Social Listening Tools Pricing Compared (2026)

Social listening tool pricing ranges from free to $50,000+ per month. This guide breaks down what you actually pay at each tier and what you get, helping you find the right tool for your budget.

Pricing Overview

Tier Breakdown

Free and Low-Cost ($0-50/month)

Xpoz Free

• Cost: $0
• What you get: 100,000 results/month across Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit
• Best for: Research, small projects, testing
• Limitation: Requires AI assistant (Claude/ChatGPT)

Mention Solo

• Cost: $41/month
• What you get: 2 keywords, 3,000 mentions, basic alerts
• Best for: Small business basic monitoring
• Limitation: Very limited keywords and volume

Awario Starter

• Cost: $49/month
• What you get: 3 topics, 30,000 mentions, Boolean search
• Best for: Competitive monitoring
• Limitation: Interface dated, limited features

SMB Tier ($50-200/month)

Xpoz Pro

• Cost: $20/month
• What you get: 1,000,000 results/month, multi-platform
• Best for: Research, brand monitoring, competitive analysis
• Standout: Best volume-to-price ratio

Brand24 Individual

• Cost: $79/month
• What you get: 3 keywords, 2,000 mentions, sentiment, alerts
• Best for: Basic brand monitoring with dashboards
• Limitation: Low mention count

Mention Pro

• Cost: $83/month
• What you get: 5 keywords, 10,000 mentions, scheduling
• Best for: Growing small businesses
• Limitation: Still limited keywords

Hootsuite Professional

• Cost: $99/month
• What you get: Social management + basic monitoring
• Best for: Teams managing + monitoring
• Note: Primarily social management tool

Brand24 Team

• Cost: $149/month
• What you get: 7 keywords, 5,000 mentions, team access
• Best for: Small teams with dashboard needs

Sprout Social Standard

• Cost: $199/month per user
• What you get: Publishing + basic listening
• Best for: Social management with listening
• Note: Per-user pricing adds up quickly

Xpoz Max

• Cost: $200/month
• What you get: 10,000,000 results/month
• Best for: Heavy research, large-scale analysis

Mid-Market ($200-1,000/month)

Awario Enterprise

• Cost: $249/month
• What you get: Unlimited topics, unlimited mentions
• Best for: Full competitive monitoring

Brand24 Pro

• Cost: $199/month
• What you get: 12 keywords, 25,000 mentions, API
• Best for: Growing brands with multi-topic needs

Hootsuite Team/Business

• Cost: $249-739/month
• What you get: Team collaboration, more profiles
• Best for: Social teams

Sprout Social Professional

• Cost: $399/month per user
• What you get: Full listening module
• Best for: Mid-size marketing teams

Enterprise ($1,000+/month)

Brandwatch

• Cost: $800-15,000+/month
• What you get: Full social intelligence platform
• Best for: Large enterprises, agencies
• Note: Annual contracts required

Meltwater

• Cost: $6,000-25,000+/year
• What you get: Media monitoring + social listening
• Best for: PR teams, media relations
• Note: Traditional media strength

Talkwalker

• Cost: Custom (starts ~$9,000/year)
• What you get: AI-powered insights, image recognition
• Best for: Consumer brands, visual analysis

Sprinklr

• Cost: $60,000+/year
• What you get: Unified customer experience platform
• Best for: Global enterprises
• Note: Much more than social listening

Value Analysis

Cost Per 1,000 Mentions

Winner: Xpoz Pro at $0.02 per 1,000 results

Features Per Dollar

Winner: Xpoz offers most volume; Awario best traditional value

Platform Coverage Comparison

Choosing by Budget

Under $50/month

Best option: Xpoz Pro ($20)

• Why: 1 million results vs. 3,000-30,000 from alternatives
• Trade-off: AI interface vs. dashboard

Alternative: Awario Starter ($49)

• Why: Traditional dashboard if preferred
• Trade-off: Less volume, dated interface

$50-100/month

Best option: Xpoz Pro ($20) + save the difference

• Why: Unmatched volume-to-cost ratio
• Use savings for: Other tools, analysis software

Alternative: Brand24 Individual ($79)

• Why: Best dashboard experience in range
• Trade-off: Limited to 2,000 mentions

$100-500/month

Best option: Xpoz Max ($200)

• Why: 10 million results covers nearly any need
• Use case: Heavy research, large-scale monitoring

Alternative: Awario Enterprise ($249)

• Why: Unlimited mentions, full dashboard
• Trade-off: 12x the cost for traditional interface

$500-2,000/month

Consider: Whether enterprise features justify cost

• Do you need: Team workflows? Compliance? Dedicated support?
• If yes: Consider entry Brandwatch or Meltwater
• If no: Xpoz Max + saved budget for other tools

$2,000+/month

Enterprise options make sense when:

• Compliance requirements mandate specific vendors
• Team size requires collaboration features
• Budget explicitly allocated for social intelligence
• 24/7 support is operationally critical

Hidden Costs to Consider

Implementation and Onboarding

Training Time

Contract Terms

How Xpoz Fits In

Xpoz offers unique positioning in the market:

Pricing Position

• Cheaper than entry-tier dashboards
• More volume than mid-tier tools
• Fraction of enterprise cost

What You Get

At $0 (Free):

• 100,000 results/month
• Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit
• Historical data
• Export capability

At $20 (Pro):

• 1,000,000 results/month
• Same multi-platform coverage
• Priority processing

At $200 (Max):

• 10,000,000 results/month
• Highest throughput

What's Different

• No dashboard (AI conversation)
• No automated alerts
• No team features
• Requires Claude/ChatGPT

Sample Queries

"Track all mentions of 'brand name' across Twitter and Instagram
from the past month, with sentiment analysis"

"Compare our mention volume to three competitors
week over week for Q4"

"Find influencers with 10K-100K followers discussing
'sustainable fashion' this week"

Key Takeaways

• Xpoz offers best volume-to-price at $0.02 per 1,000 results.

• Traditional dashboards cost 10-50x more for equivalent data access.

• Enterprise tools justified only for compliance, team features, and dedicated support.

• Hidden costs matter — implementation, training, and contracts add up.

• Most teams overpay for features they don't use.

• Free tiers enable testing before commitment.

Conclusion

Social listening pricing in 2026 spans from free to $60,000+/year. The right choice depends on your actual needs:

• Need volume and cost efficiency? Xpoz ($0-200/month)
• Need traditional dashboards? Brand24 or Awario ($49-249/month)
• Need enterprise features? Brandwatch or Meltwater ($800+/month)

Most teams will find that budget-friendly options deliver 80%+ of the value at 10% of enterprise costs. Start with free tiers, test with real use cases, and upgrade only when specific features justify the cost.