Brand24 vs Meltwater (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Brand24 grades higher than Meltwater: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Brand24 grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Brand24
Social listening across social networks, news, blogs and podcasts
Meltwater
Media monitoring, social listening and PR intelligence platform
Which one is for you
Pick Brand24 if
- Fits if you run PR or marketing and need to hear about a complaint before it spreads
- Works for teams who want many people on one plan, as Team has unlimited users
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to schedule and publish posts, as it only listens
- Pricey if you're one person, as Individual is $199 a month billed yearly for 3 keywords and 2,000 mentions
- Not for you if your audience lives on LinkedIn, YouTube or TikTok and you're on Individual, which leaves them out
- Tight if you need fresh data, as Individual refreshes every 12 hours; real-time, AI tools and exports start on Pro at $399
- Watch out: the API is $149 extra on Pro and Business, reviews start at Pro and podcasts at Business
Pick Meltwater if
- Fits if a communications team needs news and social monitoring in one place
- Makes sense if you can sign a contract of a year or more
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there is no self-serve trial
- Skip it if you want prices up front, because the page shows none
- Tight if you need influencer tools, as they sit on Enterprise and Agency only
- Watch out: contracts typically run 12 months or more, per its own FAQ
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABrand24Fair | 1.6GPAMeltwaterWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its listed alternatives, the big social suites, not schedulers. Individual is $199 a month billed annually for 1 user and 3 keywords, dear for one person. Team at $299 has unlimited users, so a small team pays about what those suites charge for two or three seats. | CNo price is published for Starter, Pro, Enterprise or Agency, so it sits at the middle by default. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Two weeks is enough to see what turns up for your brand name, and going over a plan's mentions prompts an upgrade talk rather than a charge. | FNo self-serve trial and no free plan; the page offers a guided demo only. |
| Features | CIt does listening fully: mentions from social, news, blogs, forums and podcasts, sentiment, spike alerts, influencer ranking and share of voice. But it's a smaller job than this category's, with no posting or inbox, and Individual leaves out LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and reach. | CMedia intelligence, listening and media relations. Influencer marketing is Enterprise and Agency only. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. You pick the keywords, capped by plan, then work through mentions, sentiment and reach. Individual only refreshes every 12 hours, and real-time updates and the AI tools that sum it all up start on Pro. | CA web platform bought through sales, and no store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with push alerts on your phone and Slack or Microsoft Teams alerts. The API costs an extra $149 on Pro and Business. No desktop app, which an A needs. | CWeb only, with no integrations listed on the page we read. |
| Best for | hearing what people say about your brand | media monitoring for larger teams |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Brand24 and Meltwater. How we grade
Where they differ
- Meltwater also covers dashboards and AI search visibility.
At a glance
| Brand24 | Meltwater | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $199 per month, billed annually ($249 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Brand24 Global Inc. | Meltwater |
| Price read from | brand24.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Brand24
- Each plan caps keywords and monthly mentions; Individual allows 3 keywords, 2,000 mentions and 1 user. Going over prompts an upgrade talk, not a charge.
- Individual leaves out LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and reach tracking; reviews and newsletters start at Pro and podcasts at Business.
- Individual refreshes every 12 hours and Team hourly; real-time updates, the AI tools and PDF or Excel exports start at Pro.
- API access costs an extra $149 on Pro and Business and is included on Enterprise; annual billing is set up by contacting Brand24.
Meltwater
- Pricing is quoted by sales: the page lists Starter, Pro, Enterprise and Agency with no prices.
- Contracts typically run 12 months or more, per its FAQ.
- Influencer marketing is on Enterprise and Agency only.
Key features
Brand24
- Mention monitoring
- Tracks keywords on Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, news and blogs on every plan; LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok from Team, reviews and newsletters from Pro, podcasts from Business.
- Reach, sentiment and emotions
- Sentiment on every plan, reach from Team, and from Pro emotion analysis, advertising value equivalency and a presence score for the brand.
- AI insights and Brand Assistant
- Automatic insight reports, topic analysis and a chat assistant that answers questions from your monitoring data, from the Pro plan.
- Alerts and anomaly detection
- Storm alerts and custom notifications for sudden jumps in mentions or reach, with push notifications in the mobile app and Slack or Teams alerts.
- Influencer and competitor analysis
- From Pro, ranks the most influential authors and sites in a discussion; projects can be compared side by side to measure share of voice.
- Reports and exports
- Daily and weekly email reports on every plan; PDF, Excel and PowerPoint exports and white-labelled reports start at Pro.
Meltwater
- Media intelligence
- Monitors news and media coverage with alerts, reporting and pre-built dashboards.
- Social listening
- Tracks social conversations about a brand as a module of the platform.
- AI visibility tracking
- Tracks how a brand appears in generative AI answers; its pricing FAQ calls this GenAI Lens.
- Media relations
- A media database and press distribution tools.
- Mira AI
- The vendor's AI assistant, offered at standard, advanced and enterprise levels by plan.
Plans
Brand24
Individual$199
per month, billed annually ($249 billed monthly)
3 keywords, 2,000 mentions a month, 1 user, updates every 12 hours and AI sentiment analysis.
Team$299
per month, billed annually ($349 billed monthly)
7 keywords, 10,000 mentions a month, unlimited users, hourly updates, reach tracking, and LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok sources.
Pro$399
per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
12 keywords, 40,000 mentions a month, real-time updates, the AI Brand Assistant, events detection, and AI insights and topics for 2 projects.
Business$599
per month, billed annually ($699 billed monthly)
25 keywords, 100,000 mentions a month, AI insights for 5 projects, unlimited AI topics, advanced reports and a client success lead.
Enterprise$1,499
per month and up, billed annually
Custom keyword and mention limits, unlimited AI insights, dedicated consulting and the AI Visibility module. Arranged with sales.
Meltwater
Pricing could not be confirmed. See meltwater.com.
Ways to pay less
Brand24
- Annual discount
Up to 3 months free with annual billing
Brand24's pricing page says annual billing gives up to 3 months free: Individual is $199 a month billed annually against $249 monthly, and Business $599 against $699.
Meltwater
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Brand24 or Meltwater?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Brand24 starts at $199 per month, billed annually ($249 billed monthly), and Meltwater has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Brand24 or Meltwater?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Brand24 nor Meltwater has a free plan. Brand24 has a free trial.
Which platforms do Brand24 and Meltwater run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Brand24 lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.