Month to month. Cancel any month. See pricing
HARO still exists. Cision closed Connectively, its paid version of HARO, on 9 December 2024.
Featured bought the brand, and since April 2025 HARO runs again as a free email of journalist requests, three times a day, at helpareporter.com.
The main alternatives are Qwoted and Featured if you want filters, Source of Sources for a second free email, and SourceBottle or #journorequest for UK and Australian reporters.
Illustration
| Service | Who runs it | Model | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| HARO | Featured | free email of requests, three a day | free |
| Connectively | Featured | platform version of HARO with filters and tracking | see the site |
| Featured | Featured | expert answers and PR tools | free, Lite $29, Pro $79 a month billed annually |
| Qwoted | Qwoted | expert sourcing platform | free with 2 pitches a month, Pro $149 a month |
| Source of Sources | Peter Shankman, who founded HARO | free email, up to three a day | free |
| SourceBottle | SourceBottle | request service strong in Australia and the UK | free listing |
| ProfNet | PR Newswire, part of Cision | subscription lead service for experts | price not published |
| #journorequest | reporters on X and Bluesky | open hashtag, no sign-up | free |
Prices were checked in September 2026 on each service's own pricing page or on the sources listed at the end of this guide.
Yes. HARO is free for journalists and sources and is funded by newsletter sponsors.
Some AI assistants still recommend "Connectively by Cision". That product closed in 2024. Today's Connectively belongs to Featured, a different company.
HARO has changed owners and names several times since it started.
HARO starts as a free email of reporter requests.
Vocus buys HARO, and Cision takes it over with Vocus. Cision later renames it Connectively.
Cision shuts Connectively down.
Featured relaunches HARO as a free newsletter at helpareporter.com.
Featured revives the Connectively name for a platform version of HARO that adds filters and tracks responses. HARO stays the free newsletter.
Yes. Journalists and sources both use it without paying. Featured says it will keep HARO free.
Free does not mean cheap in time. Three emails a day across every topic can take an hour to read. A short topic list matters more than which service you pick.
Pick by where your readers are and how much time you have, not by the journalist count each service advertises.
Read a week of requests before paying for anything.
This is your filter.
Copy and send
Most requests draw dozens of answers, about 33 each in a 2026 count across the three services Featured runs, as Qwoted vs Featured shows.
A clear structure helps a reporter find yours in that pile.
Subject. [Request headline as the reporter wrote it], [your name], [title] Hi [reporter first name], [Direct answer to their question in one or two sentences.] [One fact from your own work that backs it. A number, a date, a place.] [One sentence of practical advice or an opinion the reporter can quote as is.] [Full name], [title] at [Company], [city] [One line on why you know this, such as the data you hold.] [Direct phone] and [LinkedIn profile or website] Headshot and full data available on request.
Keep the whole answer under about 150 words. Paste text into the email body and never attach files unless the request asks for them.
The request. A personal finance reporter asks small business owners how they cut energy bills this winter. Both answers are illustrative.
The request and the numbers are invented.
Reply the same day, early if you can, because reporters on deadline often stop reading once they have enough. Speed never beats fit. Source of Sources removes anyone who pitches a reporter off topic, with no appeal.
Illustration
Reporters on deadline who need one quote or one number, on anything from tech to health.
Check the outlet before answering, since a quote on a thin affiliate site will not help your reputation.
It hurts your odds. HARO now says it detects AI-generated responses, and fully AI-written pitches get picked far less often than human ones, as Qwoted vs Featured shows.
Use AI to sort requests or find a number in your own files, then write the answer yourself.
Reporters post requests under #journorequest when they need a source fast, often for the same day.
There is no sign-up and no filter, so the work is in the search.
Next step
Request services are reactive. You wait for the right question.
If you need a launch or a round covered on your date, you need outbound pitches, the route laid out in how to get press coverage.
We read the request services every day for your beat and pass on only the requests you can answer with authority.
We draft from a short call with you, keep it under 150 words, and you approve every line before it goes out.
Each reply is tracked from request to published quote, so you see which outlets and topics actually pay back the time.
Illustrative example, not a client result
Copy and send
Date received. [date] Platform. [service name] Outlet and reporter. [name] Deadline. [date and time zone] Our angle in one line. [text] Sent. [date and time] Outcome. [what came back, if anything] Worth it again. [yes or no, and why]
Anastasiia Bratkova
Chief Brand, Marketing & Communications Officer, RSE
Signs every pitch
Questions
Yes. It runs free at helpareporter.com under Featured, which relaunched it in April 2025.
Cision renamed it Connectively and closed it on 9 December 2024. Featured bought the HARO brand and brought the free email back in 2025.
HARO itself came back. The best-known alternatives are Qwoted and Featured, with SourceBottle stronger outside the US.
Yes. Neither journalists nor sources pay. Newsletter sponsors fund it.
HARO and Source of Sources give free volume. Qwoted and Featured filter harder and lean toward US business press, while SourceBottle is strongest in Australia and the UK.
Sign up as a journalist at helpareporter.com and post a query with your topic, deadline and the kind of source you need. Posting is free, and sources answer by email.
Mostly reporters on deadline who need one quote or one number. Topics run from business and tech to health.
Read next
Next step
A senior PR expert sends it within one business day, with a story angle for your company.
