Side by side
Brandwatch Listen vs Meltwater Social Listening
Both stand on social media listening software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Choose Brandwatch Listen if your team needs broad conversation monitoring, sentiment analysis, and alerts across social platforms and the web. Look elsewhere if you need a free plan or guaranteed saved-search access outside your organization’s Social Media Management contract.
Visit Brandwatch ListenChoose Meltwater Social Listening if your team needs cross-channel monitoring, competitor analysis, alerts and shareable reporting in one workflow. Look elsewhere if you need a free plan or trial, or cannot work with tailored pricing and a typical 12-month minimum contract.
Visit Meltwater Social ListeningThe facts
| Brandwatch Listen | Meltwater Social Listening | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Web | Android, API, iPhone, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Maker | Not published | Meltwater Social Listening |
| Website | brandwatch.com | meltwater.com |
| On social media listening software | #28 of 85 | #20 of 85 |
Brandwatch Listen: what it does well
- Covers major social networks and the wider web.
- Searches use unlimited queries and 48 Boolean operators.
- Saved searches can provide up to a year of data.
- Analyzes sentiment in multiple languages.
- Email alerts can flag mention changes and negative comments.
What to know first
- There is no free plan.
- Pricing is available on request.
- Quick searches cover only the last month and cannot be revisited, shared, or used for alerts.
- Saved-search access depends on the organization’s contract.
Meltwater Social Listening: what it does well
- Monitors social, news, forum and Reddit conversations together.
- Covers a broad set of listed social networks.
- Forecasts conversation activity 48 hours ahead.
- Alerts can be sent through Slack, Teams, email, SMS or mobile push.
- Provides shareable dashboards and exportable reports.
What to know first
- There is no free plan or free trial.
- Pricing is available on request.
- Most partnerships require an annual agreement of at least 12 months.
- Complex or enterprise setups may incur a one-time onboarding charge.
Alternatives to Brandwatch Listen Alternatives to Meltwater Social Listening The whole list

