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Marketing · head to head

CleverTap vs Onclusive

CleverTap logo

CleverTap

Marketing

Mobile-first engagement and retention analytics billed on monthly active users

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Onclusive logo

Onclusive

Marketing

Media monitoring, journalist database and PR measurement assembled from six acquired companies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CleverTap the platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.; Onclusive onclusive was assembled from at least six acquired companies inside about a year, and users still encounter different interfaces, inconsistent data definitions and separate support paths depending on which module they are in, so training and internal reporting are harder than a single-product vendor.
  • They diverge on capability: CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys, Onclusive covers Global media monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CleverTap and Onclusive actually diverge.

Attributes where CleverTap and Onclusive differ
AttributeCleverTapOnclusive
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, REST APIWeb, iOS, Android, API

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CleverTap

  • Cross-channel journeys
  • Product analytics
  • TesseractDB
  • Clever.AI
  • Experiments
  • Web and app personalisation

Only in Onclusive

  • Global media monitoring
  • Broadcast monitoring
  • Social listening
  • Media contacts database
  • Newsroom and press office
  • Sentiment and tone analysis
  • Share of voice reporting
  • Crisis detection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CleverTap

  • A consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profilesnot Onclusive
  • Reactivating lapsed users with push and WhatsApp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membershipnot Onclusive
  • Running holdout tests to prove that lifecycle messaging causes retention rather than correlating with itnot Onclusive
  • Consolidating a separate analytics tool and a separate messaging tool into a single event pipelinenot Onclusive

Onclusive

  • A multinational communications team that needs print, broadcast and online coverage across twenty markets reported in one dashboard rather than through three regional vendorsnot CleverTap
  • A public affairs team that must evidence share of voice against named competitors for a quarterly board reportnot CleverTap
  • A PR agency running press office and media enquiry workflow for several client brands from one systemnot CleverTap
  • A corporate affairs function that needs early warning on a coverage spike outside its own time zone, with broadcast clips retrievable for legal reviewnot CleverTap

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CleverTap

  • The platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.
  • Billing on monthly active users is cheaper for dormant-heavy bases but more expensive for products with high activity rates, and the definition of an active user is set in the contract rather than by you.
  • Event volume caps sit alongside the user caps, so a chatty instrumentation plan can trigger overage charges that are negotiated rather than published.
  • Deliverability support for email is thinner than at dedicated email providers, and teams sending high email volumes often keep a separate ESP for the largest campaigns.
  • Segmentation quality depends entirely on the event taxonomy, so without an owner who governs event naming the reports and segments diverge from reality within a couple of releases.

Onclusive

  • Onclusive was assembled from at least six acquired companies inside about a year, and users still encounter different interfaces, inconsistent data definitions and separate support paths depending on which module they are in, so training and internal reporting are harder than a single-product vendor.
  • Pricing is not published and is scoped by market coverage, source count and user seats, which makes competitive benchmarking difficult and means renewal increases are hard to challenge without a parallel quote from Cision or Meltwater.
  • Broadcast monitoring coverage is uneven by country, so a global contract can look complete on paper while a specific market you care about has thin local radio or regional television coverage; verify your priority markets by name before signing.
  • The company carries private-equity ownership and acquisition-related debt financing, which historically in this category has meant pressure on support headcount and above-inflation renewal pricing rather than product investment.
  • Automated sentiment classification on news copy remains error-prone, especially for irony, quoted criticism and industry jargon, so teams reporting sentiment to executives generally need a human review step that erodes the labour saving the tool was bought for.

Pricing, plan by plan

CleverTap

On request
  • Essentials$undefined/year
    • Billed on monthly active users rather than stored profiles
    • Push, in-app and web messaging
    • Standard segmentation and analytics
  • Advanced$undefined/year
    • Adds email, SMS and WhatsApp channels
    • Journey orchestration and experiments
    • Higher event and MAU allowances
  • Cutting Edge$undefined/year
    • Full AI and personalisation modules
    • Extended data retention
    • Dedicated technical account management

Onclusive

On request
  • Onclusive$undefined/year
    • Global media monitoring
    • Broadcast and print coverage
    • Onclusive Social listening

Which should you pick?

Choose CleverTap if

  • You need cross-channel journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want product analytics.
CleverTap review

Choose Onclusive if

  • You need global media monitoring.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want broadcast monitoring.
Onclusive review

Questions people ask

Is CleverTap or Onclusive better?
Neither clearly leads. CleverTap starts at On request and Onclusive at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CleverTap or Onclusive?
CleverTap starts at On request and Onclusive at On request.
Does CleverTap or Onclusive run on more platforms?
CleverTap runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API. Onclusive runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
What is CleverTap best used for?
CleverTap is most often used for a consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profiles, reactivating lapsed users with push and whatsapp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membership, running holdout tests to prove that lifecycle messaging causes retention rather than correlating with it, consolidating a separate analytics tool and a separate messaging tool into a single event pipeline. Of those, a consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profiles and reactivating lapsed users with push and whatsapp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membership are not what Onclusive is typically brought in for.
What can CleverTap do that Onclusive cannot?
CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys, Product analytics, TesseractDB, Clever.AI. Onclusive covers Global media monitoring, Broadcast monitoring, Social listening, Media contacts database.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CleverTap: Does CleverTap charge for users who stopped opening the app?

No. Billing is on monthly active users, so a dormant account stops counting without you deleting anything, which is the opposite of contact-based email pricing.

Onclusive: Is Onclusive one product or several?

Several. It was formed from Kantar Reputation Intelligence, PRgloo and the original Onclusive in January 2022, then absorbed Critical Mention and Digimind later that year, and the modules retain distinguishable lineages.

CleverTap: Can it replace a product analytics tool?

For funnels, cohorts and retention it usually can. For exploratory analysis across many custom properties, teams tend to keep a warehouse copy and query it directly.

Onclusive: Who owns it?

Symphony Technology Group, a US private equity firm, with debt financing on the Critical Mention acquisition from Stellus Capital Management.

CleverTap: What happened to Leanplum customers?

CleverTap acquired Leanplum in 2022 and migrated customers onto its own platform, so Leanplum contracts are not a live option.

Onclusive: What happened to Digimind?

Digimind was acquired in July 2022 and rebranded as Onclusive Social in October 2022. If social listening is your main requirement, that is the platform you are evaluating.

Onclusive: Does it publish pricing?

No. Contracts are annual and quoted according to markets monitored, sources covered and seat count.

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