Listening costs and limits

Listening runs on your Social Fetch credits. Each search it makes is charged at its normal credit price, and never more than the limit you set. Credits a search didn't use aren't charged.

What uses credits

Free: writing a query (including Describe it), checking it as you type, Leave out, filters, downloads, volume alerts, spikes, briefings and webhooks. Opening a topic or its posts costs nothing.

The limit is shared between the platforms with something to search. Before you preview, Up to N credits under the query shows the most it can cost. If the limit is too low to give every platform a search, it says which platforms it leaves out, with Raise the limit for X.

A topic's spend

• Each run spends at most its credits per run, plus sentiment and insights for its new posts.
• At most N credits a month in the Keep listening dialog is the most a month of runs could cost at that schedule: runs a month × credits per run, plus sentiment and insights.
• Most runs cost less than their limit: after the first run, each one reads only what's new.
• Change a topic's credits per run in its Settings. A run that stops at its limit shows Partial on the Runs tab; a higher limit reads further back.
• A topic's page shows credits this month, and its Runs tab each run's credits. Your Usage page lists every charge.

Monthly cap

Under More (or later in the topic's Settings), a Monthly cap stops a topic spending more than you choose in a calendar month (UTC), sentiment and insights included. When a run could take it past the cap, it waits: the topic shows Capped, This month's credit cap is spent: it runs again next month, or raise the cap. A cap must be at least one run's credits, or the topic could never run. Raising the cap, or removing it, in Settings lets a capped topic run again straight away.

Spend less

• Run less often. Every 6 hours is plenty for most brands; Every day for a quiet topic.
• Lower the credits per run in Settings once you see what a run usually costs on the Runs tab.
• Make the query more specific, so fewer searches are needed and fewer posts need sentiment or insights.
• Pause a topic you don't need for a while (under ⋯). Nothing runs or is charged until you resume, and its posts stay.
• Delete one you've finished with. Its posts and runs are deleted too, and it can't be undone: download them first if you want them.

Running out of credits

A search sets aside its whole limit from your balance while it runs, and gives back what it didn't use. So your balance must cover the limit, not just what the search ends up costing:

• A preview whose limit is more than your balance doesn't run, and nothing is charged. Lower Spend, or Buy credits.
• A topic's run that your balance can't cover doesn't search; its run says Not enough credits to run it. and the topic tries again at its next run. After 5 failed runs in a row the topic shows Failing: add credits, then Resume it.
• Sentiment and insights that your balance can't cover are left off those posts, uncharged, with a note. The search itself still runs.

Other limits