This article introduces 12 alternatives to Meltwater (Klear). We will compare them based on data quality, ease of use, price, and features. Each tool has its advantages and disadvantages, so you can choose the best one for your needs.
Why Consider Alternatives to Meltwater
Meltwater is a heavyweight in media monitoring and influencer marketing, but Meltwater might not be the perfect fit for everyone because:
- Mandatory Influencer Authentication: Requires influencers to authenticate their accounts to monitor content, creating friction in onboarding and collaboration.
- Limited Database Size: Klear’s database of 30M influencers is significantly smaller than many competitors.
- Poor Nano/Local Influencer Support: Struggles to surface local influencers effectively, and many nano-influencer profiles lack audience demographic data.
- High Cost and Rigid Pricing: Operates on an annual subscription model with significant upfront setup costs, making it inaccessible for small businesses.
Now, let’s explore tools that tackle these challenges head-on.
These are the 12 best alternatives to Meltwater
With so many alternative influencer marketing platforms available, it can be hard to know which one is best for your needs. To make the decision easier for you, we’ve spent hours testing 12 different platforms and have compiled a list of the best ones. When comparing the options, we considered which social media platforms they supported, the search pool size… etc.
- Gleemo
- Sprout Social
- Modash
- Traackr
- Aspire
- Impact
- CreatorIQ
- Influence.co
- Heepsy
- HypeAuditor
- Later
- Brandwatch
12 Alternative tools to Meltwater for influencer marketing
1. Gleemo
Social Media Scope: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Amazon.
Pricing: $59 monthly plan and $531 yearly plan. You can also avail of a free trial (no credit card needed).
Best For: AI-driven discovery, Amazon influencers, and budget-conscious teams.
Gleemo vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- AI Semantic Search: Analyzes bios, captions, and hashtags contextually—unlike Meltwater’s keyword-based search—to uncover niche micro-influencers.
- 100M+ Database: Covers Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Amazon (a gap in Meltwater’s coverage).
- 30+ Advanced Filters: Target audiences by income, brand affinity, or competitor collaborations.
Ideal For:
- Brands targeting Amazon influencers for product launches.
- Agencies managing large-scale campaigns across multiple platforms.
- Teams prioritizing AI precision to uncover niche creators.
✅ Why Choose Gleemo: Delivers enterprise-grade discovery at $59/month, ideal for startups and agencies.
2. Sprout Social (Tagger)
Social Media Scope: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, and X(Twitter).
Pricing: Starts from standard plan $199 per seat/month billed annually to advanced $399. Influencer marketing is a premium module that you can add to each plan.
Best For: All-in-one social media management with influencer tools.
Sprout Social vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Unified Platform: Manages all social media workflows (scheduling, listening, customer care) in one place, reducing tool fragmentation.
- Social Listening Depth: Tracks keywords across social networks and Reddit, with sentiment analysis for brand perception insights.
Limitations:
- Complexity: Advanced features require training, making it less accessible for non-technical users.
- Users complain of inaccurate categorization of influencers.
✅ Why Choose Sprout Social: Ideal for brands needing PR and customer care integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk).
3. Modash
Social Media Scope: Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube.
Pricing: Starts from essentials $199 per month (but pay yearly).
Best For: Real-Time Analytics & Multi-Platform Campaigns.
Modash vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- No Opt-In Tracking: Monitor Stories (and all content) without requiring influencers to authenticate.
- Larger Database: 250M+ creators (vs. Meltwater’s 30M), with superior global reach for micro/nano influencers.
Limitations:
- Limited Platform Coverage: Influencer data covering only Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, is a critical gap for e-commerce brands.
- CRM limitations: Offers minimal tools for long-term relationship management.
✅ Why Choose Modash: Teams need real-time insights and broader influencer discovery.
4. Traackr
Social Media Scope: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Blogs.
Pricing: Starts from essentials $25,000/year.
Best For: Enterprise Beauty & Lifestyle Brands.
Traackr vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Predictive ROI Analytics: Forecasts campaign impact using historical data.
- No Opt-In Tracking: Monitor influencer content without requiring opt-ins (Meltwater mandates authentication for Stories).
- Shopify Integration: Streamlines product seeding and affiliate payments.
Limitations:
- Smaller Influencer Database: 13 million creator profiles.
- Steeper learning curve and complex setup vs. Meltwater’s user-friendly interface.
✅ Why Choose Traackr: Its focus on audience granularity, historical benchmarking, and governance makes it ideal for enterprises investing in long-term influencer partnerships.
Learn more 👉 Traackr Alternatives.
5. Aspire
Social Media Scope: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, X, Pinterest, and Blogs.
Pricing: Start from $2,000-$2500/mo (as reported by various sources).
Best For: Long-Term Brand Ambassadors.
Aspire vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Broader Platform Integration: Supports Facebook and Pinterest, critical for multi-channel strategies.
- Agency Expertise: Ideal for brands needing hands-on help with influencer strategy and execution.
- Larger Database: 170M+ influencers (vs. Meltwater’s 30M)
Limitations:
- US-Centric Database: Less effective for brands targeting non-US markets.
- Higher starting price ($2,000/month as reported by various sources).
✅ Why Choose Aspire: For brands prioritizing US-focused campaigns and needing full-service agency support, Aspire is a powerhouse—despite its premium pricing.
Learn more 👉 Aspire Alternatives.
6. Impact
Social Media Scope: Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Pricing: On request.
Best For: SMBs needing anomaly detection and sales forecasting.
Impact vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Comprehensive Performance Insights: Track engagement, conversions, and attribution with granular analytics.
- Cross-Device Identity Graph: Accurately link user activity across devices for precise campaign attribution.
Limitations:
- No direct e-commerce platform integration.
- Lacks Content Capture for real-time social mention tracking.
✅ Why Choose Impact: Teams focused on predictive analytics and drip campaigns.
7. CreatorIQ
Social Media Scope: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Pricing: CreatorIQ’s pricing is not available without a call scheduled. Capterra suggests it starts around $36k/year.
CreatorIQ vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Full Campaign Automation: CreatorIQ handles partnership logistics (product delivery, payments, UGC guidelines) automatically.
- 24/7 Enterprise Support: Dedicated reps available round-the-clock.
- Competitor Benchmarking: Compares your influencer KPIs against industry rivals.
Limitations:
- The cost is prohibitive for a ton of small businesses. And there’s no free trial and no monthly options.
- Both have a small database of influencers (20M+ influencers vs. Meltwater’s 30M+).
✅ Why Choose CreatorIQ: Its automation, profit forecasting, and 24/7 support make it ideal for brands scaling complex, revenue-focused partnerships.
8. Influence.co
Social Media Scope: Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, and Blogs.
Price: Starts at $600/month.
Best For: Brands seeking direct creator collaboration.
Influence.co vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Direct Collaboration: Marketplace model allows brands to engage with creators without intermediaries (Meltwater lacks this feature).
- Authentic Profiles: Influencers manually build profiles, offering deeper insights into their style and portfolio.
- Community Focus: Prioritizes relationship-building over purely metric-driven discovery.
Limitations:
- Fake Profiles: Users report a significant number of inauthentic accounts, complicating influencer vetting.
- Limited Analytics: Lacks advanced metrics like audience authenticity analysis or automated campaign tracking.
✅ Why Choose Influence.co: Ideal for brands valuing direct creator relationships and community engagement.
9. Heepsy
Social Media Scope: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch.
Pricing: Start from $89/month with limits on the filters.
Best For: Startups exploring budget-friendly nano-influencers.
Heepsy vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Affordable Pricing: Starts at $89/month with free search trials.
- Beginner-Friendly UI: Simplifies navigation for new users.
Limitations:
- No nano-influencer support (<5K followers).
- Limited to Instagram audience demographics.
- Limited functionality, lack of influencer seeding, gifting, or affiliate marketing.
✅ Why Choose Heepsy: A low-risk entry point for Instagram-focused campaigns.
10. HypeAuditor
Social Media Scope: Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, X (Twitter), and YouTube.
Pricing: Not available on its website. You can catch a glimpse of its range from $299/mo to $499/mo according to TrustRadius.
Best For: Brands prioritizing fraud detection and audience authenticity.
HypeAuditor vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Larger Database: 205.4M+ influencers (vs. Klear’s 30M). And its data is claimed to be updated in real-time.
- Audience Quality Score (AQS): Proprietary metric to detect fake followers and assess audience authenticity.
Limitations:
- Manual Reporting: Requires users to manually add screenshots to reports; lacks automated, detailed analytics exports.
✅ Why Choose HypeAuditor: Its focus on audience quality and campaign transparency makes it superior for minimizing fraud risk and optimizing ROI.
Learn more 👉 HypeAuditor Alternatives.
11. Later
Social Media Scope: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and X/Twitter.
Pricing: None publicly available.
Best For: TikTok-Centric Campaigns.
Later vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- TikTok Official Partnership: As a TikTok-certified Marketing Partner, Later Influence provides exclusive access to TikTok-verified creators and advanced campaign optimization tools, enabling seamless collaboration with platform-endorsed talent.
- Customer-to-Influencer Identification: Automatically identifies influencers among existing customers using social data from Facebook profiles or ambassador sign-ups.
- Incentive Management: Reward influencers with cash, gift cards, promo codes, or products directly within the platform.
Limitations:
- Less robust analytics for non-TikTok platforms.
- Later’s 10M+ influencers, limiting niche or geo-specific searches.
✅ Why Choose Later: Perfect for DTC brands building micro-influencer networks.
12. Brandwatch
Social Media Scope: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (Twitter), Reddit, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Pricing: None publicly available.
Best For: brands requiring deep sentiment analysis, competitive benchmarking, and real-time threat monitoring.
Brandwatch vs. Meltwater
Why It Outshines Meltwater:
- Comprehensive Monitoring: Tracks emerging threats and consumer sentiment in real-time across platforms like Reddit—broader than Meltwater’s social listening scope.
- Collaborative Workflows: Offers unified tools for content calendars, approvals, and team workflows, ensuring brand alignment.
Limitations:
- Limited Campaign Tracking Customization: Inability to create multiple campaign tracking templates per channel or customize UTM code labels flexibly, rendering the feature unusable for complex campaigns.
- Shallow Demographic Data: Limited access to detailed audience demographics, hindering granular audience insights.
✅ Why Choose Brandwatch: Its AI-driven trend forecasting, multi-platform integration (LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, etc.), and industry-leading reputation make it superior for data-driven enterprises prioritizing agility and deep market insights.
How to Choose the Right Meltwater Alternative
Budget: Gleemo ($59/month) and Heepsy($89/month) offer affordable entry points vs. HypeAuditor’s $299+.
Platform Coverage: Prioritize Gleemo (Amazon/TikTok) or Modash (250M+ profiles).
Campaign Goals:
- Fraud Detection: HypeAuditor.
- E-Commerce: Gleemo, Upfluence.
- Enterprise Scalability: CreatorIQ, Traackr.
Find Your Meltwater Alternative With Gleemo
While Meltwater excels in media monitoring, Gleemo dominates influencer discovery with its AI semantic search, 100M+ database, and unmatched Amazon coverage. Unlike Meltwater’s rigid pricing, Gleemo offers transparent plans starting at $59/month, making it ideal for startups and agencies alike. Key Advantages Over Meltwater:
- AI Precision: Finds creators who align with your brand voice, not just keywords.
- Amazon Influencers: Tap into a critical channel Meltwater ignores.
- 30+ Filters: Target audiences by income, location, or brand affinity.
Start Gleemo’s Free Trial to experience AI-driven influencer marketing without Meltwater’s limitations.
