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CrowdTangle vs NewsBlur

C

CrowdTangle

News

Social media insights and content monitoring platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NewsBlur logo

NewsBlur

News

A personal news reader bringing people together

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only NewsBlur 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; NewsBlur the free account is limited to 64 sites
  • They diverge on capability: CrowdTangle covers Social listening, NewsBlur covers Intelligence training.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CrowdTangle and NewsBlur actually diverge.

Attributes where CrowdTangle and NewsBlur differ
AttributeCrowdTangleNewsBlur
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20112010

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

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 NewsBlur

  • Intelligence training
  • Story sharing
  • Original site view
  • Text view
  • Blurblogs
  • Pocket
  • Instapaper
  • Evernote

Both cover

  • Twitter
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

CrowdTangle

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

NewsBlur

  • Reading RSS feeds with training that filters by author, tag or titlenot CrowdTangle
  • Archiving full article content from followed sitesnot CrowdTangle
  • Following a large number of feeds with fast refreshnot 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

NewsBlur

  • The free account is limited to 64 sites
  • Search and text view extraction require Premium at $36 per year
  • Premium is capped at 1,024 sites and Premium Archive at 4,096 sites
  • Full content archiving and the Daily Briefing require Premium Archive at $99 per year
  • The fastest 5 to 15 minute feed refresh and regex training require Premium Pro at $29 per month
  • Site following is capped at 10,000 even on the top tier

Pricing, plan by plan

CrowdTangle

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

NewsBlur

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • Follow up to 64 sites
    • Real-time RSS updates
    • Train stories by author, tag, title
  • Premium$36/year
    • Follow up to 1024 sites
    • 5x more frequent updates
    • River of News, search, saved stories with tags
  • Premium Archive$99/year
    • Follow up to 4096 sites
    • Web feeds from any website
    • Story clustering, daily briefing, full archive and search
  • Premium Pro$29/month
    • All Archive features plus up to 10000 sites
    • Feeds fetched every 5 to 15 minutes
    • Regex training, priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose CrowdTangle if

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

Choose NewsBlur if

  • You need intelligence training.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want story sharing.
NewsBlur review

Questions people ask

Is CrowdTangle or NewsBlur better?
Neither clearly leads. CrowdTangle starts at On request and NewsBlur at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CrowdTangle or NewsBlur?
NewsBlur has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CrowdTangle and Free for NewsBlur.
Does CrowdTangle or NewsBlur run on more platforms?
CrowdTangle runs on Web. NewsBlur runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use NewsBlur for free?
Yes. NewsBlur 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 NewsBlur is typically brought in for.
What can CrowdTangle do that NewsBlur cannot?
CrowdTangle covers Social listening, Viral content tracking, Competitor monitoring, Brand mention tracking. NewsBlur covers Intelligence training, Story sharing, Original site view, Text view. Both handle Twitter, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

NewsBlur: Is NewsBlur free?

NewsBlur offers a free tier allowing users to follow up to 64 RSS feeds with real-time updates, story training, and public sharing.

Source
NewsBlur: What does Premium plan include?

Premium plan costs 36 dollars per year and includes following up to 1024 sites with 5x more frequent updates, River of News feature, search functionality, and saved stories with tags.

Source
NewsBlur: Is there a free trial?

Every new NewsBlur account starts with a free 30-day premium trial. No credit card is required to start.

Source
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