Exploding Topics review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Database of rising topics, products and startups, by search growth
Exploding Topics report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 23, 2026
Best for spotting rising topics before they get crowded
Exploding Topics is a database of topics, products and startups whose searches are climbing, each with growth and volume, and Pro adds tracking and alerts. It's a different job from finding keywords for a page. Entrepreneur is $39 a month, forecasts and CSV export wait on $99, the pricing page doesn't say how it bills, and Pro runs through a Semrush account, so it's dear next to Treendly.
Who Exploding Topics is for
- Fits if you pick content topics and want ones whose searches are still climbing
- Works for sellers and investors looking for products, markets and startups that are starting to rise
Who Exploding Topics is not for
- Pricey if you want forecasts, trending startups or CSV export, which start at $99 a month
- Skip it if you need keyword volumes and difficulty for pages you're writing now
- Not for you if you'd rather not have a Semrush account, as Pro runs through one
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say how prices are billed, and a vendor blog says $39 is the yearly rate
- Watch out: TikTok Insights is a separate add-on with no price shown
Why Exploding Topics gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyEntrepreneur is $39 a month for 100 tracked trends, at the dearer end of this category, and the page doesn't say how it's billed. Forecasts, trending startups and CSV export need Investor at $99. Treendly's Pro is $99 a year.
- CFree plan and trialYou can browse trending topics, startups and websites on the public site with part of each trend's data, no account needed. Every Pro plan has a 7-day trial, and the listing doesn't say whether a card is needed.
- CFeaturesA database it puts at 1.1 million+ topics with growth over up to 15 years, tracking with alerts, deep-dive analyses and Meta Trends. It does trend spotting fully, but that's a smaller job than keyword research, and forecasting starts at $99.
- CEase of useNo rating on record. Pro runs as an app inside Semrush, so signing in and starting a trial go through a Semrush account before you see the full data.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. There's an API, a Zapier integration with six actions, and routes through n8n and Make.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Exploding Topics' own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/exploding-topics#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/exploding-topics.svg" alt="Exploding Topics: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Exploding Topics stands among keyword research tools
Exploding Topics's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 12 of the 51 other keyword research tools we grade, and level with 10.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 26 of 51) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $39 a month, against a middle price of $18 for the category: 28 of the 35 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 10 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 52 keyword research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Exploding Topics’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 4 of 51, level with 22
- CFree plan and trialAbove 11 of 51, level with 29
- CFeaturesAbove 6 of 51, level with 36
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 51, level with 27
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 26 of 51, level with 25
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 44 keyword research tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Exploding Topics, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Exploding Topics you would be making search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 29 of the 51 other keyword research tools grade higher. It costs $468 a year.
What you could not
- Search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date.
- It plugs into other products, Zapier, n8n and Make among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Exploding Topics’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Exploding Topics?
Exploding Topics spots topics, products and startups whose search interest is rising and lists them with search volume, growth and a forecast for the next year. Pro adds the full trends database, tracked trends with alerts, deep-dive trend analyses, Meta Trends that group related topics, and channel breakdowns. It is owned by Semrush, which bought it in 2024.
Worth knowing
- The pricing page shows monthly figures without saying how they are billed; a vendor blog post says $39 is the annual-billing rate.
- Trend forecasting, trending startups and CSV export start at the $99 Investor plan.
- Pro runs as an app inside Semrush: signing in and starting a trial go through a Semrush account.
- TikTok Insights is a separate add-on, and its price is not shown on the pricing page.
Key features
- Trends database
- Pro opens a database the vendor puts at 1.1 million+ markets, products and topics, each with search volume and growth over windows of 3 months to 15 years.
- Trend tracking and analyses
- Track 100, 500 or 2,000 trends by plan and get alerts, and run 10 to 500 deep-dive analyses with search metrics and channel-level data.
- Meta Trends
- Groups related topics into larger shifts in areas such as tech, DTC, marketing, SaaS, healthcare, fitness and fashion.
- Trend forecasting
- Investor and Business plans show a machine-learning forecast of where a trend's interest is likely to go over the next year.
- Trending products and startups
- Lists consumer products on the rise on every Pro plan, and fast-growing startups from Investor up. A TikTok Insights add-on tracks products gaining views on TikTok.
- API and automations
- An Exploding Topics API feeds trend data into other tools, with a Zapier integration offering six actions and an n8n workflow route.
Exploding Topics pricing
As of Oct 23, 2026, Exploding Topics has a free plan, and paid plans start at $39 per month for 100 tracked trends (billing basis not shown).
- Starts at
- $39 per month for 100 tracked trends (billing basis not shown)
- Free plan
- Trending topics, startups and websites can be browsed on the site without an account, with part of each trend's data; the full data needs Pro.
- Free trial
- 7-day free trial of every Pro plan
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Browse trending topics, startups and top websites on the public site, plus a set of free SEO tools. |
| Entrepreneur | $39per month for 100 tracked trends, billing basis not shown | 10 trend analyses, the trends database, trending products, Meta Trends and channel breakdowns. |
| Investor | $99per month for 500 tracked trends, billing basis not shown | 100 trend analyses, plus trending startups, trend forecasting and CSV export. |
| Business | $249per month for 2,000 tracked trends, billing basis not shown | 500 trend analyses, everything in Investor, and trend reports. |
Read from explodingtopics.com on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Exploding Topics before you buy.
Works with
Exploding Topics alternatives
- Exploding Topics vs Glimpse
Free plan
- Exploding Topics vs Treendly
Free plan · from $99/yr
- Exploding Topics vs Semrush
Free plan · from $117.33/mo
- Exploding Topics vs AnswerThePublic
Free plan · from $20/mo
Common questions
Does Exploding Topics have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Exploding Topics is listed for Web.
Does Exploding Topics have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Exploding Topics is listed for Web.
Is Exploding Topics open source?
Exploding Topics is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 23, 2026.
Does Exploding Topics have an API?
Yes. Exploding Topics offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 23, 2026.