropriately.

Qwoted’s pricing structure reflects its premium positioning. The free plan limits users to two pitches monthly and enforces a two-hour delay on viewing requests, giving paid subscribers an often insurmountable head start. The Professional plan costs $99 monthly and includes unlimited pitches with no delays, while enterprise plans offer custom pricing with team management features.

Despite its cost, Qwoted maintains impressive user satisfaction ratings, with 4.9/5 stars on both G2 and CrowdReviews. Users consistently praise the platform’s ease of use, quality journalist requests, and successful placements in major publications.

For PR agencies and established businesses with substantial budgets, Qwoted provides access to media opportunities that can significantly impact brand credibility and market positioning. However, the high cost and restrictive free plan make it less accessible for small businesses, solopreneurs, or those testing journalist outreach platforms.

5. X (Twitter) & LinkedIn #JournoRequests – Best Free Real-Time Option

Pros:

• Completely free with global reach and instant notifications
• Direct journalist interaction and relationship building opportunities
• Wide range of topics and publication types

Cons:

• High noise-to-signal ratio requires constant monitoring
• Manual sorting through irrelevant requests takes significant time

PR professionals now use hashtags like #journorequest and #PRrequest to discover media opportunities directly through social media platforms. This grassroots approach provides immediate access to journalist needs without platform intermediaries or subscription costs.

The effectiveness of social media monitoring depends largely on your monitoring setup. Twitter Pro users can create filtered streams based on hashtag searches, while free users can set up basic search notifications. LinkedIn’s professional network often yields higher-quality journalist requests, particularly for B2B topics and executive commentary.

Advanced users can leverage tools like JournoFinder’s free #JournoRequest Alerts service, which automatically monitors these hashtags and sends email notifications when relevant requests appear. This automation reduces the manual work required while ensuring you don’t miss time-sensitive opportunities.

The direct nature of social media journalist requests offers unique relationship-building advantages. You can respond publicly to demonstrate expertise, engage with journalists’ other content, or send direct messages to establish ongoing professional relationships. These interactions often lead to future collaboration opportunities beyond single article mentions.

However, social media monitoring requires significant time investment and digital noise management. Journalists may use different platforms depending on their industry focus, requiring monitoring across multiple channels to capture all relevant opportunities.

The key to success with social media journalist requests lies in setting up efficient monitoring systems and responding quickly to relevant opportunities. Speed matters significantly in this environment, as journalists often receive numerous responses within hours of posting requests.

6. SourceBottle – Best for Australia & New Zealand

Pros:

• Specifically designed for ANZ market with regional focus
• Free platform with easy registration process
• Niche industry filtering reduces irrelevant requests

Cons:

• Limited global opportunities outside ANZ region
• Smaller journalist network compared to international platforms

SourceBottle operates similarly to HARO but maintains particular popularity in Australia and New Zealand markets, while also offering some global opportunities. The platform allows users to filter requests by region and industry, ensuring high relevance for local PR professionals.

User testimonials highlight SourceBottle’s effectiveness, with one fashion designer noting: “I used to put a lot of effort into HARO and hardly got anything out of it. When I decided to try out SourceBottle, the results came in a day! I even became a long-term contributor to a very authoritative website.”

The platform’s regional focus provides several advantages for ANZ-based businesses and PR professionals. Local journalists often prioritize regional experts over international sources, giving SourceBottle users geographic advantages in securing placements. Additionally, timezone alignment means better response timing compared to US-based platforms where Australian professionals may be disadvantaged by time delays.

SourceBottle’s interface allows browsing existing callouts sorted by topic and geographic region. Users can search for specific queries by country and respond directly through the platform or via email contact information provided with each request.

The platform operates on an email-based system, meaning responses are sent to registered email addresses rather than managed through an internal messaging system. Each request includes sender contact information, enabling direct follow-up communication for relationship building.

For businesses targeting Australian and New Zealand media markets, SourceBottle provides focused access to regional journalists and publications. The platform’s free access model makes it particularly attractive for small businesses and startups with limited PR budgets.

7. Response Source – Best for UK & European Media

Pros:

• Strong focus on UK and European journalist networks
• Established reputation with traditional media outlets
• Professional-grade platform with quality control measures

Cons:

• Subscription-based pricing with no free tier
• Limited presence in North American markets

Response Source serves as another established HARO alternative, particularly popular among UK and European media professionals. The platform maintains connections with traditional media outlets including newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media across European markets.

Response Source’s strength lies in its established relationships with conventional media organizations. While newer platforms focus heavily on digital and online publications, Response Source maintains strong connections with print media, radio, and television outlets that many PR professionals struggle to access independently.

The platform operates on a subscription model without free access options, reflecting its positioning as a professional-grade media database for established PR agencies and in-house communications teams. Pricing information suggests monthly subscriptions starting around £20, though exact pricing may vary based on usage requirements and account types.

For PR professionals specifically targeting UK and European media markets, Response Source provides access to journalist networks that may be underrepresented on US-focused platforms. This regional specialization can be particularly valuable for businesses seeking European media coverage or PR agencies serving international clients.

The platform’s quality control measures help maintain professional standards and reduce spam responses, similar to premium platforms like Qwoted. However, this approach may limit opportunity volume compared to more open platforms like Source of Sources or social media monitoring.

8. Help a B2B Writer – Best for B2B Specialists

Pros:

• Laser-focused on B2B content creators and industry experts
• Domain Authority information provided for publication quality assessment
• Free service with high relevance due to niche focus

Cons:

• Limited to B2B topics, excluding consumer and lifestyle content
• Smaller opportunity volume compared to general platforms

Help a B2B Writer connects B2B content creators with industry experts, operating as a specialized version of HARO focused exclusively on business-to-business content needs. The platform is managed by Superpath, a Slack community for content marketers, ensuring direct connection to active B2B content creators.

The platform’s strength lies in its targeted approach to B2B content creation. Users can register as sources and specify their exact expertise areas, receiving daily email requests that directly match their professional knowledge and industry experience. This specialization dramatically reduces irrelevant requests while increasing placement probability.

A key advantage of Help a B2B Writer is the provision of Domain Authority scores for requesting publications, allowing sources to prioritize high-quality opportunities that will deliver stronger SEO benefits. This transparency helps PR professionals make informed decisions about which requests deserve their time and effort.

The platform operates through two channels: email notifications for registered sources and direct posting in Superpath’s #content-collab Slack channel, where users can discover opportunities in real-time. This dual-channel approach ensures maximum opportunity visibility while maintaining the convenience of email notifications.

For B2B companies, SaaS platforms, professional services firms, and industry experts seeking business publication coverage, Help a B2B Writer provides highly relevant opportunities with strong conversion potential. The platform’s focus eliminates the noise of consumer-focused requests that dominate general platforms.

The main limitation is scope restriction to B2B content, making it unsuitable for consumer brands, lifestyle companies, or personal brand building outside professional contexts. However, for its target audience, this focused approach delivers superior relevance and higher success rates compared to general platforms.

Bonus: Sky News Telegram Channel – Best for UK TV Appearances

Pros:

• Direct access to UK television booking requests
• Real-time notifications for urgent TV appearance needs
• Free access to major broadcast opportunities

Cons:

• Limited to UK television market and Sky News network
• Requires Telegram app usage and constant monitoring

The Sky News Telegram channel represents a unique opportunity for UK-based experts to secure television appearances on one of Britain’s major news networks. This unofficial channel provides real-time notifications when Sky News producers need expert commentary for breaking news or scheduled programming.

Television appearances on major networks like Sky News offer exceptional personal branding and business development benefits. The credibility associated with TV expert commentary often exceeds written media coverage, making these opportunities particularly valuable for business leaders and industry experts.

Success with broadcast opportunities requires specific skills including clear verbal communication, ability to distill complex topics into accessible explanations, and comfort appearing on camera under pressure. Additionally, experts must be available on short notice, as breaking news commentary requests often have very tight deadlines.

The informal nature of the Telegram channel means opportunity quality can vary significantly. Some requests may be urgent breaking news commentary requiring immediate availability, while others might be scheduled program segments allowing more preparation time.

For UK-based experts comfortable with television appearances and able to respond quickly to requests, the Sky News Telegram channel provides unique access to high-profile media opportunities. However, the geographic and platform limitations significantly restrict its usefulness for international experts or those focusing on written media coverage.

FAQ Section

Are these HARO alternatives as effective as the original platform?

Yes, many alternatives now deliver equal or superior results compared to original HARO. Based on my testing, Featured.com actually provides higher conversion rates than HARO’s final years, while platforms like JournoFinder aggregate opportunities from multiple sources, creating more comprehensive coverage. The key is using 2-3 platforms simultaneously rather than relying on a single service.

How much should I expect to spend on HARO alternatives?

Budget requirements vary significantly based on your needs. Free options like Source of Sources and social media monitoring cost nothing but require more manual work. Mid-tier platforms like JournoFinder ($49/month) and Qwoted ($99+/month) provide good value for most PR professionals. Premium services like ProfNet cost thousands annually but deliver higher-quality opportunities. Most professionals find success with one premium platform plus 1-2 free alternatives.

Can I use multiple HARO alternatives simultaneously?

Absolutely, and this strategy often yields the best results. Many opportunities appear on multiple platforms, but some are exclusive to specific services. I recommend combining 2-3 platforms: one premium service for quality opportunities, one free platform for volume, and social media monitoring for real-time requests. Just avoid sending identical pitches across platforms to the same journalist.

How do I track my success across different platforms?

Success tracking requires systematic monitoring since journalists rarely notify sources when articles publish. Set up Google Alerts for your name and company, use tools like Mention or Brand24 for comprehensive monitoring, and maintain a spreadsheet tracking your pitches with follow-up dates. Some platforms like Featured provide built-in tracking, but external monitoring remains essential for complete visibility.

Why did HARO shut down and come back?

HARO’s journey reflects the evolving PR landscape. Cision acquired HARO, rebranded it as Connectively, then shut it down in December 2024 due to quality concerns and strategic shifts. However, Featured.com purchased the HARO brand in April 2025, relaunching it as a free newsletter service. The original HARO platform functionality is now integrated into Featured’s premium services, making Featured the closest thing to HARO’s revival.