Social media listening is an essential tool and skill for digital marketers today, help teams get data-driven insights for better marketing, more effective crisis monitoring, and deeper customer knowledge.
Whether you're considering using a social listening solution like Meltwater for the first time or are dissatisfied with your current choice, it's best to have a clear understanding of what's out there. Read on to learn more about the 13 best social listening tools for 2026.
Contents
The Top 13 Social Media Listening Tools for 2026
How Does Social Listening Work?
FAQ: Top Social Listening Tools
The Top 13 Social Media Listening Tools for 2026
1. Meltwater
2. Awario
3. Digimind
4. Brand24
5. Talkwalker
6. Brandwatch
7. YouScan
8. Agorapulse
9. BuzzSumo
10. Oktopost
11. Synthesio
12. Sprinklr
13. Keyhole
1. Meltwater
The Meltwater social listening platform saves marketers time by providing a comprehensive view of mentions in traditional media, social media, and digital media in one place. Our AI assistant, Mira, is also available to provide insights and summaries that help you reduce human error and obtain important insights in a fraction of the time.
Key features
- Extensive content sources including social sites like Twitch, Snapchat, and Reddit, podcasts, imagery, and traditional media
- Unlimited ad-hoc searches, queries, mentions, and dashboard analytics
- AI powered insights, summaries, and sentiment analysis
Price: Custom pricing available.
Best for: Comprehensive listening, sentiment analysis, influencer discovery and AI assisted insights for data-driven marketing and PR activities, plus easy reporting and real-time dashboards for keeping shareholders in the loop.
User reviews for Meltwater
👍 Advantages
"Meltwater is very detailed and captures more than we ever thought that it could. We also appreciate the fact that we can send things out on the press wire. It has been very easy to use so far and to implement into our routine." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"At this time, we don’t have any significant dislikes. Meltwater meets our needs well, and any minor adjustments we’ve required have been easy to manage within the platform." (Source)
More info about Meltwater social listening
Meltwater's customizable, in-depth insight reports ensure that users can keep key stakeholders in the know with accuracy, precision, and style. Access unlimited shareable dashboards, PDFs, slide decks, and data exports.
And though many listening platforms include influencer identification features, Meltwater's all-in-one social intelligence solution includes a dedicated influencer platform that helps you manage your campaigns from start to finish and identify macro-influencers, micro-influencers, and everyone in between. Compare this capability to other products that only show you social conversation authors with the highest numbers of followers.
Tip: Learn more about the Meltwater influencer platform, and check out the best influencer marketing platforms and influencer management tools on the market.
Finally, our easy-to-use interface combined with 24/7 global customer support, extensive knowledge base, and client community platform ensures no question you have goes unanswered.
An all-in-one solution that is scalable to businesses of all sizes anywhere in the world, Meltwater social listening is a must-have solution for data-driven marketers.
2. Awario
Awario is a brand monitoring tool that offers shareable social listening reports and a social listening API.
Key features
- Always-on monitoring
- Extensive analytics
- Multi-language support
Pricing: Awario has three different plans: Starter, Pro, and Enterprise. Prices are listed in Euros.
Best for: Competitive benchmarking and extensive language support for spotting opportunities and uncovering influencers.
User reviews for Awario
👍 Advantages
"I was looking for a tool that could help with Reddit marketing, something to quickly find Reddit posts and comments mentioning my clients and help manage brand reputation. Awario finds Reddit posts in real time, and I can easily review links, snippets, and subreddit details." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"It would be nice if the tool supported native Reddit search operators, but right now I can only use the built-in filters to exclude irrelevant keywords." (Source)
More details about Awario social listening
And along with letting users track brand names and industry-related keywords across X (Twitter), YouTube, and Reddit (among other online sources like news sites), the brand tracking software also includes influencer and lead identification tools.
Its analytics dashboard even features a special feed for mentions from heavily-followed influencer and media accounts.
Tip: For social intelligence suites that include more influencer management solutions, check out Meltwater and BuzzSumo. You can also find the top social media monitoring tools on the Meltwater blog.
3. Digimind
Digimind's easy-to-use platform is tailored to medium and small businesses and offers social listening across 10+ social networks, including Facebook and Baidu.
Key features
- Benchmark unlimited social accounts
- Track your reputation based on Google search behavior
- Generate custom reports
Price: Not publicly available. Request a demo through the form on their website
Best for: Reputation monitoring and extensive online coverage
User reviews for Digimind
👍 Advantages
"Ease of use and responsive customer support, A lot of features compared to competitors and satisfiying data coverage, Customizable email alerts and dashboards." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"Better check with the Digimind team for the setup. It can be tricky (esp. with limited volume of mentions) to do it on your own." (Source)
More info about Digimind social listening
Unlike some other options on this list, all Digimind packages come with unlimited user access and data storage (though it does limit the number of queries and keywords you can track before you have to pay extra).
One feature that sets Digimind apart is its built-in reputation analytics drawn from Google searches about your brand or product. And like Meltwater and the other options presented on this list, it offers customizable and automated reports to keep stakeholders aligned.
4. Brand24
Brand24 is comparable to Awario in that it offers competitive social listening features, including sentiment analysis, alerts, social media analytics reporting, and a free trial.
Key features
- Anomaly detection
- AI-assisted recommendations
- Presence score
Price: Different pricing tiers, billed either monthly or annually: Individual ($149/mo), Team ($249/mo), Pro ($299/mo), Business ($499/mo), and Enterprise ($999/mo).
Best for: Comprehensive brand monitoring, help identifying areas of reputational risk, and sentiment analysis
User reviews for Brand24
👍 Advantages
"I like how simple it was to sign up for the free trial and create my first project. You just enter the keywords you want to track, and it starts working right away. The dashboard is clean and easy to read." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"Sometimes the volume of alerts can spike randomly, and i wish the filtering was a bit more intuitive when mentioning multiple projects at once." (Source)
Tip: Learn more about the top alternatives to Brand24.
More details about Brand24 social listening
One of Brand24's main social listening use cases is hashtag tracking and analysis to help you increase the reach of your marketing campaigns. However, if you're on the hunt for more in-depth analytics from a wider range of social media network sources, consider a higher-tier social listening platform. The "Analysis" section of its social monitoring dashboard aggregates mentions from X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
5. Talkwalker
Talkwalker is the next company that has to be part of any list of top social listening tools on the market.
Key features
- Extensive source coverage
- Virality maps and topic clusters
- Custom alerting for reputation monitoring
Price: There are three tiers available: Listen, Analyze, and Business. Contact them for specific price details.
Best for: Real-time insights from a very wide variety of social media, blogs, and news sources
User reviews for Talkwalker
👍 Advantages
"Talkwalker helps our brand monitor trending topics and mentions across the web. Our social media team is able to quickly and seamlessly pull reports, look at dashboards, and keep informed." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"The main drawback is that it’s not the easiest product to set up or manage at the start. Because it’s a complex platform, it takes time to get comfortable, learn the system, and sort through the volume of information. That said, the learning curve is somewhat expected given the depth of the tool." (Source)
More details about Talkwalker social listening
An offering that makes Talkwalker stand out is the pre-built dashboards for different use cases like crisis management, competitive intelligence, brand tracking, and campaign tracking.
And like some other options on this list, Talkwalker integrates with the Hootsuite platform (We also have listed the best alternatives to Hootsuite for you).
Talkwalker also offers "Analytics," its traditional social listening platform, as well as a Quick Search tool for ad-hoc queries into 13 months of social data from 10+ social networks.
Its data visualizations, including Virality Maps and Conversation Clusters, offer high-level overviews of how online conversations are trending.
Tip: Take a look at these data visualization tools.
6. Brandwatch
Acquired by Cision in 2021, Brandwatch is a consumer intelligence platform that includes social listening and research tools like AI-powered image and sentiment analysis.
Key features
- Track your brand name and logo
- AI-powered analytics
- Emotion/sarcasm detection
Price: Not publicly available. Contact through their website for specific price details
Best for: Spotting trends and data visualization with the ability to create customizable dashboards and reports
User reviews for Brandwatch
👍 Advantages
"I like that Brandwatch is an all-in-one tool for social media management so that most channels can be taken care of in one place. It's a very user-friendly yet at the same time powerful tool that helps us not only keep up with conversations happening on our own channels, but ABOUT us through its social listening capabilities." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"I think it would be really helpful to have the ability to schedule content to multiple platforms at once (e.g., TikTok, Instagram, etc.) rather than having to exit out, copy, and reschedule each post individually." (Source)
More details about Brandwatch social listening
This social listening tool offers customizable dashboards and, with access to a ton of social posts dating back to 2010 (at an extra cost), it is a good resource for trendspotting and consumer research alike. And though that data isn't accessible through ad-hoc searches, you can dig into it with the help of a seven-step boolean builder.
Brandwatch's strengths include Vizia, its data visualization tool that lets users build and share real-time reports. And, like Meltwater, it has strong coverage of Asian social networks. Overall, Brandwatch is a good option for experienced social listening platform users at organizations of many sizes.
Tip: Take a look at the top Brandwatch alternatives.
7. YouScan
YouScan's social media monitoring platform includes a number of social listening features and tools, including a mentions stream that highlights user-generated content about your brand or topic and automatically categorizes them based on sentiment.
Key features
- AI-powered analysis
- Image recognition
- Sentiment analysis
Price: Plans start at $299 per month
Best for: Visual listening and workflow optimization
User reviews for YouScan
👍 Advantages
"The most useful feature of YouScan is its ability to filter mentions with high precision through customizable boolean queries. I also highlight the image recognition and automatic segmentation by categories, which speeds up the reading of insights. It is a very powerful platform for real-time monitoring and crisis detection." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"I wish the search feature had a few more capabilities similar to the Topics. Sometimes, I need a bit more data but don't want to create a full topic. The query building system is also a bit complicated to understand compared to previous tools I've used, but primarily because of the variety of options you can narrow down a conversation by." (Source)
More details about YouScan social listening
Like Meltwater, YouScan integrates directly with Slack and Microsoft Teams so users can get alerts about mentions spikes even when they're not working right in the platform.
One of YouScan's newer additions is an AI-powered visual listening and insights tool (available as an add-on feature) that allows for tracking brand logos, objects, and more for added brand reputation assessment and trend analysis.
Overall, YouScan is a good choice for teams that need a listening tool to complement a more robust analytics and reporting solution.
8. Agorapulse
Agorapulse is one of the many social media management platforms on the market that includes some social listening capabilities.
Key features
- Competitor benchmarking
- Sentiment alerts
- Real-time engagement reports
Price: There are four plans available with Agorapulse: Standard ($79/mo), Professional ($119/mo), Advanced ($149/mo), and Custom (tailored pricing). Each plan can be billed monthly or annually.
Best for: Real-time social media marketing opportunities to connect with consumers and stay ahead of competitors.
User reviews for Agorapulse
👍 Advantages
"Agorapulse is full of clear and easy-to-use features. Create, share, measure in just a few clicks from your computer or smartphone in just a few moments. A time and productivity gain that we all appreciate daily because we use it every day for our communications and message management." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"The platform can feel a bit rigid when it comes to custom workflows, especially if you're managing a high volume of content across teams. Sometimes the approval process feels clunky, and there have been occasional lags when loading large asset libraries or switching between client workspaces. Integration options are decent, but I’d love to see more automation flexibility." (Source)
More info about Agorapulse social listening
This social listening tool allows users to search for keywords across X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook conversations, as well as YouTube handles and video descriptions.
Listening search results are then delivered to a separate tab within the platform's Social Media inbox, where all users can view them. G2 reviewers praise Agorapulse's easy-to-use collaboration features, making it a good social listening tool for mid-size and small businesses to consider.
Tip: Learn more about how Agorapulse compares to other top platforms.
9. BuzzSumo
Primarily a content marketing platform which we have also covered in our blog featuring the best content marketing tools, BuzzSumo's social listening capabilities are geared toward uncovering the most popular (i.e. most shared and engaged with) content across the web and social networks like Facebook, X (Twitter), Pinterest, and Reddit.
Key features
- Content discovery
- Competitor monitoring
- Custom alerts
Price: Plans for BuzzSumo start at $199 per month. There is a free 30-day trial available
Best for: Tracking and discovering viral content for inspiration and opportunities
User reviews for Buzzsumo
👍 Advantages
"The best thing i like about this software is it is easy to use and most the content marketing tools are available under a single software like keyword research, content research build your funnel how to to content marketing and more." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"While BuzzSumo is a powerful tool, some of its best features — like full historical data, backlink analysis, and advanced filters — are only available on higher-tier plans, which can be expensive for small teams or individual users." (Source)
More info about BuzzSumo social listening
The BuzzSumo dashboard allows users to filter content by format, domain, social network, and author to determine what content and influencers resonate most with their audiences. Plus, the dashboard's "Trending" tab highlights high-performing content in real-time for a quick look at what is currently capturing the internet's attention.
For marketers who primarily use social media listening for content research, BuzzSumo can be a big day-to-day time saver.
Tip: With broader social listening data sources and analytics features, platforms like Meltwater and Brandwatch may be better options for organizations with highly data-driven social media strategies.
10. Oktopost
In early 2022, social media management tool Oktopost launched its social listening module, which monitors Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn, as an add-on license with a free trial of 1,000 mentions per month.
Key features
- Influencer discovery
- SoV tracking
- Campaign and topic benchmarking
Price: Customized quotes available. Contact them through the form on their website
Best for: Competitive analysis and reporting for optimizing marketing campaigns and content production.
User reviews for Oktopost
👍 Advantages
"Super intuitive on every front, from publishing and moderating and even in building out reporting. Very robust platform for brands to easily manage all accounts and activate employees." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"I don't see a way to archive or delete messages that are obsolete." (Source)
More info about Oktopost social listening
Along with letting users tap into social conversations about their brand, Oktopost enables analysis of specific competitor social profiles without using queries.
The module's competitive benchmarking tab also includes a "Themes" option, which allows for comparing performance metrics of brands, topics, or campaigns against one another. Then, when it comes time to share your social listening findings, Oktopost offers downloadable reports of query and top author metrics.
11. Synthesio
Synthesio's social intelligence suite offers advanced social listening analytics, primarily for Enterprise-level users, complete with interactive data visualizations and customizable, use case-specific dashboards (available as an add-on feature).
Key features
- Customized insights services
- Comprehensive sources tracked, including reviews and images
- AI-powered topic modeling
Price: Not publicly available. Request a demo through the form on their website.
Best for: Trend and topic tracking and analysis to identify areas of highest impact.
User reviews for Synthesio
Note: there are no recent reviews for Synthesio
👍 Advantages
"Through synthesio we were able to do great social listening about consumer opinions on different topics, synthesio help us to make amazing analysis of these topics and therefore have actionable consumer insights, also it is a very intuitive tool but at the same time super complete, it's a great tool for us, and it has become a fundamental part of the business!" (Review from 2021, Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"I think the drawback of Synthesio is the interface: you have to click and click and click to activate some features (for example, how to select a period, set it again when you leave the widget, etc). It's not such a disturbing element in itself, it's just that it can make the smallest tasks a bit tedious." (Review from 2022, Source)
More info for Synthesio social listening
Like Meltwater, Synthesio is well-suited for global brands thanks to a wide range of international social media sources and sentiment analysis in more than a dozen languages.
Plus, though the platform requires extensive initial setup, it provides robust analytics in numerous categories, from demographics to X (Twitter) heat maps to psychographics.
For convenience, its quick search tool creates queries based on previous searches (though meticulous users will still opt to create and specify their queries themselves or with the support of a representative).
Overall, Synthesio is a competitive social listening option for large, data-forward businesses that don't require dedicated influencer marketing and management tools.
12. Sprinklr
Monitoring more than two dozen social networks, Sprinklr's social listening tool is bundled with its Enterprise-level customer experience management platform.
Key features
- Real-time insights
- Competitive benchmarking
- Crisis alerts and automated workflows
Price: Get price information through the contact form on their website
Best for: Gaining quick and accurate insights and generating reports for enterprise level stakeholders
User reviews for Sprinklr
👍 Advantages
"The tool offers various possibilities for working with data obtained from social networks, whether through own pages or Social Listening. The insights that can be extracted using the filters are enormous. I really like the way it is possible to perform this data processing." (Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"I don't like the fact that some AI data summary reading features are only available for Listening and not for the Care area. This makes data analysis difficult because, for example, when there are spikes in cases on certain days of the month, we can't get an AI summary of the comments to better understand what happened." (Source)
More info on Sprinklr social listening
Sprinkr's engagement analytics dashboards allow users to monitor mentions from multiple platforms in one central place and drill down into social conversations.
When it comes to sharing your findings, Sprinklr offers standardized and use case-specific report templates. Plus, the platform features an option to turn dashboards into "live" slide decks that update in real-time for use in stakeholder meetings and presentations.
Tip: Read our across-the-board look at the top Sprinklr alternatives.
13. Keyhole
Trusted by over 100,000 companies, Keyhole is your ticket to comprehensive insights. Keyhole collects data from top platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more.
Key features
- Sentiment analysis
- Direct and indirect mention monitoring
- Influencer monitoring
Price: Plans start at $79/mo; free trial available.
Best for: Trend spotting and pattern analysis
User reviews for Keyhole
👍 Advantages
"I've been using Keyhole almost since the beginning and what I love best is the flexibility in the data that can be tracked and captured. It has made evaluating ROI of different campaigns and tactics much easier." (Review from 2022, Source)
✍️ Could be improved
"I do not dislike it, but it could be great if the platform could bring the users some tutorials; sometimes, it could be hard to understand for those who don't actually speak English." (Review from 2023, Source)
More on Keyhole social listening
Dive into conversations, track campaigns, spot trends, and identify influencers with ease. With sentiment analysis and brand monitoring, Keyhole helps you manage your reputation like a pro.
How Does Social Listening Work?
Understanding how social media listening works is the first step in choosing the right solution for you. In a nutshell:
Social listening tools aggregate social data from social media platforms and analyze them according to specific attributes or metrics.
Marketers use that data to inform their marketing strategy, better understand their target audiences, predict trends, identify influencers, and so much more. Overall, social listening tools enable better decision-making through data.
Check out our Ultimate Guide to Social Listening to learn more.
The top listening tools on the market today overlap in some of the features they offer but are distinct in many others. When choosing the right listening tool for your needs, consider these features:
- Choice of Social Channels: Not all listening tools "listen" to the same social media channels or at the same breadth or depth.
- Technology: These days, best-in-class social listening tools offer AI in social listening insights, including sentiment analysis and visual brand monitoring.
- Data Access: Having access to real-time and historical data is a must when using social listening for market research, benchmarking, and trendspotting. Also, keep in mind that some social listening tools charge extra for social listening searches that exceed a certain limit, while others offer unlimited ad-hoc searches.
- Usability: Across the board, top social listening tools need to have user-friendly interfaces and offer easy-to-understand analytics. Customer service and support options are also important parts of usability that can't be overlooked.
Your choice of social media listening tool will come down to which one best supports your social listening strategy and marketing goals. Luckily, there are a number of competitive social listening options worth checking out. Let's dive in.
Tip: For a deep dive into social analytics, take a look at the best social media analytics software on the market.
FAQ: Top Social Listening Tools
Frequently asked questions about social listening tools and software.
What are social listening tools?
Social listening tools are solutions used by companies to track online conversations. They are useful for following trends in brand mentions, competitor mentions, or industry terms. The best social listening tools also provide insights and analytics to help marketers strategize, and real-time alerts and sentiment analysis to aid in crisis management and mitigation.
Why is it important for businesses to integrate social listening software with their existing PR and marketing workflows?
It is important for businesses to integration social listening into their workflows because it reduces the need to manually mine for brand mentions (and increases accuracy), freeing up time for strategizing based on analysis and insights. It allows teams to conduct thorough crisis monitoring and management, brand assessment, social media customer support, marketing campaign monitoring, influencer identification, competitive intelligence and market intelligence, and trendspotting.
Can businesses leverage social listening tools to gain an advantage in local markets?
Yes, businesses can use social listening to get local insights to help them gain a competitive advantage in local markets. Advanced Boolean keyword searches and prompt-driven AI assistance (such as Meltwater's Mira Studio) can offer unique geographical insights into consumer behavior, specific needs, and tends to inspire more relevant marketing and PR campaigns.
Marketers: If you're not informing your marketing strategies with comprehensive social listening insights using one of the social listening tools listed above, you're leaving opportunities — and conversions — on the table. Luckily, there is no shortage of social listening options built on best-in-class technology with access to the world's most popular social networks.
More than 27,000 customers in 120+ countries trust Meltwater for their social intelligence needs. Want to learn why? Fill out the form below for more information.
