Brandwatch vs Lately.ai
Brandwatch
- Platform: Multi-platform listening and management
- Best For: Enterprise consumer insights and monitoring
- Strength: 1.4+ trillion historical posts with AI analytics
- Users: Enterprise brands and agencies
Starting at Custom (no public pricing; all plans via sales)
Lately.ai
- Platform: Multi-platform social posting
- Best For: Content repurposing and automation
- Strength: Neuroscience-trained Voice Models for personalized content
- Users: B2B marketers and agencies
Starting at $14/month
Table of Contents
At a Glance
Social Listening & Intelligence
| Feature | Brandwatch | Lately.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Historical data archive | ✓ 1.4+ trillion posts, 496M new daily | ✗ No listening capabilities |
| AI-powered search and insights | ✓ Iris AI for narratives and custom classifiers | ✓ Predictive modeling for content performance |
| Image and visual analysis | ✓ Neural networks and deep learning | ✗ No image analysis |
| Brand monitoring and alerts | ✓ Custom dashboards with real-time alerts | ✗ Basic performance analytics only |
| Crisis monitoring | ✓ Integrated with media intelligence | ✗ Not supported |
Content Creation & Management
| Feature | Brandwatch | Lately.ai |
|---|---|---|
| AI content generation | ✗ No direct content creation | ✓ Repurposes longform text/audio/video into posts |
| Brand voice personalization | ✗ Not applicable | ✓ Voice Models trained on analytics |
| Content calendar and scheduling | ✓ Collaborative calendar for organic/paid | ✓ AI-powered scheduling and calendar |
| Longform content repurposing | ✗ Not supported | ✓ Automated from blogs, podcasts, videos |
| Multilingual support | ✓ Global data coverage | ✓ Regional dialects and languages |
Social Media Management
| Feature | Brandwatch | Lately.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Unified social inbox | ✓ Centralized for community and customer care | ✗ No inbox management |
| Platform integrations | ✓ Major social networks and enterprise tools | ✓ Hootsuite, HubSpot, Salesforce, etc. |
| Employee advocacy | ✗ Not included | ✓ Compliant sharing tools |
| Multi-account governance | ✓ Enterprise workflows | ✓ For agencies and enterprises |
| Channel-specific formatting | ✓ For major networks | ✓ Automated optimization |
Influencer & Media
| Feature | Brandwatch | Lately.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Influencer discovery | ✓ 30M+ creator database | ✗ No influencer tools |
| Campaign tracking | ✓ Multichannel reporting | ✗ Basic post analytics only |
| Expert analyst support | ✓ Media intelligence services | ✗ Self-serve AI only |
| Custom research projects | ✓ Strategic reporting | ✗ Not available |
Analytics & Reporting
| Feature | Brandwatch | Lately.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Custom dashboards | ✓ Fully customizable with segmentation | ✓ Performance analytics with predictions |
| Predictive analytics | ✓ AI classifiers and insights | ✓ For future content performance |
| Benchmarking | ✓ Brand monitoring dashboards | ✗ No benchmarking |
| API access | ✓ Full APIs for integrations | ✗ Limited integrations |
Enterprise & Collaboration
| Feature | Brandwatch | Lately.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Team collaboration | ✓ Workflows and governance | ✓ Multi-user seats and governance |
| Scalability for agencies | ✓ Multi-client support | ✓ Client governance in Enterprise |
| Global/multi-region support | ✓ Offices and services worldwide | ✓ Multilingual adaptation |
| Onboarding support | ✓ Sales-led with expert analysts | ✗ Self-serve |
Pricing Comparison
Brandwatch uses custom pricing through sales with no public tiers, suited for enterprises, while Lately.ai offers transparent starting plans from $14/month, scaling to custom Enterprise. Brandwatch's opacity reflects its enterprise focus, but Lately.ai provides better accessibility for smaller teams.
Brandwatch
Consumer Intelligence (Brandwatch Consumer Research)
Custom
Teams needing deep social data analysis
- Access to the world’s largest archive of consumer opinions
- AI-powered search and Iris AI assistant
- Image analysis and custom classifiers
- Customizable dashboards, alerts, and reporting
- Support for first-party data uploads and integration
Social Media Management
Custom
Enterprise social operations
- All-in-one social media management platform
- Collaborative content calendar for organic and paid posts
- Unified social inbox and social CRM
- Brand monitoring and benchmarking dashboards
Influencer Marketing (Influence)
Custom
Influencer program managers
- Influencer discovery across 30M+ creators
- Relationship and workflow management
- Multichannel campaign tracking and reporting
Media Intelligence & Insights
Custom
PR and communications teams
- Access to expert analysts and consultants
- Custom research projects and strategic reporting
- Support for crisis monitoring and stakeholder management
Lately.ai
Starter (Annual)
$14/month
Solo creators starting with AI repurposing
- Repurpose longform text, audio, and video into engaging social posts
- Basic scheduling and analytics functionality
- 1 Voice Model
- 5 social channels
- 1 user seat
- Free trial available
Starter (Monthly)
$19/month
Solo creators starting with AI repurposing
- Repurpose longform text, audio, and video into engaging social posts
- Basic scheduling and analytics functionality
- 1 Voice Model
- 5 social channels
- 1 user seat
- Free trial available
Growth (Annual)
$199/month
Small teams needing advanced scheduling
- Everything in Starter
- Full calendar plus AI scheduling
- Performance analytics
- Voice Model editing
- RSS feed integration
- 1 Voice Model
- 5 social channels
- 3 user seats
Growth (Monthly)
$239/month
Small teams needing advanced scheduling
- Everything in Starter
- Full calendar plus AI scheduling
- Performance analytics
- Voice Model editing
- RSS feed integration
- 1 Voice Model
- 25 social channels
- 5 user seats
Enterprise (Annual)
Custom
Large organizations with governance needs
- Everything in Growth
- 100% automation of social workflows
- Multiple client account governance and key messaging controls
- Regional dialect and foreign language adaptation
- Employee advocacy functionality
- Unlimited Voice Models
- Unlimited social channels
- Unlimited user seats
- "White Glove" VIP customer service
Enterprise (Monthly)
Custom
Large organizations with governance needs
- Everything in Growth
- 100% automation of social workflows
- Multiple client account governance and key messaging controls
- Regional dialect and foreign language adaptation
- Employee advocacy functionality
- Unlimited Voice Models
- Unlimited social channels
- Unlimited user seats
- "White Glove" VIP customer service
Feature Deep Dive
Consumer Intelligence and Listening
Brandwatch
Strengths
- Vast archive of 1.4+ trillion posts for historical analysis
- Iris AI assistant for narrative insights and advanced search
- Image analysis with neural networks for visual data
- Custom machine learning classifiers for data categorization
- Real-time alerts and customizable dashboards for monitoring
Workflow
Set up queries and classifiers → Monitor data streams → Generate AI insights → Create reports and alerts
Lately.ai
Strengths
- No dedicated listening; focuses on post-performance prediction
- Analytics trained on user data for content optimization
Workflow
N/A
Limitations
- Lacks social listening or historical data access
- No brand monitoring or crisis tools
Brandwatch dominates in consumer intelligence with unparalleled data depth and AI tools for listening and monitoring. Lately.ai offers no comparable features, making Brandwatch essential for insights-driven strategies while Lately.ai supports only post-creation analytics.
Content Creation and Repurposing
Brandwatch
Strengths
- Collaborative content calendar for planning
- No direct AI generation; focuses on data-informed creation
Workflow
Use insights from listening → Plan in calendar → Schedule manually
Limitations
- Lacks automated repurposing or voice modeling
- Content tools are secondary to intelligence
Lately.ai
Strengths
- Neuroscience-driven AI repurposes longform into dozens of posts
- Voice Models learn brand tone from analytics
- Supports text, audio, video inputs with channel optimization
- Multilingual and dialect adaptation
- RSS integration for automated feeds
Workflow
Upload longform content → Train Voice Model → Generate posts → Edit and schedule with AI
Lately.ai shines in AI-driven content repurposing and personalization, ideal for efficient creation from existing assets. Brandwatch supports planning but lacks generation tools, better for data-backed content strategies than creation.
Social Media Management and Engagement
Brandwatch
Strengths
- Unified inbox for community management and CRM
- Collaborative workflows for teams
- Integrations with major networks
- Governance for enterprise-scale operations
Limitations
- No employee advocacy
- Less focus on scheduling automation
Lately.ai
Strengths
- AI scheduling and full calendar management
- Employee advocacy for compliant sharing
- Multi-account governance for agencies
- Integrations with tools like HubSpot and Salesforce
Limitations
- No unified inbox or CRM
- Engagement management is limited
Brandwatch provides robust management with inbox and workflows for engagement, suiting enterprise teams. Lately.ai emphasizes automated scheduling and advocacy, better for content distribution but weaker in interaction handling.
Analytics and Reporting
Brandwatch
Strengths
- Customizable dashboards with segmentation and alerts
- AI-powered insights from massive datasets
- Benchmarking and media intelligence reporting
- Expert analyst support for custom projects
Limitations
- Complex for non-experts
- No predictive content modeling
Lately.ai
Strengths
- Performance analytics with predictive modeling
- Voice Model editing based on engagement data
- Basic reporting for post and campaign performance
Limitations
- No deep benchmarking or historical analysis
- Less customizable than enterprise tools
Brandwatch offers superior, scalable analytics for intelligence and reporting, ideal for strategic decisions. Lately.ai provides targeted, predictive insights for content optimization but lacks breadth for comprehensive monitoring.
Use Case Comparison
Enterprise Brand Monitoring
Brandwatch 🏆
Excellent
Deep listening, AI alerts, and historical data perfect for reputation management and crisis response.
Best Plan: Consumer Intelligence (Custom)
Score: 10/10
Lately.ai
Poor
No monitoring or listening features; focused on content creation.
Best Plan: Not suitable
Score: 1/10
B2B Content Repurposing
Brandwatch
Fair
Can inform content with insights but no repurposing tools.
Best Plan: Social Media Management (Custom)
Score: 4/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
AI excels at turning blogs/webinars into social posts with brand voice.
Best Plan: Growth ($199/month annual)
Score: 10/10
Agency Managing Multiple Clients
Brandwatch
Good
Enterprise governance and workflows support multi-client, but sales process slows onboarding.
Best Plan: Full Suite (Custom)
Score: 8/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
Governance, unlimited models in Enterprise, and affordable scaling for agencies.
Best Plan: Enterprise (Custom)
Score: 9/10
Market Research Team
Brandwatch 🏆
Excellent
Massive data archive, AI classifiers, and analyst support for in-depth research.
Best Plan: Consumer Intelligence (Custom)
Score: 10/10
Lately.ai
Poor
Limited to content performance; no research tools.
Best Plan: Not suitable
Score: 2/10
Small B2B Marketer
Brandwatch
Poor
Too complex and expensive; overkill for basic needs.
Best Plan: Not suitable
Score: 3/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
Affordable Starter plan for repurposing content into posts.
Best Plan: Starter ($14/month annual)
Score: 9/10
Influencer Campaign Manager
Brandwatch 🏆
Excellent
30M+ database, workflow management, and reporting for full campaigns.
Best Plan: Influence (Custom)
Score: 10/10
Lately.ai
Fair
Employee advocacy but no discovery or campaign tools.
Best Plan: Enterprise (Custom)
Score: 5/10
PR and Crisis Management Team
Brandwatch 🏆
Excellent
Real-time monitoring, alerts, and media intelligence for rapid response.
Best Plan: Media Intelligence (Custom)
Score: 10/10
Lately.ai
Poor
No crisis or monitoring capabilities.
Best Plan: Not suitable
Score: 1/10
Employee Advocacy Program
Brandwatch
Fair
Social management supports sharing but no dedicated advocacy.
Best Plan: Social Media Management (Custom)
Score: 6/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
Compliant tools for controlled employee sharing at scale.
Best Plan: Enterprise (Custom)
Score: 9/10
Global Multilingual Content Creation
Brandwatch
Good
Global data but limited content tools; supports multilingual listening.
Best Plan: Consumer Intelligence (Custom)
Score: 7/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
Regional dialects and language adaptation in Voice Models.
Best Plan: Growth or Enterprise
Score: 9/10
Franchise or Distributed Organization
Brandwatch
Good
Governance and multi-region support, but heavy for distributed content.
Best Plan: Full Suite (Custom)
Score: 8/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
Advocacy and governance for franchises with automation.
Best Plan: Enterprise (Custom)
Score: 9/10
Content-Rich Enterprise
Brandwatch
Good
Insights inform content, but no repurposing; strong for strategy.
Best Plan: Consumer Intelligence + Social Management (Custom)
Score: 7/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
Scales repurposing for large content volumes with unlimited features.
Best Plan: Enterprise (Custom)
Score: 10/10
Solo Content Creator
Brandwatch
Poor
Enterprise focus with no self-serve; too complex.
Best Plan: Not suitable
Score: 2/10
Lately.ai 🏆
Excellent
Low-cost Starter for quick repurposing and scheduling.
Best Plan: Starter ($14/month annual)
Score: 9/10
Pros and Cons
Brandwatch
Pros
- Extremely deep data coverage with 1.4+ trillion historical posts and hundreds of millions of new posts daily
- Powerful AI capabilities including Iris, image analysis, and custom classifiers
- Integrated suite covering consumer intelligence, social media management, and influencer marketing
- Strong enterprise readiness with global offices, services, and analyst recognition
- Highly customizable dashboards, segmentation, and reporting for advanced users
- Unified inbox and collaborative tools for efficient team management
- APIs and integrations for seamless enterprise workflows
Cons
- No public pricing or self-serve plans, making budgeting and comparison harder
- Sales-led onboarding and multi-step demo forms instead of instant access
- Complexity and breadth can create a steep learning curve for smaller teams
- Overkill for users who mainly need simple content creation and scheduling
- Heavier implementation and governance requirements compared to lightweight social tools
- No direct AI content generation or repurposing features
- Limited employee advocacy tools
Lately.ai
Pros
- Highly personalized AI trained on your own social analytics and engagement data
- Excellent for repurposing longform content into dozens of social posts quickly
- Strong Voice Model capabilities for brand, regional, and individual voices
- Built-in AI scheduling and full calendar management for long-range planning
- Robust enterprise features including governance, multi-account management, and advocacy
- Affordable starting price with free trial and transparent tiers
- Multilingual support and integrations with key marketing tools
- Predictive analytics for optimizing future content performance
Cons
- Pricing, especially for Growth and Enterprise, may be high for solo creators or very small teams
- Feature set can feel complex if you only need simple LinkedIn post generation
- Best results require connecting analytics and feeding substantial longform content
- Interface and workflows may involve a learning curve for non-technical marketers
- Some pages and resources on the site redirect to 404s, which can hinder discovery of information
- No social listening, consumer intelligence, or influencer marketing
- Lacks unified inbox or deep engagement management
Final Verdict
Brandwatch and Lately.ai target different aspects of social media strategy. Brandwatch is an enterprise powerhouse for intelligence, listening, and integrated management, ideal for data-driven decisions. Lately.ai is a nimble AI tool for content repurposing and automation, perfect for creation and distribution efficiency.
Opt for Brandwatch if your priority is comprehensive social intelligence and enterprise management. Choose Lately.ai for efficient, AI-powered content creation and posting. For hybrid needs, integrate Brandwatch for insights and Lately.ai for execution to maximize impact.
Overall Scores
Brandwatch
Content Creation: 4/10
Value: 6/10
Lately.ai
Content Creation: 10/10
Value: 9/10
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