F5Bot alternatives: when keyword alerts aren't enough
Short answer: F5Bot emails you every time a keyword appears on Reddit, Hacker News or Lobsters. If you're getting too many alerts, or you only care about posts where someone is asking for a tool like yours, you want an intent tool instead. First10 (first10.dev) scans Reddit for those posts, ranks them by fit and sends you a short list with a reply draft for each. It never posts for you. X is coming soon.
Get your free weekly listTry the demo with your product
Free: 1 product, weekly, top 5 Reddit posts. First Look: $9 once for up to 25 posts from the last 30 days.
What F5Bot does well
F5Bot is a long-running keyword alert service. It checks Reddit, Hacker News and Lobsters for your keywords and emails you when they show up, and it has a free plan. For tracking your brand name, or a competitor's, it's hard to beat.
Where people outgrow it
As of October 2026, F5Bot's own tiers page lists these limits. The free plan is for personal use only, and Silver is for individuals and non-commercial use.
| Plan | Price | Keywords | Alerts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, personal use only | 5 | 20 a day (10 per keyword) | Up to 2 hours; 7-day match history |
| Silver | $12.99/month ($143/year) | 20 | See f5bot.com/tiers | Up to 5 minutes |
| Gold | $49.99/month ($549/year) | 200 | See f5bot.com/tiers | Adds RSS/JSON, Slack/Discord, AI filtering |
| Platinum | $214.99/month ($2,364/year) | See f5bot.com/tiers | See f5bot.com/tiers | Diamond from $500/month |
Paid tiers add filtering, faster alerts and, from Gold, RSS and JSON feeds, Slack and Discord, and AI filtering (F5Bot notes AI filtering includes the first $10 a month of token usage). The bigger problem for finding customers isn't the limits, though: every alert is a mention, not a buyer. Most posts that mention "invoice app" aren't people looking for one.
Three kinds of alternative
Prices are the cheapest paid plan we saw on each tool's pricing page in October 2026. They change, so confirm on the tool's site.
| Type | What you get | Examples | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faster or broader keyword alerts | Every mention of your keywords, sooner and with more filters | Syften (from $29.95/month), KWatch.io and Reddit Pro (see their sites) | Brand and competitor tracking at volume |
| Social listening suites | Many networks, sentiment, reach and team reports | Octolens (from $159/month billed annually), Brand24 (from $249/month) | Marketing teams managing a brand |
| Intent finders and digests | Only posts where someone is asking for a solution, ranked, with reply help | First10 (free weekly plan), Subreddit Signals (from $29/month) | Founders looking for their first users |
How to pick
- Tracking your brand name: keep F5Bot free, or use Reddit Pro.
- Every mention of 50+ keywords, fast: Syften or KWatch.io.
- The 5 to 10 posts a week where someone is asking for what you built, with a reply ready: First10.
How First10 works
- Describe your product in one line.
- First10 scans Reddit for posts like "is there a tool for", "alternative to" and "how do I", and scores each one for fit.
- You get a ranked email with a reply draft for every post. Reddit today, X coming soon. First10 never posts or DMs for you.
Running F5Bot and First10 together
Plenty of founders use both: F5Bot on your brand name so you see every mention, and First10 to find the people who are ready to try something like yours. They do different jobs, so there's no need to pick one. For the full field, see our comparison of ways to find customers on Reddit and our GummySearch alternatives.
Questions founders ask
Is F5Bot still free?
Yes, for personal use. As of October 2026 the free plan covers 5 keywords and 20 alerts a day, with alerts arriving up to 2 hours late and 7 days of match history (per f5bot.com/tiers). Paid plans start at $12.99 a month (Silver).
What's the difference between keyword alerts and intent alerts?
Keyword alerts send every post that contains your word. Intent tools read the post and only keep the ones where someone is asking for a solution like yours.
Does First10 cover Hacker News or X?
First10 covers Reddit today. X is coming soon. For Hacker News or Lobsters mentions, keep F5Bot running.
Will First10 post or reply for me?
No. You get the post and a draft, and you decide what to send. That keeps your account safe under subreddit rules.
How much does First10 cost?
There's a free weekly plan (1 product, top 5 posts). First Look is a $9 one-off report of up to 25 posts from the last 30 days. Paid plans are on the pricing section, with a 7-day full refund.
Also useful: how to find people asking for your product on Reddit, how to find your first 10 users and our pricing.