Last Updated: September 30th, 2024

What Is BuzzSumo?
In 2014, BuzzSumo was founded by Henley Wing, James Blackwell, and Stephen Walsh as a content research tool to help content writers, bloggers, and SEO professionals find the most engaging topics. The company is headquartered in Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom, and has around 50 employees.
In 2017, Brandwatch acquired BuzzSumo, and later, in 2021, a media intelligence company named Cision acquired Brandwatch and BuzzSumo for $450 million. Currently, both platforms provide influencer marketing and content discovery features for marketers. However, to determine whether this platform is worth trying, it’s essential to check BuzzSumo reviews, features, and pricing.

BuzzSumo Review: Features & Pricing + Best Alternative
With the increasing popularity of influencer marketing in recent years, various platforms, including BuzzSumo, are competing for dominance in the market and trying to attract new customers. Meanwhile, businesses are faced with the challenge of selecting the ideal platform.
So, if you’re considering using BuzzSumo as your go-to tool, we recommend you read Buzzsumo review first so that you can make an informed decision.

BuzzSumo Features
In order to better understand whether BuzzSumo is the right tool for your business, you should have a clear understanding of the features and services they offer.
So, without further ado, here are the key features of BuzzSumo:
1. Content Discovery
As a creator, knowing the latest trends in your industry is essential to grow your online visibility. BuzzSumo offers a content discovery tool that enables you to uncover popular keywords and content ideas that can boost engagement. Using a keyword discovery tool, you can explore search trends and cost-per-click for various keywords and gain insights into keyword performance.

2. Content Research
By using BuzzSumo’s content research tool, you can scan billions of articles and social posts by filtering them based on content type over the past 5 years. You can also use the backlink tool to find out which websites are linking to your competitors.

3. Influencer Discovery
Buzzsumo provides a database of thousands of creators across Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. You can search for relevant creators within your niche using specific keywords, save them to lists, and preview their profiles on social media.
However, Buzzsumo does not support Instagram, which has over 2 billion active users each month. This means you may miss out on collaboration opportunities with creators who are active on this platform. Additionally, the search results on Buzzsumo may not be very accurate when using different keywords, as it tends to suggest accounts that have used the keywords as hashtags.
So, you may see many results for accounts with less than 1k followers and who are not even creators. As you can see, Buzzsumo is not a great option for influencer discovery. But what alternative can you try?
Ainfluencer is the best Buzzsumo alternative, and it has lots of helpful tools for running successful influencer marketing campaigns. Using this tool, you can discover over 2M active Instagram and TikTok creators with more than 20 advanced filters and an AI-powered search tool. You can preview their account insights, past collaborations, and engagement metrics and chat with them inside the app.
4. Monitoring
Using this tool, you can monitor brand mentions and see what people are saying about your products online. This way, you can access customer reviews and respond to them in time.

BuzzSumo Pricing
BuzzSumo is not a free influencer marketing platform, and its pricing structure is considered to be expensive.

There are no free plans available in BuzzSumo, but users can access a 30-day free trial to test the platform before committing to a plan.
- Content Creation: $199 /mo – Access to content discovery tools and brand monitoring for 1 user.
- PR & Comms: $299 /mo – Access to content discovery tools and brand monitoring for 5 users.
- Suite: $499 /mo – Access to content discovery tools and brand monitoring for 10 users. Influencer discovery is available on this plan.
- Enterprise: $999 /mo – Access to content discovery tools and brand monitoring for 30 users. Influencer discovery and customer support are available on this plan.
As you can see, the influencer search and discovery tool is only available on the Suite and Enterprise packages, costing $499-$999 per month. But what if we tell you there is a better alternative that provides more features and is completely free?
Ainfluencer is an all-in-one influencer marketing platform that provides everything you need to manage influencer-based campaigns in one place. Using this FREE tool, you can discover influencers, view their detailed account insights, chat with them, and run and manage campaigns.
If you want to run an influencer marketing campaign, join Ainfluencer for free and start your journey.
Buzzsumo Reviews: What Do Customers Say?
Nothing compares to hearing about some first-hand experiences from BuzzSumo’s real users. And that’s what we’re going to do here.
- On G2, Buzzsumo has a 4.5 rating score among over 100 reviews.
- Most reviews are about content research tools and how they can help marketers find out the latest trends in their industry.
However, one of the main drawbacks of this service is the high price.


This user explains that they had a hard time finding relevant and trending content because BuzzSumo’s content search isn’t always accurate.
One of the most important disadvantages of this tool is its high price. Businesses have a certain budget for their marketing efforts, and most of them won’t be able to spend a huge amount on platforms such as Buzzsumo.
Here’s an unhappy user highlighting this issue on G2:

In addition to all that, there are reports that show the influencer discovery feature is not as functional as users expect it to be. And, the influencer database is not that extensive compared to similar tools. Let’s take a look:

Now, you must be wondering: ‘Which tool should I employ to maximize revenue while minimizing costs?’
Well, my friend, we have the perfect solution for you! So keep scrolling to learn more about the best BuzzSumo alternative in the market! It’s the key ingredient in every successful influencer marketing strategy.
BuzzSumo Pros And Cons
Now that you’ve read BuzzSumo reviews, let’s see the benefits and drawbacks of this tool.
Pros
- Free signup
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Not supporting Instagram
- Limited filtering options
- Lack of in-app messaging tool
- Lack of influencer analytics data
- No free plans
- Lack of campaign creation tool
Ainfluencer: Best BuzzSumo Alternative in 2024
While BuzzSumo provides some helpful features to stay updated with the latest industry trends, it’s not a great option for connecting with influencers. The influencer discovery tool is basic, doesn’t provide enough filters, and lacks a campaign creation tool to invite influencers to run social media campaigns. But let’s introduce you to a better alternative.
Ainfluencer is a free end-to-end influencer marketing platform that connects brands with social media influencers across Instagram and TikTok. With the help of an AI-powered search tool and lots of advanced filters (such as age, gender, location, budget, engagement metrics, etc) you can find the right influencers in your niche in a few minutes.
Next, you can check each creator’s profile to view their engagement metrics, latest account insights, and past collaborations. You can use the in-app chat feature to talk with creators, negotiate with them, and invite them to your campaigns. As an all-in-one tool, you can make payments, run unlimited campaigns, and track the results on Ainfluencer.
The best part is that as a brand, you don’t need to pay any additional fee to the platform and can use all the features for free. So what are you waiting for? If you are ready to run and manage safe and successful social media campaigns, join Ainfluencer for free now!
Features | Buzzsumo | Ainfluencer |
---|---|---|
Database of Influencers | 3M | +2M |
Filtering | Basic Filters | AI-powered search engine/
More than 20 filters |
Pricing Options | $499 - $999/mo | Free |
Influencer Search | ✅ | ✅ |
Platforms | TikTok, Facebook, Twitter,YouTube |
Instagram & TikTok |
Number of Invitations | N/A | Unlimited |
Number of Campaigns | N/A | Unlimited |
Campaign Management | ✅ | ✅ |
Detailed Insights | No | Yes |
Other BuzzSumo Alternatives
Are you looking for similar tools to manage your online relations and work with influencers? Here are some of the safe BuzzSumo alternatives.
1. Meltwater
One of the BuzzSumo alternatives that provides similar features to monitor your market and brand mentions is Meltwater. Using this tool, you have access to features such as consumer intelligence, media relations, influencer discovery, social listening and analytics, and sales intelligence. However, it’s not free and you need to contact them for your customized plan.
Read Meltwater Reviews.
2. Inbeat
If you only need an influencer discovery tool to know top creators in your niche, Inbeat is one of the BuzzSumo alternatives to check. Inbeat allows you to discover contact information and email addresses of Instagram and TikTok creators, and provides recommendations of creators in your niche. However, similar to BuzzSumo, this app does not offer in-app messaging and campaign creation.
Read Inbeat Reviews.
3. Upfluence
If you like to find creators across different social media platforms, Upfluence is one of the BuzzSumo alternatives that can help you. Upfluence provides a database of over 4M influencers across Amazon, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitch, and WordPress.
Read Upfluence Reviews.
Conclusion
BuzzSumo offers a range of valuable features for those looking to delve into influencer marketing and content analysis. Its content search, trend analysis, social media monitoring, and influencer discovery tools can provide essential insights for businesses and individuals. However, the pricing structure of BuzzSumo is relatively high, making it less accessible for smaller businesses.
Real user reviews highlight some limitations of BuzzSumo, including inaccuracies in content search, high pricing, and a somewhat limited influencer database. These factors may cause potential users to reconsider whether it’s the right fit for their needs.
FAQs
BuzzSumo is a tool for content research and social media analysis, helping brands and agencies find popular content, track competitor performance, and discover influential trends and influencers in their niche.
No, BuzzSumo is not a free tool. In fact, their prices are considered expensive, especially for smaller businesses.
If you are looking for a safe and free tool to run social media campaigns with the help of influencers, you can’t find a better option than Ainfluencer. Using this tool, you can discover creators, chat with them, set up campaigns invite influencers, and monitor results.