- 12 min read
We Review the 10 Best Brand Tracking Software for Monitoring Online Reputation
You've probably ended up here because you're spoiled for choice. There are soooo many brand tracking software options out there, and they all seem to do the same thing...
Whether you want the best, the cheapest, or something in between, this article will help you find the right brand tracking software for your needs.
Why monitor your brand's online reputation?
You don't need to be a big brand to suffer from negative online mentions. One bad review, a Reddit thread, or a viral tweet can drastically alter how people perceive your business overnight.
We've seen startups lose leads and credibility simply because they weren't tracking what customers were saying or where they were.
Monitoring your brand helps you catch reputation issues early, so they can be addressed before they escalate.
Why listen to us?
ForumScout has helped over 2500 brands and agencies stay ahead of online conversations. We know what works when it comes to protecting and growing your reputation. Our experience comes from real monitoring of a very diverse range of clients. Every recommendation in this guide is backed by hands-on use, data, and insights from working directly with teams who care about what their customers say online.
What is brand tracking software?
Brand tracking software monitors how your brand is mentioned and perceived across digital channels, including social media, forums, news sites, and communities. It gathers mentions in real time to reveal trends, sentiment, and audience opinions.
We use it to understand what customers think, spot reputation risks early, and pinpoint opportunities for engagement or improvement.
Tools like ForumScout make this process simple and automated, combining monitoring, AI filtering, and sentiment analysis to show only the insights that matter most.
Why is brand tracking important?
- Reputation management: Spot negative mentions early and respond before issues escalate.
- Customer insights: Learn what users truly think about your products or competitors.
- Market awareness: Discover emerging trends and communities discussing your niche.
- Competitive advantage: Identify weaknesses in rival brands and act on opportunities.
- Performance tracking: Measure the real impact of campaigns and public sentiment over time.
10 Best Brand Tracking Software Tools
1. ForumScout
ForumScout is a brand-tracking and social listening platform designed for teams of all sizes. It scans forums, Reddit, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and dozens of other platforms to uncover what people are really saying about your brand, product, or competitors.
Using AI-driven filters, the platform cuts through irrelevant mentions to surface conversations that matter, like product feedback, competitor complaints, or buying signals. Unlike enterprise-level tools that overwhelm and overcharge, ForumScout focuses on clarity, speed, and affordability. It's built for startups, SMBs, and agencies that need a lean, reliable way to stay ahead of online sentiment and opportunities.
Key Features
- Scouts / Keyword Monitoring: Continuously tracks chosen keywords or brand mentions across forums, social platforms, and news sites.
- AI Filtering & Scoring: Uses advanced models to prioritize mentions by sentiment, context, and intent.
- Natural-Language Filters: Allows rule-setting in plain English, no Boolean logic needed.
- Smart Notifications: Alerts you instantly to critical or high-value mentions.
- Sentiment & Audience Analytics: Reveals tone, conversation trends, and top community engagement sources.
- Competitive Intelligence: Highlights recurring issues or opportunities in competitor mentions.
- Integrations: Sync your mentions to Google Sheets or via webhooks for custom workflows.
Pricing
- Free Forever ($0/month): Includes 100 mentions per month, 3 keywords, updates every 6 hours, and 14-day post retention. Comes with basic insights, email notifications, and webhook support.
- Growth ($19/month): Everything in Free, plus 5,000 mentions per month, 10 keywords, hourly updates, and 30-day post retention. Includes AI filtering for smarter results.
- Business ($49/month): Everything in Growth, plus 25,000 mentions per month, 20 keywords, 60-day retention, and advanced analytics like competitive intelligence, sentiment and emotion tracking, and audience insights.
- Enterprise ($129/month): Everything in Business, plus 100,000 mentions per month, 25 keywords, and extended 180-day post retention for long-term monitoring.
Pros
- Tracks conversations on niche forums that other tools often overlook.
- AI-powered scoring filters out irrelevant noise and low-quality mentions.
- Plain-language filters make setup quick and effortless.
- Real-time alerts help teams act fast and stay ahead of issues.
- The free plan provides genuine value for early-stage users.
- Competitor analysis reveals recurring weaknesses and untapped opportunities.
Cons
- Lower-tier plans limit historical post access.
2. Brand24
Brand24 is a full-featured media monitoring and social listening tool that captures brand mentions across millions of online sources. It transforms scattered conversations from social media, forums, blogs, and news sites into actionable insights. The platform's AI surfaces key discussions, detects sentiment shifts, and identifies spikes in brand activity so teams can respond quickly, manage reputation, and spot market opportunities.
Key Features
- Real-Time Monitoring: Tracks mentions across multiple channels and alerts you instantly.
- AI Insights & Brand Assistant: Explains mention spikes and summarizes key takeaways.
- Emotion & Intent Analysis: Detects tone, mood, and user intent beyond simple sentiment.
- Influencer & Share of Voice Metrics: Reveals key voices and measures competitive visibility.
- Custom Reports & Alerts: Generates automated reports and sends anomaly alerts.
Pricing
- Individual ($199/month): 3 keywords, 2K mentions, 1 user, updates every 12 hours, sentiment analysis.
- Team ($299/month): 7 keywords, 10K mentions, hourly updates, unlimited users, priority support.
- Pro ($399/month): 12 keywords, 40K mentions, real-time updates, AI Insights, AI Topics (2 projects).
- Business ($599/month): 25 keywords, 100K mentions, 5 AI projects, advanced analytics, audience insights.
- Enterprise (from $999/month): Custom limits, unlimited AI Insights and Topics, consulting support, and advanced reporting.
Pros
- Instant alerts ensure you catch key mentions in real time.
- AI summaries streamline reporting and save hours weekly.
- Emotion analysis provides a deeper context on audience sentiment.
Cons
- Entry pricing can be high for small teams.
- Historical data depth is limited on lower plans.
3. Awario
Awario is a brand-monitoring platform that aggressively scans the web, forums, social media, blogs, video sites, and news outlets to track mentions of your brand, product, or competitors in real-time. It's built for marketers who need immediate visibility into their online presence and actionable insights to respond, engage, and shape their strategy.
Key Features
- Multi-Channel Mention Monitoring: Scours social media, blogs, forums, news, and more for brand mentions.
- Boolean & Advanced Search Logic: Lets you refine keyword setups with Boolean phrases for more precise results.
- Sentiment & Intent Analytics: Delivers tone, reach, and user-intent data for each mention.
- Influencer & Lead Identification: Finds authors with high impact and surfaces potential leads asking for your type of product.
- Custom Reports & Alerts: Allows tailored dashboards, white-label exports, and instant notifications when important mentions appear.
Pricing
- Free Trial: 7-day Starter plan access, no credit card required.
- Starter ($49/month): 3 topics, 30K new mentions/month, 1 user, Boolean search, 5K stored mentions/topic.
- Pro ($149/month): 15 topics, 300K mentions/month, 10 users, 15K stored mentions/topic, data export, and API access.
- Enterprise ($399/month): 100 topics, 1M mentions/month, unlimited users, 50K stored mentions/topic, white-label reports, and an account manager.
Pros
- Real-time alerts to track urgent brand mentions.
- Boolean search logic empowers precise filtering of noisy data.
- Lead generation module turns mentions into actionable opportunities.
Cons
- Setup and Boolean logic have a steep learning curve for beginners.
- Basic plans limit keyword/topic count and data depth, restricting coverage for larger brands.
4. Mention
Mention is a social listening and media monitoring platform that helps brands track online conversations in real time. It collects mentions from millions of sources, including social media, news sites, forums, and blogs, and organizes them into actionable insights. Designed for both small teams and enterprises, it blends monitoring, analytics, and publishing tools so users can analyze sentiment, measure reach, and manage reputation all from one place.
Key Features
- Real-Time Alerts: Instantly notifies users when their brand or keywords appear online.
- Data Visualization: Displays sentiment trends and volume spikes through clear, customizable dashboards.
- Collaboration Tools: Allow teams to tag, share, and comment on mentions directly in the platform.
- Competitor Tracking: Compares brand visibility, sentiment, and engagement against competitors.
- Integrated Publishing: Enables users to schedule and manage posts across social channels.
Pricing
- Company ($599/month): Complete media monitoring solution, advanced social listening, sentiment analysis, competitor intelligence, team collaboration, API access, and custom reporting.
- Free Trial: Demo available on request.
- Company Plan: Custom pricing with team management, API access, and dedicated support.
Pros
- Combines monitoring and social media publishing in one tool.
- Its clean dashboard simplifies sentiment and trend tracking.
- Collaboration features streamline multi-user workflows.
Cons
- Advanced analytics are only available on higher tiers.
- Data refresh can lag slightly during high-volume periods.
5. BrandMentions
BrandMentions is a robust brand-monitoring and reputation-management tool that uncovers every relevant mention of your brand across the web. It's designed for marketers who want complete visibility into how their brand, competitors, or campaigns are being discussed. The platform helps users discover conversations, measure sentiment, and extract actionable insights to improve communication and customer engagement.
Key Features
- All-Web Monitoring: Tracks mentions across websites, social networks, blogs, and forums in real time.
- Sentiment Analysis: Evaluates tone and emotional context for each mention.
- Competitor Tracking: Compares brand visibility and sentiment versus competing businesses.
- Engagement Dashboard: Centralizes mentions and allows users to reply directly from the interface.
- Backlink & SEO Insights: Identifies valuable backlinks generated from brand mentions for SEO growth.
Pricing
- Starter ($99/month): 15 keywords, 5K mentions, daily updates, AI sentiment analysis, web & social tracking, standard KPIs.
- Pro ($299/month): 30 keywords, 30K mentions, hourly (LIVE) updates, multilingual AI sentiment, white-label reports, AI Assistant & Insights, influencer analytics.
- Expert ($499/month): 50 keywords, 100K mentions, real-time updates, API & Boolean search, 10-year historical data, advanced reporting, full customization.
- Enterprise (from $999/month): Unlimited keywords and mentions, real-time updates, application white-labeling, strategic AI analysis, full historical data, dedicated account management, and custom integrations.
Pros
- SEO backlink insights provide unique dual value for marketers.
- Its clean, data-rich dashboard makes tracking easy and actionable.
- Accurate sentiment detection improves response prioritization.
Cons
- Keyword caps can feel restrictive on lower plans.
- Historical data depth is limited unless upgraded to higher tiers.
6. Brandwatch
Brandwatch is an enterprise-grade digital consumer intelligence platform that turns billions of online conversations into structured insights. It's ideal for brands that need large-scale social listening, sentiment tracking, and trend analysis. The tool combines social, web, and image data to help companies understand audiences, manage crises, and shape marketing strategy based on real-time conversation data.
Key Features
- AI-Powered Insights: Analyzes massive datasets to detect sentiment shifts, trends, and brand perception changes.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Monitors social media, forums, blogs, and review sites with deep historical data.
- Image Recognition: Detects brand logos in shared photos and videos online.
- Consumer Research Dashboards: Visualizes patterns in audience behavior and emerging topics.
- Competitor Benchmarking: Compares brand visibility, tone, and engagement across industries.
Pricing
- To get pricing details for Brandwatch's full suite service, reach out to the Brandwatch sales team for a custom quote.
Pros
- Advanced analytics and AI-driven insights.
- Comprehensive historical and real-time data coverage.
- Powerful image recognition adds visual brand tracking capabilities.
Cons
- Pricing and complexity can overwhelm small teams.
- The learning curve is steeper due to the enterprise-level depth.
7. Meltwater
Meltwater is a premium media intelligence and social listening platform built for organizations that want deep analytics and broad media coverage. It gathers data from news outlets, blogs, forums, and social networks, turning global conversations into insights you can act on. Known for its PR and communications focus, Meltwater helps teams track brand perception, monitor competitors, and measure campaign impact across multiple channels, all in one unified dashboard.
Key Features
- Global Media Monitoring: Tracks millions of online, print, and broadcast sources worldwide.
- AI Sentiment Analysis: Identifies tone and sentiment across languages and regions.
- Influencer & Journalist Database: Helps users connect with key voices for PR outreach.
- Custom Dashboards & Reports: Visualizes brand performance and campaign results in real time.
- Competitor Benchmarking: Evaluates share of voice and positioning versus top rivals.
Pricing
- Custom Pricing: Based on organization size, feature set, and data volume.
- Add-Ons: Optional upgrades for influencer management, API access, and advanced analytics.
Pros
- Unmatched coverage across traditional and digital media.
- Strong PR and influencer management capabilities.
- Highly customizable reports suited for executive teams.
Cons
- Pricing is not transparent and may be expensive for smaller users.
- The platform can feel complex for quick, everyday monitoring tasks.
8. YouScan
YouScan is a visual social listening platform that goes beyond text-based mentions to analyze images, logos, and visual content. It helps brands understand how they're represented online, especially in photos and videos shared by customers. With strong AI image recognition and sentiment analysis, YouScan is used by marketers and PR teams to uncover user-generated content, detect trends, and track brand perception across visual and written media.
Key Features
- Visual Listening: Detects brand logos, objects, and scenes in user-generated images.
- AI-Powered Insights: Analyzes both visuals and text for sentiment, trends, and context.
- Audience Analytics: Profiles audiences by interests, behaviors, and communities.
- Trend Detection: Identifies emerging topics, hashtags, and visual trends.
- Crisis Monitoring: Alerts teams to sudden sentiment drops or viral incidents.
Pricing
- Starter ($499/month): 3 topics, 15K mentions, daily updates, AI Insights Copilot (10 Qs/mo), sentiment & trend analysis, 1 integration (Slack/Teams/WhatsApp), unlimited users & alerts.
- Unlimited (custom pricing): Unlimited topics & mentions, full text + image + audience data, Visual & Audience Insights, unlimited Copilot access, custom dashboards, API, configurable user rights.
Pros
- Exceptional image-recognition accuracy for brand visuals.
- Combines visual and text analytics for deeper context.
- Excellent for uncovering user-generated content opportunities.
Cons
- Pricing can be high for smaller teams.
- The interface may feel data-heavy for casual users.
9. Quantilope
Quantilope is an automated research and brand-tracking platform designed for data-driven marketing and insight teams. It streamlines survey creation, consumer data collection, and brand health measurement through automation and AI. Rather than relying solely on passive monitoring, Quantilope empowers brands to actively gather quantitative feedback on awareness, perception, and loyalty.
Key Features
- Automated Brand Tracking: Continuously measures brand performance using customizable research templates.
- AI-Driven Analysis: Processes results instantly to uncover sentiment, loyalty, and awareness shifts.
- Segmentation & Benchmarking: Compares audience groups, competitors, and time periods.
- Dynamic Dashboards: Visualizes KPIs, trends, and correlations in real time.
- Integration Ready: Syncs data with CRM, analytics, and BI tools for cross-channel insights.
Pricing
- Custom Pricing: Based on research scope, survey volume, and integrations.
- Enterprise Options: Include consulting support, advanced analytics, and dedicated account management.
Pros
- Automates complex brand-tracking research workflows.
- Real-time dashboards simplify insight sharing across teams.
- High data accuracy supports confident strategic decisions.
Cons
- More suited for structured surveys than spontaneous social mentions.
- Setup and customization require initial onboarding support.
10. Talkwalker
Talkwalker is an enterprise-grade social listening and consumer intelligence platform that analyzes online, social, and traditional media at scale. It helps brands uncover insights from billions of conversations, enabling smarter marketing, PR, and customer experience decisions. Known for its depth and precision, Talkwalker uses AI and image recognition to map sentiment, brand health, and emerging trends across 150 million data sources in real time.
Key Features
- Cross-Channel Monitoring: Captures mentions from social media, forums, TV, radio, and news sites.
- AI-Powered Analytics: Surfaces insights on sentiment, reach, and engagement automatically.
- Visual Listening: Recognizes brand logos and objects in images and videos.
- Crisis Detection: Identifies spikes in negative sentiment to flag potential PR risks early.
- Campaign Performance Tracking: Measures earned media impact and share of voice.
Pricing
- Custom Plans: Tailored to organization size, data needs, and analytics depth.
- Enterprise Tier: Includes API access, historical data, and advanced segmentation.
Pros
- Industry-leading coverage and data depth for global monitoring.
- Visual listening detects brand use even without text mentions.
- Predictive alerts help teams manage crises proactively.
Cons
- Pricing is enterprise-focused and may exceed SMB budgets.
- The interface can feel complex due to its extensive feature set.
Monitor Your Brand Reputation with ForumScout
Staying ahead in today's fast-paced digital world means knowing exactly what people say about your brand and acting fast. The right brand tracking software helps you uncover insights, spot trends, and protect your reputation before issues escalate.
ForumScout has helped thousands of brands streamline their monitoring strategies, detect sentiment shifts in real time, and turn audience feedback into actionable growth opportunities. Our expertise ensures you choose tools that align with your goals and deliver measurable impact.
Ready to take control of your brand's online reputation? Start your journey with ForumScout today and see how powerful insights can transform your brand presence.