you need real-time hashtag campaign tracking, a specific strength most tools in this batch do not lead with.
Move to Sway9 if
you want the creators you already have tracked and paid per view — free plan first, then $22/mo, unlimited team members, no annual contract.
Keyhole entry~$179/moReported annual
Sway9$22/mofree plan first · no seat fees
Over a year~8.1×~$2,148 vs $264 a year
What does Keyhole cost?
Keyhole publishes pricing, but blocked our automated check — the figures below are third-party reported. Keyhole's own pricing pages (/pricing and /select-plan) returned HTTP 403 on every automated check. A detailed third-party breakdown (SocialRails, dated March 2026) lists Professional at $179/mo for 3 tracked accounts, Corporate at $539/mo for 10, and Enterprise at $999/mo unlimited; Capterra separately lists a matching $179 figure (mislabelled as CA$) for the same entry tier. Other listicle-style blogs instead cite $89-$99/mo, which read as older or promotional figures rather than the current rate card.
Professional — reported $179/mo · 3 tracked accounts, hashtag and influencer dashboard, sentiment analysis
Corporate — reported $539/mo · 10 tracked accounts, API access, historical data, extra onboarding calls
Take the lowest figure anyone reports — $179/mo — and a year still comes to $2,148, against $264 for Sway9 Starter. The true number is likely higher, and only a sales call would tell you what yours is.
Third-party reported, not confirmed by Keyhole · source.
Pricing in this category changes often — confirm with the vendor before you commit.
What stands out about Keyhole
Why do teams look for a Keyhole alternative?
Keyhole is a hashtag-tracking and social-listening tool for marketers and agencies, acquired by PR software company Muck Rack in 2024 and still sold as a standalone product. The tier you need is set by headcount, not by what you do with it. Why buyers move:
You need more than three accounts tracked before hitting an upgrade wall
You want a number you can verify on the vendor's own page, not a third-party estimate
You want per-view creator payouts computed, not just hashtag and mention volume reported
5 alternatives to Keyhole
1
Sway9
Track your own roster, pay per view
Free plan, then $22/mo
Where Keyhole caps how many creators each tier lets you track, Sway9 charges on how many creator accounts you track and nothing else. It picks up every TikTok and Instagram post from creators you already work with, refreshes them automatically, and computes spend and effective CPM as the views arrive — the reconciliation Keyhole leaves you to do by hand.
Reported from $179/mo (Professional) — some older listings cite $89-$99/mo instead
Free plan
Yes — 3 accounts, 100 credits/mo, no card
No — 14-day free trial
Contract
Month-to-month, cancel any time
Reported annual
Pricing model
Priced on tracked accounts, never on seats
Tiered by creator count
Team members
Unlimited on every plan
Capped per tier
Creators you can track
Unlimited
100–250 depending on tier
Auto view tracking (TikTok & Instagram)
Yes
Varies by plan
Pay-per-view CPM & spend automation
Yes, built in
Not the core model
Where Keyhole is still the better choice
A capped tier is at least predictable, and Keyhole is the stronger pick when the job is one of these:
Real-time hashtag campaign tracking, a specific strength most tools in this batch do not lead with
An "influencer dashboard" named directly in its own reported feature list, not just brand monitoring
News, blogs and forum tracking alongside the core social networks
Now backed by Muck Rack's PR and media-database infrastructure since the 2024 acquisition
If that is the software you are actually shopping for, Keyhole is the better buy and nothing on this page should talk you out of it.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Keyhole?
Yes. Sway9 has a free plan with 3 tracked accounts and 100 credits a month, with no credit card and no expiry. Keyhole does not offer a free plan.
How much does Keyhole cost?
Reported from $179/mo (Professional) — some older listings cite $89-$99/mo instead, as reported by a third party rather than published by Keyhole, checked 2026-08-22. The full breakdown is in the pricing section above.
What is the best Keyhole alternative for paying creators per view?
Sway9. Keyhole caps how many creators each tier lets you track; Sway9 is priced on tracked accounts and computes spend and effective CPM as views come in, so nothing is reconciled by hand. There is a free plan, and paid plans start at $22/mo with unlimited team members.
Can I switch from Keyhole without a contract?
Sway9 is month-to-month and you can cancel any time. Note that Keyhole is reported to require reported annual, so check your current term before you move.
What else competes with Keyhole?
Beyond Sway9, the closest comparisons are Talkwalker, Tagger by Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Brandwatch Influence. Each targets a different job — Talkwalker for enterprise social listening and analytics, Tagger by Sprout Social for influencer discovery and social listening, Hootsuite for social media management platform, Brandwatch Influence for enterprise influencer marketing.
Free plan · no card · no expiry
Try Sway9 free
3 tracked accounts and 100 credits a month, for as long as you like. Upgrade from $22/mo only when your roster outgrows it.
Try for freeCancel any time · unlimited team members on every plan
Keyhole publishes no rate card, so every figure above is attributed to the third party that reported it and was checked on 2026-08-22. We would rather show you a sourced estimate and say it is an estimate than present a guess as fact.