For most readers, Brand24 is the default pick for focused sentiment tracking at a clear monthly price, while Awario is the budget pick and Sprout Social is the pick for teams that also need a social inbox and publishing in one place. Sentiment is not always included in the entry plan. Sprout Social adds sentiment in the inbox only on Advanced at $399 per seat per month on annual billing, so a team that buys Essentials at $79 per seat per month does not get that feature. Entry prices in this list run from $29 per month on annual billing for Awario to $199 per month on annual billing for Brand24, while Brandwatch, Talkwalker and Meltwater use custom quotes and need a sales conversation before you can budget.
Pick by the data you need to read, not by the size of the feature list. A social listening tool reads social posts, news, blogs, forums and reviews and sorts each mention as positive, negative or neutral. A small brand with 3 keywords needs a low mention cap and a fast setup. Check the mention cap, the keyword cap and the update speed before you compare headline prices.
On this page
Top sentiment analytics software: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandwatch | Large brands doing consumer research | quote only | No | Visit |
| 2 | Sprout Social | Social teams that need inbox and publishing | $79 per seat/month | Free trial (30 days) | Visit |
| 3 | Brand24 | Small teams tracking brand sentiment | $199 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 4 | Awario | Budget keyword and mention tracking | $29 per month | Free trial (7 days) | Visit |
| 5 | BrandMentions | Small businesses tracking brands and rivals | $79 per month | Free trial (7 days) | Visit |
| 6 | Hootsuite | Social teams that need scheduling and listening | $99 per user/month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 7 | Talkwalker | Enterprise teams that need wide listening | quote only | No | Visit |
| 8 | Meltwater | PR teams that need media and social listening | $10,000 per year | No | Visit |
The 8 best top sentiment analytics software tools, in detail
Brandwatch
Best for: Large brands doing consumer research
Brandwatch is the enterprise option for teams that need deep consumer research rather than a simple mention feed. It pulls mentions from a very wide set of online sources into one dashboard, applies AI sentiment analysis, and supports trend detection and custom reporting for research, marketing and PR teams. The trade-off is cost and access.
- Brandwatch does not publish a price on its site, and every plan is sold by custom quote, so a small team cannot plan a budget from the pricing page al
- Choose Brandwatch when source depth and analyst-ready reporting matter more than a low entry price.
Pros
- Wide source coverage across social, news, blogs, forums and reviews
- AI sentiment, trend detection and custom reporting
Cons
- No published price, so budgeting needs a sales quote
- annual contracts are the normal route, which limits short-term use
Sprout Social
Best for: Social teams that need inbox and publishing
Sprout Social is a per-seat suite, and it fits when sentiment work sits next to daily social work. Essentials starts at $79 per seat per month on annual billing, or $99 on monthly billing, with 5 social profiles, publishing and reporting. Standard is $199 per seat per month on annual billing with a shared inbox, keyword monitoring and review management.
- The key limit is the plan that adds sentiment.
- Advanced is $399 per seat per month on annual billing, or $499 on monthly billing, and it adds sentiment in the inbox, the Sprout API, helpdesk integr
- Choose Sprout Social when one login must cover publishing, replies and sentiment.
Pros
- Shared inbox, publishing and reporting in one suite
- sentiment in the inbox on Advanced, plus spike alerts and the API on that plan
Cons
- Sentiment in the inbox is held for Advanced at $399 per seat per month on annual billing
- Listening is a separate add-on with no published price
Brand24
Best for: Small teams tracking brand sentiment
Brand24 is the clearest mid-price option in this list for a team that wants sentiment from the first plan. Individual is $199 per month on annual billing, or $249 on monthly billing, for 3 keywords, 2,000 mentions per month, 1 user and updates every 12 hours. Pro is $399 per month on annual billing for 12 keywords and 40,000 mentions per month with real-time updates.
- Business is $599 per month on annual billing for 25 keywords and 100,000 mentions per month, and Enterprise starts from $1,499 per month with custom l
- The Reviews source and AI Insights start on Pro, so a buyer who wants AI summaries should budget $399 per month on annual billing, not $199.
- Choose Brand24 when you want a published price, a trial and sentiment on every plan.
Pros
- Published five-tier pricing with clear keyword and mention caps
- sentiment analysis included from the entry plan
Cons
- Entry plan allows only 3 keywords, 2,000 mentions per month and updates every 12 hours
- AI Insights start on Pro at $399 per month on annual billing
Awario
Best for: Budget keyword and mention tracking
Awario is the budget pick for a small brand, a founder or a freelancer who needs mention tracking without an enterprise contract. Starter is $29 per month on annual billing, or $49 on monthly billing, for 3 topics, unlimited keywords per topic, 30,000 new mentions per month, 5,000 stored mentions per topic and 1 user. Enterprise is $249 per month on annual billing for 100 topics and 1 million mentions.
- Awario tracks mentions across social, news, blogs, videos, forums and reviews, with Boolean search.
- A year of Starter at the annual rate is $348, against $588 on monthly billing, so annual billing saves $240 over 12 months.
- Choose Awario when mention volume matters more than a large team, a long history or an API on the entry plan.
Pros
- Lowest entry price in this list at $29 per month on annual billing
- 30,000 new mentions per month on Starter with Boolean search
Cons
- Starter allows only 3 topics, 5,000 stored mentions per topic and 1 user
- API access is held for the higher Enterprise plan
BrandMentions
Best for: Small businesses tracking brands and rivals
BrandMentions is a self-serve listening tool for small businesses, PR teams and agencies. Starter is $99 per month billed quarterly, or $79 per month on annual billing, for 5 keywords, 5,000 mentions per month, 1 user and daily updates. Expert is $499 per month, or $399 per month on annual billing, for 50 keywords, 75,000 mentions per month and 10 users.
- The update speed is the main limit to check.
- Starter collects daily, Pro collects hourly, and real-time collection starts on Expert, so a team that needs same-hour replies should not buy Starter
- Choose BrandMentions when you want a published price and a clear ladder from daily to real-time tracking.
Pros
- Published pricing from $79 per month on annual billing
- sentiment sorting and share-of-voice comparison in the same dashboard
Cons
- Starter updates daily, not in real time
- real-time collection starts on Expert at $399 per month on annual billing
Hootsuite
Best for: Social teams that need scheduling and listening
Hootsuite is a social media management suite that adds listening and sentiment to scheduling, a shared inbox and analytics. Standard starts at $99 per user per month on annual billing for 1 user and 10 social accounts. Professional is $199 per user per month on annual billing, Advanced is $399 per user per month on annual billing, and Enterprise is custom.
- It is less suited to a buyer who only needs sentiment, because the entry price buys scheduling and inbox features that a listening-only buyer may not
- Choose Hootsuite when your team manages several social accounts each day and wants one workflow for posts, replies and listening.
Pros
- Scheduling, inbox, analytics and listening in one dashboard
- Standard includes 10 social accounts for 1 user
Cons
- Price is per user, so a team of 3 pays $297 per month on annual billing for Standard
- advanced listening is held for higher plans and Enterprise
Talkwalker
Best for: Enterprise teams that need wide listening
Talkwalker, now sold as Lumen by Talkwalker after Hootsuite acquired it in 2024, is an enterprise listening and consumer intelligence platform. Its pricing page lists Core, Analyze and Business, and each plan includes unlimited users, professional onboarding and expert strategy reviews. Analyze adds twice the non-sampled results volume of Core and 25 additional topics.
- Business adds six times the volume of Core, three times more topics, more history and more workspaces.
- The quote-only model is the main limit.
- There is no published monthly price, no self-serve signup and no free trial, so a buyer must request a demo and a custom quote before any budget can b
- Choose Talkwalker when your program needs enterprise volume and a wide source set.
Pros
- Three named plans, Core, Analyze and Business, with unlimited users on every plan
- visual listening and AI summaries for large programs
Cons
- No published price and no free trial, so every buyer needs a demo and a custom quote
- results volume and history depend on the plan
Meltwater
Best for: PR teams that need media and social listening
Meltwater is a media and social intelligence suite for PR, comms and marketing teams. Its own pricing guidance gives indicative starting points of $10,000 per year for Starter, $25,000 per year for Pro and $130,000 per year for Enterprise, while the pricing page itself shows no fixed list and routes buyers to a sales conversation. Pro adds competitive comparison and more of Mira, the AI assistant.
- Enterprise adds API access, multi-market governance and influencer tooling.
- The scope decides the final bill.
- Monitoring, social listening, media relations and influencer marketing are sold as modules, so a buyer who adds modules will pay more than the indicat
- Choose Meltwater when you need global media coverage plus social listening and a journalist database in one contract.
Pros
- Media monitoring, social listening, a journalist database and AI summaries in one suite
- vendor-published indicative starting points for each tier
Cons
- No fixed list price on the pricing page, so the final quote depends on scope, regions and modules
- most agreements carry a 12-month minimum and no self-serve trial
How we chose
We included tools that read social posts, news, blogs, forums, reviews or customer feedback and sort that text by sentiment, with a published price or a clear quote-only model. We did not test any tool hands-on. Prices and plan limits in this article come from official vendor pricing pages and vendor pricing guidance opened on 2026-11-12. Sprout Social holds sentiment in the inbox for Advanced at $399 per seat per month on annual billing, so a reader who buys on the entry price alone would miss the feature they searched for.
Pick by budget and mention volume
| Reader | First pick | Entry cost | Watch the limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo brand, low volume | Awario | $29 per month (billed annually) | 3 topics, 30,000 new mentions per month, 1 user |
| Small team, clear price | Brand24 | $199 per month (billed annually) | 3 keywords, 2,000 mentions per month, 12-hour updates |
| Small business, rivals | BrandMentions | $79 per month (billed annually) | 5 keywords, 5,000 mentions per month, daily updates |
| Social team, inbox plus listening | Sprout Social | $79 per seat/month (billed annually) | Sentiment only on Advanced at $399 per seat per month |
| Large brand, research depth | Brandwatch | quote only | No published price, annual contract normal |
| Enterprise, unlimited users | Talkwalker | quote only | No published price, no free trial |
| PR team, global media | Meltwater | $10,000 per year (Starter indicative starting point) | 12-month minimum, modules add to the quote |
Frequently asked questions
How much does sentiment analytics software cost?
Entry prices in this list run from $29 per month on annual billing for Awario Starter to $199 per month on annual billing for Brand24 Individual. Sprout Social starts at $79 per seat per month on annual billing, Hootsuite at $99 per user per month on annual billing, and BrandMentions at $79 per month on annual billing. Brandwatch and Talkwalker use custom quotes, while Meltwater gives an indicative starting point of $10,000 per year for Starter.
Which is best for a small business?
Brand24 is the best pick for a small business that wants sentiment from the entry plan with a published price and a 14-day trial. Awario is the best pick when budget is the main limit, at $29 per month on annual billing with 30,000 new mentions per month. BrandMentions is the best pick when rival tracking and share-of-voice comparison matter, at $79 per month on annual billing with 5 keywords and 5,000 mentions per month.
Which is best for enterprise sentiment analysis?
Brandwatch is the best pick for enterprise consumer research with wide source coverage and custom reporting, while Talkwalker is the best pick for enterprise listening with unlimited users on every plan. Meltwater also suits large programs, but it starts from an indicative $10,000 per year for Starter. Ask each vendor for volume, history and export terms in the quote.
Do any of these tools have a free plan?
None of the 8 tools in this list offers a free plan. Brand24 offers a 14-day trial, Sprout Social offers a 30-day trial, Hootsuite offers a 14-day trial, and Awario and BrandMentions offer 7-day trials. Brandwatch, Talkwalker and Meltwater offer no free plan and no self-serve trial, so evaluation runs through a demo or a sales conversation.
Is sentiment analysis accurate enough to trust?
Sentiment tools sort text as positive, negative or neutral, and they can miss sarcasm, mixed comments and short posts, so treat the score as a signal, not a final verdict. Use the tool to spot a rise in negative mentions, read the underlying posts before you act, and check the same trend across two sources when a decision depends on it.
What should I check before I choose a plan?
Check the keyword cap, the mention cap and the update speed first, then check which plan adds AI summaries, real-time collection and API access. Brand24 Individual allows 3 keywords and updates every 12 hours, BrandMentions Starter updates daily, and Sprout Social adds sentiment only on Advanced. Confirm the billing basis, the contract term and the renewal notice period in writing before you sign.
Sources
- https://www.brandwatch.com/
- https://www.brandwatch.com/pricing
- https://sproutsocial.com/
- https://sproutsocial.com/pricing
- https://brand24.com/
- https://brand24.com/pricing/
- https://awario.com/
- https://awario.com/pricing/
- https://brandmentions.com/
- https://brandmentions.com/pricing.php
- https://www.hootsuite.com/
- https://www.hootsuite.com/pricing
- https://www.talkwalker.com/
- https://www.talkwalker.com/pricing
- https://www.meltwater.com/
- https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/meltwater-pricing
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.