The best Twitter monitoring tools in 2026
Leadhoot teamUpdated October 27, 20267 min read
X has no keyword alerts, X Pro now needs Premium+, and half the old roundups list tools that no longer cover X. Here is what works today, by budget and goal.
Short answer: to find people on X asking for what you sell, use an intent tool like Leadhoot or Buska. For cheap keyword alerts, Syften with its X add-on. For brand mentions and sentiment, Brand24 or Octolens. For watching columns live, X Pro, which since March 2026 needs a Premium+ subscription.
All 11 at a glance
| Tool | From | Best for | Alerts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadhoot | From $39/mo | Buyer-intent alerts on X, Threads and Reddit | Email; Slack, webhook on $299 Agency |
| Buska | $49/mo | Intent-scored leads on X, Reddit and LinkedIn | Daily on $49, hourly on $249; Slack, Discord |
| Syften | $29.95/mo + $40/mo for X | Cheap keyword alerts across communities | Email, RSS, Slack, webhook |
| KWatch | $19/mo for 2 X keywords | Cheapest paid X keyword alerts | Email; Slack, webhook from $79 |
| X Pro | $40/mo with Premium+ | Live columns while you watch | No |
| Octolens | $159/mo annual, $199 monthly | Developer and B2B brand mentions | Email, Slack, webhook |
| Brand24 | $199/mo annual, $249 monthly | Brand mentions and sentiment | Email, Slack, Teams |
| Awario | £29/mo annual, £49 monthly | Boolean search on a budget | Email, in-app |
| Mention | $599/mo, annual | Larger brand and PR teams | Email, Slack |
| Hootsuite (Talkwalker) | Custom | Teams already on Hootsuite | Yes |
| X advanced search | Free | One-off searches by hand | No |
Can you get keyword alerts on X?
Not natively. X notifies you about mentions of your @handle and posts from accounts you turn notifications on for. Saved searches and X Pro columns show new matches only while you are looking. For an alert when anyone writes a keyword, you need a third-party tool. The X advanced search builder and Twitter search operators help you write the query first.
Best for finding leads on X
- Leadhoot: searches X for your phrases continuously, scores every post 0 to 100 for buyer intent against your customer description, and alerts you within a minute. Also covers Threads and Reddit on the same plan. From $39 a month. Twitter lead generation
- Buska: intent scoring and ideal-customer matching across X, Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube and Hacker News, with a 7-day free trial. Alerts come daily on the $49 plan, every 3 hours on $99 and hourly on $249, by Slack or Discord; no Threads. Leadhoot vs Buska
Best for cheap keyword alerts
- Syften: fast keyword alerts with filters across Reddit, Hacker News, Bluesky and more. X is a $40 a month add-on on top of the $29.95 plan, and AI filtering starts on Standard. Syften alternatives
- KWatch: the cheapest paid X alerts, 2 X keywords on the $19 Essential plan and 10 on the $79 Business plan, which also adds Slack and webhooks. Its AI is sentiment, not buyer intent.
- Awario: Boolean search and sentiment across X, Reddit and others, from £29 a month billed annually. Awario alternatives
Best for brand monitoring
- Brand24: X plus news, blogs, podcasts, Reddit and Threads, with sentiment on every plan. From $199 a month billed annually. Brand24 alternatives
- Octolens: AI-filtered mentions across X, LinkedIn, Reddit, GitHub and Hacker News, aimed at developer tools. From $159 a month billed annually. Octolens alternatives
- Mention: now sold only as an annual Company plan at $599 a month. The cheaper plans in older roundups are gone. Mention alternatives
- Hootsuite: listening through Talkwalker, priced on request on top of a Hootsuite plan. Hootsuite alternatives
X Pro (formerly TweetDeck)
X Pro shows searches and lists as live columns. Since 26 March 2026 it requires X Premium+, about $40 a month or $395 a year. It has no alerts, so it only works while the tab is open. TweetDeck alternatives
How to choose
- Want buyers, not mentions: Leadhoot or Buska.
- Want the cheapest X keyword alerts: Syften with the X add-on.
- Need sentiment and share of voice: Brand24, or Octolens for developer audiences.
- Watch X live all day: X Pro.
- Also need Threads: Leadhoot or Brand24, since most X tools skip it.
Get alerted when someone on X asks for what you sell, scored for buyer intent.
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