6 Best Social Media Monitoring Tools You Should Try in 2025

Imagine launching a new product and, within hours, it’s the talk of the internet, praised in some corners, critiqued in others. This is exactly why you need the best social media monitoring tools in your inventory.

And this is the reality of 2025 and so on, where over 5.42 billion people engage on social media platforms, monitoring these conversations isn’t just beneficial or optional, it’s indispensable.

The ability to track real-time mentions, gauge public sentiment, and analyze competitor strategies can make the difference between a successful campaign and a missed opportunity.

In this guide, we’ll explore the six best social media monitoring tools to consider in 2025. 

These platforms offer advanced features, from AI-driven analytics to comprehensive multi-platform tracking, to help you stay ahead in the competitive social media landscape.

What is Social Media Monitoring?

Social media monitoring is the process of tracking mentions, discussions, and keywords on social media platforms. 

The goal is to gather data on your brand, competitors, and industry trends to guide marketing and customer service strategies. 

These tools track brand mentions, hashtags, and customer sentiment, providing insights to enhance your strategy. 

Social media analytics tools go one step further by analyzing large datasets to provide comprehensive reports and engagement metrics that help businesses fine-tune their strategies.

6 Best Social Media Monitoring Tools in 2025

With so many tools on the market, choosing the best one can be overwhelming. Below are six of the top tools that stand out in 2025 based on their features, pricing, and user-friendliness.

1. Shortimize 

If you’re creating content on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you know how fast trends move and how hard it is to keep up. 

That’s where Shortimize comes in. Built with creators and marketers in mind, it gives you the kind of insights that actually help you grow, like which videos are hitting the mark, what your audience is responding to, and where your content could use a tweak.

It’s not bloated with features you’ll never use. Instead, it focuses on what matters most: performance tracking, audience engagement, and real-time feedback, especially on short-form video platforms where timing and content are everything.

Pros:

• Supports real-time tracking across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
• Great for influencers and creators who want to grow their reach and engagement.
• Competitive pricing, especially for creators.
• Simple and easy to use interface.
• 7-day free trial available.

Cons:

• Limited support for other platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.

2. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is an enterprise-grade tool known for its excellent reporting and engagement features. It’s particularly well-suited for businesses that need to manage multiple social media accounts across various platforms.

Pros:

• Unified platform that handles social media publishing, monitoring, and analytics.
• Excellent reporting and engagement features, with in-depth analytics for tracking ROI.
• Supports all major platforms and offers multi-user support for teams.

Cons:

• Expensive, particularly for small businesses or startups.
• Limited support for visual platforms like YouTube and Pinterest.
• Customer support can sometimes be slow, and some users report occasional delays in input.

3. Buffer

Buffer is a popular choice for small teams or businesses looking for a simple, affordable social media management tool. While it excels in scheduling and posting, its monitoring capabilities are more limited than those of other tools on the market.

Pros:

• Affordable and easy to use, perfect for small teams and startups.
• Simple reporting features that focus on engagement metrics.
• Easy-to-use interface
• Supports all major social media platforms.
• Free plan available

Cons:

• Since it is a social media management platform, some users faced bugs and errors with their social posts.
• Doesn’t provide in-depth analytics for engagement, making it less suitable for businesses looking for detailed insights.
• Some users report issues with social media platforms, which occasionally cause posts to fail.

4. Hootsuite

A long-time leader in the social media management space, Hootsuite is one of those tools that’s been around long enough to know what teams really need. It offers solid platform integration and a well-rounded set of features for monitoring, scheduling, and analytics.

Pros:

• Excellent platform integration, supports over 35 social networks.
• Customizable dashboards for tailored reporting.
• Robust analytics features for measuring social media ROI and tracking brand mentions.
• Offers a 30-day free trial
• Integrations available with platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox.

Cons:

• The interface can be overwhelming for beginners.
• Analytics may not be as detailed as those from specialized social media monitoring tools.
• User reviews from Trustpilot show that the platform has issues with billing. 

5. Brandwatch

Brandwatch is known for its advanced social listening tool capabilities and in-depth analytics, making it ideal for larger enterprises or businesses that need to track complex datasets across multiple channels.

Pros:

• Advanced social listening features for competitor benchmarking and trend analysis.
• Access to historical conversations for a detailed understanding of brand sentiment.
• Powerful AI-powered tools for sentiment analysis and trend forecasting.

Cons:

• Costly, making it less ideal for smaller businesses or startups.
• Complex interface that may require a learning curve.
• The vast amount of data can be overwhelming, and custom plans may not always meet specific needs.
• No free trial available

6. Mention

Mention is another solid choice for real-time social media monitoring, offering features for competitive benchmarking and brand mention tracking across multiple platforms.

Pros:

• Real-time alerts and notifications for brand mentions.
• Supports over 40 languages, making it ideal for global brands.
• Competitive benchmarking features help track competitors’ activities and benchmark your performance.

Cons:

• Reported issues with billing and customer support.
• Some users report that the platform’s interface is not as user-friendly as other tools.
• Limited analytics capabilities when compared to more robust platforms.

How to Choose the Best Social Media Monitoring Tool

Selecting the best social media monitoring tool for your business depends on several factors. Consider the following questions:

What’s Your Budget? 

Tools like Buffer and Mention are more affordable but have limited capabilities, while enterprise-grade platforms like Brandwatch and Sprout Social come at a higher cost. 

Shortimize, on the other hand, is specifically designed for social media monitoring for both SMEs and enterprises at an optimized price. 

Which Platforms Matter Most to You?

If you’re heavily invested in Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, Shortimize might be your best bet. For more comprehensive monitoring across multiple platforms, Sprout Social or Hootsuite would be better suited.

How Deep Do You Need the Analytics?

Shortimize, Brandwatch, and Sprout Social are great options if you need in-depth insights. If you’re just getting started, simpler tools like Buffer may be sufficient. However, these tools have their shortcomings.

Key Features to Look For

When choosing a social media monitoring tool, there are several essential features you need to consider:

Real-Time Monitoring

The best tools allow you to track mentions and activities in real time. This gives you an immediate response to any conversation about your brand, allowing you to engage with customers or handle crises promptly.

Multi-Platform Tracking

A good social media monitoring tool should be able to track conversations across major platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X, and even emerging platforms.

Sentiment Analysis

Understanding how people feel about your brand is crucial. Sentiment analysis helps gauge public perception by evaluating whether mentions are positive, negative, or neutral.

Competitor Tracking

Knowing what your competitors are doing can help you stay competitive. Many tools include features for monitoring your competitors’ social media activity and comparing their performance to yours.

Reporting and Dashboard Capabilities

Efficient reporting tools help you analyze trends and measure your social media ROI. Dashboards that visualize key metrics can help you make quick, data-backed decisions.

Affordability and Scalability

Different businesses have different needs, so choosing a tool that aligns with your budget and scales as your business grows is essential.

Best Social Media Monitoring Tools: Ending Notes

The best social media monitoring tool is the one that offers diverse analytics along with essential features for businesses to stay competitive. 

Thanks to its real-time insights and affordable pricing, Shortimize stands out as the top pick, especially for creators and marketers on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Whether you’re a small business, an enterprise, or a creator, finding the right tool can help you track brand mentions, understand competitor strategies, and make data-driven decisions for improved engagement and growth.

Try Shortimize today or explore other options with free trials to find the perfect fit for your needs.

People Also Ask: 

Which is the best social media monitoring tool?

Many good tools are available in the market, like Sprout Social and Hootsuite. However, if you need a platform that offers affordable pricing and advanced analytics, Shortimize is a good choice.

How to monitor social media analytics?

You can use the platform’s built-in analytics, but they lack comprehensive insights and action items. You can use third-party social media analytics tools.

How do you get free social media monitoring tools?

Platforms like Shortimize, Hootsuite, and Buffer do offer free trials to test.