Social analytics · 2026
Best social media analytics tools for social inbox 11 tools ranked by verified data
Data checked Oct 14, 2026 against the vendors' own pages. How we verify
We scored 13 social media analytics tools for social inbox with the same 8-criterion scorecard; 11 have enough verified data to be ranked.
Only tools with a verified social inbox feature are included.
Zoho Social ranks first with 96/100, followed by Iconosquare (93) and Metricool (85).
The lowest starting price among ranked tools (the least you can pay for a paid plan, for one user or account) is Zoho Social's: $10 per month billed yearly on the Standard plan.
The ranking
| # | Tool | Score | Coverage | From, billed monthly | From, billed yearly | Free plan | Platforms | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zoho Social | 96/100 | 90%7 of 8 criteria | Not offered | $10/mo | Yes, 1 workspace | 14 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 2 |  Iconosquare | 93/100 | 100%8 of 8 criteria | Not offered | $10/mo | Yes, 2 social accounts | 8 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 3 |  Metricool | 85/100 | 85%6 of 8 criteria | $25/mo | $20/mo | Yes, 1 workspace | 10 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 4 |  PostPlanify | 78/100 | 100%8 of 8 criteria | Not offered | $31/mo | No | 10 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 5 |  SocialPilot | 74/100 | 100%8 of 8 criteria | $30/mo | $85/mo | No | 10 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 6 |  Statusbrew | 63/100 | 60%5 of 8 criteria | Contact sales | Contact sales | No | 4 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 7 |  SuperX | 60/100 | 95%7 of 8 criteria | $49/mo | Not offered | No | 2 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 8 |  NapoleonCat | 58/100 | 95%7 of 8 criteria | $79/mo | Not offered | No | 7 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 9 |  Agorapulse | 53/100 | 100%8 of 8 criteria | $99/user/mo | $79/user/mo | No | 10 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 10 |  Sprout Social | 50/100 | 100%8 of 8 criteria | $99/user/mo | $79/user/mo | No | 7 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 11 |  Emplifi | 43/100 | 85%6 of 8 criteria | $1,249/mo | Not offered | No | 2 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  Dash Social | Not ranked | 50%4 of 8 criteria | Contact sales | Contact sales | No | 3 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  Fanpage Karma | Not ranked | 35%3 of 8 criteria | – | – | Yes | 9 | Oct 14, 2026 |
Each value links the vendor page it was read from (hover for the check date). Coverage is the share of the scorecard's weight with verified data, and "N of M criteria" how many criteria the score is based on; a tool is ranked at 60% or more.
– = not published by the vendor, or not verified yet.
Why each one ranks where it does
- 1. Zoho Social 96/100
Social media management platform for scheduling, monitoring, analytics and team collaboration across many networks, with Zoho CRM integration.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
From $10 per month billed yearly on the Standard plan.
Homepage captured Oct 14, 2026 - 2. Iconosquare 93/100
Social media management suite for analytics, scheduling, reporting, a shared inbox and listening across several networks.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 4 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, templates, ai assistant
From $10 per month billed yearly on the Starter plan.
- 3. Metricool 85/100
Social media planner and analytics dashboard with scheduling, an inbox, reports, competitor tracking, link in bio pages and ad campaign management.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
From $25 per month billed monthly ($20 billed yearly) on the Starter plan.
- 4. PostPlanify 78/100
Social media management platform for agencies with scheduling, a shared calendar, analytics, a social inbox, approvals and white-label reports.
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 3 of 3 plans have a public price
From $31 per month billed yearly on the Growth plan.
- 5. SocialPilot 74/100
Social media management platform with a content calendar, bulk scheduling, approvals, unified inbox, analytics reports and white label options for agencies and brands.
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API
From $30 per month billed monthly on the Essentials plan.
- 6. Statusbrew 63/100
Social media management tool with scheduling, a unified inbox, approval workflows, reporting, listening and link-in-bio, sold in tiered plans.
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API, documented data export
- 7. SuperX 60/100
Platform for growing on X that offers AI post and thread writing, scheduling, engagement tools, automations and analytics, plus a Chrome extension.
- Verified features (100/100): 2 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, ai assistant
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 3 of 3 plans have a public price
From $49 per month billed monthly on the Pro plan.
- 8. NapoleonCat 58/100
Social media management tool combining a shared inbox, auto-moderation, publishing, analytics and reporting with an AI assistant.
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 4 of 4 plans have a public price
From $79 per month billed monthly on the Standard plan.
- 9. Agorapulse 53/100
Social media management platform with scheduling, a shared inbox, listening, reporting and ROI tracking for teams and agencies.
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API, documented data export
From $99 per user per month billed monthly ($79 billed yearly) on the Standard plan.
- 10. Sprout Social 50/100
Social media management platform covering publishing, inbox, analytics, listening and influencer tools for teams.
- Verified features (100/100): 2 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, ai assistant
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API
From $99 per user per month billed monthly ($79 billed yearly) on the Essentials plan.
How we picked
Every one of these social media analytics tools is scored by the same 8 criteria (scorecard v1). Each criterion gives 0 to 100 from the vendor's published data; the total is the weighted average. A criterion without verified data is left out and the other weights are re-normalised. A tool with under 60% of the weight covered is listed as not ranked, and so is a tool with no verified price and fewer than 2 verified features (“needs a verified price”); each score shows how many criteria it is based on. The core criteria are the same in every category; the category criteria are specific to social media analytics tools. Nobody gets custom weights, including our own products.
| Criterion | Weight | Type | What we measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 25% | Core | Price per month of the cheapest paid plan, against the prices of other social media analytics tools on the same billing basis (monthly-billed prices against monthly, annual-billed against annual).Log scale. Billed monthly: $9/month or less = 100, $99 or more = 0. Only billed annually: $7.50/month or less = 100, $199 or more = 0. Only free plans = 100. Usage-priced and one-time plans are not scored. |
| Free plan or trial | 15% | Core | Whether you can use the tool before paying: a free plan, or failing that a free trial, as shown on the vendor's pricing page.Free plan = 100. No free plan but a free trial = 60. The pricing page lists plans but shows neither = 0. No plans read = not scored. |
| Pricing transparency | 10% | Core | How much of the pricing is public: the share of plans with a published price ("contact sales" counts against), and whether there are at least 3 published tiers.80 x (plans with a public price / plans listed) + 20 x (public plans, up to 3) / 3. No plans read = not scored. |
| Verified features | 15% | Core | How many of the 4 features we track for this category the vendor's own pages verifiably show (analytics, team access, templates, ai assistant). This counts verified features only: a tool that documents less scores lower here, and only here.Linear: verified features / 2 (half the tracked list) x 100, capped at 100. No tracked feature verified = not scored. |
| API, integrations and export | 10% | Core | Whether a public API exists, how many integrations the vendor states, and whether the vendor documents a way to export your data.Average of the parts with data: public API yes = 100, no = 0; integrations on a log scale (100 or more = 100); a documented data export = 100. None verified = not scored. |
| Platform coverage | 10% | Category | How many of the 15 social platforms we track the vendor says the tool supports.Linear: platforms / 10 x 100, capped at 100. No verified platform list = not scored. |
| Cost per connected account | 10% | Category | Monthly price per connected account on the cheapest paid plan that allows at least 3 social accounts.Log scale: $3 per account or less = 100, $40 or more = 0. Plans that do not state an account limit are not used. |
| Cost per user (team of 3) | 5% | Category | Monthly price per user for a team of 3, on the cheapest paid plan that is priced per seat or states room for at least 3 users.Log scale: $6.67 per user or less = 100, $116 or more = 0. Plans that do not state a user limit are not used. No such plan = not scored. |
Sources are vendor pricing pages, docs and changelogs, each with the date we checked it. We did not test these tools hands-on unless a listing says so. Full formulas: methodology.
Questions, answered from the data
What is the best social media analytics tool for social inbox?
Zoho Social, with 96/100 on our scorecard; Iconosquare is second with 93/100.
What is the cheapest social media analytics tool for social inbox?
By entry price among ranked tools, Zoho Social: $10 per month billed yearly on the Standard plan.
Which of these have a free plan?
4 of the 13 tools have a free plan; the highest-ranked is Zoho Social.
How did you rank these social media analytics tools?
Each tool gets 0 to 100 per criterion from its published pricing, limits and features; the total is the weighted average over the criteria with verified data. Tools with under 60% of the weight covered are not ranked.
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