Brand24 and Meltwater stand out as leading contenders in the media monitoring space, each offering distinct approaches to monitoring and analyzing social media data. This detailed comparison examines their core capabilities, data coverage, and value propositions to help you make an informed choice.
Drawing from extensive platform documentation, pricing information, and verified user experiences across multiple review sites, we’ll explore how these tools measure up in real-world applications. The analysis covers everything from data sources and feature sets to pricing structures and user interfaces, with particular attention to recent updates and innovations. Understanding these nuances is crucial as organizations increasingly rely on social listening to drive strategic decisions.
Whether you’re a small business owner seeking cost-effective monitoring solutions or an enterprise requiring comprehensive analytics capabilities, this comparison will help you evaluate which platform better aligns with your specific needs. While both tools have their merits, their distinct strengths and limitations mean that the best choice ultimately depends on your organization’s unique requirements, technical capabilities, and budget constraints.
| Brand24 | Meltwater | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual price |
Individual plan: $149/month
Team Plan: $249/month
Pro Plan: $299/month
Enterprise plan: $499/month
|
3 plans: Essential/Suite/Enterprise
No price is available on their site
|
| Free trial | ✔️14 days | ❌ |
| Sources covered | Tiered sources: social (X, FB), forums, reviews (Pro), podcasts (Enterprise), newsletters. | 15 social channels, 270k global news, podcasts, Asian platforms (KakaoTalk, LINE Voom). |
| Sentiment analysis | ✔️95% (F1 score on a 50k sample) | unknown |
| Global ratings (G2 + Capterra) | 4.64/5 (490 reviews) | 4.00/5 (2283 reviews) |
| Best for |
SMBs
Agencies
Enteprise
|
Enterprise
Agency
|
Pricing & Plans
Brand24 and Meltwater offer distinct pricing structures and flexibility for social media monitoring. Brand24 provides transparent pricing with four tiers ranging from $149 to $499 monthly, while Meltwater’s pricing isn’t publicly available for their Essential, Suite, and Enterprise plans.
Plans and Billing
Brand24’s Individual plan starts at $149/month with basic features and single-user access. Their Team plan ($249/month) adds unlimited users and hourly updates, while the Pro plan ($299/month) includes real-time monitoring and advanced AI features. The Enterprise plan ($499/month) offers the highest monitoring capacity with 25 keywords and 100,000 monthly mentions. Brand24 offers both monthly and annual billing options.
Meltwater takes an enterprise-focused approach with customized pricing. Their three-tier structure includes Essentials for smaller teams, Suite for cross-departmental needs, and Enterprise for global organizations. They typically require annual commitments.
Free Trial and Demo Access
Brand24 offers a free trial period with access to core features, allowing potential customers to test the platform’s capabilities. Meltwater doesn’t provide a free trial but compensates with comprehensive demos and 24/7 training access for their Essentials plan customers.
Add-ons and Customization
Brand24’s primary add-on is API access for $99. Their pricing structure includes most features within the main plans, minimizing the need for extras. Meltwater offers custom add-ons and premium services, particularly for Enterprise clients, though specific pricing isn’t publicly available.
Payment Options and Refund Policies
Brand24 accepts multiple payment methods including credit cards, bank transfers, and online payment systems, backing their service with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Meltwater maintains a strict no-refund policy, requiring careful consideration before commitment.
For businesses prioritizing pricing transparency and flexible billing options, Brand24 presents a more straightforward choice, while Meltwater’s custom enterprise focus suits larger organizations needing comprehensive, tailored solutions.
Features
Dashboard & Interface
Brand24’s dashboard emphasizes simplicity with a clean, metric-focused layout that prioritizes real-time mentions and sentiment tracking. In contrast, Meltwater’s interface presents a more comprehensive view with multiple widgets and advanced visualization options, though this can initially feel overwhelming to new users.
Alert Creation & Setup
Brand24 offers a streamlined two-step alert creation process focusing on keywords and language selection. However, users must navigate to separate parameters for refined keyword management. Meltwater implements a more sophisticated approach using boolean operators, proximity controls, and entity operators, enabling precise targeting but requiring a steeper learning curve.
Metrics & Analytics
Brand24 tracks essential metrics including sentiment, influence scores, and social engagement with real-time updating capabilities. Meltwater extends beyond basic analytics to include advanced metrics like EMV (estimated media value), sales conversions, and engagement rates, providing deeper business impact analysis.
Data Sources & Coverage
Meltwater boasts superior source coverage with access to 270,000 global news sources, 15 social media channels, and 20,000 podcasts. Brand24 offers tiered access to sources, with basic platforms available to all users and premium sources like LinkedIn and podcasts restricted to higher-tier plans. Meltwater’s historical data reaches back to 2009 for editorial content, while Brand24 limits historical access to 30 days.
Language Support
Meltwater demonstrates exceptional language capabilities with support for 480 languages and sentiment analysis in 218 languages and dialects. Brand24 offers more modest coverage with 24 supported languages, though it maintains high-quality sentiment analysis across its supported languages.
Reporting Capabilities
Meltwater provides comprehensive reporting options with six pre-built templates and multiple export formats including Google Slides integration. Brand24 focuses on essential reporting metrics with no pre-built templates but offers clear PDF, Excel, and infographic exports with automated scheduling options.
AI & Advanced Features
Both platforms leverage AI for sentiment analysis, but Meltwater extends its AI capabilities further with contextual analysis cards, AI-powered influencer discovery, and an AI search assistant. Brand24 maintains solid AI implementation for sentiment and emotion analysis, topic analysis, and anomaly detection.
Collaboration Tools
Meltwater offers robust collaboration features including influencer feedback systems and team workflow tools. Brand24 provides basic collaboration through Slack integration but lacks comprehensive team features.
Brand24 excels in providing straightforward social media monitoring with accurate sentiment analysis for small to medium businesses. Meltwater stands out as an enterprise-level solution with comprehensive source coverage and advanced analytical capabilities suited for larger organizations requiring detailed media intelligence.
Customer Service
Brand24 Customer Service
Brand24’s help center contains 171 articles across 12 categories, offering comprehensive coverage of core features like monitoring, reporting, and AI capabilities. Support is available in English and Polish through email and live chat channels, though without specified 24/7 availability. The platform provides structured training through webinars and dedicated product sessions, with personalized account management reserved exclusively for Enterprise plan subscribers.
Brand24’s customer service approach is best suited for small to medium businesses that primarily operate in English or Polish-speaking markets and don’t require round-the-clock support. The focused article base and guided training options make it particularly effective for teams who prefer structured, self-paced learning.
Meltwater Customer Service
Meltwater maintains an extensive knowledge base of 371 articles spanning 16 categories, with documentation covering everything from basic monitoring to advanced features like consumer intelligence and influencer marketing. Their multilingual support spans seven languages (English, Suomi, French, German, Japanese, Chinese), with 24/7 availability through live chat and email channels. The platform offers comprehensive training through Meltwater Academy, regular webinars, and supplementary resources like e-books.
Meltwater’s robust support infrastructure makes it ideal for global enterprises requiring constant support across multiple time zones and languages. The extensive self-service resources combined with 24/7 professional support and account management create a support ecosystem that can handle complex organizational needs at scale.
Customer testimonials
Brand24 Customer Reviews
Brand24 maintains an impressive overall rating of 4.64/5 based on 490 total reviews across G2 (4.6/5 from 294 reviews) and Capterra (4.7/5 from 196 reviews). Users consistently praise the platform’s accessibility and support quality. “The software is easy to use, they have decent guides and help docs, and the support is stellar. A very good app for tracking mentions. Lots of filters to hone in on the results that matter,” notes Doug L., a President. However, some users point out subscription flexibility issues: “I wish there were a ‘pause account’ option. We only use it when a client requires this specific service which is somewhat infrequent, so I wind up cancelling and reopening once or twice per year,” shares the same reviewer.
Meltwater Customer Reviews
Meltwater has gathered 2,283 reviews across platforms, maintaining a solid 4.0/5 average rating (4.0/5 on G2 from 2,187 reviews and 4.0/5 on Capterra from 96 reviews). Marketing and Communications Manager Megan D. highlights the platform’s analytical capabilities: “Meltwater provides us with invaluable data and insights. With the Explore function, we can monitor online conversations about our organization and related areas, while also comparing those discussions to competitor activity and analyzing trends over different time periods.” However, some users note a steeper learning curve, as Troy W., Senior Product Manager, explains: “Although the interface is user-friendly, there is still a learning curve to fully utilize all the advanced features. It can take some time to get accustomed to the various tools and functionalities available.”
The testimonials reveal that Brand24 excels in user-friendliness and customer support but could improve subscription flexibility, while Meltwater offers robust analytical capabilities but requires more time investment to master its full feature set.
| Brand24 | Meltwater | |
|---|---|---|
| Pros |
Easy alert creation
User-friendly interface
Solid product training
|
Asian monitoring sources
24/7 email support
Comprehensive reporting
|
| Cons |
Can’t see the full mention without clicking on it
Restricted real-time updates on lower plans
Only 30 days of historical data
|
Lack transparent pricing
No free trial available
Yearly commitment only
|
Meltwater vs Brand24: Final verdict
Brand24 and Meltwater each bring distinct advantages to social listening. Brand24 excels with its intuitive interface and competitive pricing, making it ideal for small to medium businesses seeking actionable social insights without complexity. Meltwater stands out through comprehensive global coverage and advanced analytics capabilities that serve enterprise needs, though its higher price point reflects this premium positioning.
However, both platforms have notable limitations. Brand24’s more restricted data sources and basic reporting features may frustrate power users needing deeper analysis. Meanwhile, Meltwater’s steep learning curve and substantial investment requirements can be prohibitive for smaller teams or those needing quick implementation. Historical data access is also limited in both tools, potentially constraining trend analysis.
For teams seeking an alternative that balances comprehensive coverage with accessibility, Mention offers an compelling option. With real-time monitoring across over 1 billion sources, 82% sentiment accuracy, and up to 2 years of historical data, it addresses key gaps while maintaining competitive pricing. Experience Mention’s capabilities firsthand through a free trial or schedule a demo to explore how its robust reporting and analysis tools can enhance your social listening strategy.
