Brandwatch Listen vs Pulsar

Brandwatch Listen9.0Visit Pulsar7.9Visit

Higher score Brandwatch Listen #4 in Social Media Listening Software 9.0/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Brandwatch

vs

Pulsar #7 in Social Media Listening Software 7.9/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Pulsar

• Brandwatch Listen fits best

  Teams wanting straightforward search-based listening

• Pulsar fits best

  Research teams needing deep audience analysis

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Side by side

Feature	Brandwatch Listen 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Pulsar 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	7.9
Ranking	#4 in Social Media Listening Software	#7 in Social Media Listening Software
Best for	Teams wanting straightforward search-based listening	Research teams needing deep audience analysis
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	—
Free plan	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Integrations	1 integrations	5 integrations
Features Brandwatch Listen 3/3 · Pulsar 3/3
Web monitoring	✓	✓
Sentiment analysis	✓	✓
News monitoring	✓	✓
Specs
Social network coverage	X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit, Bluesky, QQ	X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, Discord, Twitch, Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Bilibili, Naver, VK
Historical data	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Tracked query limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Alert channels	email	email, in-app, mobile push
Our review
Pros	Boolean searches monitor mentions across social networks and the wider web Saved searches provide one year of historical analysis AI volume alerts, email notifications, tagging, and visualizations aid monitoring	Monitors social, news, forums, reviews, broadcast, search, and web sources Combines audience segmentation with sentiment, emotion, and narrative tracking Offers alerts, custom reports, multiple export formats, and API access
Cons	Pricing is handled through contact-sales or demo flows Two years of historical data is described as a premium add-on The listed integration is limited to Brandwatch Engage	Enterprise pricing is configured through sales No published tier list makes plan comparisons difficult Its breadth may exceed the needs of teams seeking basic social monitoring
Our verdict	Brandwatch Listen is a web-based social listening product from Cision for brands, agencies, and social media teams that need to find and analyze online mentions. Boolean search supports monitoring phrases, hashtags, products, and… Read the review →	Pulsar’s TRAC is an enterprise social listening and audience intelligence product for brands, agencies, and government communications teams. It is suited to research groups that need to analyze public conversation across more than social… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Brandwatch Listen — where it wins

  • Boolean searches monitor mentions across social networks and the wider web
  • Saved searches provide one year of historical analysis
  • AI volume alerts, email notifications, tagging, and visualizations aid monitoring

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is handled through contact-sales or demo flows
  • Two years of historical data is described as a premium add-on
  • The listed integration is limited to Brandwatch Engage

• Pulsar — where it wins

  • Monitors social, news, forums, reviews, broadcast, search, and web sources
  • Combines audience segmentation with sentiment, emotion, and narrative tracking
  • Offers alerts, custom reports, multiple export formats, and API access

  Where it doesn't

  • Enterprise pricing is configured through sales
  • No published tier list makes plan comparisons difficult
  • Its breadth may exceed the needs of teams seeking basic social monitoring

• Brandwatch Listen9.0/10 · Pricing on request

  A focused listening tool for tracking mentions, sentiment, and changes in conversation volume.

  Visit BrandwatchFull verdict →
• Pulsar7.9/10 · Pricing on request

  Broad-source listening pairs audience analysis with enterprise pricing by configuration.

  Visit PulsarFull verdict →