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Upthread vs lurk by AnyAPI

lurk by AnyAPI is a free, open-source lead finder: it scans Reddit and X, scores each post with a written reason, and never drafts or posts. Upthread ranks the threads Google and AI answers show buyers, drafts a disclosed reply you post, and tracks it.

Last checked Nov 7, 2026. Every fact about lurk by AnyAPI is numbered to its source at the bottom of the page.

On this page
  1. Why look beyond lurk by AnyAPI
  2. Who should choose which
  3. lurk by AnyAPI in brief
  4. Pricing, plan by plan
  5. Point by point
  6. What it watches
  7. Replying
  8. After you post
  9. Price and plans
  10. Switching from lurk by AnyAPI
  11. Reddit access is changing
  12. Questions
  13. Sources
  14. Related comparisons

Why people look beyond lurk by AnyAPI.

lurk is a lead finder from AnyAPI. It scans Reddit and X for people asking for what you sell, reads each post and the community's rules before it calls something a lead, and shows who asked, why it matched and what the community allows. It also saves the Reddit threads Google ranks for your keywords, notes which ones name a competitor, and counts who gets recommended in the threads your leads sit in. 1

It costs nothing to start. The hosted app runs on AnyAPI's own wallet within set limits, such as 2 projects and one scan a day. Connecting your own wallet lifts those limits and bills each data request, and the MIT-licensed source can be self-hosted with Docker, with model usage billed separately. 1

Upthread starts from a different question: not who is asking right now, but which threads Google and AI answers keep putting in front of your buyers. It ranks those threads, drafts a reply inside the subreddit's rules with your disclosure, leaves the posting click to you, and records what the reply did.

Who should choose which.

Who should choose lurk by AnyAPI

  • Your budget is zero. The hosted app is free with no card, and the MIT source can be self-hosted with no app limits. 1
  • You want leads from X as well as Reddit. lurk scans both for people asking for what you sell; Upthread covers Reddit only. 1
  • You want to see and change how leads are scored. The scoring instructions ship in the open-source code, and the API is read-only. 1

Who should choose Upthread

  • You want a drafted reply waiting for each thread, grounded in its top comments and the subreddit's rules, not a scored lead to answer from scratch.
  • You care which Reddit threads ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google's AI answers cite for your buyer questions, engine by engine.
  • You want the record after the reply: its score over time, any removal by moderators, and whether the thread kept being cited.

lurk by AnyAPI in brief

A free, open-source lead finder for Reddit and X, with AI scoring, Google-ranked threads and competitor mentions.

  • The hosted app is free, with no card and no subscription, within set limits: 2 projects, 25 keywords and 10 communities per project, scanned daily. 1
  • Connecting your own AnyAPI wallet lifts the app limits and bills each data request; the MIT-licensed source can also be self-hosted. 1
  • Scans Reddit and X for people asking for what you sell, reads the whole post and the community's rules, and scores each lead with a written reason and the phrase that matched. 1
  • Saves the Reddit threads Google ranks for your keywords, with their position and age, and shows which ones name a competitor. 1
  • Says "lurk never posts or DMs on your behalf"; you decide whether to join the conversation. 1
  • Has no reply writing at all: no drafted replies, no DM queue, no browser extension and no comment posting. 2
  • Every thread it reads comes through AnyAPI, a pay-per-request data API that also covers X, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. 1
  • Sends new leads to Slack, Discord, email or a webhook, and offers a read-only API and MCP server with no tool for posting. 1

Pricing, plan by plan.

lurk by AnyAPI

Hosted freeFree
2 projects, 25 keywords and 10 communities per project, a daily scan at the hour you pick, an SEO refresh every 7 days, 1,000 API reads a day, daily alerts to Slack and Discord plus 1 custom webhook. 1
Connected walletPay per data request, through AnyAPI
No app limit on projects, keywords, communities or API reads, hourly scans, a daily SEO refresh, hourly alerts and custom webhooks. You set the spend cap at AnyAPI. 1
Self-hostFree, under the MIT license
App tier limits removed, on your own schedule. You configure Docker, Postgres, Clerk, AnyAPI and OpenRouter, and model usage is billed separately. 1
  • AnyAPI bills each request in dollars, with no subscription, and a failed call costs nothing. Its catalog listed Reddit search from $0.38 per 1,000 requests on Sep 18, 2026. 1
  • The free tier's limits are set by AnyAPI and may change, and one person or company may not open several accounts to get around them. 3

Upthread

Starter$49 a month
1 brand, 25 keywords, 25 buyer questions, 3 engines, 150 drafts a month, 1 seat. Discovery: Daily.
Growth$149 a month
3 brands, 100 keywords, 75 buyer questions, All engines, 600 drafts a month, 3 seats. Discovery: Every 6 hours.
Agency$499 a month
15 brands, 500 keywords, 300 buyer questions, All engines, 2,500 drafts a month, 10 seats. Discovery: Every 6 hours.

Yearly billing gives 2 months free. Every workspace starts with a 7-day trial on Starter limits, with no card. See full pricing.

lurk by AnyAPI and Upthread, point by point.

Each row sets a sourced fact about lurk by AnyAPI next to what Upthread does, grouped by what you would check first.

What it watches

PlatformsThey do more
lurk by AnyAPIReddit and X. 1
UpthreadReddit only.
Finding threadsDifferent approach
lurk by AnyAPIScheduled keyword and community scans. Titles are filtered first, then shortlisted posts are read in full and scored with a reason. 1
UpthreadThreads from Google results and AI citations, ranked by Google rank, AI citations per engine, buying intent, freshness and how the subreddit treats brands.
AI answersUpthread does more
lurk by AnyAPISays Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity cite the threads Google ranks, and tracks those Google positions. No AI answer tracking listed. 1
UpthreadGoogle AI Overviews and AI Mode twice a week, from live Google results. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude weekly through their APIs, labelled API.
How it reads RedditDifferent approach
lurk by AnyAPIEvery thread comes through AnyAPI, a paid data API from the company behind lurk, billed per request. 1
UpthreadBuilt on your own logged-in browser, so Reddit's move to logged-in-only viewing doesn't break it. Discovery comes from Google results and AI citations, with no Reddit API.

Replying

DraftingUpthread does more
lurk by AnyAPINone. Its guide lists no drafted replies, no outbox and no comment posting. 2
UpthreadTwo drafts per thread, grounded in the thread, its top comments, the subreddit's rules and your facts. A lint and an AI judge check each one first.
PostingBoth do this
lurk by AnyAPINever posts or DMs on your behalf. You read the lead and the community's rule, then decide whether to reply. 1
UpthreadYou post from your own account. The extension can insert the draft; you click Comment.

After you post

After postingUpthread does more
lurk by AnyAPINo reply tracking listed. Hide and not a fit are the only states you set on a lead by hand. 2
UpthreadScore over time, moderator removals, and the thread's citation history before and after your reply. Links carry UTM tags for your own analytics.

Price and plans

PriceDifferent approach
lurk by AnyAPIFree tier on the hosted app, with no card. Beyond its limits you pay AnyAPI per data request, or self-host the MIT source. 1
Upthread$49 / $149 / $499 a month, or 2 months free yearly. A 7-day trial with Starter limits. No card required.

Switching from lurk by AnyAPI.

Upthread asks for your website address first, then drafts a brand profile and suggests competitors, keywords, 15 to 25 buyer questions and focus subreddits for you to edit. Set your role and disclosure line, choose engines and a country, and the first discovery and visibility runs begin, aiming for a ranked inbox in under three minutes. The browser extension is optional and comes last.

What you bring across

  • The keywords and communities you scan. They become Upthread keywords and focus subreddits, and a focus subreddit lifts a thread's priority.
  • Your competitor list, with aliases. Upthread uses it for share of voice in AI answers and to show who the cited threads recommend.
  • Your alerts. Growth and Agency plans post new high-priority threads to Slack, and any plan can get a daily or weekly email digest.

What works differently

  • lurk stops at the lead: its guide lists no drafted replies, no outbox and no posting. Upthread drafts two replies per thread, grounded in the thread, its top comments and the subreddit's rules, and you post the one you choose. 2
  • lurk reads Reddit through AnyAPI, a data API billed per request. Upthread finds threads through Google results and AI citations, and reads a thread's text through your own logged-in browser or a paste. 1
  • lurk saves the threads Google ranks for your keywords. Upthread also asks your buyer questions in Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude, and keeps the Reddit threads each answer cites. 1
  • After you post, Upthread keeps watching the reply itself: its score over time, whether moderators took it down, and whether the thread is still cited.

How Reddit access is changing

Reddit is closing its public API and moving toward logged-in viewing. This matters for any tool that reads Reddit, so each comparison states only what the tool itself says about its data source.

  1. On Oct 29, 2026, Reddit said it will shift to a primarily logged-in experience, starting with tests in select markets outside the US. 4
  2. 9to5Mac reported that Reddit will start requiring a logged-in account for most of its content. 5
  3. Reddit's CEO said most unauthorized access to its content happens through the logged-out experience. 6

lurk by AnyAPI and Upthread: questions.

Does lurk write or post replies?

No. Its own guide says there is no reply writing and no sending: no drafted replies, no DM queue and no comment posting. Upthread drafts two replies per thread, and you post the one you pick from your own account. 2

Where does lurk get its Reddit data?

From AnyAPI. Every thread lurk reads comes through that data API, billed per request to the house wallet or to yours. Upthread uses no Reddit API: it finds threads through Google results and AI citations and reads them in your own browser. 1

lurk is free. What does Upthread add for the money?

lurk's hosted tier is free within its limits, and self-hosting is free under MIT. Upthread Starter is $49 a month, and the price covers AI answer tracking, rule-checked drafts with your disclosure, and a record of each reply after you post. 1

Does lurk track AI answers?

Not directly. It says Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity cite the threads Google already ranks, and it tracks those Google rankings. Upthread asks your buyer questions in the engines themselves and records the Reddit threads each one cites. 1

Can I use lurk and Upthread together?

Yes. A free lead feed for Reddit and X can run beside Upthread, which covers the Reddit threads that search and AI answers keep showing buyers, from the draft to the tracked reply.

Sources

We read each page on the date shown. lurk by AnyAPI's own pages are named, not linked. Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we will fix it.

  1. [1]lurk by AnyAPI homepage, checked Nov 7, 2026.
  2. [2]lurk agent guide, checked Nov 7, 2026.
  3. [3]lurk terms of service, checked Nov 7, 2026.
  4. [4]Engadget, checked Oct 29, 2026.
  5. [5]9to5Mac, checked Oct 29, 2026.
  6. [6]CyberInsider, checked Oct 30, 2026.

Run your first discovery, then judge for yourself.

Enter your website. Upthread drafts your brand profile, suggests buyer questions and subreddits, and runs your first discovery.

Start free trialSee pricing

No card required. 7 days with Starter limits.