Short answer: Social listening tools range from free (F5Bot, for Reddit and Hacker News) to $800+ a month (Brandwatch) and $9,600+ a year (Talkwalker). Most small-team tools start between $19 and $50 a month, but entry plans often leave out LinkedIn, charge extra for X, refresh slowly or hold Slack back for a higher tier. If you need LinkedIn, X and Reddit together, with Slack alerts and AI relevance scoring, Updately is the lowest-priced option at $49/month, or $39/month billed annually. The full price table is below.
Table of Contents
- How social listening tools are priced
- Social listening pricing comparison table
- Enterprise social listening pricing
- What each tool costs, in detail
- The costs that aren't on the headline price
- Cheapest tool for LinkedIn, X and Reddit together
- What to pay for each job
- FAQ
How social listening tools are priced
Four pricing models cover almost every tool:
- Per keyword. You pay for the number of terms you track (F5Bot, KWatch.io, Octolens, Brand24). Watch for separate keyword allowances per platform.
- Per filter or listener. You pay for the number of saved searches (Syften's filters, Updately's listeners).
- Per seat. Social media suites charge per user, with listening sold on top (Sprout Social, Hootsuite).
- Enterprise contracts. Annual contracts priced by data volume and features (Brandwatch, Talkwalker).
Within each model, the price usually rises with refresh speed (12-hourly, hourly, real time), platforms (X is often an add-on) and delivery (Slack and webhooks often sit on a higher tier).
Social listening pricing comparison table
Monthly list prices from each vendor's pricing page, checked in October 2026.
| Tool | Starting price | Higher tiers | X | Free plan or trial | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Updately | $49/mo ($39/mo annual) | Growth $99 ($79 annual), Scale $299 | Yes (hourly) | Yes (hourly) | Yes (real time) | 800 free credits, no card; 10-day trial on paid plans |
| F5Bot | Free | Silver $9.99, Gold $49.99 | No | No | Yes | Free plan |
| KWatch.io | $19/mo | Business $79 | A few keywords | 2 keywords on $19 | 20 keywords on $19 | Free for 2 Reddit keywords |
| Syften | $29.95/mo | Standard $49.95, PRO $119.95 | No | +$40/mo add-on | Yes | 14-day trial |
| Octolens | $159/mo (annual), $199 monthly | Scale $499 (annual), $599 monthly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Trial |
| Brand24 | $199/mo (annual) | Pro $399 (annual) | Not listed | Yes | Yes | Trial |
| Sprout Social | $199/seat/mo (annual) | Listening is a quoted add-on | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Not listed |
| Mention | Not published | — | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |
"Not listed" and "Not confirmed" mean the vendor information we've reviewed doesn't say. Check with the vendor before relying on it.
Two tools are gone from this list. GummySearch (Reddit only, $29 to $199 a month) stopped taking new customers on 30 November 2025; see the GummySearch migration guide. Trigify ended its standalone platform on October 22, 2026; see the Trigify migration guide.
Enterprise social listening pricing
These suites are priced for large brand, PR and social teams. Figures are from our June 2026 review and change often, so treat them as a floor.
| Tool | Starting price | Pricing model | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandwatch | $800+/mo | Enterprise contract | 100M+ sources, including Reddit and LinkedIn |
| Talkwalker | $9,600+/yr | Enterprise contract | Social, plus image and video recognition |
| Hootsuite Listening | $739+/mo (Business plan) | Premium add-on to Hootsuite | Major social platforms |
| Awario | $49/mo | Subscription | Social media, blogs, news; no Reddit on basic plans |
If you're comparing these with the tools above, remember the jobs differ. Enterprise suites are built for historical analytics, reporting and share-of-voice across huge source lists. The small-team tools are built to alert you about individual posts you can act on. The best social listening tools for 2026 covers the feature differences.
What each tool costs, in detail
Updately
- Starter: $49/month, or $39/month billed annually. 10 tracked terms and profiles, 3 listeners, 7,000 credits a month.
- Growth: $99/month, or $79/month billed annually. 30 terms, 10 listeners, 21,000 credits, webhooks and CSV export.
- Scale: $299/month.
- Every plan: LinkedIn, X, Reddit, Bluesky and Hacker News. LinkedIn and X are scanned hourly; Reddit and Bluesky stream in real time. AI relevance and sentiment scoring. Email, Slack and Discord alerts. API and MCP access, so you can add
https://api.updately.ai/mcpas a custom connector in Claude and ask "What did people say about [competitor] on Reddit this week?" (MCP docs). - Free start: 800 free credits with no card; paid plans have a 10-day free trial.
Full details are on the pricing page.
F5Bot
Free email alerts for Reddit, Hacker News and Lobsters. Silver ($9.99/month) gives 20 keywords and full post text. Gold ($49.99/month) gives 200 keywords, AI filtering, Slack/Discord and RSS/JSON feeds. No LinkedIn or X. See F5Bot alternatives.
KWatch.io
Free for 2 Reddit keywords. Essential ($19/month) gives 20 Reddit keywords and a couple each on X, YouTube and LinkedIn, by email. Business ($79/month) gives 100 Reddit keywords, 10 on X, plus Slack, webhooks and an API.
Syften
Entry ($29.95/month) has 3 filters and 100 results a day. Standard ($49.95/month) has 20 filters, Slack and AI filtering. PRO ($119.95/month) adds webhooks. X is a +$40/month add-on. Coverage is Reddit, Hacker News, Bluesky, forums, Stack Exchange and GitHub, but not LinkedIn.
Octolens
Pro is $199/month, or $159/month billed annually, for 10 keywords with hourly refresh. Scale is $599/month ($499 annually) for 40 keywords and real-time refresh. Covers Reddit, X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, YouTube, Hacker News and more. See Octolens alternatives.
Brand24
Individual is $199/month billed annually for 3 keywords with 12-hour updates. Real-time updates start on Pro at $399/month billed annually. Covers news, blogs, podcasts, reviews and social networks.
Sprout Social
Seats start at $199/month on Standard (annual billing). Listening is a separate add-on priced by quote, so the real cost depends on seats plus the add-on.
Mention
Mention no longer publishes prices, so expect a sales process.
The costs that aren't on the headline price
- Slow refresh on entry plans. Brand24's entry plan updates every 12 hours, and Octolens Pro hourly. If you want to reply while a thread is live, you may need the higher tier. See real-time social listening alerts.
- X as an add-on. Syften charges $40/month extra for X. KWatch.io's $19 plan includes only 2 X keywords.
- Slack on a higher tier. F5Bot (Gold, $49.99), Syften (Standard, $49.95) and KWatch.io (Business, $79) all gate Slack above their entry plan.
- Keyword caps. Your brand, its misspellings, three competitors and a few intent phrases is already 10 or more terms. Count yours before you pick a plan.
- Per-seat pricing. Suites that charge per user get expensive when sales, marketing and support all need access.
- Annual billing. Several headline prices (Octolens, Brand24, Sprout) assume an annual commitment. Month to month costs more.
Cheapest tool for LinkedIn, X and Reddit together
B2B buyers talk on all three: LinkedIn for professional announcements, X for quick complaints and questions, and Reddit for detailed recommendation threads. Here's what each tool charges to cover all three:
| Tool | Cheapest plan covering LinkedIn + X + Reddit | Slack alerts at that price | AI relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| KWatch.io | $19/mo, with 2 X and a couple of LinkedIn keywords | No (Slack from $79) | Yes |
| Updately | $49/mo ($39 annual), every platform on every plan | Yes (also Discord, email) | Yes, plus sentiment |
| KWatch.io Business | $79/mo | Yes | Yes |
| Octolens | $159/mo (annual) | Yes | Yes |
| Brandwatch | $800+/mo | — | Yes |
| F5Bot, Syften | Don't cover LinkedIn | — | — |
KWatch.io Essential is the lowest sticker price that touches all three platforms, but with a couple of keywords on LinkedIn and X and email-only delivery. Once you need Slack alerts, AI relevance scoring and a usable number of terms across all three, Updately is the lowest-priced tool: $49/month, or $39/month billed annually, against $79 for KWatch.io Business and $159 for Octolens. If you only need Reddit, F5Bot is free and cheaper than anything here.
What to pay for each job
| Job | Sensible budget | Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Know when your brand is mentioned on Reddit or HN | Free to $10/mo | F5Bot |
| Cheap alerts on many Reddit keywords | $19/mo | KWatch.io |
| Fast, precise community alerts | $30–$120/mo | Syften |
| LinkedIn, X and Reddit mentions that become leads | $39–$99/mo | Updately |
| Developer-tool brand monitoring | $159–$499/mo | Octolens |
| PR and reputation reporting | $199–$399/mo | Brand24 |
| Publishing plus listening for a social team | Per seat plus add-on | Sprout Social, Hootsuite |
| Enterprise analytics across huge source lists | $800+/mo | Brandwatch, Talkwalker |
Whichever you trial, run two tools on the same keywords for a week and count the posts you would actually have acted on. That number, divided into the price, is the cost that matters.
FAQ
How much does social listening software cost?
From free (F5Bot) to $800+ a month for enterprise suites like Brandwatch. Most small-team tools cost $19 to $50 a month at entry level. Faster refresh, more keywords or wider coverage can take that to $79 to $160 a month.
What is the cheapest social listening tool?
F5Bot is free for Reddit, Hacker News and Lobsters. KWatch.io starts at $19/month. For LinkedIn, X and Reddit together with Slack alerts, Updately is the lowest-priced at $49/month, or $39/month billed annually.
Which social listening tools have a free plan?
F5Bot (free for Reddit and HN), KWatch.io (free for 2 Reddit keywords) and Updately (800 free credits, no card). Syften, Octolens and Brand24 offer trials.
Which social listening tools monitor LinkedIn?
Updately, Octolens, KWatch.io (a small allowance on its entry plan) and enterprise suites like Brandwatch. Syften and F5Bot don't. See LinkedIn keyword alerts.
Is social listening worth paying for?
If a single customer is worth more than a year of the tool, usually yes, as long as alerts reach someone who acts on them. Start with the free options or a trial, and measure replies and leads, not mention counts. For platform setups, see Reddit alerts in Slack and Twitter keyword alerts.
Want LinkedIn, X and Reddit in one tool, with Slack alerts and AI scoring, at the lowest price? Start free with 800 credits, no card required, or see how Updately's social listening works. Platform guides: Reddit alerts and Twitter monitoring tools.