Archive vs Critical Mention: Which Is Better? (2026 Comparison)
Archive and Critical Mention serve fundamentally different needs: Archive is a specialized UGC-tracking platform for e-commerce brands, while Critical Mention is an enterprise media monitoring tool for PR professionals. If you need to scale creator programs and capture TikTok/Instagram content, Archive is the winner; if you require real-time broadcast TV and radio tracking, Critical Mention is the industry standard. For more options, explore our Archive alternatives or see how they stack up in our ShortsIntel vs Critical Mention comparison.
| Feature | Archive | Critical Mention |
|---|---|---|
| Content Discovery | ||
UGC Discovery | 5/5 | 1/5 |
Brand Mention Detection | 5/5 | 5/5 |
Untagged Content Detection | 5/5 | 2/5 |
| Video Tracking | ||
Short-Form Video Tracking | 5/5 | 2/5 |
| Creator Management | ||
Creator Analytics | 4/5 | 1/5 |
Rights Management | 4/5 | 2/5 |
| Intelligence & AI | ||
Competitor Intelligence | 4/5 | 4/5 |
AI Content Tagging | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Platform & Integrations | ||
Multi-Platform Support | 4/5 | 5/5 |
Integrations | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Reporting & Collaboration | ||
Reporting Dashboards | 4/5 | 5/5 |
Team Collaboration | 3/5 | 4/5 |
API Access | 3/5 | 4/5 |
| Usability & Support | ||
Ease of Use | 4/5 | 4/5 |
Customer Support | 4/5 | 5/5 |
Feature Deep Dive
Content Discovery and Brand Detection
Archive is built specifically for the era of user-generated content. It excels at finding untagged posts where your product appears visually but isn't explicitly tagged, claiming to detect 400% more content than general tools. This makes it a top Archive alternative for brands focused on organic social growth. Critical Mention, by contrast, provides 5/5 brand mention detection across a much wider net, including online news, podcasts, and blogs, but it lacks the specialized UGC discovery features that Archive offers.
Video and Broadcast Tracking
The divergence between these tools is clearest in video. Archive focuses on short-form video performance across TikTok, Instagram (including Stories and Reels), and YouTube. It is designed to capture and organize these assets for repurposing. Critical Mention is the powerhouse of broadcast monitoring, offering real-time results from TV and radio within 60 seconds. While Archive is best for social-first brands, Critical Mention is essential for PR teams who need to track earned media across traditional channels. For teams looking for a middle ground, a Critical Mention alternative might be necessary to bridge the social-broadcast gap.
Creator and Rights Management
Archive includes robust tools for managing creator relationships, including a 10M+ profile database and rights acquisition workflows. It is rated 4/5 for rights management, allowing brands to legally repurpose UGC. Critical Mention (1/5 for creator analytics) does not offer these features, as its focus is on sentiment analysis and trend visualization for general media. If your goal is influencer marketing, Archive is the clear choice, though you might also consider a CreatorIQ alternative for advanced campaign management.
Intelligence, AI, and Integrations
Archive uses AI for brand safety vetting and automated content tagging, while Critical Mention focuses on sentiment analysis and custom reporting. Archive offers a specialized Shopify integration, reinforcing its position as an e-commerce tool. Critical Mention provides a more comprehensive suite of enterprise integrations and API access, making it more suitable for large-scale data workflows. You can see how these reporting features compare to other leaders in our Archive vs Brandwatch and Critical Mention vs Critical Mention guides. Ultimately, Archive is easier to set up for small teams, while Critical Mention offers the deep analytics required by agencies. For a direct look at how social-first tracking works, check out ShortsIntel vs Archive.
| Plan Details | Archive | Critical Mention |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Usage Based | Custom |
| Free Tier | ||
| Free Trial | ||
| Pricing Tiers | ||
| Entry Tier | StarterCustom | Custom PackageCustom |
| Mid Tier | Pro$308/mo | EnterpriseCustom |
| Top Tier | CustomCustom | — |
| Annual Cost (5-Person Team)* | Contact Sales | Contact Sales |
| Hidden Costs |
|
|
* Annual cost calculated using entry tier pricing. Per-seat pricing multiplied by 5 users. Actual costs may vary based on specific plan and usage.
Archive and Critical Mention use very different pricing philosophies. Archive follows a usage-based model that scales with the volume of UGC captured. Their Pro plan starts at $308/mo, but costs can rise quickly if your creator program explodes in popularity. Because they lack transparent pricing for their Starter and Custom tiers, getting an accurate quote requires a demo. For a team of five people, you are likely looking at the Pro or Custom tier, starting around $3,696/year but potentially much higher with volume add-ons.
Critical Mention is an enterprise-level service with zero public pricing. Reports from users suggest costs ranging from $2,500/year for NGOs to over $6,000/year for full broadcast monitoring capabilities. For a 5-person agency team, Critical Mention is almost certainly the more expensive option, though it provides value through its 24/7/365 customer support and comprehensive media coverage. If these price points are too steep, you might look at a more affordable Critical Mention alternative or explore Archive alternatives that offer more predictable flat-rate billing. For those comparing enterprise costs against specialized tools, our Archive vs MightyScout breakdown provides further context on the market rates for AI-driven listening.
Who Is Each Product Best For?
AI-powered social listening and UGC management platform for detecting and organizing brand content across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube
Best For
- D2C and e-commerce brands
- Small teams managing large creator programs
- Brands tracking untagged content mentions
- Companies needing automated UGC capture
- Teams wanting to eliminate manual monitoring
- Brands focused on short-form video content
Not Ideal For
- Companies wanting predictable monthly costs
- Brands needing extensive competitor tracking (5+ brands)
- Teams requiring advanced reporting on budget plans
- Companies wanting long-term content archives on Starter
- Brands needing transparent upfront pricing
Real-time TV, radio, online news, podcast, and social media monitoring with analytics
Best For
- PR and communications teams needing broadcast monitoring
- Agencies managing multiple client media coverage
- Enterprise brands tracking earned media across all channels
- Government and non-profit organizations
- Financial services firms requiring comprehensive media intelligence
- Teams needing 24/7 customer support
Not Ideal For
- Influencer marketing campaigns
- UGC discovery and tracking
- Small businesses on tight budgets
- Teams focused solely on social media
- Short-form video content tracking
- Creator relationship management
Choose Archive if...
You are a D2C or e-commerce brand that relies heavily on influencer marketing and UGC. Archive is the perfect fit for small teams managing large creator programs who need to automate the detection of untagged content and secure usage rights for ad creatives. It is the go-to for social-first strategies on TikTok and Instagram. Learn more in our ShortsIntel vs Archive analysis.
Choose Critical Mention if...
You are a PR professional, communications director, or agency managing corporate reputations across a broad media landscape. Critical Mention is indispensable if you need to monitor broadcast television, radio, and global news in real-time. It is built for those who prioritize earned media over paid creator campaigns.
Neither might be right if...
You need a tool that focuses exclusively on short-form video performance with predictable, flat-rate pricing. Archive's volume-based costs can become a headache for scaling brands, and Critical Mention's lack of UGC tools makes it irrelevant for modern social campaigns. In this case, you may want to compare your options via ShortsIntel vs Critical Mention to see if a more specialized video-listening tool fits your workflow better.
Consider a Third Option
Scale creator marketing with data, not grunt work.
While Archive and Critical Mention represent two ends of the monitoring spectrum, ShortsIntel offers a specialized alternative for brands that live and breathe short-form video. Unlike Critical Mention, which treats social media as just one of many channels, ShortsIntel is purpose-built for TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts. It detects 30% more untagged content than standard competitors and uses frame-by-frame AI analysis to understand why certain videos go viral.
ShortsIntel fills the gap between Archive's usage-based complexity and Critical Mention's enterprise PR focus. With flat-rate pricing starting at just $99/mo, it provides a more accessible entry point for brands that need automated rights management and high-res asset libraries without the unpredictable costs of volume-based tiers. If you find Archive's pricing too opaque or Critical Mention too focused on traditional TV, ShortsIntel provides the 'Goldilocks' solution for video social listening. Explore how it compares in our ShortsIntel vs Critical Mention or ShortsIntel vs Brandwatch guides, or see how it stacks up against other AI-driven tools in our ShortsIntel vs Hypefy comparison.
Why Choose ShortsIntel
- Purpose-built for short-form video (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) unlike general social listening tools
- Detects untagged content that competitors miss (claims 30% more coverage)
- AI-powered content tagging analyzes videos frame-by-frame for format, visual elements, and trends
- Automated rights management with magic-link consent system and audit trails
Best For
Starting at $99/mo
7-day free trial
Full Comparison: All Three Options
| Feature | Archive | Critical Mention | ShortsIntel Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content Discovery | |||
UGC Discovery | 5/5 | 1/5 | 5/5 |
Brand Mention Detection | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
Untagged Content Detection | 5/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 |
| Video Tracking | |||
Short-Form Video Tracking | 5/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 |
| Creator Management | |||
Creator Analytics | 4/5 | 1/5 | 4/5 |
Rights Management | 4/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 |
| Intelligence & AI | |||
Competitor Intelligence | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
AI Content Tagging | 4/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 |
| Platform & Integrations | |||
Multi-Platform Support | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Integrations | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Reporting & Collaboration | |||
Reporting Dashboards | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Team Collaboration | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
API Access | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Usability & Support | |||
Ease of Use | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
Customer Support | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to try ShortsIntel?
Track UGC, discover creators, and monitor brand mentions across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
Related Comparisons
More About archive-vs-critical-mention
Similar Tools in UGC Tracking
Popular Comparisons
Last updated: January 28, 2026