17+ Best Social Listening Tools to Use in 2024: [Comparison ]

Welcome to the world of social listening!

By actively listening to your audience, you can gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and opinions.

But how do you go about social listening? We have compiled a list of 17+ of the best social listening tools to use in 2024.

These brand monitoring and social listening tools offer a range of features to help you track and analyze social listening data.

From advanced monitoring tools with robust social listening features to streamlined options for smaller businesses, there’s something on this list for everyone.

Let’s get started.

What Are the Best Social Listening Tools?

1. Buffer

As a social media management platform, Buffer enables businesses to diligently manage their presence across all major networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest.

It’s an easy-to-use toolkit that provides the resources necessary for successful marketing on these popular platforms.

Key Features

• Social media scheduling: Buffer guarantees that your social media channels stay active, even when you’re offline.
• With its advanced post-scheduling capabilities, you can set up messages ahead of time and have them automatically released at specified intervals.
• Analytics and reporting: This invaluable tool delivers comprehensive analytics and reporting to track your social media success so that you can make informed decisions based on the data.
• Customizable content: If you want to create captivating, visually appealing content for your social media accounts, Buffer can help.
• Their stellar range of content creation tools includes the ability to design custom images and videos that will draw viewers’ attention.
• Collaboration tools: This tool simplifies the creation of social media content and scheduling for teams. Collaborating on your organization’s presence in this space has never been easier.
• Customer engagement: From responding to customer queries across multiple channels to scheduling content, Buffer provides various features tailored for engaging with your customers on social media.

Pricing

• The”Essentials” plan is just $6/month, granting you access to manage up to 8 social media accounts and schedule 100 posts and basic features.
• The “Team” package costs $12/month and includes the same number of accounts plus more tailored options, such as 2,000 post-scheduling capabilities with social analytics and team collaboration tools available.
• The “Agency” plan is designed for precisely that – offering advanced features like custom workflows and priority support services.

2. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is an innovative management and optimization platform specifically developed to assist companies in streamlining their social media campaigns.

One of the most beneficial characteristics of this tool is its real-time social listening capabilities, allowing organizations to track and analyze every post they make on various platforms.

Key Features

• Social Listening: Sprout Social’s revolutionary social listening tool allows organisations to check their brand mentions, hashtags, and keywords on multiple digital media platforms—including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn.
• Sentiment Analysis: Sprout Social’s sentiment analysis tool offers businesses valuable insight into the overall tone of their conversations on social media, letting them stay up to date with trends and head off potential issues.
• Competitor Analysis: Uncover the secrets of your most formidable rivals with Sprout Social’s invaluable competitor analysis tool.
• Get enlightened on their content strategies, observe how well they engage with customers, and measure follower growth in one place.
• Customizable Dashboards: Sprout Social’s advanced dashboards allow businesses to evaluate their social media analytics in real-time and make informed decisions, optimising their approach for maximum success.

Pricing

• Sprout Social has customized pricing plans to fit all budgets, beginning at $249/month per user for the Standard plan containing essential social media management and reporting features.
• Move up your company’s game with their Professional plan – starting at just $399/user/month- that adds advanced analytics & reports capabilities.
• Take it one step further by investing in the Advanced Plan, costing from a mere $499 /mo., each subscriber gains access to additional services such as complex listening & reporting tools and chatbot integration.
• Interested? Try out their free 30-day trial today.

3. Brand24

Brand24 is a cutting-edge tool that enables organizations to track digital conversations around their brand, products and services, competitors, and industry.

With its powerful features, companies can gain valuable insights into customer sentiment quickly and effectively.

Key Features

• You can stay ahead by real-time monitoring online conversations about your brand, products, competitors and industry. That way, you’ll be able to glean essential information and trends that’ll keep you updated with what’s happening around you.
• Sentiment analysis: The advanced sentiment analysis algorithms help you identify the emotion behind online mentions of your brand so that you can promptly respond to both positive and negative feedback.
• Analytics and reporting: Brand24 equips you with sophisticated analytics and reporting tools to assess the performance of your online presence and social media campaigns.
• You can instantly export data into customizable reports for sharing with coworkers or clients.
• Influencer identification: Brand24 is the perfect tool to help you identify key influencers and advocates within your industry, allowing you to interact with them and amplify your brand’s visibility.
• Team collaboration: The tool provides a unified space for your team to collaborate and manage tasks, ensuring everyone is clear on the objectives and working cohesively towards them.

Pricing

Brand24 offers various plans tailored to your business’s needs and budget.

• The “Individual” plan begins at $69/month and provides up to 2,000 monthly mentions, three social media accounts, and basic features.
• The more advanced “Professional” plan starts at $129/month with 5k potential monthly mentions, unlimited accounts, and the added advantage of team collaboration tools.
• For those seeking an even greater level of performance,- the Pro package is for you. With a starting price tag of just $179/month, it includes 25k possible mentions alongside unlimited users, plus access to analytical data and API integration.
• The “Enterprise” plan is designed to fit your business’s requirements and comes with top-notch features, such as unlimited mentions, custom analytics, and dedicated customer service.

4. Brandwatch

Utilizing Brandwatch, businesses can monitor and comprehend online discussions concerning their brand, products, rivals and sector.

This powerful social listening tool gives enterprises an extraordinary opportunity to gain invaluable insights.

Key Features

• Advanced social media monitoring: Brandwatch provides an insightful tool to follow, evaluate and analyze conversations about your business on multiple social media networks, news sites, blogs, forums and review platforms.
• Customizable dashboards: Our tool offers unique, customizable dashboards to help organize and present your social media data in the most advantageous ways for your business.
• Sentiment analysis: Advanced sentiment analysis algorithms enable you to comprehend the emotion behind all online mentions of your business.
• You can quickly and appropriately react to positive and negative feedback with increased efficiency.
• Influencer identification: Leveraging Brandwatch, you can locate and build relationships with influencers in your field to develop an enormous reach for your business and enhance its reputation.
• Audience insights: This tool furnishes in-depth audience insights, helping you become more acquainted with your target group and craft influential social media strategies.

Pricing

• The “Pro” plan begins at just $800/month and comes with up to 10 topics, 10K mentions, plus all the essential features.
• The “Premium” package offers 20 topics, 50K mentions, and extra components such as audience and sentiment evaluation for only an additional $400 monthly.
• The “Enterprise” plan is custom-created according to your organization’s requirements, providing enhanced amenities like personalized dashboards and API access.

5. Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is an incredible social listening tool that allows users to effortlessly keep tabs on multiple Twitter profiles and streams all within one user-friendly platform.

Key Features

• Customizable columns: Tweetdeck allows you to develop personalized columns that showcase precisely what Twitter content is most important to you – whether it tweets from certain accounts, mentions, hashtags or beyond.
• Real-time monitoring: Stay abreast of the conversations that matter most with the tool’s real-time updates for your Twitter streams.
• Tweet scheduling: Tweetdeck takes the hassle out of maintaining your social media presence.
• With its advanced scheduling capabilities, you can plan tweets and stay engaged with your followers even when away from the internet.
• Team collaboration: This revolutionary tool is perfect for businesses and teams, providing a hassle-free means of managing and monitoring the same Twitter account with multiple users.
• Mobile app: With Tweetdeck’s mobile app, you can seamlessly manage your Twitter accounts and streams.

Pricing

Like most good things, Tweetdeck comes free of charge, creating a perfect opportunity for businesses or budget-minded individuals dipping their toes into the world of social listening.

6. Awario

Awario is the ultimate social media monitoring tool for businesses.

It allows you to easily track and analyze conversations about your brand, products, competitors, and industry across all major social networks and other online sources.

Key Features

• Real-time monitoring: With Awario, you can track online conversations as they unfold and act quickly when any issues or opportunities arise.
• Sentiment analysis: Utilize this tool’s sophisticated sentiment analysis algorithms to gain insight into the emotions evoked by online conversations about your brand, products, and competitors.
• Influencer marketing: Awario makes it simple to find, connect with, and collaborate with influencers who can amplify your reach and reputation in the industry.
• Competitive analysis: Awario helps you stay ahead by monitoring and assessing your rivals’ social media presence.
• Track emerging trends, acquire insights about their strategies, and identify opportunities to gain an advantage – all with a single intuitive tool.
• Customizable reports: This tool offers personalized, actionable reports that provide insights about your social media data – so you can make the most of it for your business.

Pricing

• The”Starter” plan is the perfect starting point for any business, offering you up to 3 alerts, 30K mentions per month and a selection of basic features – all at just £39/month.
• For those looking for more advanced monitoring options, the “Pro” package has covered you with up to 15 alerts, 150K monthly mentions and exclusive extras such as Boolean search capabilities and share of voice analysis – available from only £119/month.
• It also offers an Enterprise plan tailored specifically to your needs.

With this one-of-a-kind service comes API access plus dedicated support – giving you everything required to succeed in today’s competitive market.

You can save up to 40% when you choose a yearly plan.

7. Keyhole

Keyhole is a comprehensive social media analytics and monitoring platform designed to help businesses understand their impact on the digital landscape.

With powerful insights into real-time conversations, trends, and engagement metrics, you can gain invaluable insight into your performance across multiple social networks.

Harness that data to optimize campaigns for maximum outreach and success.

Key Features

• Real-Time Monitoring: By using Keyhole’s social listening tool, you can stay one step ahead of the curve and track conversations happening on popular platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
• Hashtag Tracking: Keyhole provides valuable intelligence into trending topics and user engagement by enabling businesses to monitor and discern the performance of hashtags throughout social media.
• Sentiment Analysis: It enables corporate entities to measure the collective opinion of conversations focused on their company or industry in social media.
• Influencer Identification: Keyhole allows businesses to pinpoint and monitor influential social media influencers who can help spread their message as far and wide as possible.

Pricing

The Basic plan, starting at only $99 per month, offers basic tracking and reporting tools, while the Corporate ($299/mo) has advanced analytics, hashtag monitoring, and sentiment analysis.

Those needing more robust features such as custom dashboards or influencer tracking should use the Agency plan for just $599 monthly.

The yearly plan received 20% off.

8. Talkwalker

For any business looking to keep a pulse on its social media performance, Talkwalker is the ideal platform.

One of its core features includes powerful real-time monitoring and tracking capabilities with its comprehensive Social Listening Tool. 

With this feature, businesses can track online conversations, discover untapped opportunities, and gain valuable insights into how their campaigns or initiatives are performing to optimize future strategies.

Key Features

• Real-Time Monitoring: Talkwalker’s social listening tool offers unbeatable, real-time monitoring of social media conversations on platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
• You can keep an eye on all the dynamic discussions happening across your favourite networks – giving you a leg up in helping to ensure that no important conversations slip through the cracks.
• Sentiment Analysis: It helps companies measure the collective attitude of social media conversations concerning their brand or sector.
• Competitive Analysis: Talkwalker lets companies stay current on their competitor’s social media presence.
• Businesses can easily track what type of content is performing, engagement rates and follower growth metrics.
• Image Recognition: Leveraging Talkwalker’s industry-leading image recognition technology, businesses can now effortlessly track and analyze visuals on social media platforms – from logos to product images.
• Crisis Management: Talkwalker’s crisis management feature provides peace of mind to businesses by alerting them when spikes in negative sentiment or brand mentions occur, so they can swiftly and effectively respond.

Pricing

Talkwalker’s pricing plans start at $9,600/year and go up to a customizable Enterprise plan.

• The Basic package includes essential social media data
• The Corporate plan elevates your analytics with sentiment analysis and competitive intelligence.
• The Enterprise option is entirely customizable and can include custom dashboards, image recognition, and crisis management tools.

You can always try out their platform for free through an interactive demo.

9. Hootsuite

Streamline your social media strategy with Hootsuite, the powerful platform that assists businesses in bettering their online presence.

With its impressive social listening ability, you can keep a close eye on what’s being said about your brand at any given time – and react quickly to positive and negative customer feedback.

Key Features

• Real-Time Monitoring: Stay informed of the latest social media conversations with Hootsuite’s real-time tracking and monitoring tool. From Twitter to Instagram, instantly uncover relevant discussions regarding your brand on all popular platforms.
• Hashtag Tracking: With Hootsuite, companies can monitor their hashtag performance and understand trends across social media channels.
• This data provides critical insight into engagement levels and the hottest topics.
• Sentiment Analysis: It allows businesses to quickly and easily measure public opinion regarding their brand or industry on social media.
• Influencer Identification: Leverage Hootsuite to identify and monitor key social media influencers who can assist you in communicating your message more effectively, allowing you to reach a broader audience.
• Customizable Dashboards: Hootsuite’s customizable dashboards allow businesses instant access to their social media data and metrics.
• This provides them invaluable insights into what is working for their strategy and how they can optimize their approach in the future.

Pricing

With a range of plans tailored for specific business needs and budgets, their Professional plan starts at just $99 per month with basic monitoring and analytics features included.

For more advanced capabilities such as sentiment analysis and team collaboration tools, try the Team plan beginning from $249 per month.

Business plan starting from only $739 per month, including custom dashboards, influencer tracking and crisis management systems to keep ahead of any situation.

10. BuzzSumo

Buzzsumo is a powerful tool suite that allows businesses to analyze their social media performance, uncover what content resonates with an audience in their industry, and track conversations about their brand.

With the ability to listen for mentions on various platforms, companies can closely monitor related discussions and respond quickly when needed.

Key Features

• Real-Time Monitoring: With the exposure from Buzzsumo’s social listening tool, you can stay ahead of conversations happening on multiple platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – all in real time.
• Content Discovery: With Buzzsumo, companies can gain invaluable intelligence into the most popular content in their sector, trending topics, and engagement levels.
• Influencer Identification: Buzzsumo empowers businesses to determine and monitor prominent social media users that can help spread their message far and wide.
• Competitor Analysis: Buzzsumo’s comprehensive competitor analysis tool helps businesses better understand their competitors` social media strategy, including content performance metrics and follower count.
• Content Alerts: Buzzsumo’s content alerts service allows businesses always to know what their competitors, clients and influencers say by sending notifications when a keyword or phrase is used on social media.

Pricing

• Buzzsumo offers a range of pricing plans, starting at $119 per month for their Pro plan, which includes basic social media monitoring and content discovery features.
• Their PR& Comms plan costs $249 monthly, including advanced analytics, influencer identification, and competitor analysis.
• Starting at $999 monthly, their Enterprise plan includes features such as custom alerts, content analysis, and API access.

Buzzsumo also offers a free trial for businesses interested in testing out their platform.

11. HubSpot

Hubspot is the ideal platform for businesses to manage their marketing campaigns effectively.

Beyond just an analytics tool, it provides a unique advantage with its social listening facility, allowing companies to note what’s being said about them on different platforms.

With this feature, organizations can be in tune with conversations relevant to their industry or competitors – giving them the upper hand when formulating strategies.

Key Features

• Real-Time Monitoring: Hubspot’s social listening tool helps you stay up-to-date on current trends and conversations across all your favourite platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• Keyword Tracking: With Hubspot, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and gain valuable insights into trending topics and sentiment analysis by monitoring key terms related to their brand, industry or competitors.
• Competitor Analysis: Businesses can keep tabs on their competition’s social media performance, including content strategy and follower growth.
• CRM Integration: Hubspot’s social listening tool makes it effortless for businesses to monitor and assess their customer interactions and social media engagement, seamlessly integrating with the company’s CRM system.
• Customizable Dashboards: With Hubspot’s adjustable dashboards, businesses can closely monitor and analyze their real-time social media performance.

Pricing

The Starter CRM Suite plan starts at just £27/month and includes basic tools such as analytics and limited monitoring features.

The Professional package begins at £315/month for more advanced options.

12. Digimind

With Digimind, businesses can stay ahead of their competition by leveraging the power of social media monitoring.

They’ll be able to actively track customers’ conversations in real-time and gain invaluable insight into their behaviour and sentiment.

This advanced tool will help companies efficiently respond to customer feedback, giving them a competitive edge over others that don’t use it.

Key Features

• Social media monitoring: By tracking brand mentions and keywords on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Digimind provides businesses with invaluable insights into their online reputation.
• Sentiment analysis: By leveraging natural language processing, this tool helps businesses comprehend customer sentiment towards their brand from social media comments.
• Competitive analysis: Utilizing Digimind, businesses can track their competitors’ social media performance, from the number of followers and engagement rate to content tactics.
• Influencer identification: This tool can help organizations discover vital social media influencers in their sector, connecting them and allowing them to utilize each other’s impact for marketing objectives.
• Customizable dashboards: Digimind offers personalized dashboards that show real-time analytic information and KPIs, enabling organizations to measure their social media performance and modify their approach promptly.

Pricing

Whether you’re tracking a few social media accounts or analyzing large volumes, they have custom packages that offer the support level you need for success.

Enterprise-level options are also available for larger organizations with more complex needs.

13. Socialbakers

Socialbakers is the perfect solution for companies looking to improve their social media strategy.

It provides powerful tools and features – such as listening, publishing, and advertising capabilities – that help businesses connect with their target audience more effectively while driving up conversions at the same time.

Key Features

• With Socialbakers, companies can now stay atop their brand mentions and track talk related to them across multiple social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
• Content management: The tool offers a comprehensive content calendar and publishing platform to help businesses systematically plan, create, and post social media content.
• Analytics and reporting: Socialbakers equips businesses with real-time analytics and insights into social media performance, enabling them to monitor their essential metrics and tweak their plan as necessary.
• Competitive analysis: This remarkable tool allows companies to measure their progress on social media compared to rival businesses and gain valuable data about the latest trends and ideal procedures for their industry.
• Influencer marketing: Socialbakers makes it easier for companies to target influential figures in their field and optimize influencer campaigns with maximum efficiency.

Pricing

Socialbakers offers various pricing plans depending on the needs of the business, with packages starting at $240 per month.

The pricing is based on the number of social media accounts tracked, the volume of mentions analyzed, and the required support level.

Custom enterprise-level plans are also available for larger organizations with more complex needs.

14. Zoho Social

Zoho Social is optimal for businesses striving to connect effectively with customers and monitor their social media impact.

It offers an array of features, such as listening tools, publishing capabilities, and detailed reports, that make it simple to maximize your reach on various platforms while keeping track of performance in real time.

Key Features

• Social media listening: With Zoho Social, businesses can effortlessly monitor brand mentions and follow pertinent exchanges across Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
• Content management: The tool furnishes a comprehensive calendar and scheduling platform to help businesses create and distribute social media content easily.
• Analytics and reporting: By utilizing Zoho Social, businesses can gain valuable insights into their social media performance to quickly and accurately track key metrics and adjust their strategy.
• Collaboration tools: This intuitive tool enables businesses to effortlessly collaborate and coordinate with their team while taking control of social media tasks and projects from one central dashboard.
• CRM integration: With Zoho Social, businesses can easily coordinate their social media campaigns with their CRM system and benefit from centralizing all their leads in one place.

Pricing

Zoho Social’s pricing plans are tailored to the individual needs of each business, starting at just $15 per month.

Your cost is calculated based on many factors, including how many social media accounts you need to be managed, the required support level, and the volume of mentions analyzed.

Custom enterprise-level packages can also be arranged for larger companies with more complex requirements.

15.BrandMentions

BrandMentions is a must-have for any business looking to take control of its online presence.

With real-time analysis and monitoring, this social media listening tool allows businesses to track what consumers say about them and quickly respond to customer feedback – helping companies stay on top of their game.

Key Features

• Social media monitoring: Keep watch over your brand’s presence on social media with BrandMentions.
• Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, you’re looking to track mentions and keywords – BrandMentions has your back.
• Sentiment analysis: This tool harnesses natural language processing to accurately analyze customer sentiment from social media, providing businesses with valuable insight into how their brand is perceived.
• Competitive analysis: BrandMentions enables businesses to track their competitors` social media activity, such as the number of followers, interaction rates and content plans.
• This invaluable resource lets you maintain an edge over your competition by staying informed about their actions.
• Influencer identification: This groundbreaking tool assists businesses in determining key leaders and influencers within their industry, thereby allowing them to build meaningful connections that can be leveraged for promotional efforts.
• Customizable dashboards: BrandMentions offers customizable dashboards that give businesses access to real-time analytics and metrics, providing useful insights into their social media performance to refine their strategies.

Pricing

BrandMentions offers various pricing plans depending on the needs of the business, with packages starting at $99 per month.

The pricing is based on the number of social media accounts tracked, the volume of mentions analyzed, and the required support level.

Custom enterprise-level plans are also available for larger organizations with more complex needs.

16. Synthesio

Synthesio is more than just a social media analytics and listening tool; it’s an indispensable partner for businesses striving to understand better, engage with, and measure the performance of their target audience.

By tracking real-time insights into conversations on social platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, companies can continuously monitor their online reputation and competitive landscape – all in one place.

Key Features

• Social media listening: Synthesio provides a comprehensive tracking system for your brand’s mentions and keywords across leading social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
• Sentiment analysis: By applying natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, this tool can comprehend customers’ feelings about a company or brand by interpreting social media mentions.
• Competitive analysis: Using Synthesio, businesses can stay ahead of the competition by monitoring their rivals’ social media activity and industry trends.
• Influencer identification: This tool helps businesses recognize the most impactful individuals in their niche and monitor their activity on social media, as well as how much engagement they’re inspiring.
• Customizable dashboards: Keep an eye on your social media success and adapt your strategy with Synthesio’s personalized dashboards that display real-time analytics and metrics.

Pricing

Synthesio offers a broad range of monthly pricing plans for businesses starting at $1,200. 

The price is determined by the number and type of social media accounts that need to be monitored, the volume of mentions tracked, and support needs.

Customised enterprise-level packages are also available for larger enterprises with more comprehensive requirements.

Other Alternative Social Media Listening Tools:

17.AgoraPulse

18. YouScan

19. Meltwater

20.NetBase

21. Cyfe

22. Mention

23. ReviewInc

What Are Social Listening Tools?

Social listening tools are essential if you’re trying to stay connected and informed about your target audience online.

These software applications monitor conversations for keywords, phrases, or mentions of brands or industries on all social media platforms.

With the help of powerful algorithms, these tools provide customer feedback and insight into the brand reputation and industry trends.

Without a doubt, they can be an invaluable resource for businesses in today’s digital age.

How Can Social Listening Tools Benefit You?

Utilizing social listening tools can provide you with various advantages, including.

1. Monitor your brand reputation: Best social listening tools provide instant exposure to your brand’s reputation on social media and online outlets, allowing you to identify potential issues as soon as they arise.
2. Understand your audience: Social listening tools give you the power to monitor conversations and mentions related to your brand, allowing you to gain insight into what is most important for your customers.
3. Keep an eye on the competition: Leveraging social listening tools can give you a leg up on your competition, granting you key insights into their marketing tactics, products and services.
4. Identify industry trends: Knowing what’s happening within your industry is key to success; social listening tools can help you do that.

Conclusion

Let’s say you understand the importance of assessing customer reaction as a company that has just released a new product.

Imagine using this powerful resource as an advantage in moulding consumer perceptions.

That’s where social listening tools come in. 

Using these tools, you can track mentions of your product across social media platforms and identify trends and insights that can help you improve your product and marketing strategies.

For instance, if you observe customers mentioning your product on Twitter and discover a feature that they find hard to use or complicated – this data keeps you informed about your clients’ struggles, thus allowing you to modify or refine the product.

Additionally, it can be used for providing precise customer service focused on resolving issues.

Leveraging listening tech, you rapidly spotted areas where your product could improve and instantly addressed customer issues.

This not only improved the quality of your product but also ensured greater consumer satisfaction and boosted sales.

Applying these resources to comprehend customer outlooks and issues allows you to make educated decisions that translate into enhanced customer experiences and revenue growth.