vs
Magic Pitch alternative · 2026Magic Pitch is built to send at volume. Medialyst is built for PR work.
Its FAQ says Magic Pitch “does not send emails without your approval”; once you do, it spaces the sends, follows up automatically and drafts the replies. Medialyst does the step before: deciding who deserves the pitch, and showing you why.
Built by an AI engineer and a working publicist.
Medialyst has both halves of the job in the room: Elvis builds it to the standard he held at Google, and Carly judges it against the standard her own clients pay for.
Founding Strategic Advisor
Runs Notably, a boutique PR agency serving 25+ clients, and pitches journalists for a living.
The proof is public. Carly grades our real media lists, and we publish every grade, starting with her first: F, 27.9/100 (latest: B, 81.1). As far as we know, Medialyst is the only AI PR tool that publishes a public, recurring quality benchmark.
The honest comparison.
Pulled from public Magic Pitch documentation, customer reviews, and our own product. We update this page when either side ships something new. Magic Pitch pricing and feature claims on this page are accurate as of 5 October 2026.
| Capability | Medialyst | Magic Pitch |
|---|---|---|
| Finding the right journalist | ||
| Find journalists for this story | ✓ Story-specific relevance scoring | ~ Plain-English search across a 1B+ profile database |
| Understand a journalist's beat | ✓ Reads past articles + recent coverage | ~ Says it studies past coverage; method not documented |
| Analyze past writing | ✓ Grounded in actual articles | ~ Not documented in detail |
| Per-journalist pitch angles | ✓ Personalized angles + pitch drafts | ~ AI drafts each pitch in your voice from writing samples |
| Data freshness | ✓ Live news article search in real time | ~ Database “updated daily” |
| Refine a list with natural language | ✓ “Remove anyone inactive in 6 months” | ~ Plain-English search; natural-language list refinement not documented |
| Find more like top performers | ✓ “Find 20 more like the top 5” | ~ Not documented |
| Add custom enrichment columns | ✓ “Research if they use affiliate links” | ~ Not documented |
| Pitching & sending | ||
| Email verification | ✓ Multi-step verification waterfall | ~ “Verified emails” (their claim); find rate not documented |
| Send from one place | ✓ Built-in sending | ~ Sends from your inbox after approval; automatic follow-ups; open/reply tracking; AI reply drafts |
| Pricing & setup | ||
| Time to first pitch | ✓ Minutes | ~ Minutes |
| Free trial | ✓ First list free | ~ $29 for a 14-day trial of Standard (100 credits) |
| Contract | ✓ None — cancel anytime | ~ No long-term commitment; monthly or annual |
| Price | ✓ from $149/mo | ~ $99 / $299 / $699 per month |
| Agent-native workflows | ||
| API access | ✓ Public REST API | ~ API on Pro ($699/mo) only |
| Remote MCP support | ✓ Hosted remote MCP server | ~ Not documented |
| Agent-native workflows | ✓ Usable directly inside Claude, ChatGPT & Cursor | ~ Not documented |
| CSV import / re-enrichment from competitor exports | ✓ Upload any CSV — the agent re-verifies & re-scores | ~ CSV import and re-enrichment not documented |
Find your journalists now. No demo. No contract. No credit card.
Start in seconds and see live journalist matches for your first pitch.
Why people switch from Magic Pitch.
Magic Pitch is built to send at volume
Magic Pitch describes itself as “The software anyone can set up to turn their email into an automated outbound system” and promises you can “Send thousands of personalized pitches that land in primary inboxes.” When replies come in, “Just click send, or let it run on autopilot.” Its pricing counts “1 credit = 1 person pitched.” Its FAQ is clear that the first send is yours: “No, Magic Pitch does not send emails without your approval.” Medialyst is built for the step before the send. It decides who should get the pitch from what each journalist published recently, and a person reviews and sends every one from their own Gmail or Outlook.
magicpitch.com — homepage and FAQ ↗They predict the reply. We show why they'd cover it
Magic Pitch's Know Before You Pitch signals (Standard and Pro) show “predicted response rates, ideal pitch length, best send times, and preferred tone” for each contact, and its drafts pull in “journalist beats, recent coverage, and campaign state automatically.” A written, per-journalist reason for why someone fits your story is not documented on magicpitch.com as of 5 October 2026. Medialyst scores every journalist 0–100 for your specific story and writes the reason, citing the recent articles behind it. When it can't find enough of someone's work, it says “not enough evidence” instead of inventing a score.
magicpitch.com — Know Before You Pitch ↗Different units: people pitched vs verified emails delivered
Magic Pitch's credits “measure people pitched—not users, campaigns, follow-ups, or access to the workflow”: Lite is $99 a month for 100, Standard $299 for 300 and Pro $699 for 750. Medialyst bills for research results instead. You pay 1 credit only when we deliver a verified email, and misses are free. Every email we deliver was validated within the last 14 days, or is re-checked when you build the list. The units measure different things, so compare them on a list you'd actually build.
magicpitch.com/pricing ↗Picked from recent coverage, not a profile search
Magic Pitch searches its own database of “1 billion professional profiles … 1M+ journalists, 3.5M+ podcasts, and 500k+ newsletter creators,” marked “Updated daily,” and its FAQ says it connects to major PR databases. Medialyst is evidence-first, not database-first: it reads recent coverage for your story and picks the journalists who wrote it. The email comes from our own database when it was validated in the last 14 days; otherwise it's re-checked when you build the list.
magicpitch.com — 1 billion people database ↗
Where each one wins.
Where Medialyst wins
Research before the send, a person on every pitch
Medialyst does the research: reading recent coverage, scoring each journalist's fit and finding a verified email. You review and send every pitch from your own Gmail or Outlook, with open, click and reply tracking, and bot and scanner opens filtered out. Instantly and Reply.io sync and CSV export are there if you send from somewhere else. Sending always involves a person; research doesn't have to.
Fit grounded in each journalist's recent writing
Every journalist gets a 0–100 fit score for your specific story and a written reason that cites the recent articles behind it. On Pro and Scale, deep fit scoring also reads each journalist's author page, recent bylines and the opening of their latest articles before judging fit. You see and edit the story angles before a credit is spent.
Verified emails, and you pay only for hits
You pay 1 credit only when we deliver a verified email. Misses are free. Every email we deliver was validated within the last 14 days, or is re-checked when you build the list. Medialyst works globally across major online news sources and many trade publications; coverage is strongest where articles and bylines are published online.
Ask your own research questions, across the whole list
Add custom research columns in plain language, such as “research if they use affiliate links and which platform” or “has this reporter covered seed-stage fintech in the last six months?”, and get an answer for every row. Custom research columns aren't documented on magicpitch.com as of 5 October 2026. Already have contacts? Upload the CSV and the agent re-verifies and re-scores every row against your story.
Agent-native on every plan, with free journalist requests
A public REST API and a hosted remote MCP server come on every Medialyst plan, so you can run journalist research directly inside Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. Magic Pitch lists “API access” on its $699 Pro plan, and an MCP server is not documented on magicpitch.com as of 5 October 2026. Magic Pitch also lists “Real-time journalist requests”; Medialyst's journalist-request feed covers six platforms (HARO, Connectively, LinkedIn, X, MentionMatch and Substack) free, at zero credits, through MCP in your AI agent.
medialyst.ai — free journalist requests ↗
Where Magic Pitch wins
Journalists, podcasts and newsletters in one search
Magic Pitch says its database combines more than 1 billion professional profiles with 1M+ journalists, 3.5M+ podcasts and 500K+ newsletter creators. If you want one profile search spanning media contacts and broader business prospects, Magic Pitch covers more contact types than Medialyst's journalist-first workflow.
magicpitch.com — 1 billion people database ↗A complete send loop in one tool
Magic Pitch sends from your Gmail or Outlook once you approve, then runs automatic follow-ups in the same thread (“Day 1: Initial pitch → Day 4: Follow-up → Day 9: Final nudge (auto-stops when they reply)”). It adds A/B subject lines, open and reply tracking, Magic Inbox reply drafts, inactive-contact removal, and Slack and HubSpot integrations. Its FAQ says “Magic Pitch does not send emails without your approval.” If you want follow-ups and reply handling built into the same subscription today, Magic Pitch has them.
magicpitch.com — homepage ↗A lower entry price and a cheap trial
Lite is $99 a month, against Medialyst Starter at $149 a month on monthly billing, and Magic Pitch's annual billing gives “2 months free.” Its $29 trial runs for 14 days with 100 credits and Standard access. If your budget starts under $100 a month, Magic Pitch's entry price is lower.
magicpitch.com/pricing ↗Unlimited users and campaigns
Magic Pitch says there are no per-seat charges and no limit on users or campaigns. Its public pricing makes that packaging explicit on every plan, which is useful for teams that want several people working in the same outreach system.
magicpitch.com/pricing ↗
Pitching the same announcement.
One launch, two tools. Here's what a comms lead actually does to get a story-specific pitch out the door.
Medialyst9 min totalMagic Pitchhours–daysThree places the difference shows up.
01Database quality
Magic Pitch's data starts from a database.
Its database page describes “1 billion professional profiles … 1M+ journalists, 3.5M+ podcasts, and 500k+ newsletter creators,” marked “Updated daily,” and its FAQ says it connects to major PR databases. You find people by searching: “Search for anyone. In plain English.” Medialyst starts from evidence instead. You describe your story, and it reads what was published recently on that subject, picks the outlets that matter for it, and finds the journalists who actually wrote the coverage. Each one is scored for fit with a written reason that cites the articles behind it.
Medialyst does keep its own journalist database: the email comes from it when it was validated in the last 14 days, and otherwise it's re-checked when you build the list. You pay 1 credit only when a verified email is delivered. Coverage is strongest where articles and bylines are published online; hyper-local, print-only and some regional trade sources can be thinner. If you need a broad people search across podcasts, newsletters and sales prospects, Magic Pitch is built for that. If you need the reporters covering your story this month, Medialyst is.
02Speed
Magic Pitch is fast to send.
Its homepage says: “Type in who you want to reach. Magic Pitch writes & sends unlimited personalized pitches from your email.” Its “Campaigns on Autopilot” section adds: “Review your AI-drafted pitches. Hit send. Magic Pitch handles the rest: spacing emails across optimal send windows, auto-following up with non-responders, and pausing the moment someone replies.” Its FAQ says “Magic Pitch does not send emails without your approval,” so the first send is always yours, and from there the follow-ups run on their own.
Medialyst is fast at the research. There's no demo and no contract: paste a press release, a URL or a topic, check the story angles it proposes, and the agent returns a scored journalist list with verified emails in minutes. Your first list is free, with 100 credits and no credit card. Because the output is a list you review, you can move while a story is live and still decide who deserves the email. If what slows you down is sending and chasing replies, Magic Pitch is built for that. If what slows you down is working out who should get the pitch, Medialyst is.
03AI & agent surface
Magic Pitch is a hosted app you use through its own interface.
Its integrations are Gmail/Outlook and Slack and HubSpot, and its pricing lists API access on the Pro plan at $699 a month. An MCP server is not documented on magicpitch.com as of 5 October 2026. Medialyst is built to be used from your own tools on every plan, including the free credits. A public REST API and a hosted remote MCP server let you build lists, enrich journalists and search the news directly inside Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor, or wire Medialyst into your own scripts.
Custom research columns let you ask questions in plain language and get a structured answer back for every row. The journalist-request feed is free through MCP, at zero credits. And because the workflow ends in a list rather than a send, you can fold Medialyst into a pipeline where a person, or your own review step, signs off before anything goes out.
Two pricing philosophies, side by side.
Ours is public and posted. Here's how it sits next to Magic Pitch's own published pricing page and what named third parties report.
- Starterfounders & small teams$97/mo annual
- Proin-house comms & PR teams$194/mo annual
- Scaleagencies & high-volume teams$520/mo annual
- No contract · no per-seat fees · cancel anytime · 14-day money-back guarantee
- Free first list — 100 credits, no credit card
- One unified product — no modules priced separately
- Magic Pitch publishes three monthly plans priced in credits, where “1 credit = 1 person pitched”: Lite $99/mo (100 credits), Standard $299/mo (300; adds a 24/7 human success manager and Know Before You Pitch signals) and Pro $699/mo (750; adds API access and implementation support). Every plan includes unlimited users, annual billing gives “2 months free”, and there's “No long-term commitment required.” Extra credits cost $35 for 50 up to $899 for 2,000. A $29 trial gives 14 days of Standard access with 100 credits; no free plan is listed.
- Pricing published online
In the words of Medialyst users.
Real customers, approved for use. Your results depend on your story and your list — these are theirs.
"What came back was a working list with real journalists, current coverage, and contact information I could use the same day. No cross-referencing. No digging through three different tabs. One prompt and I was pitching."
"I love Medialyst. It follows the workflow I already use, which, if I may say so myself, is the right workflow. I don't keep old Excel documents full of old emails and blast things to people. I hate the spray and pray. I like to make sure reporters are writing about the things I'm talking about, and to find new people who are. Muck Rack, Cision, all of those are basically very expensive static databases. I already know the major trade reporters. What Medialyst has helped me uncover are the people at Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal who cover packaging, and the freelancers I can get on the radar of. Muck Rack just doesn't help with that. Now when I tell Claude 'here's the person,' it pulls them through Medialyst, onto my list there, and starts gathering information about them. I haven't gotten a bounced email yet. I'd rather send a smaller list I can defend. And I'm never afraid to share it with clients, because it has everything in there. It proves its worth. My first job, as an intern, was photocopying Bacon's books into an Excel database every year. So I'm acutely aware of how hard it is to keep track of all this. This is how I would approach it myself."
"Medialyst makes it super easy to narrow down and create dedicated PR lists to reach out to the journalists that actually want to hear what you have to say. The timeline from chatting to the agent about what you have to promote to actually launching the campaign goes down to mere 1-2 hours instead of days worth of research and prospecting."
"Then recently I stumbled upon Elvis Sun's agentic PR tool Medialyst — with a few detailed prompts, the agent comes up with a pretty targeted list of journalists. The best thing is it gives a summary of their recent articles before I commit to reading every piece."
"This new company is a terrific idea—and helps PR people in ways they didn't know they needed it. The team really 'gets' this business and so many businesses just don't. Jump in. The agents are ready!"
"Medialyst is the only tool that keeps up with the pace our firm needs to move at across our High Growth B2B Tech clients. The journalist targeting is sharp as well as accurate, and Elvis actually ships when you give him feedback."
"It's 100% customizable to you & your clients. It's affordable. It's built by someone who gets back to you quickly & truly wants to give the people what they want — MORE time."
"The big media database platforms are built for agencies with full teams and retainers to match. For a boutique practice like mine, the economics just do not work. Medialyst fits the model. Beyond contact discovery, it helps me stay on top of what reporters are actually covering: the beats, the patterns, the recent angles. That is the real work of pitching well these days. Spray and pray is over, and Medialyst is built for how modern media relations actually works, at a price point that makes sense for the way I operate."
"Medialyst takes the guesswork out of journalist outreach. It vets your pitch for suitability, matches it to the right journalists, and hands you their most accurate contact details — so instead of firing off cold emails into the void, you're landing in the right inboxes. The result? Fewer emails sent, more stories published."
"This is a must-have if you work in media, it's easy to use and saves you a lot of time! The customer service has been some of the best I have experienced."
Common questions about switching from Magic Pitch.
How much does Magic Pitch cost in 2026?
Is Magic Pitch the same product as PodPitch?
Does Magic Pitch send pitches automatically?
What is the best Magic Pitch alternative?
Magic Pitch vs Medialyst — what's the difference?
Where does Magic Pitch's journalist data come from?
Can I move my Magic Pitch contacts into Medialyst?
Automate the research, not your reputation. Build your list.
Paste a press release, your website URL, or a one-line description of your news. Medialyst finds reporters who actually cover it, scores them by fit, and checks every email before you get it.