APA-Comm fact checkAPA-Comm is the communications brand of the Austria Presse Agentur (Austrian Press Agency), whose media monitoring delivers daily results from Austrian print and online media, including a press review, in the PR-Desk. It suits press offices and agencies who mainly need to monitor Austrian media. According to apa.at, APA-Comm covers the licence fees for the delivered content. Radio, TV, podcasts and social media are extension modules, and Germany and Switzerland are only covered with leading media. According to the product page, packages cost from 59 euros per month (as of October 2026).
What is APA-Comm?
APA-Comm is the communications brand of the APA (Austria Presse Agentur eG), under which media monitoring, media analysis and press releases via APA-OTS are run. According to the legal notice, the vendor is APA-Comm GmbH, based in Vienna. According to leadersnet, the company was formed in 2025 from the merger of APA-DeFacto and APA-OTS; the APA-Comm brand has existed since 2020. If you still know APA media monitoring as APA-DeFacto, you will find it under APA-Comm today.
On apa.at the product is simply called “Medienbeobachtung” (media monitoring) and is part of the PR-Desk. According to the product page, the APA combines press releases, media database and media monitoring on one platform there. Some of the details in this fact check come from a contract offer by APA-Comm that the Austrian regulator RTR published in November 2025. Your package may differ.
Under our methodology, we rate APA-Comm only in the monitoring pillar.
What can APA-Comm media monitoring do?
APA-Comm media monitoring delivers results from print and online; apa.at lists broadcast, podcasts and social media as extension modules.
| Area | What the sources document | Booking |
|---|---|---|
| around 2,000 print sources, full text and full-page PDF, including regional editions | package | |
| Online | all relevant Austrian news sites, partly with paywalled content and user comments | package |
| Radio and TV | over 50 stations via AI speech recognition in near real time | module |
| Podcasts | 130 podcasts | module |
| Social media | German-language content from Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X, Telegram, TikTok, YouTube | module on request |
According to the RTR contract offer, a dashboard in the PR-Desk shows the results in charts and KPIs, and a report mode creates email or PDF reports. The system assigns sentiment automatically as positive, neutral or negative, and you can change it manually. AI summarises results, translates them and clusters topics. The APA only evaluates social media on public pages; locked profiles are left out. Alerts on critical topics, benchmark analyses and delivery by SMS, messenger, RSS or XML feed are listed among the extension modules.
What sets APA-Comm apart as a media monitoring service?
APA-Comm differs from social listening software in its daily press review, its coverage of licence fees and its broad coverage of Austrian media.
- Press review: According to the product page, the press review arrives daily in the PR-Desk, with visualisations and data export, and by email if you wish. According to the contract offer, it is available on working days by 9 am, with weekends on request.
- Licence: According to apa.at, APA-Comm covers “all licence fees”. In the contract offer, the payments to media and publishers are included in the fees, and APA-Comm indemnifies customers against third-party claims.
- Human selection: The extension module editorial preparation adds abstracts, translations and industry news from an editorial team. The contract offer speaks of “edited monitoring”.
- Print DACH: According to the contract offer, the APA covers Austria with all relevant print and online media and the news formats on radio and TV. From Germany and Switzerland, only selected leading print media and leading news sites are included. The APA does not say how the roughly 2,000 print sources are distributed across the countries.
According to the contract offer, you may only pass on results with consent.
Who is APA-Comm for, and who is it not for?
APA-Comm suits press offices and agencies in Austria who need a licensed daily press review with Austrian print and online media. If you send press releases via APA-OTS, you have distribution and monitoring in the same PR-Desk. Because the results are available on working days by 9 am according to the contract offer, APA-Comm suits teams who start the day with the press review in the morning.
The standard packages with up to 5 keywords and a fixed results allowance suit organisations with a manageable media echo. More topics or broadcast cost extra modules.
APA-Comm is less suitable if you need to monitor German or Swiss media broadly, because only leading media are documented there. If you mainly want to evaluate social media, you book a module on request here; a listening tool covers that more directly. The page on media monitoring gives an overview of providers.
How much does APA-Comm cost?
According to the product page, APA-Comm media monitoring costs from 59 euros per month in the Small package (as of October 2026). The pricing model is tiered by results: Small includes up to 10 results per month, the larger packages Regular and Large up to 100 and 200, each with up to 5 keywords. With an annual contract, you get 2 months free according to apa.at.
The product page does not say whether prices are net or gross; in the RTR contract offer, the fees exclude VAT. The APA calculates extension modules, weekend monitoring and media analysis individually. So if you need radio, TV or social media, expect a separate quote on top of the package price.
According to the vendor, registering in the PR-Desk is free, while the media monitoring itself costs money. According to the PR-Desk page, demo versions and trial set-ups are available. You will find all packages in the pricing table.
Data protection and DACH: servers, DPA, language
The RTR contract offer only describes in general terms where APA-Comm stores the data: it is “always on the servers of APA-Comm”, without naming a location. The APA privacy policy does not generally rule out transfers to the USA and other third countries; as an example it names OpenAI for the APA text assistant.
A DPA is documented: for usage agreements such as the PR-Desk or the Comm press review, the APA acts as a processor under Art. 28 GDPR according to the privacy policy. According to apa.at, TÜV AUSTRIA has certified APA-IT, the group’s IT service provider, to ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 20000-1. APA-Comm does not explicitly name the source for this.
The documents do not explicitly confirm a German interface or German-language support. For a Viennese vendor with German-language product pages, both are likely.
Our assessment
Under our methodology, APA-Comm is the obvious media monitoring service for Austria. According to the contract offer, coverage of Austrian print and online media is broad, the licence fees are included according to the vendor, a DPA is documented, and the entry prices are public on the website.
On the other side are narrow standard packages with 5 keywords and a results allowance, social media, broadcast and podcasts only as modules, and thin coverage of Germany and Switzerland. Many details come from a single contract offer and may look different in your package.
Our position: for Austrian press offices, APA-Comm belongs on the shortlist, but ask in advance about the number of results and module prices. For monitoring across DACH, you are better off comparing providers with documented coverage in Germany and Switzerland.
How the score is calculated
The score is not a hands-on test verdict. It counts which checkpoints of methodology v1.4 are documented with a source for APA-Comm. “Not documented” means we found no evidence, not necessarily that the feature is missing. Read the methodology
| Criterion | Weight | Value | Documented / checkpoints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source coverage | 20% | 4.5 / 10 | 6 / 7 |
| Analysis & sentiment | 15% | 1.9 / 10 | 2 / 6 |
| Alerts & search | 15% | 2.0 / 10 | 1 / 3 |
| Reporting & export | 10% | 7.5 / 10 | 2 / 3 |
| Data protection & GDPR | 15% | 6.3 / 10 | 3 / 4 |
| German language | 5% | 0.0 / 10 | 0 / 2 |
| Price transparency | 5% | 10.0 / 10 | 2 / 2 |
| AI connectivity & integrations | 15% | 2.5 / 10 | 1 / 3 |
Show all 30 checkpoints
| Criterion / checkpoint | Weight / points | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Source coverage | 20% | 4.5 / 10 |
| Social listening (mentions on social networks) | 1.5 of 3 | ½ add-on only |
| Online news | 1 of 2 | ½ listening is an add-on |
| Blogs and forums | 1 of 2 | ½ listening is an add-on |
| Print media | 0.5 of 1 | ½ listening is an add-on |
| TV and radio | 0.5 of 1 | ½ add-on only |
| Podcasts | 0.5 of 1 | ½ add-on only |
| Review sites | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Analysis & sentiment | 15% | 1.9 / 10 |
| Sentiment detection | 1 of 2 | ½ listening is an add-on |
| Sentiment for German-language text | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Image and logo recognition | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Influencer identification | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Historical data | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| AI summaries | 0.5 of 1 | ½ listening is an add-on |
| Alerts & search | 15% | 2.0 / 10 |
| Real-time alerts | 1 of 2 | ½ add-on only |
| Boolean search queries | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Monitoring of AI answers (ChatGPT & co.) | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Reporting & export | 10% | 7.5 / 10 |
| Analytics and reports | 2 of 2 | + yes |
| PDF export | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| Scheduled reports | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Data protection & GDPR | 15% | 6.3 / 10 |
| Data stored in the EU (mixed = half points) | 0 of 3 | ? not documented |
| Data processing agreement (DPA) available | 2 of 2 | + yes |
| Provider based in the EU/EEA (country with EU adequacy decision = half points) | 2 of 2 | + yes |
| Security certification (e.g. ISO 27001, SOC 2) | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| German language | 5% | 0.0 / 10 |
| German-language interface | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| German-language support | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Price transparency | 5% | 10.0 / 10 |
| Public pricing | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| Free to try (trial or free plan) | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| AI connectivity & integrations | 15% | 2.5 / 10 |
| MCP server by the vendor (connects AI assistants) | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| API access | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Native integrations documented | 1 of 1 | + yes |
APA-Comm pricing and costs
| Plan | Price per month | Billing | Scope according to the vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | € 59 | monthly | up to 10 results per month, up to 5 keywords |
| Regular | € 99 | monthly | up to 100 results per month, up to 5 keywords |
| Large | € 199 | monthly | up to 200 results per month, up to 5 keywords |
| Individual / extension modules | on request | on request | Editorial preparation, international sources, radio/TV, social media, podcasts, delivery formats, media analysis |
Prices per month; 2 months free with an annual contract; net or gross not stated on the product page (excl. VAT in the RTR contract offer). Weekend monitoring on request; extension modules and media analysis priced individually.. As of 13 October 2026, source: vendor pricing page. Prices can change; the vendor’s page is authoritative.
Supported networks
- X
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Bluesky
According to the vendor, as of 13 October 2026.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- According to the vendor, licence fees for the delivered media content are included; in the contract offer, APA-Comm indemnifies customers against third-party claims. [Source]
- Around 2,000 print sources in full text and as full-page PDF, including regional editions. [Source]
- Over 50 radio and TV stations and 130 podcasts monitored via AI speech recognition in near real time. [Source]
- Press releases (APA-OTS), media database and media monitoring on one platform (PR-Desk). [Source]
- Public entry prices from 59 EUR per month. [Source]
Limitations
- Standard packages with a results allowance (10/100/200 results per month) and a maximum of 5 keywords. [Source]
- From Germany and Switzerland only selected leading print media and leading news sites. [Source]
- Social media only for public pages; locked profiles are not included. [Source]
- Delivery on working days by 9 am; weekend monitoring only on request. [Source]
- Use only for the authorised users' own purposes; passing on to third parties only with consent. [Source]
Who is APA-Comm for?
According to the disclosed fit rules, APA-Comm suits:
- PR & media monitoring
APA-Comm alternatives
Brand24
Social listening and media monitoring tool that collects mentions from over 25 million online sources (social media, news, blogs, forums, videos, podcasts, reviews) and evaluates them with AI sentiment, topic and event analysis.
from $ 199/month
Hootsuite
Social media platform ("Hootsuite Social OS") with modules for planning and publishing (Perch), inbox and customer service (Nest), social listening (Lumen), AI assistant (Wisdom) and employee advocacy (Parliament).
from € 99/month
Sprinklr
Enterprise platform for unified customer experience management with the suites Sprinklr Social (publishing, engagement, advocacy), Sprinklr Insights (social listening, benchmarking, Visual and LLM Insights), Sprinklr Service and Sprinklr Marketing.
Price on request
Talkwalker
Platform for social listening, media monitoring, social benchmarking and customer feedback analytics; marketed as "Lumen by Talkwalker" since its acquisition by Hootsuite (2024).
Price on request
Questions about APA-Comm
How much does APA media monitoring cost?
According to apa.at, APA-Comm media monitoring costs from 59 euros per month for the Small package with up to 10 results and 5 keywords (as of October 2026). With an annual contract, 2 months are free. The product page does not say whether this is net or gross. The APA calculates extension modules such as radio, TV, social media and media analysis on request.
Is there a trial of APA media monitoring?
Yes, according to apa.at demo versions and trial set-ups are available in the PR-Desk. Registering in the PR-Desk is free, while the media monitoring itself is paid. There is no permanent free plan. For a trial set-up, contact APA-Comm directly and clarify which sources and keywords will be monitored during the trial phase.
Which media does APA-Comm monitor?
According to the contract offer, APA-Comm monitors around 2,000 print sources in full text and as full-page PDF, including regional editions, plus all relevant Austrian news sites, partly with paywalled content and user comments. Radio, TV, podcasts and social media are added as extension modules. The focus is clearly on Austria.
Does APA-Comm also monitor German and Swiss media?
Yes, but only a selection. According to the contract offer, APA-Comm covers selected leading print media and leading news sites from Germany and Switzerland, not complete coverage. The vendor does not say how many titles per country are included. If you need regional media in Germany or Switzerland, request the list of sources specifically before signing.
Does APA-Comm cover the press review licence?
Yes, according to apa.at APA-Comm covers "all licence fees" for the delivered media content. In the RTR contract offer, the payments to media and publishers are included in the fees. According to the contract offer, you may only pass on results with consent, and they are used by the authorised users. Have the scope confirmed for your package. This is not legal advice.
Does APA-Comm also monitor social media?
Yes, as an extension module on request. According to the RTR contract offer, APA-Comm evaluates German-language content from Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X, Telegram, TikTok and YouTube, plus selected influencer accounts. Locked profiles are left out. On apa.at, social media is listed among the extension modules, so ask specifically about the price and networks.
Does APA-Comm monitor radio, TV and podcasts?
Yes, as an extension module. According to apa.at, APA-Comm monitors over 50 radio and TV stations via AI speech recognition in near real time, plus 130 podcasts. According to the vendor, there are also alerts for radio and TV. These modules are not included in the standard packages, and the APA calculates price and scope on request.
How do I receive results from APA-Comm?
According to apa.at, results arrive as a daily press review in the PR-Desk, with visualisations, data export and delivery by email. According to the contract offer, delivery takes place on working days by 9 am, and weekend monitoring is only available on request. As further delivery formats, APA-Comm names SMS, messenger services and RSS and XML feeds.
Does APA-Comm have sentiment analysis?
Yes, according to the contract offer results get an automatic sentiment of positive, neutral or negative, which you can change manually. Whether the automatic rating has been specifically tested for German is not documented in public sources. In the PR-Desk dashboard you visualise results with charts and KPIs and create reports as email or PDF.
Which AI functions does APA media monitoring have?
According to the contract offer, the media monitoring uses AI to summarise results automatically, translate them and group them into topic clusters with AI abstracts. APA-Comm evaluates radio and TV with AI speech recognition. For the APA text assistant, the privacy policy names OpenAI as a service provider, and transfers to third countries are not generally ruled out there.
Does APA-Comm also provide media analyses?
Yes, as an individual add-on service. According to apa.at, the media analysis combines quantitative metrics with a qualitative evaluation by the analysis team and follows the Barcelona Principles. There is also an advertising value analysis and a benchmark module for comparison with competitors. APA-Comm names no prices for this; the analysis is calculated per order.
Does APA-Comm comply with the GDPR?
We give no legal assessment. The privacy policy documents a DPA: for usage agreements such as the PR-Desk, the APA acts as a processor under Art. 28 GDPR. According to the contract offer, the data is stored on APA-Comm servers, but no location is named. The privacy policy does not generally rule out transfers to third countries.
Where is the vendor of APA media monitoring based?
According to the legal notice, the vendor is APA-Comm GmbH, based in Vienna, a subsidiary of the APA, Austria Presse Agentur eG. The media monitoring is part of the PR-Desk, which also combines press releases via APA-OTS and the media database. For teams in Austria, APA-Comm is thus a provider from their own country.
What happened to APA-DeFacto?
APA-DeFacto is no longer a separate company. According to leadersnet, the APA merged its subsidiaries APA-DeFacto and APA-OTS into APA-Comm GmbH, active since July 2025 and retroactive to the start of 2025. According to leadersnet, the APA has used the APA-Comm brand since 2020. The media monitoring now runs under this brand in the PR-Desk, together with press releases via APA-OTS and the media database.
What are the alternatives to APA-Comm?
Which alternative to APA-Comm fits depends on the countries you need to monitor. For broad coverage of Germany and Switzerland, media monitoring services with documented coverage there are an option, and for pure online and social monitoring, listening tools. Three alternatives under our methodology are listed further down, and the page on media monitoring gives an overview.
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