Pick
Mention
Pick Mention if you want the cheaper option ($49/mo vs $99/mo).
Head-to-head review · Updated June 2026
Mention vs Topic: which one wins in 2026?
Mention and Topic both claim to do the same thing: tell you where your brand shows up in AI search. They go about it differently enough that the choice matters. Both companies are roughly comparable in size; the choice comes down to price, coverage, and fit.
Mention is cheaper out the gate, but that's not the only thing that matters. The right pick depends on which dimension matters most for you.
The verdict
Pick
Topic
Pick Topic if you want the cheaper option ($99/mo vs $49/mo); and you trust traction signals — they list 9 customers, Mention lists 0.
If neither is right, GrowthManager.ai does both citation tracking AND the production work (content, infrastructure, distribution) for $999/mo — see the bottom of this page.
The case for Mention
Founded by Edouard Reinach, based in Paris, France. Pricing starts at $49/mo.
Real-time media monitoring and social listening for brands and PR teams.
What people praise
- Coverage spans 1B+ sources including Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube plus 75+ review sites like Google, Trustpilot, and Amazon.
- Boolean search operators and advanced filtering let teams cut signal from noise in ways the cheaper alternatives like Brand24 cannot match.
- Spike Alerts catch unusual mention volume early so PR teams can respond to crises within minutes, not hours.
- Historical data goes back up to two years before project creation, useful when retroactively benchmarking a campaign.
Where it falls short
- Self-serve Solo, Pro, and Pro Plus tiers were discontinued in July 2025, leaving Company at $599/mo as the only option for new customers.
- Publishing and social engagement features were retired in January 2026, with users redirected to Agorapulse, which doubled the tool stack for many teams.
- Trustpilot reviews flag slow and unhelpful customer support, especially around billing disputes.
- The $599/mo Company plan requires annual commitment with no monthly option, which excludes solopreneurs and small agencies.
The case for Topic
Founded by Ryo Chiba, Nikhil Aitharaju, based in Toronto, Canada. On their site they list 9 named customers including Magoosh, Quizlet, BiggerPockets, Amerisleep. Pricing starts at $99/mo.
Content optimization platform that turns research into briefs and outlines.
What people praise
- Cuts content research time 45-50% by auto-parsing the top 30 Google results for headings, questions, and keyword targets.
- Simple Starter at $99/mo and $7 intro pack make it the cheapest serious entry point versus Surfer, Clearscope, and MarketMuse.
- Magoosh case study shows 300%+ year-over-year new-user growth on a single optimized post.
- Used by BiggerPockets, Magoosh, Quizlet, Amerisleep, Elementor, TrustRadius, and WSI.
Where it falls short
- Brief and optimization quotas (10 to 50 per month) are tight for agencies running multiple clients.
- No native AI article generator at the level of Surfer AI or Frase Pro; Topic positions as briefs, not full drafts.
- Pricing changes infrequent and no free trial beyond the $7 intro pack.
- Acquired by CafeMedia/Raptive in September 2021; roadmap pace has slowed compared to standalone Surfer or Clearscope.
Pricing, tier by tier
Tier 1
Mention
Solo (legacy)
$49/mo
- Basic real-time monitoring
- Limited keyword alerts
- Single user
Topic
Starter
$99
- 10 content briefs and optimizations per month
- 1-month rollover
- 1 user seat
- Keyword research tool
Tier 2
Mention
Pro (legacy)
$99/mo
- Boolean search
- More keyword alerts
- Sentiment analysis
- Multi-user
Topic
Plus
$199
- 25 content briefs and optimizations per month
- 3 user seats
- 1-month rollover
- Keyword research tool
Tier 3
Mention
Pro Plus (legacy)
$179/mo
- Higher keyword and alert limits
- Share of Voice reporting
- Competitor benchmarking
- Multi-user collaboration
Topic
Premium
$299
- 50 content briefs and optimizations per month
- 5 user seats
- 1-month rollover
- Keyword research tool
Tier 4
Mention
Company
$599/mo
- Real-time monitoring across 1B+ sources
- Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube coverage
- Review monitoring across 75+ platforms including Google, Trustpilot, Amazon
- Advanced Boolean search
Topic
Enterprise
Custom
- Higher brief volume
- API access
- Custom seat counts
Feature parity
What each one ships that the other doesn't. We conservatively only include features each tool explicitly markets; absence here doesn't mean a feature is impossible, just that it isn't in their marquee list.
Only on Mention
- Real-Time Mention Monitoring. Streams mentions from 1B+ sources across web, news, blogs, and social platforms as they happen.
- Boolean Search Builder. Advanced query syntax for keyword combinations, exclusions, country and language filters.
- Sentiment Analysis. Auto-classifies mentions as positive, negative, or neutral with manual override.
- Spike Alerts. Detects sudden mention volume increases and notifies the team for crisis response or trend capture.
- Share of Voice Reporting. Benchmarks brand mention share against named competitors with custom dashboards and 100+ metrics.
- Review Site Monitoring. Pulls reviews from 75+ platforms including Google, Trustpilot, Amazon, and TripAdvisor into a single feed.
Only on Topic
- Content Brief Builder. Analyzes top 30 Google results for a keyword and auto-suggests headings, questions, and required terms.
- Outline Builder. Drag-and-drop outline workspace with GPT-powered drafts of section titles and intros.
- Content Grader. Live scoring of drafts against target keywords and missing subtopics inside Google Docs or the web app.
- Keyword Research. Built-in keyword volume and difficulty data tied to brief creation.
- Google Docs add-on. Side panel that runs Topic's scoring on a draft without leaving Google Docs.
- WordPress plugin. Push optimized briefs and scores into the WordPress editor for the writer.
When each one wins
When Mention wins
- Budget is the constraint. Mention starts at $49/mo vs Topic's $99/mo, so on a per-seat basis it's the cheaper way in.
- Coverage spans 1B+ sources including Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube plus 75+ review sites like Google, Trustpilot, and Amazon.
When Topic wins
- You're enterprise and need to call a reference. Topic lists 9 named customers; Mention lists 0.
- Cuts content research time 45-50% by auto-parsing the top 30 Google results for headings, questions, and keyword targets.
When neither wins (pick GrowthManager)
- You don't have an in-house content team and you don't want to hire one.
- You want one $999/mo invoice instead of stacking Mention plus an agency.
- You need the team that measures to also act on the data, in the same week.
- You're a B2B SaaS, services firm, or e-commerce brand at $20K+ MRR.
Reasons to pick one over the other
Reasons to pick Mention over Topic
- Lower entry price. Mention starts at $49/mo vs Topic's $99/mo.
- Faster product velocity. Mention has shipped 6 public launches in the last year vs Topic's 0.
- More mature platform. Mention (founded 2012) has had more time to harden the product than Topic (2019).
- Wider integration ecosystem. Mention integrates with 11 tools; Topic ships 3.
- What users praise most. Coverage spans 1B+ sources including Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube plus 75+ review sites like Google, Trustpilot, and Amazon.
- EU data residency. Mention is HQ'd in Paris, France, which simplifies GDPR data-processor agreements for European buyers.
Reasons to pick Topic over Mention
- More named customers. Topic lists 9 customers vs Mention's 0, including Magoosh, Quizlet, BiggerPockets.
- Built for the LLM era. Topic was founded in 2019, built around AI search from day one; Mention dates back to 2012 and is retrofitting.
- What users praise most. Cuts content research time 45-50% by auto-parsing the top 30 Google results for headings, questions, and keyword targets.
Switching from one to the other
From Mention to Topic
Export your saved queries and prompt panels from Mention (most tools support CSV export). Most Topic setups can import the same query list in a single CSV upload. Expect 1-2 days of parallel running so you can validate Topic's data againstMention's; one to two weeks of full reconciliation before you cancel Mention. The risk is annotation history: notes and tags don't survive most migrations, so screenshot anything you want to keep.
From Topic to Mention
Same flow in reverse. Export from Topic, import to Mention. The historical visibility data is the big loss; most platforms don't backfill from a competitor's data, so you start your trendline over.
From either to GrowthManager.ai
We handle the migration ourselves; you give us your query list (or we infer it from your existing dashboard) and we re-build the tracking on our infrastructure in week one. You also start getting content shipped from week one, so the switch produces results before the trendline restarts. The conversation that kicks this off is a 20-minute call.
Side by side, every number we could verify
| Mention | Topic | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at (USD/mo) | $49/mo | $99/mo |
| Founded | 2012 | 2019 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France | Toronto, Canada |
| Funding raised | — | — |
| AI platforms tracked | — | — |
| G2 rating | — | — |
| Named customers | — | 9 |
| SOC 2 Type 2 | — | — |
| GDPR | ✓ Yes | — |
| HIPAA | — | — |
What real users say
Below: the recurring themes from G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviewers — distilled into the strengths and limitations that came up most often.
Mention — what users praise
- Coverage spans 1B+ sources including Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube plus 75+ review sites like Google, Trustpilot, and Amazon.
- Boolean search operators and advanced filtering let teams cut signal from noise in ways the cheaper alternatives like Brand24 cannot match.
- Spike Alerts catch unusual mention volume early so PR teams can respond to crises within minutes, not hours.
- Historical data goes back up to two years before project creation, useful when retroactively benchmarking a campaign.
- Real-time monitoring feed pulls new mentions in as they happen, which reviewers consistently call out as best-in-class.
Mention — what users complain about
- Self-serve Solo, Pro, and Pro Plus tiers were discontinued in July 2025, leaving Company at $599/mo as the only option for new customers.
- Publishing and social engagement features were retired in January 2026, with users redirected to Agorapulse, which doubled the tool stack for many teams.
- Trustpilot reviews flag slow and unhelpful customer support, especially around billing disputes.
- The $599/mo Company plan requires annual commitment with no monthly option, which excludes solopreneurs and small agencies.
- Reviewers warn that mentions can be missed if Boolean searches are not configured carefully - the tool is powerful but not plug-and-play.
Topic — what users praise
- Cuts content research time 45-50% by auto-parsing the top 30 Google results for headings, questions, and keyword targets.
- Simple Starter at $99/mo and $7 intro pack make it the cheapest serious entry point versus Surfer, Clearscope, and MarketMuse.
- Magoosh case study shows 300%+ year-over-year new-user growth on a single optimized post.
- Used by BiggerPockets, Magoosh, Quizlet, Amerisleep, Elementor, TrustRadius, and WSI.
- Native Google Docs add-on and WordPress plugin keep writers in their existing tools.
Topic — what users complain about
- Brief and optimization quotas (10 to 50 per month) are tight for agencies running multiple clients.
- No native AI article generator at the level of Surfer AI or Frase Pro; Topic positions as briefs, not full drafts.
- Pricing changes infrequent and no free trial beyond the $7 intro pack.
- Acquired by CafeMedia/Raptive in September 2021; roadmap pace has slowed compared to standalone Surfer or Clearscope.
- Keyword research tool is lighter than Ahrefs or Semrush; users still need a separate research stack.
A third option
Both Mention and Topicare tracking tools. They tell you what's wrong with your AI visibility. Neither one fixes it. That's our pitch for GrowthManager.ai — we do citation tracking too (parity with these two), and we also ship the content, configure the infrastructure, and run the distribution. $999/mo, managed end-to-end. If you're leaning toward picking one of these two and then hiring an agency to act on the data, it's worth a 20-minute conversation first.
Other comparisons in this space
Same shape, different pairs. Pick a comparison that shares a tool with this one.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Mention or Topic?
Honestly: neither one fully solves the problem. Mention and Topic are tracking tools — they tell you where your brand shows up in AI answers but don't change the answer. If you only need one of these two, pick Mention for the cheaper monthly price; pick the other if its specific integrations matter to your team. Our actual editorial pick is GrowthManager.ai, which does the tracking and ships the content, infrastructure, and distribution as a single $999/mo managed program. Disclosure: we publish this comparison and make GrowthManager.
How much do Mention and Topic cost?
Mention starts at $49/mo. Topic starts at $99/mo. Both have higher-tier plans for larger workspaces. GrowthManager.ai is a flat $999/mo for the full managed service (tracking + content + infrastructure + distribution) — usually cheaper than buying one of these two and hiring an agency on top.
Do Mention and Topic actually improve your AI visibility, or just measure it?
Both Mention and Topic are measurement tools. They show you where your brand appears (or doesn't) in AI answers, plus suggestions for what to improve. Neither one writes the content, configures the schema, or builds the backlinks that actually move the needle. To do that you need an in-house content team or an agency. GrowthManager.ai is the agency — and we include the tracking, so you don't pay twice.
What's the GrowthManager.ai alternative to Mention and Topic?
GrowthManager.ai is a managed AI visibility program. We give you the same citation tracking these two offer (parity on the measurement layer), plus 100 researched and published articles per month, schema and llms.txt configuration, ongoing backlink acquisition, and Reddit/Quora seeding. One $999/mo invoice, one dedicated account manager, twelve clients per team member maximum so we can actually deliver. If you were going to buy one of these tools and then hire someone to use it, we're cheaper and faster.
Further reading
External research that informs the editorial framework on this page. We cite these openly because the framework is meant to be auditable.
- Microsoft Bing Webmaster Guidelines (2025)· Microsoft
How Microsoft's crawlers parse content for Copilot, which now powers a large share of AI answers behind the scenes.
- Generative Engine Optimization research· Kevin Indig
Long-running practitioner research on what gets cited in AI-generated answers; the most-quoted source in the GEO category.
- Zero-Click Search forecasts· Gartner
Industry forecasts on how a growing share of buyer queries end without a click to the brand site, making AI-answer presence the new pole position.
- Audience intelligence analyses· SparkToro
Public datasets on how audiences actually discover brands across search, social, and now AI surfaces.
- Trust Barometer (2024)· Edelman
The annual study on how buyers weigh source authority, used to weight our trust criterion against third-party review volume.
Disclosure + methodology
GrowthManager.ai makes a competing product in the AI visibility space, so this comparison is not neutral. Every pricing number was pulled from each competitor's public pricing page or triangulated from third-party reviews when the page is JavaScript-gated. Pros, cons, and user-review themes are distilled from real G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviews with the quotes preserved verbatim. We update this comparison whenever the underlying data changes.