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News & Media · head to head

CrowdTangle vs SmartNews

C

CrowdTangle

News & Media

Social media insights and content monitoring platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SmartNews logo

SmartNews

News & Media

Local news and breaking news from top sources

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SmartNews has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; SmartNews the core app is free, but a premium tier called SmartNews+ exists for business news and coupon aggregation, with no price published on the homepage
  • They diverge on capability: CrowdTangle covers Social listening, SmartNews covers Machine learning curation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CrowdTangle and SmartNews actually diverge.

Attributes where CrowdTangle and SmartNews differ
AttributeCrowdTangleSmartNews
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebIos, Android
Founded20112012

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (News & Media).

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 SmartNews

  • Machine learning curation
  • Smart Mode
  • Local news
  • Breaking alerts
  • Offline reading
  • Social sharing
  • News publishers
  • Ios support

What people use each for

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

CrowdTangle

  • Viral content trackingnot SmartNews
  • Social listeningnot SmartNews
  • Competitor analysisnot SmartNews
  • Trend identificationnot SmartNews

SmartNews

  • Daily newsnot CrowdTangle
  • Local newsnot CrowdTangle
  • Breaking newsnot CrowdTangle
  • Quick readingnot 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

SmartNews

  • The core app is free, but a premium tier called SmartNews+ exists for business news and coupon aggregation, with no price published on the homepage

Pricing, plan by plan

CrowdTangle

On request
  • Custom Plan$undefined/custom
    • Social monitoring
    • Competitor analysis
    • Trending content tracking

SmartNews

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Trending news
    • Local news
    • Smart Mode reading

Which should you pick?

Choose CrowdTangle if

  • You need social listening.
  • You also want viral content tracking.
CrowdTangle review

Choose SmartNews if

  • You need machine learning curation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android.
  • You also want smart mode.
SmartNews review

Questions people ask

Is CrowdTangle or SmartNews better?
Neither clearly leads. CrowdTangle starts at On request and SmartNews at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CrowdTangle or SmartNews?
SmartNews has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CrowdTangle and Free for SmartNews.
Does CrowdTangle or SmartNews run on more platforms?
CrowdTangle runs on Web. SmartNews runs on Ios, Android.
Can I use SmartNews for free?
Yes. SmartNews has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CrowdTangle starts at On request.
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 SmartNews is typically brought in for.
What can CrowdTangle do that SmartNews cannot?
CrowdTangle covers Social listening, Viral content tracking, Competitor monitoring, Brand mention tracking. SmartNews covers Machine learning curation, Smart Mode, Local news, Breaking alerts.
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