BuzzSumo is the stronger choice for competitive share research, while ShareThis is better for counting shares triggered by its own buttons on a publisher’s site. A content team that wants to compare articles across competitors will usually get more value from BuzzSumo. A site owner that wants to track how often visitors click embedded share buttons will get cleaner first-party data from ShareThis.
TLDR: BuzzSumo helps teams measure public content engagement across the web, making it useful for topic research, competitor checks, and campaign reporting. ShareThis measures on-site sharing behavior, especially when its share buttons are installed. For example, a blog that gets 50,000 monthly visits may see 900 ShareThis button clicks, while BuzzSumo may show that competing posts in the same topic average 2,400 Facebook engagements. That difference helps separate site interaction from market attention.
What Each Tool Actually Measures
Social share count sounds simple. It is not. Platforms have reduced public access to share data over the years. Facebook changed data access. X, formerly Twitter, removed public share counts long ago. LinkedIn data is limited. Private sharing through messaging apps is mostly invisible.
That means no tool gives a perfect worldwide count of every share. The better question is: which tool measures the type of sharing that matters for the job?
BuzzSumo focuses on content intelligence. It tracks articles, URLs, topics, domains, authors, and engagement signals. It is built for research. Teams use it to find popular posts, compare publishers, spot winning headlines, and report social traction.
ShareThis focuses on sharing tools and audience data. Its share buttons sit on a website and record when visitors click them. It is closer to a first-party measurement tool for owned properties. It does not aim to be a full competitor research suite.
BuzzSumo: Best for Content Benchmarking
BuzzSumo is useful when a marketer needs to answer questions like:
- Which articles earned the most social engagement this month?
- What topics are working for competitors?
- Which headlines attract shares?
- Which publishers dominate a niche?
- Which formats get traction, such as lists, guides, or opinion posts?
Its main strength is context. A single share count means little by itself. A post with 500 engagements might be weak in one industry and excellent in another. BuzzSumo lets teams compare that number against other URLs, domains, and topics.
For example, a SaaS company may publish a guide that gets 320 visible engagements. That sounds modest. BuzzSumo may show that the top five competing guides average only 260 engagements. Suddenly the post looks healthy. Without that comparison, the team might misread the result.
The catch is that BuzzSumo depends on available data. If a network blocks or limits share information, BuzzSumo cannot magically recover the full number. It may show engagement indicators rather than a complete share count. That can frustrate teams expecting exact totals.
ShareThis: Best for Owned Site Share Tracking
ShareThis works best when a site wants to measure sharing actions taken directly on its pages. If a reader clicks a ShareThis button for Facebook, Pinterest, email, or WhatsApp, that event can be recorded. This gives site owners a clear signal about visitor intent.
That signal can be valuable. A reader may not comment. A reader may not buy. But a share click shows enough interest to pass the content along. For publishers, that can help rank articles by audience enthusiasm.
ShareThis can also reduce setup friction. Site owners add sharing buttons, then track button usage. The same interface supports placement, style, and channel options. This is handy for smaller teams that do not want a heavy analytics setup.
Honestly, it feels like a minor nuisance when share buttons slow a page or take extra styling work to match a site. Even a small delay can annoy a performance-focused team. A button that adds 300 milliseconds to page load may not sound dramatic, but developers will still notice it during speed tests.
Key Differences at a Glance
| Category | BuzzSumo | ShareThis |
|---|---|---|
| Main use | Content research and competitor benchmarking | On-site share button tracking |
| Best data source | Public content engagement signals | Clicks on installed ShareThis tools |
| Best user | Content marketers, SEO teams, agencies | Publishers, site owners, ecommerce blogs |
| Competitive analysis | Strong | Limited |
| First-party site tracking | Limited | Strong for share button events |
Accuracy: The Messy Part
Social share counts are not as clean as pageviews or form submissions. A visitor can copy a URL and paste it into a private group. A customer can send a link in Slack. A subscriber can forward an email. None of that may appear as a social share in either tool.
BuzzSumo may show that an article has high engagement across public networks. ShareThis may show that only 2% of visitors clicked a share button. Both numbers can be true. They measure different behavior.
For reporting, teams should label metrics clearly:
- BuzzSumo engagement: useful for external demand and topic comparison.
- ShareThis clicks: useful for on-site sharing behavior.
- Referral traffic: useful for measuring visits from social platforms.
- Conversions: useful for judging business value.
When BuzzSumo Is the Better Choice
BuzzSumo is the better option when the goal is strategy. It helps a team decide what to write, which subjects are crowded, and which content formats still earn attention. Agencies also benefit from its reporting features, since clients often ask how their content compares with competitors.
It is also useful before content is created. A team can search a keyword, review the most shared articles, and find patterns. Maybe “how to” posts outperform trend pieces. Maybe data studies earn more links. Maybe list posts still win, as annoying as that may be.
When ShareThis Is the Better Choice
ShareThis is better when the site itself is the main source of truth. A publisher can test button placement and compare results. For instance, floating buttons may generate a 1.8% share click rate, while inline buttons after the article may generate 0.9%. That information can guide layout choices.
It also helps teams see which channels their readers prefer. A food blog may get more Pinterest clicks. A B2B site may see more LinkedIn and email shares. A local news site may see more Facebook activity.
The Best Setup for Serious Reporting
The smartest setup often uses both tools, plus web analytics. BuzzSumo shows market-level content traction. ShareThis shows on-page share actions. Google Analytics or another analytics platform shows referral traffic and conversions.
A practical monthly report might include:
- Top 10 articles by BuzzSumo engagement.
- Top 10 pages by ShareThis button clicks.
- Social referral sessions by platform.
- Conversion rate from social traffic.
- Content topics with rising engagement.
This avoids a common reporting trap. A post may get many shares but few leads. Another may get fewer shares but strong conversions. Share count is useful, but it should not be treated as the final score.
FAQ
Is BuzzSumo more accurate than ShareThis?
Not always. BuzzSumo is better for comparing public content engagement across the web. ShareThis is more accurate for measuring clicks on ShareThis buttons installed on a specific site.
Can either tool show every social share?
No. Private messages, copied links, closed groups, and platform limits hide many shares. Both tools measure available signals, not the full universe of sharing.
Which tool is better for competitor analysis?
BuzzSumo is the better fit. It is built to compare URLs, domains, topics, and content performance across publishers.
Which tool is better for a small blog?
ShareThis can be enough if the blog mainly wants share buttons and basic on-site share tracking. BuzzSumo becomes more useful when the blog starts planning content from competitor and topic data.
Should social share count be a main KPI?
It can be a supporting KPI, but not the only one. Teams should pair it with traffic, backlinks, leads, sales, and engagement time to judge real content value.