9 Best Social Media Listening Tools to Find Hidden Insights

Last Updated: September 4, 2025

Social media is not only about posting, it’s also about

  • Knowing how your posts are performing
  • Are people liking it or not?
  • What feedback are you getting to make your social media strategy better?

There are many questions on the mind of a business marketer. The answer to all these questions is simple -Social media listening tools.

The main job of social listening tools is to help brands track conversations, monitor mentions, analyze sentiment, and spot trends in real time.

There are many tools in the market, from beginner-level to advanced AI-powered categories. This blog will cover the 9 best social media listening tools to upgrade your social media strategies. Let’s uncover.

Any of the tools mentioned here can be your go-to tool for social listening. Choose a tool that matches your daily social media activities and other business goals.

Comparison of Best Social Media Listening Tools in 2025

Here’s a quick comparison table of the top social media listening tools, their key highlights, and pricing for easy decision-making.

ToolHighlightPricing
HootsuiteAI scheduling & analytics₹2,600 – ₹10,500/month (Enterprise on request)
Sprout SocialTeam collaboration & reporting$199 – $399/month (Enterprise on request)
BrandwatchAI sentiment & trend trackingPricing on request
MentionMonitoring across 1B+ sourcesFrom $599/month
Brand24Real-time monitoring & sentiment$199 – $999/month
BuzzSumoContent & influencer insights$199 – $999/month
SprinklrAI insights & early alertsPricing on request
KeyholeHashtag & keyword trackingFrom $89/month
Onclusive SocialGlobal monitoring & ROIPricing on request

Top Social Media Listening Tools

1. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is at the top of the list of social media listening software. With this tool, you can post, track, and check performance across platforms. You can plan posts, follow trends, and see what works best. Its simple dashboard helps you save ample time and boost reach.

Key Features of Hootsuite

  • Plan and schedule posts for all platforms in one place
  • Track user activity and audience engagement in real time
  • View and manage all social media accounts from one dashboard
  • Get AI-powered post ideas, captions, and hashtags
  • Monitor trends, keywords, and user sentiment easily
  • Analyze campaign performance with detailed reports
  • Automate replies to messages and comments
  • Supports Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more

Hootsuite

4.1

Starting Price

₹ 2600.00 excl. GST

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Saves time
  • Powerful analytics

Cons

  • Higher cost for advanced plans
  • It can be complex for beginners

Hootsuite Pricing & Plans:

PlanPrice (per user/month)
Standard₹2,600
Advanced₹10,500
Enterprise SuiteCustom pricing on request

2. Sprout Social

This is another good social media listening tool. Sprout Social is perfect for businesses of all sizes. It lets you plan, schedule, and post content from one place. You can track trends, manage messages, and work with your team easily.

Key Features of Sprout Social

  • Manage all social media accounts from a single dashboard
  • Interactive content calendar to plan, schedule, and publish posts
  • Track audience messages and reply in real-time
  • Analyze market trends and competitor activity for a better strategy
  • Schedule posts to save time
  • Create custom workflows for smooth team collaboration
  • Generate detailed engagement and performance reports
  • Access all features from a mobile-friendly app

Sprout Social

4.6

Starting Price

$ 199.00      

Pros

  • Simple interface
  • Strong reporting
  • Great collaboration tools

Cons

  • High price
  • Limited automation options
  • Learning curve for beginners

Sprout Social Pricing & Plans

PlanPrice (per seat/month)Billing
Standard$199Annual only
Professional$299Annual only
Advanced $399Annual only
EnterpriseCustom pricingAnnual only

3. Brandwatch

Brandwatch is social media analytics platform for enterprise brands. It uses AI to study online talks, trends, and consumer behavior. You can track campaigns, monitor threats, and find influencers from one dashboard. It turns complex data into simple visuals and insights for better decisions.

Key Features of Brandwatch

  • AI-based sentiment analysis for understanding audience mood
  • Real-time trend tracking and emerging market shifts
  • Unified content calendar for campaign planning and execution
  • Influencer search and relationship management tools
  • Customizable dashboards and data insights
  • Crisis detection with instant threat alerts
  • Competitive benchmarking for market comparison
  • Audience segmentation for targeted marketing

Brandwatch

4.3

Starting Price

Price on Request

Pros

  • Powerful analytics
  • Real-time alerts
  • Customizable reports

Cons

  • A little complex for beginners
  • Limited to small teams

Brandwatch Pricing & Plans: The pricing is available on request.

4. Mention

Mention is a social media monitoring and management tool. It tracks online talks from billions of sources to show how people see your brand. You can plan posts, watch trends, and measure your share of voice. With its alerts and filters, you get only the data you need for smarter decisions.

Key Features of Mention

  • Track brand mentions across 1B+ web and social sources
  • Boolean search alerts to filter and refine results
  • Listen feature for real-time audience insights
  • Measure the share of voice against competitors
  • Multi-channel editorial calendar for post planning
  • Crisis detection and online reputation tracking
  • API integration for advanced reporting
  • Detailed analytics on brand perception and trends

Mention

4.2

Starting Price

Price on Request

Pros

  • Strong monitoring
  • Custom alerts
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Can be pricey
  • Limited free plan
  • Learning curve for Boolean search

Mention Pricing & Plans: Starts at $599

5. Brand24

Brand24 is a social media monitoring tool that tracks brand mentions across 25M+ online sources. With sentiment analysis by this tool, you can determine whether the mentions are positive, negative, or neutral. Here’s what you can do more with this tool:

Key Features of Brand24

  • Real-time tracking of mentions from social, blogs, forums, and news
  • AI-based sentiment analysis for audience perception
  • Hashtag tracking and influencer identification tools
  • Competitor monitoring for market benchmarking
  • Custom alerts and detailed performance reports
  • Keyword tracking for industry-related conversations
  • Historical data to measure long-term trends
  • Multi-channel coverage, including niche forums and blogs

Brand24

4.5

Starting Price

$ 199.00      

Pros

  • Broad coverage
  • Real-time alerts
  • Easy interface

Cons

  • A little pricey for small teams
  • Limited features in lower plans
  • No free plan

Brand24 Pricing & Plans:

PlanPrice/monthBilling
Individual$199Monthly
Team$299$299
Pro$399Monthly
Business$599Monthly
Enterprisefrom $999Annual only

6. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is marketing tool to discover popular topics, the best content, and major influencers. It collects statistics on blogs, news, and social media to reveal what works best. You can monitor the performance of the content in real-time, research competitors, and have brand mention alerts.

Key Features of BuzzSumo

  • Discover trending topics from the last 24 hours to 5 years
  • Analyze top-performing content for a better marketing strategy
  • Identify influencers to boost content reach
  • Competitor analysis for content performance insights
  • Track brand mentions across the web and social channels
  • Measure and refine content performance in real time
  • Get SEO insights for content optimization
  • Chrome extension and API integration for extra functions

Pros

  • Great for trend discovery
  • Strong influencer search
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Pricey for small teams
  • Limited users in lower plans
  • No free plan

BuzzSumo Pricing & Plans:

PlanPrice/monthUsers
Content Creation$1991
PR & Comms$2995
Suite$49910
Enterprise$99930

7. Sprinklr

Sprinklr Insights is a social listening tool to collect customer feedback on social media, surveys, and all other channels. You can process data in real time, spot trends, and detect issues early with the help of AI. It assists businesses to act faster, minimizing risks and making customers happier.

Key Features of Sprinklr

  • Capture real-time feedback from social and digital channels
  • AI-powered analysis of both survey and social media data
  • Detect issues early with an Early Warning System
  • Identify customer trends from unstructured data
  • Remove spam, bots, and irrelevant content
  • AI-driven sentiment and intent detection
  • Access feedback from social, web, and traditional media
  • Image and video brand mention detection

Sprinklr Insights

Starting Price

Price on Request

Pros

  • Strong AI analysis
  • Works across channels
  • Early issue alerts

Cons

  • Pricing on request
  • Complex for beginners
  • May need training

Sprinklr Pricing & Plans: Pricing is available on request.

8. Keyhole

Keyhole is a social media analytical tool that monitors the use of hashtags, keywords, as well as activity on the accounts in real time. It functions on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. One dashboard can keep you updated on campaigns, engagement, and competitors.

Key Features of Keyhole

  • Real-time tracking of hashtags, keywords, and mentions
  • In-depth analytics on engagement and sentiment
  • Customizable reports for specific metrics and goals
  • Competitive analysis for rival strategies
  • Historical data for long-term trend tracking
  • Supports multiple social media platforms
  • Influencer identification for collaboration opportunities
  • Visual dashboards to spot trends and patterns easily

Keyhole

4.3

Starting Price

Price on Request

Pros

  • Multi-platform support
  • Real-time tracking
  • Simple interface

Cons

  • The basic plan is limited
  • A few automation features
  • Advanced analytics cost more

Keyhole Pricing & Plans: Pricing starts at $89 at Techjockey.com

9. Onclusive Social (formerly Digimind)

Onclusive Social is a social listening platform that tracks, analyzes, and reports on brand mentions across social media and the web. It offers real-time monitoring, sentiment analysis, influencer tracking, and competitive benchmarking.

Key Features of Onclusive Social

  • Unlimited social media and web coverage with real-time updates
  • AI-powered sentiment analysis and automatic translation
  • Influencer identification and comparison by media type
  • Competitive benchmarking and trending topic detection
  • Geolocation-based tracking of mentions
  • Personalized dashboards for monitoring and engagement
  • Automatic, presentation-ready reports in multiple formats
  • ROI measurement with social statistics and reach tracking

Onclusive Social

4.0

Starting Price

Price on Request

Pros

Cons

  • Maybe complex for small teams

Onclusive Social Pricing & Plans: Its pricing is available on request.

Conclusion

The right social media listening tool will not only give you likes and shares, but it goes beyond in making you understand your audience.

Whether you need beginner-level monitoring or a strong platform for deep analytics, there’s a tool for every type. Make a choice after knowing your budget and company goals.

Published On: September 4, 2025
Mehlika Bathla

Mehlika Bathla is a passionate content writer who turns complex tech ideas into simple words. For over 4 years in the tech industry, she has crafted helpful content like technical documentation, user guides, UX content, website content, social media copies, and SEO-driven blogs. She is highly skilled in SaaS product marketing and end-to-end content creation within the software development lifecycle. Beyond technical writing, Mehlika dives into writing about fun topics like gaming, travel, food, and entertainment. She's passionate about making information accessible and easy to grasp. Whether it's a quick blog post or a detailed guide, Mehlika aims for clarity and quality in everything she creates.

Share
Published by
Mehlika Bathla

Recent Posts

7 Best Customer Journey Mapping Tools to Transform Your CX in 2025

There’s nothing denying the fact that brands with strong grasp of their customer journey… Read More

September 4, 2025

Data Annotation: Types, Uses, Challenges, and Future Insights?

Have you ever asked yourself how your phone camera identifies the location of your face… Read More

September 4, 2025

How Automation in Supply Chain Management Is Saving Millions?

Imagine world where your package is already on its way before you finish clicking… Read More

September 4, 2025

Top 8 Load Testing Tools to Prevent Downtime

Everyone is running with this quick-moving tech world. Users expect websites and apps to respond… Read More

September 3, 2025

Top Reasons Enterprises Choose Hexnode for Mobile Device Management

A modern business in the current era cannot simply operate without mobile devices. It's a… Read More

September 3, 2025

How to Get Started with Unified Endpoint Management?

There is real thrill in starting with a new Unified Endpoint Management platform. That… Read More

September 3, 2025