PRICING

How much social listening software actually costs in 2026.

By Nilay Baranwal, Co-founder, Social Line · September 25, 2026 · 6 min read

Self-serve social listening tools start at roughly $15 to $200 a month on annual billing, and enterprise suites are usually quote-only. The entry price is only part of it: mention caps, update frequency, and which features sit on higher tiers decide what you actually pay. Prices below were read from each vendor's pricing page on September 24, 2026.

How much social listening software actually costs in 2026.

$15

Social Line Starter, per month billed annually

$29

Awario Starter, per month billed annually

Awario, Sept 2026

$49

Mentionlytics Basic, per month billed yearly (limited-time offer)

Mentionlytics, Sept 2026

$199

Brand24 Individual, per month billed annually

Brand24, Sept 2026

Entry prices, side by side

Social Line Starter is $15/mo billed annually ($19 monthly) for 3 keywords and up to 1,000 mentions a month. Awario Starter is $29/mo billed annually ($49 monthly) for 3 topics and 30,000 new mentions a month. Mentionlytics Basic is $49/mo billed yearly, listed as a limited-time offer down from $58, for 3 keywords and 5,000 mentions a month.

Octolens Pro is $159/mo billed annually for 10 keywords and 15,000 mentions a month, with paid overage beyond that. Brand24 Individual is $199/mo billed annually ($249 monthly) for 3 keywords and 2,000 mentions a month.

Enterprise platforms such as Brandwatch, Sprinklr, and Meltwater generally don't publish list prices and are sold on annual contracts after a sales call.

What drives the price

Mention volume and keyword count are the main levers on almost every plan. The number of sources matters too: tools that also cover news, blogs, podcasts, and review sites, like Brand24, cost more than tools that only cover social platforms.

Update frequency is the lever people miss. Some vendors refresh entry plans less often and reserve real-time monitoring for higher tiers; Brand24, for example, updates every 12 hours on Individual and in real time from Pro ($399/mo annually). Social Line lets every plan choose a schedule per keyword, from every 5 minutes to once a day.

Features that often sit on higher tiers

API and AI agent access vary the most. Brand24 lists MCP from Pro ($399/mo annually), Mentionlytics puts API and MCP on Pro and above, and Awario offers API access on Enterprise only. Octolens and Social Line include MCP on every plan.

Alerts are the other one to check. Brand24 and Octolens include alerts on every plan today. Social Line's alert rules are coming soon on Growth and above, so if real-time alerting is a requirement now, factor that in.

Watch for overage and caps

Ask what happens when you hit your mention cap. Some tools bill per extra keyword or mention, which can turn a spike in conversation into a surprise invoice. Others, including Social Line, pause collection at the cap until the next cycle and never bill overage.

How to choose a tier

Start by counting keywords: your brand, each product, and each competitor you want to watch. Then estimate volume by searching your brand on each platform for a week. Most small brands fit an entry plan; if you're tracking competitors with far more conversation than you, size the plan to their volume, not yours.

Use the free trial to check volume before paying. Social Line's is 14 days, 2 keywords and up to 100 mentions, with no card required.

Related on Social Line

Sources

Nilay Baranwal, Co-founder, Social Line

Nilay Baranwal is a co-founder of Social Line (socialline.app), an AI social listening platform.

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