Tool profile
Rival IQ: cost, fit and limits
Rival IQ is a social media competitive analytics platform made by Rival IQ Corporation, a subsidiary of NetBase Solutions (Quid), that benchmarks a brand's social channels against competitors and alerts marketing teams to rival posts.
What to know first
Rival IQ sells three published tiers from $239 per month (Drive, Engage and Engage Pro) and a quote-only Enterprise level. The tiers differ by tracked companies, months of data history and users, and a 14-day trial needs no credit card. The vendor pages read name no AI feature. The privacy policy says nothing on AI training, retention periods or hosting region.
Rival IQ at a glance
| Maker | Rival IQ Corporation, United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Free trial only |
| Entry price | $239 per month (Drive, billed monthly) |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Competitive Intelligence Software in 2026, rank 10 of 10 |
| Website | rivaliq.com |
Who Rival IQ is best for
Social media managers
Competitive analysis and Live Benchmarks put your engagement next to named rivals and industry averages, which helps when a manager must show how a channel performs relative to others.
Agencies reporting to clients
Social media audits and scheduled reports turn competitor and own-channel data into documents, and a Data Studio connector sends figures into existing reporting.
Small marketing teams on a budget
Drive starts at $239 per month with a 14-day trial and no card, so a team can test the benchmarking before committing to a larger tier.
Rival IQ plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | $239 per month | 10 tracked companies, 6 months data history, 1 user; competitive social metrics, benchmarking, content analysis, email alerts and scheduled reports. |
| Engage | $349 per month | 20 companies, 12 months history, 2 users, 2 Social Listening saved searches; adds private single-handle analysis, Facebook Ads reporting and the Data Studio connector. |
| Engage Pro | $559 per month | 40 companies, 24 months history, 5 users, 10 saved searches; adds multi-handle aggregation, estimated impressions and API access as an add-on. |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Volume packages for larger tracking needs. No price or package detail is published, so it is a sales conversation. |
Checked November 2026.
What Rival IQ does
- Competitive analysis
- Compares your social performance with competitors across the same metrics, so a team sees where its engagement or posting cadence differs from rivals in its field.
- Social media audits
- Builds custom audit reports from the full social data set, useful for a quarterly review, a pitch or a client presentation of channel performance, with charts ready to share.
- Competitor post alerts
- Alerts arrive in the app and by email when a competitor posts high-performing content, giving a team a same-day cue rather than a monthly report.
- Live Benchmarks
- Industry benchmarks for sectors such as retail, skincare, higher education and nonprofits give context beyond a hand-picked competitor list of a few brands, which suits benchmark questions.
- Social Listening
- Tracks brand health through sentiment and mention data. Saved searches are limited by tier: none are listed on Drive, 2 on Engage and 10 on Engage Pro.
- Channel coverage
- Covers Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok, which defines the scope: social channels, not competitor websites, pricing pages or news coverage, so scope questions come first.
How Rival IQ handles your data
Rival IQ's privacy policy names Rival IQ Corporation as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NetBase Solutions, Inc. d/b/a Quid, and says Quid is headquartered in the United States. Retention varies by type of personal information and no periods are given. Personal data may be transferred to the United States and other countries, and no hosting region is stated. The policy does not mention AI or machine learning training, and no certification is stated on the pages checked.
Where Rival IQ falls short in practice
- Limited history on entry tier. Drive keeps 6 months of data against 12 on Engage and 24 on Engage Pro, so a year-over-year comparison needs a higher tier than the entry plan.
- Tracked company caps. Drive tracks 10 companies, Engage 20 and Engage Pro 40. Extra companies cost $50 per month for 5, which adds up for agencies covering many clients.
- Features gated by tier. Single-handle private analysis starts on Engage, and multi-handle aggregation and API access (an add-on) are on Engage Pro, so the useful features are not on the cheapest tier.
- No AI named. The pages read name no AI feature, so a buyer looking for automated summaries or AI-generated insights should confirm with the vendor before choosing it.
Works with
Alternatives to Rival IQ
Rival IQ: common questions
How much does Rival IQ cost per month?
As of November 2026 Drive is $239, Engage $349 and Engage Pro $559 per month, billed monthly in USD. Annual purchase saves 15%. Extra companies are $50 per month for 5, extra swaps $50 for 10 and extra users $10 each. Enterprise is quote only.
Does Rival IQ have a free plan or trial?
There is no free plan. A 14-day free trial is offered and needs no credit card. After the trial a team picks one of the paid monthly tiers, or contacts sales for the quote-only Enterprise level, and the trial is a fair way to test the data.
How long does Rival IQ keep historical data?
Drive keeps 6 months, Engage 12 months and Engage Pro 24 months of data history. A team that wants to compare this year with last year needs at least Engage, and two full years needs Engage Pro, because Drive covers only half a year.
Does Rival IQ offer API access?
Yes, on Engage Pro as an add-on, according to the pricing page. The vendor also lists a Social Insights API, and a Google Data Studio Connector that starts on the Engage tier, which starts at Engage and sends data into existing dashboards.
Does Rival IQ use AI?
The vendor pages checked name no AI feature. The product is described around benchmarking, audits, alerts and social listening, and the privacy policy does not mention AI or machine learning training either, so ask the vendor if that matters to you.