Written by LiquidUser, which competes with F5Bot. Last checked against F5Bot's own pricing page.
LiquidUser vs F5Bot
F5Bot emails you when your keywords appear on Reddit, Hacker News or Lobsters, usually within minutes. It has run since 2017, and the basic plan is free.
F5Bot emails you whenever a keyword appears. LiquidUser tells you which of those people have the problem you solve, and why it thinks so.
Where each one is better
What F5Bot does better
F5Bot is free. The free plan emails you keyword alerts from Reddit, Hacker News and Lobsters within minutes, and it has run since 2017. Paid plans at $9.99 and $49.99 a month add more keywords, AI filtering, feeds and Slack or Discord.
Pick F5Bot if you want free alerts and have time to read and filter them yourself.
What LiquidUser does that F5Bot doesn't
- It starts from your website, so there are no keywords to think up or miss.
- It maps each conversation to the claim on your own site it matches, with the page it came from, so you can check the fit in seconds.
- Every person comes with a reply draft or brief that you post yourself, from your own account. Nothing is ever sent for you.
- It remembers what you have already reviewed and corrected, so the same posts don't keep coming back.
Side by side
From F5Bot's own site and LiquidUser as it works today, checked on 29 September 2026.
| Feature | LiquidUser | F5Bot |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | ||
| Starts from your website, no keyword list | Yes | No |
| Shows what it understood, with the page for each claim | Yes | No |
| Try it before paying | Free scan, no account | Free plan |
| Sources | ||
| Hacker News | Yes | Yes |
| Reddit and Lobsters | No | Yes |
| X | Official API, read only | No |
| Results | ||
| Links each result to the original post | Yes | Yes |
| Maps each result to the claim on your site it matches | Yes | No |
| Memory of your corrections and customers across days | Yes | No |
| Replies | ||
| Reply drafts you post yourself | Yes | No |
| Access and price | ||
| Entry price | $49/mo | Free |
F5Bot pricing on 29 September 2026: Free forever for keyword alerts from Reddit, Hacker News and Lobsters. Silver $9.99 a month: 20 keywords, advanced filters, full post text. Gold $49.99 a month: 200 keywords, RSS and JSON feeds, AI filtering, Slack and Discord. Plans are listed on the home page. Source: f5bot.com.
Questions
- Is F5Bot free?
- The basic plan is free. Silver is $9.99 a month and Gold $49.99, as listed on f5bot.com on 29 September 2026. LiquidUser's scan is free too; the workspace is $49 a month.
- When should I use F5Bot, and when LiquidUser?
- F5Bot is a sensible start with no budget, if you know your keywords and will filter the alerts yourself. LiquidUser does the filtering: it reads your product, explains why each person matters and drafts the reply.
- Does LiquidUser cover Reddit?
- No. Reddit requires written permission for commercial use of its data, and we will not scrape it. LiquidUser reads X and Hacker News.
What we promise
How we read each source- We never post for youNo replies, likes, follows or messages in your name. You post every reply yourself.
- No bots, no account pools, no proxiesNothing signs in as anyone, and nothing scrapes.
- No fake numbersNo invented counters, testimonials or countdown timers. Every number comes from real data or the plan's own limits.
- Official APIs onlyX through its paid API, Hacker News and Bluesky through their public ones. Read only.
- Briefs on Hacker NewsHN bans generated comments, so there you get what to say and write the reply yourself.
Run the scan on your own site
Paste your website. LiquidUser shows what it understood, then the people already describing the problem you solve, before you pay anything.
One plan, $49 a month. See what it includes