Best Dig Alternative in 2026
ShortsIntel is the premier Dig alternative for brands that prioritize UGC campaign scaling and automated rights management over enterprise-level reputation monitoring. While Dig excels at deep narrative detection for Fortune 500s, ShortsIntel captures 30% more untagged content at a fraction of the cost. Check out our ShortsIntel vs Dig guide for a side-by-side breakdown or browse other Dig alternatives.
Why Look for Alternatives?
Dig is a powerhouse in the social video intelligence space, but its gated nature often frustrates fast-moving marketing teams. The most common driver for seeking an alternative is the 'Enterprise Wall'—the lack of public pricing and the requirement for a lengthy, demo-only sales cycle. Many users find that while Dig is excellent for high-level brand safety and disinformation monitoring, it lacks the operational tools needed for day-to-day creator management.
Specifically, Dig lacks automated rights management, a critical gap for brands wanting to repurpose UGC as ad creative. Furthermore, its focus on video narratives means it often misses the text-based conversations that more general tools like those in our Brandwatch alternative list might catch. For teams that don't have the budget for a $24,000+ annual commitment, the search for Dig alternatives is often a financial necessity.
Another pain point is the 'Calibration Period.' Dig requires brand-specific customization before its proprietary LLMs deliver value, whereas tools like ShortsIntel or those found on our CreatorIQ alternative page are designed for near-instant setup. Finally, the absence of a documented public API makes it difficult for teams to build custom workflows, a feature frequently requested by those looking at Critical Mention alternative options. For teams that need to move fast, the enterprise friction of Dig often outweighs its analytical depth.
| Feature | ShortsIntel Recommended | Dig |
|---|---|---|
| Content Discovery | ||
UGC Discovery | 5/5 | 3/5 |
Brand Mention Detection | 5/5 | 5/5 |
Untagged Content Detection | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Video Tracking | ||
Short-Form Video Tracking | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Creator Management | ||
Creator Analytics | 4/5 | 3/5 |
Rights Management | 5/5 | 1/5 |
| Intelligence & AI | ||
Competitor Intelligence | 4/5 | 4/5 |
AI Content Tagging | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Platform & Integrations | ||
Multi-Platform Support | 4/5 | 3/5 |
Integrations | 3/5 | 1/5 |
| Reporting & Collaboration | ||
Reporting Dashboards | 4/5 | 3/5 |
Team Collaboration | 3/5 | 2/5 |
API Access | 3/5 | 1/5 |
| Usability & Support | ||
Ease of Use | 4/5 | 2/5 |
Customer Support | 4/5 | 3/5 |
Feature Deep Dive
When comparing these two platforms, it's essential to distinguish between 'Social Intelligence' (Dig) and 'Social Commerce/UGC Tracking' (ShortsIntel).
UGC Discovery and Detection
ShortsIntel scores a 5/5 in UGC discovery, whereas Dig scores a 3/5. Dig is built for monitoring 'narratives'—surfacing emerging themes across thousands of videos. However, ShortsIntel is built for finding 'content.' If a creator mentions your brand without a tag, ShortsIntel’s ability to detect 30% more content through visual and audio AI is a massive advantage for performance marketers. You can see how this compares to other content-heavy tools in our ShortsIntel vs Archive analysis.
Video Tracking and AI Analysis
Both platforms are exceptional at tracking TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Dig uses a proprietary LLM stack with 93% accuracy in narrative detection, making it superior for 'reputation monitoring.' However, ShortsIntel focuses more on the frame-by-frame visual elements (format, visual trends), which is more useful for creative teams looking to iterate on winning ad themes. For a more influencer-centric view, you might also compare Dig vs Heepsy.
Creator and Rights Management
This is the biggest differentiator. ShortsIntel provides a 'magic-link' consent system and full audit trails (5/5), while Dig has no rights management features (1/5). If your workflow involves clearing content to use in Meta ads or on your website, Dig simply isn't built for you. This distinction is even clearer when looking at our ShortsIntel vs CreatorIQ data, where creator-focused workflows are the priority.
Platform Usability and Integration
Dig’s lack of a public API (1/5) and lower team collaboration score (2/5) contrast sharply with ShortsIntel’s 3/5 rating for API access and 4/5 for reporting. This makes ShortsIntel much easier to integrate into a modern marketing tech stack, similar to what you'd find in a Dig vs Critical Mention comparison. Furthermore, Dig’s 2.7/5 rating on third-party review sites suggests a steeper learning curve compared to ShortsIntel's intuitive interface. For those needing broader platform support beyond video, our Dig vs Brandwatch page offers more insights into multi-platform tools.
| Plan Details | ShortsIntel Recommended | Dig |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Flat Rate | Custom |
| Free Tier | ||
| Free Trial | 7 days | |
| Pricing Tiers | ||
| Entry Tier | Starter$99/mo | EnterpriseCustom |
| Mid Tier | Pro$249/mo | — |
| Top Tier | Business & AgencyCustom | — |
| Annual Cost (5-Person Team)* | $1,188 | Contact Sales |
| Hidden Costs | None listed |
|
* Annual cost calculated using entry tier pricing. Per-seat pricing multiplied by 5 users. Actual costs may vary based on specific plan and usage.
Pricing is where the two platforms diverge most significantly. Dig operates on an 'Enterprise-only' model with no public pricing, though market benchmarks suggest it targets budgets of $2,000/month and up. For a team of 5, this could easily exceed $30,000 per year when including custom onboarding and calibration fees. There is no free trial, meaning you must commit to the sales process just to see the platform in action.
In contrast, ShortsIntel offers transparent, flat-rate tiers. A team of 5 can utilize the Pro Tier at $249/month, totaling $2,988 per year—a fraction of the cost of Dig. Even for larger teams needing the Business or Agency tiers, the value-per-dollar remains higher because of the included automated rights management features. You can compare any two tools on our site to see how these costs stack up against the market average.
For those on a strict budget, exploring Dig vs Collabstr might provide even lower-cost entry points, though with fewer automation features. To see a full list of cost-effective options, you can browse all alternatives to find a tool that fits your specific budget and seat requirements.
Who Is Each Product Best For?
Track and analyze UGC creator videos across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts with AI-powered insights and automated rights management
Best For
- DTC/B2C brands running UGC creator campaigns
- Marketing teams drowning in content but starving for insights
- Brands needing to track creators who forget hashtags or tags
- Teams wanting to build a library of ad creatives from UGC
- Companies needing automated usage rights management
- Early-stage teams wanting affordable video social listening
Not Ideal For
- Brands needing general social listening across all content types
- Companies requiring Instagram Stories tracking
- Enterprise teams needing extensive third-party integrations
- Agencies needing long-form video analysis
- Teams focused on platforms beyond TikTok, Instagram, YouTube
Video-first social intelligence platform for brand reputation monitoring, narrative detection, and influencer evaluation across social video
Best For
- Enterprise brands needing deep social video intelligence and monitoring
- Fortune 500 companies in luxury, CPG, and fashion verticals
- Brand safety teams monitoring for deepfakes and disinformation
- Market research teams analyzing video-first consumer narratives
- Organizations requiring reputation intelligence across social video platforms
Not Ideal For
- Small businesses and startups (enterprise-only, no accessible pricing)
- Content creators needing UGC tracking and rights management
- Teams needing text-based social listening across all social platforms
- Companies wanting self-serve onboarding without sales process
- Brands needing public API access or third-party integrations
- Budget-conscious teams without enterprise-level budgets ($2K+/mo)
When to choose Dig
Dig is the right choice for Fortune 500 companies in luxury, CPG, and fashion where brand reputation is the primary concern. If your team needs to monitor for deepfakes, disinformation, or complex narrative shifts across thousands of videos, Dig’s Google-backed AI is unparalleled. It is built for brand safety officers and market researchers who need high-level traceability and 'truth' in their data.
When to choose ShortsIntel
Choose ShortsIntel if you are a B2C or DTC brand focused on performance marketing and UGC campaigns. If your primary goal is to find creator videos (even untagged ones), track their performance, and legally clear them for your own channels, ShortsIntel is significantly more efficient. It is better for teams who want to start today without a sales call and who need to build a library of high-res assets for ads. For more details, see our ShortsIntel vs Brandwatch comparison to see why 'specialized' beats 'general' for UGC teams. You can also look into ShortsIntel vs Dig for a more technical breakdown of features for marketing teams.
Switching from Dig to ShortsIntel
Migration Difficulty
Estimated Time
Data Export Method
- Research questions and briefs (can be recreated)
- Narrative analysis methodology and frameworks
- Alert configurations and monitoring logic
- Exported reports and insights documents
- Historical video analysis data and archives
- Custom brand calibration models
- Narrative cluster models and theme baselines
- Impact scoring baselines and benchmarks
Migrating from Dig to ShortsIntel is classified as a moderate effort. Since Dig does not offer a public API or documented self-serve export tool, you will likely need to request a custom data dump from your Dig account manager during the offboarding process.
- What Transfers: You can manually port over your research briefs, existing creator lists, and monitoring logic. Your 'Alert' configurations can be recreated in ShortsIntel in minutes by defining your brand scope.
- What Doesn't Transfer: You will lose access to Dig’s proprietary 'Impact Scoring' and historical 'Narrative Clusters.' These are model-specific to Dig’s LLM stack and cannot be directly imported into another tool.
The estimated timeline for a mid-market team is 2-4 weeks. To prepare for the switch, we recommend reviewing our All ShortsIntel comparisons page to ensure you've identified all the features you need to recreate in your new workspace. For more guidance on moving between video platforms, check our ShortsIntel vs Archive migration notes.
What Our Customers Say
“Switching to ShortsIntel was the best decision we made. We now find 30% more UGC content that we were completely missing before.”
Sarah M.
Brand Marketing Manager
Switched from: Dig
Frequently Asked Questions
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Track UGC, discover creators, and monitor brand mentions across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
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Last updated: January 30, 2026