F5Bot review: what it does, what it costs, and why Redwatcher is the better alternative
Updated 20 September 2026
In short
F5Bot is a keyword alert service for Reddit, Hacker News and Lobsters that emails you every time a keyword appears. On its $0 and $9.99 tiers, nothing judges whether the thread matters. Its $0 tier is for personal use only: 5 keywords, 20 alerts a day, and each alert arrives within two hours. Business use starts at $9.99, and AI filtering at $49.99. Redwatcher scores every match before it is sent, never switches a keyword off, and puts every alert channel on every plan, from $29 a month.
F5Bot's figures were read from f5bot.com/tiers on 18 September 2026.
F5Bot's own FAQ says it is built for fairly uncommon keywords, and that a very popular brand may need a different tool. If you are watching a brand, a product or a business term, F5Bot's own FAQ is saying it may not be the right tool for you.
Redwatcher is a Reddit monitoring tool. Tracks keywords, brand mentions and competitors across the subreddits you choose, scores every match for relevance, and alerts by email, Slack, Telegram or webhook around the clock. From $29/month per project.
RedwatcherReddit monitoring, every match scored
RedwatcherStart free Seven days, no card. From $29 a month after.
How we checked
Read off F5Bot's own pages on 18 September 2026. The home page, the tier grid, cell by cell, and the FAQ. The two F5Bot screenshots below were taken the same day.
What does F5Bot do?
F5Bot sends you an email when a keyword you gave it appears in a new post or comment on Reddit, Hacker News or Lobsters. Every match is sent as it is. On the $0 and $9.99 tiers, deciding whether the thread is worth your time is your job. AI filtering, which judges each post against a description you write, starts at $49.99 a month. Read from f5bot.com and f5bot.com/faq on 18 September 2026.
Is F5Bot free?
F5Bot has a $0 tier, and its FAQ says it is intended for personal use. On 18 September 2026 its tier grid, f5bot.com/tiers, gave that tier 5 keywords, 10 alerts per keyword per day and 20 alerts a day in total, delivered within two hours, with ads in the emails. It has no keyword filtering flags, no full post text, no alert grouping, and it rejects common words. Business use starts at $9.99 a month.
What does F5Bot cost?
$9.99, $49.99 or $214.99 a month, or from $500 a month on a custom plan, on top of the $0 personal-use tier. Read from f5bot.com/tiers on 18 September 2026.
| Free | Silver | Gold | Platinum | Diamond | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0, personal use only | $9.99 a month, $109 a year | $49.99 a month, $549 a year | $214.99 a month, $2,364 a year | from $500 a month |
| Keywords | 5 | 20 | 200 | 300 | custom |
| Alerts per keyword per day | 10 | 30 | 100 | 500 | custom |
| Alerts per day, whole account | 20 | 100 | 5,000 | 200,000 | custom |
| Alert speed | within 2 hours | within 5 minutes | instant or scheduled | instant or scheduled | instant or scheduled |
| Ad-free emails, keyword filtering, full post text, alert grouping | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| RSS and JSON feeds | no | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Slack or Discord integrations | no | no | 1 | 3 | custom |
| AI filtering | no | no | 2 | 5 | custom |
| API and webhooks | no | no | no | yes | yes |
The grid's own footnote says AI filtering includes the first $10 a month of token usage, and that anything you use above that is billed on top of the plan. Read on 18 September 2026.
What are F5Bot's limits?
Popular keywords, according to its own FAQ. The FAQ, f5bot.com/faq, read on 18 September 2026, says: "F5Bot is designed to alert you about fairly uncommon keywords or phrases. If you're trying to monitor a very popular brand, this might not be the right tool for you." The rest of the list is from the tier grid, f5bot.com/tiers, and the FAQ, read the same day.
- On the $0 and $9.99 tiers, F5Bot sends every keyword match without judging it. If the keyword appears, you get the email, and it is up to you to open the thread and decide whether it matters. From $49.99, AI filtering judges each post against a description you write, and that tier allows two descriptions.
- The daily cap per keyword switches the keyword off. 10 alerts on the $0 tier, 30 at $9.99, 100 at $49.99. Past that, the keyword stops until you turn it back on.
- Faster alerts cost more. Within two hours at $0, within five minutes at $9.99, instant from $49.99.
- Slack and Discord start at $49.99, and that tier gives you one channel. The $214.99 tier gives you three.
- The tier grid lists one keyword limit and one daily cap per keyword, with no separate numbers for Reddit, Hacker News or Lobsters.
- Email is the only way alerts arrive on the $0 and $9.99 tiers. RSS and JSON feeds start at $49.99, and a webhook or the API at $214.99.
Why Redwatcher is the better F5Bot alternative
- Every match is judged before it is sent, on the cheapest plan we sell. F5Bot's AI filtering starts at $49.99 and allows two descriptions. Redwatcher scores every post and comment from 0 to 100 on the $29 plan, and only what scores above the bar you set reaches you.
- The score comes with its reason, in a sentence. "A buying decision in progress, with the requirements and the budget stated" is 94. "The brand is named, but a job post holds nothing to answer" is 24.
- No per-keyword cap, and no keyword is ever switched off. F5Bot switches a keyword off at 10, 30 or 100 alerts a day. Redwatcher sends what scores above your bar, and counts the rest under Skipped, where you can read it.
- Alerts arrive at the same speed on every plan. On F5Bot, faster alerts cost more: two hours at $0, five minutes at $9.99, instant from $49.99. Redwatcher checks every subreddit you track around the clock, multiple times every hour, on the $29 plan and every plan above it.
- Email, Slack, Telegram and a signed webhook on every plan, with unlimited seats. On F5Bot, Slack is $49.99 for one channel and a webhook is $214.99. Redwatcher's Slack and Telegram install in one click, and every channel has a test button that sends a real message.
Price is per project: $29 a month for 25 keywords and 25 subreddits, $49 for 50 and 50, and $89 for 100 and 100, with every feature on every plan. Redwatcher monitors Reddit only, and it has no $0 tier: the trial is seven days with no card, then $29 a month.
RedwatcherReddit monitoring, every match scored
Start free Seven days, no card. From $29 a month after. See pricing
F5Bot vs Redwatcher, side by side
| F5Bot | Redwatcher | |
|---|---|---|
| Sites covered | Reddit, Hacker News, Lobsters | |
| Entry price | $0 for personal use, $9.99 a month for business | $29 a month per project |
| Keywords at the entry price | 5 at $0, 20 at $9.99 | 25 |
| Alerts per keyword per day | 10 at $0, 30 at $9.99, 100 at $49.99 | no cap |
| Is a match judged before it is sent | no. AI filtering from $49.99, two descriptions | yes, every match scored 0 to 100 with the reasons |
| Alert speed | 2 hours at $0, 5 minutes at $9.99, instant from $49.99 | the same on every plan |
| Channels | email. Slack or Discord from $49.99, API and webhooks from $214.99 | email, Slack, Telegram and a signed webhook on every plan |
| Correcting a wrong alert | no score to correct | say what was wrong, and it writes a rule and re-scores |
| Setup | you type the keywords and flags | reads your website and suggests subreddits, keywords and competitors |
| Writes or posts replies | no | no |
Read from f5bot.com/tiers and redwatcher.com/pricing on 18 September 2026.
Which one to pick
Redwatcher, if you are watching a brand, a product or a business term, because the alerts are judged before they reach you, no keyword is ever switched off, and every channel is on the $29 plan. F5Bot's $0 tier is for personal use by its own terms, and a name that gets mentioned more than ten times a day goes over its cap on the first day. The F5Bot alternative page goes through the same choice row by row.
Moving from F5Bot to Redwatcher
Copy your keyword list out of F5Bot and paste it into Redwatcher. Give it your website address and it proposes the subreddits to watch, then set the score you want to be alerted above and pick email, Slack, Telegram or a webhook. The trial runs seven days and takes no card, and nothing on F5Bot has to be cancelled first.
What other questions do people ask about F5Bot?
What does F5Bot do?
F5Bot emails you when one of your keywords appears in a new post or comment on Reddit, Hacker News or Lobsters. Every match is sent as it is, and judging whether the thread matters is your job unless you pay $49.99 a month for AI filtering. Redwatcher scores every match from 0 to 100 before it is sent, from $29 a month. Read from f5bot.com on 18 September 2026.
How does F5Bot work?
F5Bot matches the keywords you add, exactly as typed and ignoring capitalisation, against submission titles, URLs and comment bodies on Reddit, Hacker News and Lobsters, every few minutes. Every tier caps how many alerts a keyword may send per day, and a keyword over its cap is switched off until you re-enable it. Redwatcher never switches a keyword off. Read from f5bot.com/faq on 18 September 2026.
Is F5Bot free?
F5Bot has a $0 tier that its FAQ says is intended for personal use. On 18 September 2026 its tier grid at f5bot.com/tiers gave it 5 keywords, 10 alerts per keyword per day, 20 alerts a day in total, delivery within two hours, ads in the emails, and no filtering flags, full post text or alert grouping. Business use starts on the $9.99 tier. Redwatcher has no $0 tier: seven days with no card, then $29 a month.
How much does F5Bot cost?
$9.99 a month for Silver, $49.99 for Gold, $214.99 for Platinum, and from $500 a month for Diamond, with a $0 personal-use tier below them. Yearly plans are $109, $549 and $2,364, and each of them gives you one month free. AI filtering on Gold and Platinum includes $10 a month of usage and bills anything above that on top. Read from f5bot.com/tiers on 18 September 2026.
What is the best F5Bot alternative?
Redwatcher, for anyone watching a brand, a product or a business term on Reddit. It scores every post and comment from 0 to 100 before it is sent, with the reasons, never switches a keyword off, delivers to email, Slack, Telegram and a signed webhook on every plan, and starts at $29 a month for 25 keywords and 25 subreddits. The ranked list covers the rest of the field.
Can F5Bot send alerts to Slack?
Yes, from the $49.99 Gold tier, which includes one Slack or Discord integration, set up by pasting a webhook URL on the account page. Platinum at $214.99 includes three. The $0 and $9.99 tiers are email only. Redwatcher puts Slack, Telegram, email and a signed webhook on every plan, including the $29 one, and Slack installs in one click. Read from f5bot.com/tiers on 18 September 2026.
What happens when an F5Bot keyword goes over its daily cap?
The keyword is switched off. Each tier caps how many alerts one keyword may send in 24 hours, 10 on the $0 tier and 30, 100 and 500 on the paid tiers, and how many the whole account may send. A keyword over its cap stops until you re-enable it from your account. Redwatcher never switches a keyword off: what scores above your bar is sent, and the rest is counted as Skipped. Read from f5bot.com/tiers and f5bot.com/faq on 18 September 2026.
Is F5Bot good for monitoring a popular brand?
F5Bot's own FAQ says it may not be: "If you're trying to monitor a very popular brand, this might not be the right tool for you." A brand mentioned more than 10 times a day goes over the $0 tier's cap and the keyword switches off, and every alert that does arrive is a plain keyword match. Read from f5bot.com/faq on 18 September 2026. Redwatcher scores every match first, never switches a keyword off, and starts at $29 a month.
Does Redwatcher cap how many alerts a keyword can send?
No. Redwatcher has no per-keyword cap and never switches a keyword off. Every post and comment that matches is scored from 0 to 100, everything above the bar you set is sent, and everything below it is counted under Skipped in the app, where you can read it and correct the score. The limits on a plan are the keyword and subreddit counts: 25, 50 or 100 of each.
Does Redwatcher have a free tier like F5Bot?
No. Redwatcher has a seven-day trial with no card, then $29 a month for 25 keywords and 25 subreddits, $49 for 50 and 50, and $89 for 100 and 100. Every feature is on every plan, including scoring, custom scoring rules, every alert channel and unlimited team members. Read from redwatcher.com/pricing on 18 September 2026.
Does Redwatcher post replies for me?
No. Redwatcher finds the thread, scores it, tells you why it scored that way and links you to it, and you write the reply from your own Reddit account. F5Bot does not post replies either. Tools that draft or post replies on your behalf are a different kind of product.
Redwatcher is not affiliated with F5Bot.