News & Media · head to head
CrowdTangle vs FastSpring
CrowdTangle
News & Media
Social media insights and content monitoring platform
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -

FastSpring
E-commerce
Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: CrowdTangle crowdTangle was retired by Meta on 14 August 2024, per Meta's own transparency page (Internet Archive capture, 12 December 2024), with Meta Content Library and Content Library API offered as replacements; FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
- They diverge on capability: CrowdTangle covers Social listening, FastSpring covers Global online payments.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CrowdTangle and FastSpring actually diverge.
| Attribute | CrowdTangle | FastSpring |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | quote | transaction |
| Platforms | Web | web, api |
| Category | News & Media | E-commerce |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 CrowdTangle
- Social listening
- Viral content tracking
- Competitor monitoring
- Brand mention tracking
- Trending alerts
- Custom dashboards
- Team collaboration
- Report generation
Only in FastSpring
- Global online payments
- Subscription billing
- Branded checkout
- Tax compliance
- Fraud prevention
- Digital invoicing and quotes
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CrowdTangle
- Viral content trackingnot FastSpring
- Social listeningnot FastSpring
- Competitor analysisnot FastSpring
- Trend identificationnot FastSpring
FastSpring
- Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot CrowdTangle
- B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot CrowdTangle
- Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot CrowdTangle
- Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot CrowdTangle
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CrowdTangle
- CrowdTangle was retired by Meta on 14 August 2024, per Meta's own transparency page (Internet Archive capture, 12 December 2024), with Meta Content Library and Content Library API offered as replacements
FastSpring
- Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
- As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
- Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
- Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.
Pricing, plan by plan
CrowdTangle
On request- Custom Plan$undefined/custom
- Social monitoring
- Competitor analysis
- Trending content tracking
FastSpring
On request- Custom$undefined/mo
- All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
- No subscription fees or per-feature charges
- Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers
Which should you pick?
Choose CrowdTangle if
- You need social listening.
- You also want viral content tracking.
Choose FastSpring if
- You need global online payments.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want subscription billing.
Questions people ask
- Is CrowdTangle or FastSpring better?
- Neither clearly leads. CrowdTangle starts at On request and FastSpring at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CrowdTangle or FastSpring?
- CrowdTangle starts at On request and FastSpring at On request.
- Does CrowdTangle or FastSpring run on more platforms?
- CrowdTangle runs on Web. FastSpring runs on web, api.
- What is CrowdTangle best used for?
- CrowdTangle is most often used for viral content tracking, social listening, competitor analysis, trend identification. Of those, viral content tracking and social listening are not what FastSpring is typically brought in for.
- What can CrowdTangle do that FastSpring cannot?
- CrowdTangle covers Social listening, Viral content tracking, Competitor monitoring, Brand mention tracking. FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?
FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.
SourceFastSpring: Is there a free plan?
FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.
SourceFastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?
FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.
SourceRelated pages
More on CrowdTangle
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- FastSpring vs Feedly
- FastSpring vs Inoreader
- FastSpring vs Chartbeat
- FastSpring vs Cision
- FastSpring vs Substack
- FastSpring vs ConvertKit
- FastSpring vs Flipboard
- FastSpring vs Ghost
- FastSpring vs Ghost CMS
- FastSpring vs Google News
- FastSpring vs Agility PR Solutions
- FastSpring vs Apple News
- FastSpring vs Arc Publishing
- FastSpring vs Artifact
- FastSpring vs Brightspot
- FastSpring vs Business Wire
- FastSpring vs Buttondown
- FastSpring vs FullStory
- FastSpring vs Hotjar
- FastSpring vs Mailchimp
- FastSpring vs Contentful
- FastSpring vs Algolia
- FastSpring vs Authorize.net
- FastSpring vs Bluepark
- FastSpring vs Braintree
- FastSpring vs Checkout.com
- FastSpring vs CJ Dropshipping
- FastSpring vs eBay
- FastSpring vs Gumroad
- FastSpring vs Loox
- FastSpring vs Memberful
- FastSpring vs Razorpay
- FastSpring vs Saleor
- FastSpring vs SamCart
- FastSpring vs Stripe
