In the contemporary society dominated by technology, being able to capture what people are saying about your brand, about your industrial niche, or even about your competitors is critical to business. Social Media Monitoring Tools, along with social listening tools, are now a necessity for businesses in the year 2025 as they help in listening, analyzing, and responding to the conversations.
These tools assist brands in keeping an eye on the trending topics, consumers’ feelings towards the brand, and replying to the sentiments and feelings shared by clients, whether positive or negative. Since social media platforms and open forums are increasingly popular, the amount of data produced on a daily basis cannot be considered small.
Using this data for evaluation and analysis in a manual process is almost inconceivable, hence why social listening software are crucial for all organizations. These tools include market analysis as customer care and all these assist in making sound decisions within an organization.
What Are Social Listening Tools?
Social listening is defined as the use of software applications for monitoring and analyzing the appearance of a brand, product, or keyword on social media sites. They gather information from social media platform, blog sites, forum sites, and news sites to explain consumer behavior and their fluctuations. They are still far different from social monitoring, as social listening is more than merely counting the number of times your brand is mentioned. These tools enable a business to measure public sentiment, analyze trends, and even compare metrics with other competing firms.
For instance, if a brand is introducing a new product, social media marketing tools can evaluate the response of the targeted public, pinpoint possible problems, and indicate how they could be solved. They also assist businesses to reply to feedback immediately, improving customer relations.
In the present world where business is shifting increasingly online, these tools help them be competitive and achieve goals of communicating with the audiences and making the right strategic decisions based on the large amounts of data. They not only insulate reputations but also give organisations competitive advantages in a saturated competitive environment.
Key Features of the Best Social Listening Tools
- Real-Time Data Tracking: The tool allows users to track mentions and trends at once on all platforms.
- Sentiment Analysis: A measurement of macro environment, specifically measuring positiveness and negativity in customers to assess opportunities and threats.
- Multi-Platform Coverage: Monitors brand mentions on the discussions made on social media; blogs, forums, and news platforms.
- Customizable Reporting: Gives better analytical and integrated analysis through customized KPIs and composing separate reports.
- AI-Driven Analytics: Uses artificial intelligence to gain deeper analysis and predictive value.
- Integration Capabilities: Integrates perfectly with different CRM, analytics and marketing applications for efficiency.
Top 10 social listening tools
1. Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a powerful social listening tool recognised for both its AI-based analysis and the ability to draw data from various sources. Combined with extended access to over 95 million data sources, it well-develops sentiment analysis, trend identification, competitive benchmarking, which is an indispensable tool for large enterprises and marketers. Their different dashboards allow users to track post, page, profile, or hashtag mentions and analyze audience attitudes to your brand conveniently.
Apart from alerts in real-time, Brandwatch is compatible with assistant tools, such as CRM software, and means for analytics. This makes it ideal for handling all-inclusive campaign management since all options are found in one place.
Key Features
- AI analysis of sentiments.
- Over 95 Million sources covered by data.
- Real time notification for trend analysis.
Pros
- Intuitive interface with advanced filtering options.
- Seamless integrations with CRM and analytics tools.
- Exceptional customer support.
Cons
- Steep learning curve for beginners.
- Expensive pricing tiers.
- Limited functionality for smaller businesses.
Price: Starts at $800/month.
Website: brandwatch.com
2. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a best social listening tool in one place with other tools for managing social media accounts. By doing so it enables organizations to follow brand awareness, filter out audience reactions, and observe trends. For this reason, the capabilities of the platform for carrying out analysis are ideal for enhancing customer interaction.
One of the key differences between using Sprout Social is that it is primarily a customer interaction platform, so it would be ideal for businesses that incentivize communication. However, due to the fact that its utility is high, small businesses may consider its cost prohibitive, especially with regard to incremental costs as they scale up with the addition of other features.
Key Features
- This engaging social media management and listening tool.
- Sentiment and trend analysis.
- Analyzer, reporting and analysis features.
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface.
- Strong focus on customer engagement.
- Comprehensive reporting tools.
Cons
- Limited functionality in competitor analysis.
- Add-ons can increase overall costs.
- Smaller data pool compared to competitors.
Price: Starts at $249/month per user.
Website: sproutsocial.com
3. Hootsuite Insights
Hootsuite Insights is another popular Social listening Tools that provides real-time streams and detailed analysis of the sentiment being attached to the business’ brand across different networks. As part of the broader Hootsuite family, it centralizes social media management through both posting and reporting features.
It is indeed a rather useful tool that is easily scalable depending on the size of the firm involved. But at the same time, customers with higher levels of expertise may not find a very extensive range of options for customization; while beginners may need some time to grasp all the specific features of the interface.
Key Features
- Real time tracking and indexing for positive and negative comments.
- Interoperability for most of the components of a platform.
- In historical data trends analysis for prognostications.
Pros
- Comprehensive integration with Hootsuite.
- Scalable for businesses of all sizes.
- Easy-to-understand reporting.
Cons
- Higher cost for premium features.
- Limited customization options in reports.
- Learning curve for advanced features.
Price: Starts at $99/month.
Website: hootsuite.com
4. Talkwalker
Talkwalker is an established social listening platform with special focus on artificial intelligence and colour and face recognition on images and videos. By gathering data from a myriad of international sources, it allows its users to track, analyze, and compare with competitors’ sentiments successfully.
While the platform is truly functional it has large-utility unique-features which makes it highly capable—there is however a slightly steep learning curve. Further, in this regard, it is comparatively expensive, which can be a drawback for small business entities.
Key Features
- Sentiment analysis and trend prediction that is made possible by the use of Artificial Intelligence.
- Image and video analysis as a part of the broad field of visual analytics.
- Competitor benchmarking.
Pros
- Extensive global data sources.
- Innovative image recognition technology.
- Highly customizable dashboards.
Cons
- Steep learning curve for beginners.
- High pricing tiers for small businesses.
- Occasional lags in data refresh.
Price: Starts at $9,000/year.
Website: talkwalker.com
5. Meltwater
Meltwater is one of the best Social listening Tools intended for media monitoring and public relations metrics detection in real-time. There are opportunities to define brand mentions, activities of competitors and evaluate the sentiment, which is why this site is preferred by companies that work in the sphere of reputation management.
On the same note, Meltwater’s advanced features are offered for a premium charge which can be put off to start up and small businesses. Furthermore, its analysis of the relatively insignificant platforms may sometimes provide less consistent results.
Key Features
- Real-time media monitoring.
- PR analytics miscellaneous – Structuralist.
- Competitor benchmarking.
Pros
- Wide media coverage.
- User-friendly interface.
- Strong focus on reputation management.
Cons
- Higher pricing for advanced features.
- Limited customization in sentiment analysis.
- Data from smaller platforms is sometimes inconsistent.
Price: Starts at $4,000/year.
Website: meltwater.com
6. Buffer Analyze
Buffer Analyze is a mini version of social listening perfect tool for a small business or startup to use. Being friendly on the pocket, Buffer Analyze does not have some of the features such as sentiment analysis and detailed platform coverage which can be prohibitive to large organizations that need to filter results meticulously.
But it is highly focused on capturing the audience activity, analyzing it properly, and offering simple reports. Being compatible with Buffer’s scheduling platform, it is convenient to use for social media managers.
Key Features
- Easy to use social media analysis and recapping.
- Situation analysis and monitoring the audience’s interactions with trends.
- Being compatible with Buffer is an excellent scheduling application.
Pros
- Affordable for small businesses and startups.
- Clean, intuitive interface.
- Strong focus on engagement metrics.
Cons
- Limited platform coverage compared to competitors.
- Basic listening features.
- No advanced sentiment analysis.
Price: Starts at $50/month.
Website: buffer.com
7. Keyhole
Keyhole is a hashtag tracker and keyword tracker, which makes it ideal for campaign analysis and the discovery of influencers. Its instant report of data and analysis of the competitor enhances the corporate impact of the firm’s social media strategies.
While practical in tracking campaigns, Keyhole has very few analytical functions for the less popular platforms and poor reporting customization options might be insufficient for more intricate businesses.
Key Features
- Real time identification of the trending hashtags and Keywords.
- Evaluation of competitors and their performance comparisons.
- Influencer sourcing, that is the identification and tracking of influencers.
Pros
- Excellent for hashtag and campaign tracking.
- Easy setup and intuitive dashboards.
- Affordable for medium-sized campaigns.
Cons
- Limited analytics for smaller social platforms.
- Basic customization in reports.
- Lacks in-depth sentiment analysis.
Price: Starts at $79/month.
Website: keyhole.co
8. Mention
Mention is centered on the real-time performance tracking of brands on different social media platforms. Its collaborating features make it one of the best social listening tools to use when in a team that is working on social media strategies. It also offers some fundamental index for sentiment analysis to understand the perception among the audiences.
Of all the social mention trackers reviewed, Mention is cheap and easy to use, but lacks the depth of data that comes with the paid tools. Some of the users may also have slow mention tracking.
Key Features
- Tracking in real time of the brand.
- Interests for working on many people projects to enable team work.
- Opinion mining on social talks.
Pros
- Affordable for small businesses.
- Simple and user-friendly interface.
- Strong email alert system.
Cons
- Limited data coverage compared to larger tools.
- Occasional delays in mention tracking.
- Basic competitor analysis.
Price: Starts at $29/month.
Website: mention.com
9. Awario
Brand monitoring solution known as Awario is affordable and one of the best Social listening Tools thus suitable for startups who wish to monitor brand mentions and engage in audience analysis of sentiments. Its real-time tracking and simple reporting system should make it appealing to small companies.
However, there are still some disadvantages to Awario, for instance, it has few integrated services, and sometimes it can be slightly slower in real-time monitoring than brands require for their business doings.
Key Features
- Tracking of the brand and the keywords within real-time.
- Branding for Social Media monitoring and online sentiment analysis.
- Reseller and white label for agencies.
Pros
- Affordable pricing for startups.
- Covers a wide range of online sources.
- Provides in-depth sentiment analysis.
Cons
- Limited integrations with other tools.
- Can be overwhelming for new users.
- Occasional lags in real-time tracking.
Price: Starts at $39/month.
Website: awario.com
10. NetBase Quid
NetBase Quid is an AI-based consumer and market insight solution designed for enterprises. Its sentiment and visual analytics are complex and it stands out as a pioneer in the analysis of competitor’s benchmark & trends.
It is built for large organizations since its features will not make much sense to small organizations, and it is very pricey while also highly complex. In its current state, it is more suitable for organisations with significant data requirements in which specific teams are tasked with advanced analysis.
Key Features
- artificial intelligence in consumer and market research.
- Supervised sentiment analysis and trend forecast.
- Bench-marking as a form of visual analytics.
Pros
- Comprehensive data coverage, including niche platforms.
- Highly customizable reports and dashboards.
- Exceptional support for enterprise clients.
Cons
- Expensive for small businesses.
- Steep learning curve.
- Requires substantial training for advanced features.
Price: Custom pricing based on requirements.
Website: netbasequid.com
How to Choose the Best Social Listening Tool in India
- Local Language Support: The tool should preferably incorporate the local languages of India too.
- Platform Relevance: It should monitor social media platforms commonly used in India, such as; WhatsApp, Instagram, and regional platforms.
- Scalability: The tool has to factor in business growth and larger amounts of data.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Pricing should be within the set financial plan of the project but at the same time it should support high end features.
- Custom Insights: Gives regional analysis in terms of Indian market and Indian consumers.
- Customer Support: Providing reliable back up to case with such concerns in an effort to deal with them effectively and thus facilitate efficient running of operations.
Conclusion
Social listening tools still hold significance especially for the brands as they survive the intense competition and effectiveness of the digital environment. All such tools help businesses to translate consumers’ attitude into strategic moves in products’ distribution and marketing.
For Indian businesses, the choice of the tool depends on language compatibility, business applicability, and the price factor. Apart from benefiting customers, the right tool for social listening helps improve the organisation’s product/service provision as well as its growth. Whether you are a startup or an existing business, in today’s world there is no better investment than having the right tool to change how you look at your consumers.
FAQs
1. Can social listening tools also measure competitor’s performance?
Indeed, a large number of social listening software offer competitor benchmarking functionalities as well. These enable organisations to track the mentions of competitors, customers’ attitudes, and level of interaction in social media. There are many other competitors like Talkwalker, Brandwatch, and NetBase Quid which give a detailed outlook on your competitors to give you the upper hand in company competition.
2. Why is social listening crucial to business firms?
Social listening enables firms to identify what customers and the public are saying about them, their brands, and the market. It can be used in the identification of problems, follow up of the competitors, crisis management and handling of the engagement. When employing audience analyticsy, the company is able to improve its marketing processes, web presence and products.
3. In what way does social listening function?
Social media tracking tools operate based on data aggregation and analyzing the data from social media, blogs, news sites, forums and other online sources. These tools worked based on Artificial Intelligence, sentiment analysis, and Natural Language Processing to identify the mentions, categorize them, monitor popularity and engagement and analyse the sentiments to gain insights.
4. Why have we prepared a list of the best social listening tools for 2025 to help you make the right choice for your business.
Social listening software that will dominate the market come 2025 include Brandwatch, sprout social, Talkwalker, Hootsuite Insights, and Meltwater. Some of the features provided by these tools include sentiment analysis, real time monitoring, trends analyzing, competitive benchmarking and social media management.
5. How do I select the right social listening tool for my business?
What you need to look at when choosing a social listening tool depends on your budget, size of business, functionalities you need in your tool like sentiment and influencers tracking, your sources of data, ease of use, and customer support. To do this effectively you need to identify a tool that is suitable to what you do and how your business will grow in the future.
