Editorial summary
We've compared 10 social media monitoring tools on pricing, free trials, sources covered and real user pros and cons to help you choose the right one.
Category context
This article lives in Marketing & SEO, where SubstiTool tracks pricing, positioning, and trade-offs across the tools buyers compare most often.
Table of contents
Introduction
Most brands find out about a bad review, a viral complaint or a competitor's launch from someone else. By then the thread has already travelled. Even with a tool, the problems pile up: alerts bury you in noise, whole networks like X, TikTok or Reddit are covered patchily, mention caps cut off tracking mid-month, and the data you need from last quarter has already expired. Social listening features are often locked behind add-ons or a sales call.
To cut through that, we compared popular social media monitoring and social listening tools on pricing, free trials, sources covered, alerts, sentiment and reporting, and team features. We took prices from vendor pricing pages and ratings from G2 and Capterra, and read what real users report about accuracy, limits and support.
In this article, we've compared ten social media monitoring tools. For each one, you'll see who it suits, what it costs, and the pros and cons users run into.
Quick picks
| Pick | Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall value | Brand24 | Published pricing, easy dashboard, AI reports and wide source coverage |
| Best budget option | Awario | Plans from ＄29 a month with high mention allowances |
| Best for fast alerts | Mention | Alert-first monitoring with unlimited users, now priced for mid-market teams |
| Best for sentiment and competitor analysis | BrandMentions | AI sentiment, competitor tracking and white-label reports |
| Best for AI summaries | Mentionlytics | AI-assisted insights and wide network coverage from ＄69 a month |
| Best for small teams that also publish | Agorapulse | Inbox, publishing and listening in one tool |
| Best for teams already scheduling | Hootsuite | Monitoring streams next to your publishing workflow |
| Best for enterprise reporting | Sprout Social | Deep reporting and a Smart Inbox, with listening as an add-on |
| Best for global enterprise monitoring | Talkwalker | Huge source coverage and visual recognition |
| Best for consumer research | Brandwatch | Deep data and analysis for research teams |
Best social media monitoring tools
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan or trial | Standout feature | G2 / Capterra |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand24 | Small and mid-sized businesses | ＄199 per month (billed yearly) | 14-day trial | AI reports and sentiment | 4.6 / 4.7 |
| Mention | PR teams and mid-market brands | Custom | Free trial | Fast alerts, unlimited users | n/a / 4.7 |
| Awario | Budget-conscious teams and agencies | ＄29 per month (billed yearly) | 7-day trial, no card | Boolean search and lead finding | 4.0 / n/a |
| BrandMentions | Mid-market teams | ＄79 per month (billed yearly) | See pricing page | AI sentiment and competitor analysis | 4.9 / 5.0 |
| Mentionlytics | Small teams and agencies | From ＄69 per month | See pricing page | AI insights and mention clustering | 4.9 / 4.7 |
| Agorapulse | Small teams that publish and monitor | ＄69 per user per month | Free trial | Inbox plus listening add-on | 4.5 / 4.6 |
| Hootsuite | Teams that already schedule posts | ＄99 per user per month (billed yearly) | 14-day trial | Streams and mention search | 4.3 / 4.4 |
| Sprout Social | Enterprise brands and agencies | ＄199 to ＄399 per seat per month (billed yearly) | 30-day trial | Reporting and Smart Inbox | 4.4 / 4.4 |
| Talkwalker | Global enterprise teams | Custom | Demo only | Visual recognition and huge source coverage | n/a / n/a |
| Brandwatch | Research and insights teams | Custom | Demo only | Deep consumer data | n/a / 4.2 |
Prices checked in late September and early October 2026. Ratings were read from G2 and Capterra pages where available; n/a means we could not confirm a current rating. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the pricing page before you buy.
1. Brand24
Brand24 tracks mentions across social networks, news, blogs, forums, reviews, podcasts and newsletters, then turns them into sentiment charts, alerts, reports and AI summaries. Update speed rises with your plan, from every 12 hours on Individual to real time on Pro and above.
Standout features
- AI-generated reports and an AI brand assistant
- Sentiment analysis, reach and influencer tracking
- Storm alerts for sudden spikes in mentions
- Mobile app with push notifications
Pricing
- Individual: ＄199 per month billed yearly (＄249 monthly), with 3 keywords, 2,000 mentions a month and 1 user.
- Team: ＄299 per month billed yearly (＄349 monthly), with 7 keywords, 10,000 mentions and unlimited users.
- Pro: ＄399 per month billed yearly (＄499 monthly), with 12 keywords and 40,000 mentions.
- Business: ＄599 per month billed yearly (＄699 monthly), with 25 keywords and 100,000 mentions.
- Enterprise: From ＄1,499 per month, with custom limits.
- Trial: 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. No free plan.
Best for
Small and mid-sized businesses that want clear dashboards and AI reports.
Pros
- Users describe the dashboard as clear and easy to use.
- Users say support is responsive and helpful.
- Reviewers call it good value for small and mid-sized businesses.
- Reports are easy to customize and share.
Cons
- Reviewers find it expensive for small companies or light use, with the entry plan starting at ＄199.
- Keyword limits on the lower plans feel tight.
- Some features, such as comment monitoring, are missing from lower tiers.
- There is no free plan.
Verdict
Pick Brand24 if you want transparent pricing and an easy tool for tracking a few brands. Skip it if you need to track many keywords on a small budget.
2. Mention
Mention monitors social media, news, blogs, forums and the web for your keywords and sends alerts when they appear. It was once known as a low-cost option, but its self-serve entry plans have been retired. Agorapulse acquired Mention in 2025, and its publishing and reply features were retired, so it is now a monitoring and listening product only.
Standout features
- Real-time alerts across social, news, forums and blogs
- Unlimited users
- Sentiment and basic analytics
- Shareable reports
Pricing
- Company: Custom, with unlimited users.
- Trial: Free trial available. No free plan.
Best for
PR teams and mid-market brands that want fast alerts and unlimited users.
Pros
- Reviewers like the friendly interface and simple navigation.
- Users find it a helpful way to track brand, product and service mentions.
Cons
- Pricing is now a single custom plan, so there is no low-cost starter option.
- Publishing and reply features are gone, so you need a separate tool for engagement.
- Some reviewers questioned the value for money, noting that analytics are good but not exceptional.
Verdict
Pick Mention if alert speed and unlimited users matter and you have a mid-market budget. Skip it if you need a low-cost starter plan.
3. Awario
Awario tracks social networks, news, blogs and forums, with Boolean search for tight control over your queries. It also includes a leads feature that surfaces people asking for recommendations. Pricing is built around topics and mention volume rather than seats.
Standout features
- Boolean search and sentiment charts
- Share-of-voice reporting
- Leads module for finding prospects
- White-label reports and API on Enterprise
Pricing
- Starter: ＄29 per month billed yearly (＄49 monthly), with 3 topics, 30,000 new mentions a month and 1 user.
- Pro: ＄89 per month billed yearly (＄149 monthly), with 15 topics, 300,000 mentions and 10 users.
- Enterprise: ＄249 per month billed yearly (＄399 monthly), with 100 topics, 1 million mentions, API access and white-label reports.
- Trial: 7-day free trial with no credit card.
Best for
Small businesses and agencies that want broad monitoring at a low price.
Pros
- Reviewers praise the low price and user-friendly interface.
- The mention allowances are generous for the money.
- Boolean search gives experienced users good control.
- The leads feature is a favorite for small businesses.
Cons
- Results can be noisy, and Boolean queries have a learning curve.
- Reddit coverage picks up posts but can miss replies in comment threads.
- Support quality is described as inconsistent, with some users calling it unhelpful.
- Some users were charged for a second annual cycle after auto-renewal and found no refunds.
Verdict
Pick Awario if you want broad monitoring at the lowest price. Skip it if you need dependable support or deep Reddit coverage.
4. BrandMentions
BrandMentions monitors social media, news, forums, blogs and the web, and lets you create separate projects per brand, product or client. Its AI categorizes mentions by sentiment and relevance.
Standout features
- AI sentiment analysis
- Competitor analysis
- Separate projects for each brand or client
- White-label reports on Expert
Pricing
- Starter: ＄99 per month billed quarterly (＄79 billed yearly), with 5 keywords, 5,000 mentions a month, 1 user, daily updates and AI sentiment.
- Pro: ＄299 per month (＄249 billed yearly).
- Expert: ＄499 per month (＄399 billed yearly), with white-label reports.
- Trial: See the pricing page for current trial terms.
Best for
Mid-market teams that want sentiment and competitor analysis.
Pros
- Reviewers describe the dashboard as visually appealing and intuitive.
- Sentiment analysis gives context beyond counting mentions.
- Users say it delivers more than they expected for the price.
Cons
- Starter is limited to 5 keywords and 1 user.
- White-label reports are only on the Expert plan.
- Prices rise steeply from Starter to Expert.
Verdict
Pick BrandMentions if sentiment and competitor tracking matter most. Skip it if you need many users on an entry plan.
5. Mentionlytics
Mentionlytics monitors X, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, blogs, news sites and review platforms. It adds sentiment analysis and AI clustering of mentions, plus integrations with tools such as Hootsuite and Slack.
Standout features
- AI mention clustering and summaries
- Sentiment analysis
- Coverage of social, news and review sites
- Integrations with Hootsuite and Slack
Pricing
- Basic: From ＄69 per month.
- Higher tiers: Add keywords, mentions and faster updates, so costs rise with your needs.
- Trial: See the pricing page for current trial terms.
Best for
Small teams and agencies that want AI-assisted insights at a moderate price.
Pros
- Reviewers found it easier to use and set up than a comparable rival.
- Small business users say it meets their needs well.
Cons
- A Capterra reviewer found it expensive, since frequent updates require one of the pricier plans.
- Pricing tiers are less clearly published than some rivals.
Verdict
Pick Mentionlytics if you want AI summaries without enterprise pricing. Skip it if you need constant updates on a tight budget.
6. Agorapulse
Agorapulse is a social media management platform with an inbox, publishing, reporting and moderation. Listening is where buyers should read carefully: basic listening arrives on higher tiers, and advanced keyword searches across social, news, blogs and forums cost extra.
Standout features
- Unified inbox with moderation tools
- Publishing and reporting in one place
- Listening add-on for deeper monitoring
- Competitor benchmarking on higher plans
Pricing
- Standard: From ＄69 per user per month, with up to 10 social profiles.
- Professional: ＄99 per user per month, adding more inbox and listening features.
- Advanced: ＄149 per user per month.
- Advanced Listening add-on: Custom.
- Trial: Free trial available.
Best for
Small teams and agencies that also publish and manage a social inbox.
Pros
- Reviewers praise the intuitive, streamlined interface.
- Multi-user teamwork is efficient.
Cons
- Some reviewers report recurring glitches and instability.
- There are limits on media publishing.
- Per-user pricing and add-ons make costs climb for growing teams.
- Deep listening costs extra on top of the plan.
Verdict
Pick Agorapulse if you want inbox, publishing and basic monitoring in one tool. Skip it if listening is your main need.
7. Hootsuite
Hootsuite offers streams for tracking mentions and keywords, a unified inbox, sentiment analysis and competitor benchmarking alongside its scheduling tools. Deeper listening sits at the top of its range.
Standout features
- Streams for real-time monitoring
- Brand and competitor mention search
- Sentiment analysis and benchmarking
- Large integration directory
Pricing
- Standard: ＄99 per user per month, for up to 10 accounts, with searches of the past 7 days of brand and competitor mentions.
- Professional: ＄199 per user per month, with unlimited accounts.
- Advanced: ＄399 per user per month, with 30 days of mention search, benchmarking against 20 competitors and approval workflows.
- Enterprise: Custom, with advanced listening through its Talkwalker product.
- Trial: 14-day free trial. No free plan, and prices are for annual billing.
Best for
Teams that already schedule posts and want basic monitoring in the same dashboard.
Pros
- Reviewers like managing many accounts from one dashboard.
- Batch scheduling and automation save hours each week.
- Agencies and teams say it justifies the cost when used daily.
Cons
- Many reviewers call it expensive for small teams, with key features locked behind higher tiers.
- Mention search windows are short on lower plans.
- Reviewers report glitches, accounts disconnecting and occasional failed posts.
- The dashboard feels busy, so new users face a learning curve.
Verdict
Pick Hootsuite if you already schedule posts there and want monitoring in the same place. Skip it if monitoring is your main need.
8. Sprout Social
Sprout combines publishing, a Smart Inbox, deep analytics and collaboration, and monitors keywords and profiles. Full listening, with topic discovery, sentiment scoring and spike alerts, is a separate paid add-on, and costs scale with every seat you add.
Standout features
- Smart Inbox that merges comments, messages and reviews
- Detailed reporting and exports
- Listening add-on with AI topic discovery and spike alerts
- Approval workflows and task assignment
Pricing
- Standard: ＄199 per seat per month, billed yearly, with monitoring of profiles, keywords and locations.
- Professional: ＄299 per seat per month, with trend analysis for X keywords and hashtags and custom approval workflows.
- Advanced: ＄399 per seat per month, with sentiment in the Smart Inbox and automation.
- Add-on: Listening and premium analytics cost extra.
- Trial: 30-day free trial. No free plan.
Best for
Enterprise brands and agencies with reporting needs.
Pros
- Reviewers praise reporting and analytics depth.
- The Smart Inbox is a frequent favorite.
- Users say it saves time for larger teams and stays stable as profiles and users grow.
Cons
- Reviewers call it expensive, especially for small businesses and freelancers.
- Per-seat pricing and paid add-ons push costs up fast.
- Full listening is not included in the plans.
- Some reviewers report poor customer service and contract frustrations.
Verdict
Pick Sprout if reporting depth justifies the spend. Skip it if you only need monitoring.
9. Talkwalker
Talkwalker is Hootsuite's enterprise social intelligence platform, renamed Lumen by Talkwalker in June 2026. It combines social listening, media monitoring and visual recognition across a very large set of sources, including news, blogs, forums, broadcast and print.
Standout features
- Social listening and media monitoring in one platform
- Visual recognition for logos and images
- Crisis alerting and custom dashboards
- Unlimited users on every plan
Pricing
- Core, Analyze and Business: Custom, with unlimited users.
- Trial: Demo only. No free plan.
Best for
Global enterprise teams that need broad source coverage and crisis alerts.
Pros
- Reviewers are favorable about customization and reporting.
- Users praise its ability to track conversations in real time.
- Users report responsive, helpful support.
Cons
- Pricing is quote-only, so you cannot budget without a sales call.
- Reviewers call it expensive for smaller businesses.
- Facebook and Instagram listening is limited by platform API restrictions.
Verdict
Pick Talkwalker if you run a global brand with an enterprise budget. Skip it if you need self-serve pricing.
10. Brandwatch
Brandwatch is an enterprise social intelligence platform that tracks mentions across social media, forums, websites and news. Boolean queries pull the mentions, custom dashboards turn them into reports, and its AI layer flags spikes. Its social media management and influencer products are sold separately.
Standout features
- Large-scale data coverage and Boolean queries
- Customizable dashboards and reports
- Benchmarking for competitor analysis
- AI-based spike detection
Pricing
- Consumer Intelligence: Custom.
- Trial: Demo only. No free plan.
Best for
Research and insights teams that need deep consumer data.
Pros
- Reviewers praise the data volume and fast insights.
- Benchmarking is easy to read for competitor analysis.
- Customizable reports suit agencies working across several clients.
Cons
- Pricing is hidden behind a sales quote.
- There is a learning curve in setting up queries and getting accurate results.
- One reviewer found figures did not match data pulled from the native platform.
Verdict
Pick Brandwatch if you have a dedicated analyst and an enterprise budget. Skip it if you need quick, self-serve monitoring.
How to choose the right tool for yourself
The best monitoring tool is the one that covers the places your audience talks and fits the volume you need to track. Work through these factors before you commit.
Sources covered: Check that the tool covers the networks and sites that matter to you, such as X, Reddit, TikTok, news, blogs, forums and review sites.
Monthly volume caps: Find out how mentions are counted and what happens when you hit the monthly limit. Some tools stop tracking until the next cycle.
Keyword and topic limits: Count the brand names, product names, misspellings and competitors you need to track, and compare that to the plan limits.
Data history: Check how far back you can search, since some plans only keep recent data.
Alert speed: Look at how often data refreshes, from every few hours to real time, and whether you get email, mobile or Slack alerts.
Sentiment accuracy and languages: Test the sentiment tagging on your own mentions, and check that your languages are supported.
Noise and spam filtering: Look for filters by source, language, sentiment and reach so you aren't buried in irrelevant mentions.
Query control: Decide whether you need Boolean search to keep results precise.
Competitor tracking: Check whether you can track rivals and compare share of voice.
Reporting and exports: Look for scheduled reports, PDF and spreadsheet exports, and white-label options if you serve clients.
Integrations and API: Check connections to your chat, CRM and reporting tools.
Team seats and roles: Find out how many users each plan includes and how extra seats are priced.
Pricing model: Check whether you pay per keyword, per mention volume, per topic, per seat or by custom quote, since this decides how fast your bill grows.
Trial and contract terms: Look at trial length, refund policy and how annual renewals work before you pay upfront.
Platform access limits: Remember that private accounts and direct messages are off limits, and that platform APIs restrict some data, especially on Meta networks.
Support: Look at the support channels offered and how users describe response times.
If you want a quick shortcut, use this guide:
If you're a small business watching a few brand terms: Go with Brand24.
If you want the lowest price and high mention volumes: Go with Awario.
If you need fast alerts for PR and have a mid-market budget: Go with Mention.
If sentiment and competitor analysis matter most: Go with BrandMentions.
If you want AI summaries on a moderate budget: Go with Mentionlytics.
If you also publish and manage an inbox: Go with Agorapulse or Hootsuite.
If you run a large team that needs deep reporting: Go with Sprout Social.
If you're an enterprise with global brand and research needs: Go with Talkwalker or Brandwatch.
FAQ
What is social media monitoring?â–¾
Social media monitoring is tracking mentions of your brand, products, competitors and keywords across social networks and the wider web. Tools send alerts when mentions appear, so you can reply quickly and spot problems early. Most also add sentiment analysis and reports.
What is the difference between monitoring and listening?â–¾
Monitoring collects and alerts on mentions as they happen. Listening analyzes that data for sentiment, themes and trends. Most tools do both, because listening is built on top of monitoring, so the two terms are often used interchangeably.
Are there free social media monitoring tools?â–¾
Free options are limited. Google Alerts tracks web mentions but not social networks, and most dedicated tools offer free trials rather than free plans. Trials run from 7 to 30 days, which is enough to test your keywords.
How much do social media monitoring tools cost?â–¾
Entry prices start around ＄29 a month for budget tools like Awario and rise to ＄199 or more for Brand24 and Sprout Social. Mid-market tools run into the hundreds a month, and enterprise platforms such as Talkwalker and Brandwatch use custom pricing.
Can I monitor Instagram and TikTok?â–¾
Most tools track public posts, hashtags and comments, and some plans add TikTok and YouTube. Private accounts and direct messages cannot be monitored, and platform API rules limit what is available, especially on Facebook and Instagram. Check each tool's source list for your networks.
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About the author
Mashkoor
Mashkoor has always been passionate about writing. He used to write short stories on his blog before he started writing for SaaS companies years back. He aspires to have a book under his name.
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Social media monitoring vs social listening
Social media monitoring: Tracking and alerting on mentions, comments, hashtags and competitors as they happen. It answers "what is being said about us right now?" Typical uses are replying to complaints, catching a crisis early and spotting a mention of your brand that didn't tag you.
Social listening: Analyzing that same data in aggregate for sentiment, themes, trends and share of voice. It answers "why are people saying it, and what should we do about it?" Typical uses are product feedback, campaign measurement and competitor research.
A few related terms you'll see on vendor pages:
Brand monitoring: Monitoring focused on your brand name, products and key people across social media, news, blogs, forums and review sites.
Sentiment analysis: Automatic tagging of mentions as positive, negative or neutral.
Competitor monitoring: Tracking mentions and activity for rival brands.
Share of voice: How much of the conversation in your market is about you versus competitors.
Media monitoring: Tracking news, print, broadcast and online coverage, usually for PR teams. It overlaps with social monitoring but is a separate job.
Most tools do both. Listening is built on top of monitoring: monitoring collects the mentions, and listening analyzes them. That is why vendors use the two words interchangeably, and why we've covered both in this article.