Short answers for the product. For the full FAQ layout, see the FAQ page on the main site. For prices and limits, use Pricing and Plans and limits.
Getting started
What is Needle for?
Search across communities your plan allows, prioritize by sentiment and intent, and use Auto Search so your brand gets scheduled passes from the setup you save. Use Manual search when you want a fresh custom query for a single run. Use Trending Problems for category-level demand. Needle Directory is where you list your product in Needle's public catalog - separate from Search.
What can I try before I subscribe?
You get 1 free search on Auto Search when you sign up and complete onboarding. Manual search and recurring Auto Search need a trial or paid plan. Free utilities: Tools hub. Plans: Pricing.
Search, brands, and platforms
How is this different from checking Reddit (and every other site) manually?
One workflow searches the platforms your plan includes, ranks threads for sentiment and intent, and can run Auto Search on a timer - instead of opening each community in a separate tab.
Manual Search, Auto Search, and digests
Manual search is on-demand and counts toward plan limits. Auto Search uses your brand's saved setup in Settings, runs on a schedule, and does not use manual quota. Optional digest alerts notify you when there are new Auto matches - channels depend on plan (Pricing).
Which sources does Search use?
Depends on plan. See Plans and limits and Pricing.
Competitor mentions
Save competitors for your brand in Settings; Needle can flag when those names show up in a post on supported results.
Brand management
How many brands can I manage on Needle?
Solo and Growth plans support 1 brand profile. The Scale plan supports up to 3 brand profiles. For Enterprise tiers or custom brand capacity needs, contact support at support@useneedle.net to upgrade.
Can each brand have different settings and alert channels?
Yes. Each brand profile has its own dedicated settings workspace. You can configure unique lookback windows, Auto Search phrases, target communities, and notification channels (Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Teams webhooks) per brand.
How do I switch between brands in the dashboard?
Use the brand selector dropdown at the top of the dashboard or settings page. Switching the brand instantly scopes your dashboard view, Auto Search results, and configurations to that specific brand.
Does scheduled Auto Search consume my search runs quota?
No. Auto Search runs automatically in the background on your configured schedule and does not consume your manual search runs quota. Only on-demand searches run via the Manual Search tab consume your manual search limit.
Can I add competitors to my brand?
Yes. On Growth and Scale plans, you can save competitor websites and keywords. Needle will automatically flag when those competitors are mentioned in matching public posts.
Privacy and billing
Is my data private?
We work with public posts for discovery. Your workspace data is not sold for ads. Details: Privacy policy.
Plans and cancellation
No forever-free Search tier. 7-day free trial on all paid plans (card at checkout; one trial per account). Compare Solo, Growth, and Scale on Pricing. Cancel from account settings (period end or immediate). See Terms and Refund Policy for billing details.