I tested the 5 best free social media monitoring tools – here’s how they stack up

In business, reputation is everything. It can determine whether someone gives you their attention or, more importantly, their sale.

However, with more than 5 billion people worldwide By using social media to generate a constant flow of information, interaction and opinion across dozens of platforms, maintaining a good reputation is harder than ever. This is why free social listening tools are so important.

In this article, we discuss why social media monitoring is important for marketers and test five of the most popular social media listening tools on the market.

Table of contents

What is Social Media Monitoring?

Social media monitoring, sometimes referred to as “social media monitoring.” Social media “listening” involves studying what social media users are saying about a particular topic.

For marketers, this topic is usually a brand, a competitor, a product, a service or even a campaign.

Because there are so many different platforms these days, social media monitoring can take many forms. This could mean the following: Tracking specific:

• Keywords (could be your industry, product type, or the problem you solve)
• Hashtags
• Users (think influencers, your loyal customers or “power users”)
• Names (e.g. competitors, products or even people) or
• A user’s mentions/tags

This can also be done directly on the platforms themselves or in third-party tools, which we will discuss shortly. For example, at the peak of my agency, I had about 25 streams that I wanted to do track in HubSpot with customer competitors and handles.

Depending on your brand and your goal, social media listening can also provide very different insights for shaping your strategy.

It can help you navigate PR crises, develop new products, assess your customer satisfaction, and even discover new markets or marketing trends.

What trends are we seeing when it comes to social media in general? Our 2024 Social Trends Report shares exclusive insights into how people engage on social networks personally and professionally. Get it now for free.

For example, let’s say you’re a software company and you see people on social media talking about how bad your customer service is.

This will let you know that you need to make improvements. This could mean introducing live chat on your website or sharing more troubleshooting or educational content Your social media content calendaramong other things.

Or what if you, as a clothing brand, see an influencer and your audience enjoys talking about their favorite trends? Knowing this will help you identify similar styles in your catalog to highlight and promote them or even inspire a new design.

The impact is pretty big, but it all starts from the same point: you keep an eye on the market around you by listening to social media. So don’t let it make it a part of it Your social media strategy.

Learn more about social media listening and how it works.

Why use a social media monitoring tool?

As a company or brand, it is important to know what is happening around you at all times. I mean, this is the environment in which you do business and all of these factors can impact your ultimate performance.

This means you have to keep track of not only what people (like your competitors, buyers, and the press) are saying about you, but also their general feelings, interests, concerns, and activities.

Social media is one of the most effective ways to gather these valuable insights, unfiltered and usually free, and then act on them. In other words, it helps you know what’s going on and what’s being said so you can respond effectively.

With so many social media platforms, monitoring and listening by manually checking a news feed or browsing posts isn’t scalable.

Luckily, there are plenty of social media monitoring and management tools that curate conversations for you and make it easier to get involved or analyze what to do.

I have tested five of the most popular ones for you.

Free social media monitoring tools

1. Brand mentions
2. Tailwind
3. TalkWalker
4. Sprout Social
5. BuzzSumo

Now I have to be completely honest. I’ve been in this space for over a decade and many of my free social media listening tools are no longer free or even exist. It’s a shame, I know.

I think many realized how important social media listening is to businesses and thought they shouldn’t just give it away, while others may not have been able to keep up with the change in permissions and API updates.

Many newer social media channels are also much harder to track. (Most tools can only access those that use RSS feeds.) But hey, all is not lost.

If you’re strapped for cash or just want to save money, there are still a few small but mighty options you can combine to get started with social media listening for free.

I’ve tested a few of these for you, along with some tried-and-tested paid options that offer free trials. Here is what I collected.

1. Brand mentions

BrandMentions, as the name suggests, is dedicated exclusively to social listening. And honestly, that’s probably why it’s so good.

While the full tool is subscription based (with a 7 day trial), it offers a variety of free trackers that you can use on an ad hoc basis and get great value from:

I have tried each of them and they are all extremely easy and intuitive to use. Simply enter the hashtag, keyword, brand name or handle you want to track and BrandMentions will do its magic.

Yes, the data is limited to the past week and insights like “Sentiment Over Time” or “Top Influencers” are only available with a paid plan, but the information you get is still impressive.

Using HubSpot as an example, take a look at what it did for me.

Social mentions

Hashtag tracker

Brand tracker

Social media tracker

Believe it or not, all of these examples are exactly what I saw in the above-the-fold reports I created. There was far too much to show in this article. As I scrolled, BrandMentions went into details like:

• To reach
• Social media interactions
• Mentions by media type
• Best time to post

It even pulls a feed of existing media for the specified keyword.

Honestly, the results of each tool are pretty similar, so you can really only use one for all your needs. Still, I was super impressed and will come back to it in the future.

What I like: BrandMentions focuses exclusively on social media listening. For this reason, all information shared is valuable and relevant. It is also an extremely easy tool to use and navigate. Furthermore, the user interface is modern, bright and attractive.

What can be improved: No complaints!

2. Tailwind

Tailwind is a social media management tool specifically designed for Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook pages. It allows users to schedule posts (images, videos, and stories), send emails, and get useful insights from any platform.

Do you need help in these areas? Read these resources:

While it doesn’t track specific hashtags or accounts, it does track the performance of the posts you publish, their engagement, and direct mentions of your brand.

During testing, I discovered that it also allows me to monitor my overall profile growth for Instagram.

For Pinterest I could see details like:

• How often your content is pinned
• Your reach
• Recommended keywords
• Brand mentions and comments
• Your most pinned, most clicked, or most interacted content

All of these are pretty basic insights, but if you’re very active on Instagram and Pinterest (e.g. an e-commerce brand), it’s handy to have all of this information in one place.

What I like: TailWind is convenient for businesses that use Pinterest and Instagram. Not only do you get insights into the platforms, but you also design graphics and plan posts for them.

What can be improved: I consider myself pretty tech-savvy, but I still found the interface cluttered and confusing. For example, my instincts told me that under Create I would create a new post for my social media accounts, but that was actually TailWind’s design tool.

For this reason, the tool definitely comes with a learning curve.

Additionally, the tool doesn’t focus on social media listening, which leaves a lot to be desired – especially when compared to BrandMentions.

While it provides basic information about post performance, it does not allow users to gather information about competitors or track keywords and hashtags.

3. TalkWalker

Like BrandMentions, TalkWalker (by Hootsuite) is a typically paid platform that offers two free social media listening tools:

It is also the third most used social media listening tool in 2024, according to the Social Intelligence Lab’s State of Social Listening study.

Warnings

Similar to TalkWalker notifications Google Alerts. However, unlike Google Alerts, which requires a Gmail account, TalkWalker can be sent to any email address. It can also send notifications for mentions of your topic or keyword on X (still listed as Twitter in the tool).

Google Alerts does not track social media.

In my testing I learned that I can receive notifications immediately or once a week/day and choose whether I want to receive all results or the results selected by the tool as “best”.

For brands active on X, this is an extremely useful tool to have in your arsenal. I mean, most of us check our email multiple times a day, right? This way, you can know exactly what’s happening with your competitor, your brand, your partners, etc. without leaving your inbox.

What I like: You can use any email address. This makes the tool more accessible than Google Alerts. What’s also great is that it contains X.

What can be improved: I know this may be out of their hands, but to be truly valuable for social media listening, the tool needs to include more than just X.

But hey, what if you want to know what’s happening on platforms other than X? This is where TalkWalker’s free social search comes into play.

Free social search

Social Search claims to monitor “every conversation about your brand, hashtags, and competition on social media,” but doesn’t specify which platforms this includes.

I was a bit skeptical from the start. The website design was minimalistic and a bit outdated, but Hootsuite is a trusted name in the marketing space so I thought it must be good.

However, they didn’t make it easy to get started. First, I had to fill out a form on the website and wait for an email to arrive from the tool. From there I had to create an account on the Talkwalker web app, which showed me search when I logged in.

As frustrating as that was, when I finally started searching, I have to say that it was pretty robust. I used HubSpot as an example again, and Talkwalker immediately showed me some important brand reputation metrics, such as “net sentiment.”

But it didn’t stop there. As I clicked around, I discovered that it also shared word clouds of “top topics,” including usernames, hashtags, and even emojis.

I can imagine this feature being very helpful when searching for more general topics like “marketing software.”

When I typed that into a new search, TalkWalker showed me this cloud of users who mentioned the topic the most. Then I could click on each handle to see more details about it and specific posts.

Pro tip: Make sure you filter based on your target country and language. Otherwise, you will be tarnished with irrelevant results.

There were also tabs with insights into influencers, audience demographics, location, and a feed of actual social media posts.

What I like: Although it is a free tool, social search provides many interesting and complex details for marketers to understand their performance and find out who is talking about their topic of interest.

What could be improved: Full disclosure – Many results look spammy. While the filters for language, country, media type, device, and demographics are helpful, it would be useful to be able to add criteria for follower count as well.

4. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is one of the most trusted social media management tools on the market and for good reason. It is easy to use and navigate and extremely robust.

Of course, that means social media listening is covered, but you can only enjoy it free for 30 days. Thereafter, it starts at $199 per month.

I tried the trial version and was pleasantly surprised that you could get by without entering a credit card. I immediately saw that it had a lot to offer marketers in terms of social media listening.

Three main areas stood out to me. The first was “Smart Inbox”. This shows you all the engagement on your brand’s specific accounts, like comments, direct messages, reposts, and even your published posts. From here you can:

• Answer
• Share the message with your team via email or a thread
• Mark it so you can find it easier later
• Export or save the message

You can also filter all activity by platform, message type, tags and even language.

The next section that caught my attention was “Listening.” (Surprise, surprise.)

Here you can find all the interesting social listening tools like:

• Brand health
• Industry insights
• Competitive analysis
• Campaign analysis
• Event monitoring and
• Keyword and topic tracking

I have to say, when I clicked on some of these options, I felt a little overwhelmed. For example, when I clicked on “Competitor Analysis,” I was taken to a complicated “Query Builder” to tell the tool what I wanted to see. And what I mean Exactly what I wanted to see.

Don’t get me wrong – the information requested (e.g. source, alarm type, etc.) wasn’t exceptional, but I just wasn’t expecting it. This tool was more detailed than any other tool I’ve tested, and I wasn’t prepared to invest so much time setting up a query at the moment.

I’m sure the attention to detail will be rewarded in the results, but that’s definitely something to keep in mind.

The final section relevant to social media listening was “Reports.” This section provides some general reports on post, profile, and tag performance, but also allows you to examine content and strategies in more detail.

Competitor options even let you see how you compare to your competitors on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

What I like: The tool is well organized, easy to navigate and intuitive. I also liked how granular you were able to get with your targeting and tracking. Although it was time consuming, it was more specific than any other tool I’ve tried and I’m sure that’s reflected in the results.

What could be improved: With the wealth of features in Sprout Social – even just for listening on social media – there’s a lot to learn and maneuver.

I imagine that successfully using the platform takes time, practice and perhaps guidance. Plus, with its premium price, it requires a lot of resources from a company. If you’re just looking for social media listeners, there’s no need to go with such a comprehensive suite.

5. BuzzSumo

Although it’s not free (it starts at $199 per month), I would be remiss if I talked about social listening and not mentioned it BuzzSumo.

BuzzSumo is a content analysis tool that has a lot to offer marketers in general. However, when it comes to listening on social media, it shines with its ability to track and monitor your competitors, brand mentions, trends, and industry updates on Facebook, X, Pinterest, and Reddit.

It was one of my favorite “shareability” assessment tools back in my agency days, but it’s been a while so I tried the 7 day trial. (No credit card required.)

The monitoring area is extremely valuable for social media listening.

Here you can create an alert for things like brand names, your competitors, and specific keywords.

I really liked that I also had the option to create a list of exclusion keywords and send the notifications to both a Slack channel and via email. Once you create an alert, you can also track the keyword in the web app like I could with “marketing software”.

What I like: Like Sprout Social, it has a lot to offer, but is a much simpler tool to get started with.

What could be improved: I’d like to see social media listening pulled out more clearly so you can dive deeper into each platform and gain insight into what’s going on there. While social listening tools do exist, it’s clear that these tools are aimed at helping marketers refine their content strategy.

Pro tip: Use social inbox streams in HubSpot

Now, if you’re a HubSpot Professional or Enterprise user, you already have a fantastic social media listening tool at your disposal. Lucky.

All you need to do is navigate to “Social Networks” and then click on the “Monitor” tab.

Here you can easily create streams in your HubSpot portal that can track:

• Mentions and reposts (on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X)
• Specific keywords (on X)
• Competitors (on their social media using information collected on their website)

You’ll also receive email alerts so you don’t miss a thing.

(Social) listening and learning

Social listening is not an easy task these days. Privacy concerns and managing channel differences require time, effort and consistency.

Honestly, you may need several of the social media listening tools we’ve featured to get a complete picture of what’s going on with your brand, your competitors, and the market as a whole. But rest assured, it will be worth it.

Whether you’re trying to gauge consumer sentiment about your brand, tackle a PR problem, or plan your next big product launch, social listening is sure to be a tactic you’ll enjoy incorporating into your strategy.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in December 2011 and has been updated for completeness.