Which AI comment moderation tool is best for news publishers?
Social Moderator AI is our pick for news publishers moderating Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube comments: rules can keep criticism visible while hiding abuse, and every hide is logged with its reason, from €10 a month. If you also moderate comments on your own website, Smart Moderation covers Disqus and the Facebook Comments Plugin. TrollWall AI has a page for media.
- Social Moderator AI Our pick
Each rule can say what to keep visible as well as what to hide, so debate stays up and abuse goes. Every decision shows its rule and reason, and the audit log is on every plan.
Limitation: The cheapest plan, Plus, covers 2 pages, 1 seat and 250 AI actions a month; each hide, flag, approve or reply draft counts as one action. Source
From €10/mo (Plus plan)
- TrollWall AI Best for EU newsrooms
Has a page for media, states comments are hidden as they are posted and logged, and stores data in the EU.
Limitation: No public prices; all three plans end in a demo booking. Source
No public prices, demo first
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Names entertainment and media as an industry and reads each comment together with its post, on eight networks including X and LinkedIn.
Limitation: The cheapest plan, Guardian, starts at 1,000 EUR a month and leaves out paid and organic filtering, custom classifications, Shield Mode and Individual Protector. Source
From €1,000/mo (Guardian plan)
The 6 tools at a glance
Each row shows the vendor's own claims and the date we checked them. Prices are the cheapest plan that moderates comments, billed monthly unless noted.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Tool | TikTok | YouTube | Other | Auto-hide | Languages | EU data | Price from | Free trial | Checked | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Moderator AI Our pick | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | No | €10/mo Plus plan | 15 days | |
| TrollWall AI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Demo only | 7 days | |
| Bodyguard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | €1,000/mo Guardian plan | Not stated | |
| Smart Moderation | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | $99/mo Basic plan | Not stated | |
| NapoleonCat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $109/mo Pro plan | 14 days | |
| Agorapulse | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | $99/user/mo Standard plan | 30 days |
Yes Yes Partly Partly or on some plans No No Not stated Not stated by the vendor
TrollWall AI
Best for EU newsroomsHas a page for media, states comments are hidden as they are posted and logged, and stores data in the EU.
TrollWall AI is an AI comment moderation and community management tool for social media teams, which the vendor says is used by heads of state, political parties, media, brands and sports clubs in 17 countries. Source
TrollWall AI strengths
- Moderates comments on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and offers a developer API and an MCP server for AI assistants. Source
- States dark posts and ads can be moderated, and the Posts view can be filtered to paid ads. Source
- States the company is based in Slovakia, EU, is GDPR compliant and stores all data on EU-based infrastructure. Source
- States a 7-day free trial with no credit card required, extendable on request. Source
- Beyond hiding comments it scores sentiment on organic and dark posts, recommends an action per comment, and drafts replies from documents you upload. Source
TrollWall AI limitations
- No public prices; all three plans end in a demo booking. Source
- The Starter plan covers one language; multiple languages, sentiment analysis, AI reply suggestions and reporting are in the Pro plan. Source
- Does not offer human moderators as a service; the FAQ describes native-speaking annotators who train the models, not a moderation team. Source
- Only organisational pages can be connected, not personal profiles, which the FAQ attributes to Meta and TikTok restrictions. Source
TrollWall AI pricing
Checked on trollwall.ai/pricing
No public prices. Plans are quoted after a demo.
- Free trial
- 7 days
- Free plan
- No
Bodyguard
Names entertainment and media as an industry and reads each comment together with its post, on eight networks including X and LinkedIn.
Bodyguard is a contextual AI moderation tool for text, images and usernames, sold as a social media moderation platform for brands, agencies and public organizations and as an API for social platforms, games, dating apps and marketplaces. Source
Bodyguard strengths
- Moderates comments on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube as well as LinkedIn, X, Twitch and Discord, and every supported network is included in every plan. Source
- Reads each comment together with the post it sits under, so the same comment can be kept on one post and removed on another. Source
- Covers comments on dark posts and paid partnership posts on Facebook and Instagram, Direct Sponsored Content on LinkedIn and non-Spark ads on TikTok. Source
- States 46 languages, including six premium languages, and accounts for local expressions by country. Source
Bodyguard limitations
- The cheapest plan, Guardian, starts at 1,000 EUR a month and leaves out paid and organic filtering, custom classifications, Shield Mode and Individual Protector. Source
- Every plan, including Guardian, is sold through a Get a quote request rather than a self-serve sign-up. Source
- On YouTube only top-level comments on videos and Shorts are moderated, and on X no action is taken on comments, only on their authors. Source
- The privacy policy says personal data may be transferred outside the EEA, and no page states EU-only hosting. Source
- The vendor names less client-side rule configuration as a trade-off, because improvements rely on its own experts and model updates. Source
Bodyguard pricing
Checked on bodyguard.ai/en/social-media/pricing
From €1,000 a month on the Guardian plan, the cheapest that moderates comments.
- Free trial
- Not stated
- Free plan
- No
Smart Moderation
Best for website commentsModerates website comments on Disqus, HubSpot blogs and the Facebook Comments Plugin, as well as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Smart Moderation is an AI comment moderation app for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube comments plus website and blog comments, sold to brands, public profiles and agencies. Source
Smart Moderation strengths
- Publishes its prices, with two self-serve plans from $99 per month and a free trial signup. Source
- Lists Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads among supported platforms, so comments on paid posts are covered. Source
- Auto-hide of unwanted comments and AI flagging are included in every plan, including the cheapest. Source
- Offers a custom keyword blacklist that it states also catches misspelled and creatively spaced variants of each word. Source
- Also moderates comments outside social networks, on Disqus, HubSpot blogs, the Facebook Comments Plugin and through an API. Source
Smart Moderation limitations
- TikTok is not in its list of supported platforms. Source
- The cheapest plan covers 1 social profile and 1 user; 4 or more profiles move you to a custom Enterprise price. Source
- A free trial is offered but the site does not state how long it lasts. Source
- The site describes AI moderation only and lists no human moderation service in any plan. Source
Smart Moderation pricing
Checked on smartmoderation.com/pricing
From $99 a month on the Basic plan, the cheapest that moderates comments.
- Free trial
- Not stated
- Free plan
- No
NapoleonCat
A suite for newsrooms whose social team also publishes; automatic hiding and deletion need the Expert plan.
NapoleonCat is a social media management platform that centralizes comments, messages and reviews into one inbox with auto-moderation and AI tagging; the vendor says it is for marketing and customer service teams. Source
NapoleonCat strengths
- Auto-moderation rules can hide or delete comments automatically on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube, and the page states there is no limit on the number of rules or keywords. Source
- Moderates comments on paid posts: Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Ads moderation is in the Social Inbox from the Pro plan, and TikTok ads auto-moderation is on the Expert plan. Source
- The AI Assistant tags spam, hate speech and sentiment, and those tags can trigger auto-moderation actions such as hiding, deleting or forwarding content. Source
- Covers nine channels in one inbox: Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Apple App Store and Google Play, and states automatic translation in 100+ languages. Source
- States that for EU and UK users data in the application are processed in the European Economic Area. Source
NapoleonCat limitations
- The cheapest Standard plan has no Social Inbox; comment moderation starts on the Pro plan. Source
- Auto-moderation rules, automatic comment hiding and deletion, and AI-powered sentiment moderation are only on the Expert plan, which starts at 139 USD per month billed monthly. Source
- Each plan's entry price covers 5 social profiles and 2 users; more profiles or users move you up a priced tier. Source
- X (Twitter) is listed only under Publisher in the plan comparison, not under the Social Inbox or auto-moderation sections. Source
NapoleonCat pricing
Checked on napoleoncat.com/pricing
From $109 a month on the Pro plan, the cheapest that moderates comments. Automatic hiding starts on Expert, at $139 a month.
- Free trial
- 14 days
- Free plan
- Yes
Agorapulse
One inbox for eight networks with keyword moderation rules on every plan and data hosted in AWS Ireland.
Agorapulse is a social media management platform covering publishing, a shared inbox, listening and reporting, which the vendor says is used daily by over 31,000 social media managers and their teams. Source
Agorapulse strengths
- Moderates comments from one inbox on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Google Business Profile reviews. Source
- Ad comment moderation covers paid posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, and the vendor says it also synchronizes comments on Facebook dynamic ads. Source
- Automated Moderation rules that review, assign, hide, label or delete inbox items by keyword are included on every plan, including the cheapest. Source
- Public per-user prices for three of its four plans and a 30-day trial with no credit card required. Source
- States customer data are hosted in the AWS Ireland region. Source
Agorapulse limitations
- Ad comments moderation is not in the Standard plan; it starts on Professional at 149 USD per user per month billed monthly. Source
- Plans below Custom get 1 Automated Moderation rule per social profile with a single trigger condition; unlimited rules and AND/OR conditions are Custom only. Source
- AI reply suggestions are on the Custom plan only, which has no public price, and sentiment detection starts on the Advanced plan. Source
- Pricing is per user, and each plan below Custom covers 10 social profiles, with extra profiles at 15 USD each per month on monthly billing. Source
Agorapulse pricing
Checked on agorapulse.com/pricing
From $99 per user a month on the Standard plan, the cheapest that moderates comments.
- Free trial
- 30 days
- Free plan
- Yes
How to choose
- Separate debate from abuse. Readers expect sharp criticism to stay visible. Pick a tool whose rules can say what to keep as well as what to hide.
- Cover every place readers comment. Social posts, videos and your own article pages may need different tools. Smart Moderation is the only one here that lists website comment systems.
- Keep a record. Newsrooms get asked why a comment vanished. A log with the reason for each decision answers that. Politics desks can also read politicians and public figures.
Questions about comment moderation for newsrooms
Can I moderate comments on our own website?
Smart Moderation lists Disqus, HubSpot blogs, the Facebook Comments Plugin and an API among its supported platforms. The other tools here focus on social networks.
How do I show readers that moderation is fair?
Use a tool that records why each comment was hidden. Social Moderator AI shows the matched rule and reason for each decision, and TrollWall AI states hidden comments are logged and reversible.
Which tools state EU data storage?
TrollWall AI states all data is stored on EU infrastructure, NapoleonCat processes EU and UK users' data in the EEA, and Agorapulse hosts data in AWS Ireland.
Which tools also moderate X and LinkedIn?
Bodyguard lists X, LinkedIn, Twitch and Discord, though on X it acts on authors, not on individual comments. NapoleonCat covers LinkedIn Company Pages, and Agorapulse lists LinkedIn and X in its inbox.
How we checked
Every price and feature on this page comes from the vendor's own website, and each one links to the page it came from. We record the date we checked it and re-check every tool at least every 60 days. Where a vendor does not say something, we mark it as not stated rather than guess.
We did not run our own tests on these tools, and we give no scores or star ratings. Read how we work.
Social Moderator AI
Our pickEach rule can say what to keep visible as well as what to hide, so debate stays up and abuse goes. Every decision shows its rule and reason, and the audit log is on every plan.
Social Moderator AI is a comment moderation tool that hides spam and abuse and drafts replies on Facebook Pages, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Google Reviews, built for brands, creators, politicians, sports clubs, news media, e-commerce and agencies. Source
Social Moderator AI strengths
Social Moderator AI limitations
How Social Moderator AI works
Moderation rules are written in plain English
Rules are written as plain English lines or paragraphs, with no regex or decision trees, and each rule can say what to keep visible as well as what to hide. A draft can be run against recent comments to see what would be hidden, flagged or answered, and the page states that nothing changes on your pages until you publish. Every published version is kept so you can roll back. Rules apply to every page in a workspace, direct messages have their own rule set, and the site suggests separate workspaces when a brand needs different policies. A comment that matches no rule stays visible. Source
Every decision shows its rule, confidence and reason
Each action shows the matched rule, the confidence level and the reasoning in plain words. Comments the AI is unsure about are marked Needs review instead of being hidden, so a person decides. Any decision can be unhidden, approved or re-evaluated in one click, and both the action and the undo are recorded in a timestamped audit log that is available on every plan. The log records AI decisions, hides and unhides, likes and replies, and who or what performed each action, and can be filtered by action type, date range or page. Source
Reply drafts in a brand voice, with a draft mode first
You describe the brand, choose the reply language and add example replies, and the site says drafts follow your tone, your phrasing and the things you never say. One voice can cover a whole workspace, and individual pages can have their own. Draft mode requires approval of each reply before it is sent, and Auto mode sends only replies above a confidence threshold you set. On Pro and Agency you can add knowledge sources such as shipping, returns or opening hours, which the site says replies quote instead of guessing. Source
Five channels, including ads and DMs
The product covers Facebook Page posts, Reels, ads and Messenger; Instagram posts, Reels, ads and DMs; TikTok video comments, which the site says are checked every minute; YouTube channel comments, which move to the held-for-review queue in YouTube Studio when hidden; and Google Reviews, which get AI reply drafts on Pro and Agency. Facebook and Instagram comments are moderated within seconds through Meta webhooks, and ad comments appear in the same inbox as organic ones, filterable by page, post or status. Source
Free audit of recent comments, then a 15-day trial
The free audit scores the newest 50 comments from your 10 most recent Facebook posts against four starter rules, and the site says it takes about a minute, needs no card and changes nothing on your Page. The report gives four counters (would hide, would reply, flag for review, would like) and, for each comment, the verdict, the matching rule, the AI confidence and a one-line reason. It is read-only. Each workspace gets one audit and each Page can be audited once. A card is asked for only when you start the 15-day trial, and nothing is charged until the trial ends. Source
Plan limits are pages, AI actions and seats
Plus is 10 EUR per month billed monthly or 9 EUR billed yearly and covers 2 pages, 250 AI actions per month and 1 seat. Pro is 49 EUR monthly or 40 EUR yearly for 10 pages, 2,500 AI actions and 3 seats. Agency is 199 EUR monthly or 160 EUR yearly for up to 50 pages, 15,000 AI actions and 15 seats. Each moderation decision and each AI reply draft counts as one AI action, while viewing comments, hiding manually and editing drafts do not. Plus leaves out lead detection, Google Reviews, image and GIF moderation and political pages. Source
Social Moderator AI pricing
Checked on socialmoderator.ai
From €10 a month on the Plus plan, the cheapest that moderates comments.