The right social listening replacement depends on what you need from it: everyday brand alerts, deep consumer research, media and PR coverage, or simple free keyword alerts. Decide which of those you use, then compare which sources each tool covers, because coverage of forums, news and social networks varies far more than the dashboards do.
Mention is a media monitoring and social listening tool that tracks topics and also lets you publish posts and respond to customers. People move on from it for different reasons, and the reason should decide where you look next.
Below, the eight tools are grouped by purpose first and then listed in no particular order. Nothing is ranked, nothing is linked, and Mention itself isn't on the list.
Four reasons people look past their current listening tool
You want all-round monitoring with wider sources. Brand24 tracks mentions across social media, news, blogs, videos, forums, podcasts and reviews, which is a broad spread for a mid-sized team. Awario monitors web mentions, analyses competitors and also finds leads on social networks. BrandMentions covers social, news, blogs and forums, and its client-ready reports make it a natural fit for agencies.
You need research, not just alerts. Brandwatch sits at the enterprise end, owned by Cision, and combines consumer intelligence with social media management and influencer marketing. It's a research platform as much as a monitoring one, so it suits teams with an analyst who'll use it every day.
Media and PR matter most. Keyhole pairs social monitoring with PR intelligence on one platform. BuzzSumo combines media mention tracking with content research, which helps PR and content people who want to see coverage and ideas in the same place.
You only want free alerts. F5Bot emails you when your keywords appear on Reddit, Hacker News or Lobsters, and the page describes it as free forever. Social Searcher leads with free search across major networks, which is handy for a quick check rather than ongoing tracking.
The eight tools, one line each
Awario
Best for: Small marketing teams that want web mentions tracked, competitors analysed and leads found on social networks, plus niche influencer monitoring.
Brand24
Best for: Brands wanting mentions and insights from social media, news, blogs, videos, forums, podcasts and reviews in one tool.
BrandMentions
Best for: Agencies and consultants who need brand monitoring across social, news, blogs, forums and the web, with reports clients can read straight away.
Brandwatch
Best for: Enterprise teams wanting consumer intelligence, social media management and influencer marketing in one suite, now owned by Cision.
BuzzSumo
Best for: Content and PR people who want media mentions tracked alongside research into what's being written in their industry.
F5Bot
Best for: Founders and developers who only need an email when a keyword turns up on Reddit, Hacker News or Lobsters, free forever per the page.
Keyhole
Best for: Comms teams who want social listening and PR intelligence on one platform instead of two separate subscriptions.
Social Searcher
Best for: Anyone checking what's being said right now, with free search for profiles, mentions and posts across the major networks.
Mention replacements in a table
| Tool | Main purpose | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Awario | Brand monitoring with lead finding | Mentions, competitor tracking and social leads together |
| Brand24 | All-round mention tracking | Wide coverage including forums, podcasts and reviews |
| BrandMentions | Brand monitoring with reports | Agencies sending clients ready-made reports |
| Brandwatch | Enterprise consumer intelligence | Large teams doing research, not just alerts |
| BuzzSumo | Media mentions and content research | PR and content teams hunting coverage and ideas |
| F5Bot | Free community keyword alerts | Free email alerts from Reddit and Hacker News |
| Keyhole | Social monitoring plus PR | Pairing social listening with PR intelligence |
| Social Searcher | Free social search | Quick free lookups across major networks |
Coverage is the question home pages skip
Social listening tools differ most in which sources they crawl and how far back they go, and their home pages rarely spell it out. A tool can look polished in a demo and still miss the forum thread or podcast episode where your customers are talking about you.
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It helps to treat coverage as several separate questions. Does it pick up Reddit and niche forums? Podcasts? News sites in the countries you sell in? Each of the major social networks, given that access to some of them changes over time? A tool that's strong on news can be weak on communities, and the reverse.
The other split is alerts versus reporting. Some tools tell you when your name appears and leave the rest to you. Others add sentiment, trend reports and competitor comparisons. If you only need to know when to reply, a simple alert tool will do. If you report to a board or clients, you'll want the research features, and you'll pay for them in setup time.
My advice before you cancel Mention
Run your shortlist side by side before your current plan ends. Use the same brand name, the same competitor names and the same few product keywords in each trial, then look at the mentions each tool found that you didn't already know about. That's the number that tells you whether a tool earns its place.
Pair a free alert tool with a full platform only if the free one covers a source the other misses. For more options, my guide to the best social listening tools covers larger platforms, and my list of Reddit monitoring tools goes deeper on community alerts.
A one-week trial log
Keep a simple log for each tool you trial. It turns a vague feeling into something you can compare.
- Mentions found that you already knew about.
- Mentions found that were new to you, and where they came from.
- Sources missed that another tool picked up.
- How quickly each mention arrived after it was posted.
- Whether sentiment labels matched what you read yourself.
- How long it took to set up queries that cut out noise.
After a week, the right tool is usually obvious. It's the one that found conversations you'd otherwise have missed, without burying them in irrelevant results.
Do you make social listening or media monitoring tools? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
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Frequently asked questions
What is social listening?
Social listening means tracking what people say about your brand, competitors or topics across social networks, news, blogs and forums, then using it to reply, spot trends or report on reputation.
Is there a free alternative to Mention?
Some tools offer free alerts or free search, though usually with narrower coverage or fewer features. They work well for a single brand name or a few keywords.
What's the difference between brand monitoring and social listening?
Brand monitoring tells you when your name appears. Social listening goes further, looking at sentiment, trends and the wider conversation around your market.
Do social listening tools cover Reddit and podcasts?
Coverage varies by tool. Some include forums and podcasts, others focus on news and major social networks. Test with your own keywords before you commit.
How do I compare social listening tools fairly?
Run the same brand and competitor keywords through each trial over the same week, then compare the mentions that were new to you and the sources each one missed.
