If you have a business, social media agency, or are a professional influencer, you have probably asked yourself more than once about how you stack up against your competitors. Moreover, you are also most likely looking for social media data analysis tools that can give you real insights about how you can improve the performance of your content. Making informed decisions based on data is essential for social media success, no matter who you are.

In light of the great importance related to analyzing social media data and making informed decisions, many businesses and influencers use advanced social media analytics software.  There are obviously a lot of choices out there in this regard. So what should you look for? And what makes one social media analysis tool better than the others? Below, we will highlight 5 areas that your social media analysis tool should excel at and explain what to look for when making your choice among the different options on the market.

Below, we will highlight 6 areas that your social media analysis and benchmarking tool should excel at and explain what to look for when making your choice among the different options on the market. Once we have given you an in-depth insight about what to look for, we will present our list of the 10 top social media analysis and benchmarking tools currently on the market.

What are Social Media Analysis Tools Used For?

Some may think that they can simply run analytic analysis with the information provided by individual social media networks from their native, built-in insight capabilities and come away with all the information they need to create a data-based strategy. You can, of course, gain interesting insights through analytics, but keep in mind that these will most likely be limited in some ways. This is because you are simply looking at your own data across a few of the metrics that these built-in analytics provide to you. You don’t get to analyze the data from competitors or other similar profiles in your industry. 

Because of this, you may be tempted to manually collect information such as how many followers a competitor’s profile has or how many likes a competitor’s post may receive. This would be incredibly time-consuming and still not allow you to run various analyses that give you actionable content optimization insights. 

Social media analysis and benchmarking tools are designed to help you analyze social media data from your own profiles in addition to profiles from competitors or others in your industry. There are a few main goals associated with social media analysis and benchmarking:

1. They are necessary to see where your social media performance stands in relation to others in your industry or content area. 
2. They can help you set accurate and obtainable goals for your own performance. 
3. These tools can provide you with valuable insights about how you can improve your own content.

With any software program or tool for social media analytics, you want to look closely at the specific features they offer. While some may promise you a great deal of features and functions to help you study your competitors, track your progress, and better your performance, what they actually deliver may be a different story. Therefore, we want to help you to go deeper into what specifically you should look for when shopping for a social media analytics and benchmarking tool. 

What to Look for in your Social Media Analysis Tool

If you are a social media professional, you certainly have seen claims about social media analytics software and what it needs to do. As we already discussed above, it should allow you to analyze and track your own data, benchmark yourself against competitors, as well as help you to optimize your content. When using a social media management tool, the analytic features should allow you to run analyses on various metrics related to both your own profiles across different social media networks, as well as your competitors’ profiles.

While many social media analytics software programs say they provide all the capabilities you need, what should you really be looking for in terms of features? We want to provide a checklist of important features when you are looking for social media analytics software to help you in your decision-making process. So, if you are shopping for social media analysis and benchmarking tools, they should ideally have the following:

1. Unlimited Profile Analysis
2. Access to Extensive Historical Data
3. Option to Track Hundreds of Different Metrics
4. Content Optimization Insights
5. Strong Reporting Capabilities
6. Integrated AI Features 

Unlimited Profile Analysis

Let’s start with a fairly obvious point, but one you always should confirm before buying a tool. This has to do with it being able to analyze competitor profiles across the different networks you are interested in. After all, benchmarking especially isn’t overly valuable if you cannot actually benchmark your own profiles against other similar ones on the social media networks you use. This is why you need to look closely at what a tool is offering in terms of social media networks. However, that is not all you should pay attention to.

One key feature of a top-of-the-line social media analysis and benchmarking tools that many don’t talk about, but yet is incredibly important, has to do with how many profiles it allows you to track and analyze. Being able to track unlimited, or at least a high number of, profiles is absolutely essential for compiling meaningful data sets for your analysis. First of all, many companies have at least a few dozens of competitors, each operating multiple social media profiles. Understandably, they probably want to track and learn from all these profiles for analytics and benchmarking purposes. In this case, it is easy to see how you may be tracking over a hundred profiles just for your direct competitors. If your tool doesn’t allow for this, you may be missing out on important insights.

Second, being able to compile a large data set enables better analyses that can give you helpful insights for your content. These include finding the best time to posts on your social media profiles, hashtag and keyword research, understanding what content formats (i.e. carousels, stories, reels) perform better on average, or simply finding content optimization insights.

Keep in mind, many social media analysis software providers limit the number of competitor profiles you can track, or charge you more to do that. Some tools may not even allow you to track any competitor or similar profiles. For this reason, the best social media data analysis tools would allow you to compile meaningful datasets to help with different types of analyses.

Access to Extensive Historical Data

A rather straightforward feature to check for, but one you should never forget about, is the availability of historical data for all the profiles you are tracking. The fact that you are looking for a social media analysis and benchmarking tool demonstrates you understand the importance of being able to analyze large data sets. However, when you are starting with a new tool, you also most likely want to be able to look back at past months or even years for your analysis. This is why, before you choose a tool, an important thing to look at is the availability of historical data. 

Don’t forget that access to historical data does not just apply to your own profiles. Rather, you should be able to look back on data from your competitors or similar profiles. The importance of unlimited profile analysis, as we mentioned before, is not as effective unless you can also look back at the past performance of other profiles that interest you.   Understanding where your profiles stand in relation to your competitors in the past months or years is important for many companies, not least because it tells you what goals you should set for your own profiles’ performance and shows you how your own profiles are progressing.

The last point is that the ability to review historical data in different timeframes is also important for overall social media analysis. Different seasons or times of the year can correspond with changes in user behavior, and you want to make sure that you can select your dates and the metrics you want to better understand for specific timeframes.

Option to Track Hundreds of Different Metrics

It may sound obvious, but tracking metrics is a core function of social media analytics software. However, one of the main concerns is how many different metrics you can track, not only for your own profiles, but also for competitors’ profiles. If your social media tool is only offering a handful of metrics such as followers, number of posts per day, and impressions, this may not be providing you with much value. Moreover, the benchmarking analysis we mentioned above will be less fruitful if only a few metrics are available for benchmarking.

Social media metrics tools come in different forms, but the best tools will allow you to track many metrics, not only your accounts but also of your competitors. The various types of metric analyses that your benchmarking tool enables are also important. For example, with metric tracking you should be able to study the correlation between two metrics, such as the increase in number of a specific profile’s followers with how many posts per day that profile made. This type of analysis can be useful in showing correlations or connections between two or more metrics to help you understand the reasons behind a profile’s growth (or lack thereof).

Comparative analysis is essential for effective social media planning and, for this reason, many businesses look for competitor social media analysis tools that allow them to track the profiles across several different key metrics. Advanced benchmarking means that you are just not comparing a readily available metric (such as number of followers) but rather accurately tracking and analyzing many different metrics. These include analyzing the performance of different content types (stories, carousels, images, etc.), post interaction rates, reach, or hashtags across profiles, and sentiment.

Content Optimization Insights

When searching for social media analysis tools that can help you find content optimization insights, make sure it provides you with the following capabilities:

• Discover top-performing content formats
• Find the best times to post
• Detect trending hashtags
• Undertake sentiment analysis
• Conduct a Tagging Analysis

Strong Reporting Capabilities

You should know that not all tools are the same when it comes to reporting. Whether you are a social media agency or working for a company where you need to report to management, having the right ways to report is essential. There are three things to look at when it comes to social media reporting: customization, sharing, and automation.

We will start with customization features for reporting. Customizable report creation is important since it provides flexibility when it comes to presenting your data and creating the various charts, graphs, and tables that you need to show your progress. Reporting features should also include the ability to export your data in various formats based on your needs. Customizable reporting also means that you can show your progress, and have the flexibility to show how your profiles fare against other similar profiles. This can be crucial to show how your hard work has paid off. 

Next, when looking for the right social network analysis software, make sure you have different options to share your reports. This is especially important if your clients or management don’t have a subscription to the tool you are using. Using a social media analysis tool that allows for outside users to view your benchmarking and content analysis reports for free can be a real advantage.

The last point we will touch on here is automation. Constantly having to generate your social media progress reports can be tedious. Being able to generate reports on a regular basis with an automated process can save you time. Be sure to confirm that your tool allows you to do this in the format of your choosing.

Integrated AI Features

These days, you have probably heard of all the social media tools that claim they have AI integrations. There is a lot of promise when it comes to having AI integrations within social media analysis and benchmarking tools. However, you should look carefully at your tool is actually offering. When it comes to AI, there are some key areas you should be particularly aware of.

For instance, AI features can speed up the entire reporting process. Generally, reporting requires you to provide a summary of what the various graphs, tables, and charts in your report mean. For many social media managers, there is a requirement to add explanations to charts for either for clients or managers to better understand the results. Doing this by yourself can be time-consuming. With the right AI-integration, you can have AI write these descriptions for you in just a few seconds.    

Moreover, there are other useful types of social media analysis that can be enhanced with AI.  An example of this is the tagging analysis we mentioned above. For this analysis to work, you need to use tags to identify which posts fit under a particular category or have certain characteristics. You can do this manually by yourself. However, with the right social media analytics tool, you can also have it done by AI, accelerating the entire process. 

The main point is that you should always look closely at what AI features a tool is offering and ask yourself whether or not these features are really providing real benefits.

Finding the Right Social Media Analysis Tools

Finding the right social media analytics software can be a real game changer for your performance and provide you with insights you can’t get anywhere else. As we have shown above, there are some core areas you should pay attention to when looking for the right social media analysis tool. If there are features that we described above that your current tool is missing, you should ask yourself what else might be on the market that gives you more analytic and benchmarking capabilities. 

Below is our list of the top 10 social media analysis and benchmarking tools: 

1. Fanpage Karma
2. Sprout Social
3. Hootsuite
4. Metricool
5. Buffer
6. Brandwatch
7. Zoho Social
8. Swat.io
9. Socialpilot
10. Hubspot

1. Fanpage Karma

Fanpage Karma is a specialized social media analytics and benchmarking platform designed for those who want to evaluate their performance in direct comparison to others in their industry. With the ability to track an unlimited number of competitor profiles, it enables users to create powerful benchmarking datasets. You can compare metrics such as follower growth, engagement rates, posting frequency, and top-performing content, making it easy to spot strengths, weaknesses, and trends over time.

The platform also allows for the creation of custom dashboards that visualize benchmarking data in clear, actionable formats. You can segment comparisons by content type, platform, or time period to gain a detailed understanding of how your profiles perform in context. With unlimited profile analysis, automated reporting, and support for hundreds of metrics, Fanpage Karma delivers strong analytical functions. A free 14-day trial is available for users who want to explore its full capabilities. Beyond analytics and benchmarking, the platform includes robust features for content scheduling, community management, and competitive research. 

2. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a premium platform designed for advanced social media analytics and competitor benchmarking. It enables users to track key metrics such as engagement rates, audience growth, impressions, and share of voice across major platforms. With built-in tools for side-by-side competitor comparisons, industry trend analysis, and customizable reports, Sprout Social helps teams uncover how they measure up within their market and make data-informed decisions to improve their performance.

In addition to benchmarking, Sprout Social provides robust analytics dashboards and historical data views that allow users to assess their progress over time. Its deep integration with listening and CRM tools adds further context to social performance. For organizations that require granular insights into how their social efforts compare to competitors, Sprout Social offers one of the most reliable benchmarking tool sets available today.

3. Hootsuite

Hootsuite provides a broad overview of social media analytics, allowing users to monitor engagement, follower growth, and post performance across platforms. With customizable dashboards and exportable reports, it helps teams visualize progress and evaluate campaign impact. It also includes UTM tracking for traffic attribution, supporting analysis beyond native metrics.

However, when it comes to benchmarking against competitors, some may find that Hootsuite is a bit more limited on lower priced plans. While comparative insights are available on higher-tier plans, detailed competitor tracking and benchmarking features are limited to only a handful of competitors on the lowest priced tier.

4. Metricool

Metricool offers a user-friendly analytics dashboard with integrated benchmarking tools for competitor analysis. Users can monitor public data from competing profiles, including follower growth, engagement rates, publishing frequency, and best-performing posts. The platform also combines web analytics and social media metrics, offering a complete view of content performance across channels.

Its benchmarking features allow you to compare up to 100 competitor profiles (depending on the plan), and historical data is available to track trends over time. Metricool delivers reliable, accessible benchmarking and performance tracking for freelancers, small businesses, and agencies alike.

5. Rival IQ

Rival IQ is a powerful tool built specifically for social media benchmarking and competitive analysis. It enables users to track multiple public profiles across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Through side-by-side comparisons, users can examine key metrics such as engagement rate, posting frequency, content type effectiveness, and follower growth.

What sets Rival IQ apart is its ability to benchmark your performance not only against selected competitors but also against industry averages and historical trends. The platform includes customizable dashboards and automated reports, making it easy to deliver insights internally or to clients. Rival IQ is ideal for teams that rely on competitive intelligence to shape their social strategies.

6. Brandwatch

Brandwatch is a data-rich platform for social media intelligence and large-scale competitive benchmarking. It aggregates millions of conversations, mentions, and performance data points across social media, giving users a comprehensive view of how their brand and competitors are performing. Users can track sentiment, engagement, trends, and brand share-of-voice across industries and platforms.

With robust AI-powered categorization and reporting tools, Brandwatch allows for in-depth audience segmentation, campaign analysis, and benchmarking by region, demographic, or content type. It is particularly suited for enterprise teams, researchers, and strategic planners who require real-time and historical benchmarking at scale.

7. Socialinsider

Socialinsider is a specialized tool for social media analytics and benchmarking that enables users to compare their performance with that of competitors across various platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn. It allows you to evaluate key metrics such as engagement rates, follower evolution, posting frequency, and content strategy. You can also analyze hashtag performance and detect top-performing posts among competitors, giving you clear, data-driven insights into what works in your industry.

With its intuitive interface and robust reporting features, Socialinsider is especially useful for teams that manage multiple accounts or need to present comparative data to clients. Reports are customizable, exportable in multiple formats, and can be scheduled for automation. For those who want a well-rounded analytics platform that emphasizes competitive benchmarking and industry trend tracking, Socialinsider is a smart and focused solution.

8. Swat.io

Swat.io is a specialized platform that emphasizes structured workflows, campaign management, and content performance analysis. It allows users to evaluate social media activity with detailed channel-specific reports, while also tracking publishing patterns, audience interactions, and engagement metrics. Users can tag content by campaign or theme and evaluate performance across different segments for more focused internal benchmarking.

While Swat.io offers valuable insights into content and team performance, and it supports external monitoring through features like keyword tracking. This makes it a strong fit for teams focused on optimizing internal workflows, editorial planning, and operational reporting across high volumes of content.

9. Quintly

Quintly is a professional analytics platform built specifically for in-depth competitor benchmarking and performance tracking. It allows users to create fully customized dashboards that analyze hundreds of social media metrics across both owned and public profiles. Whether you’re comparing engagement rates, content types, or follower growth across multiple competitors, Quintly provides flexible tools that let you shape your analysis to fit precise objectives.

One of its standout features is the ability to define custom KPIs and access granular historical data across multiple platforms. This makes it ideal for large teams, agencies, or organizations that need detailed reporting tailored to specific campaigns or clients. With powerful API access and advanced export options, Quintly serves as a comprehensive benchmarking solution for teams looking to scale their analysis and reporting efforts.

10. Emplifi

Emplifi is an AI-driven social media analytics and benchmarking platform that offers deep insight into both your performance and that of your competitors. It tracks metrics like engagement, reach, content interaction, and audience behavior across platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X. With Emplifi, you can benchmark your profiles against key competitors and industry averages, helping you identify content trends and strategic opportunities.

Designed with larger teams and agencies in mind, Emplifi also offers tools for influencer performance tracking, audience segmentation, and visual storytelling through smart reports. The platform’s intelligent insights highlight top-performing content formats, ideal posting times, and engagement patterns—making it a valuable tool for those aiming to refine strategy and outperform the competition based on real-time and historical data.