Before we get started and introduce you to the best influencer search tools, we’d like to clarify the difference between influencers applying to work with your brand and using a search function to find them. Understanding how these two approaches work will help you choose the right strategy, or combination of both, for your influencer marketing campaigns.

I. Launching an influencer campaign

When influencers apply to you, the process is simple: you launch a campaign, describe your product, and outline the type of creators you want to work with. From there, influencers who are genuinely interested send in their applications. This approach saves you time since you’re not browsing endless profiles, and it often leads to smoother collaborations because these influencers already want to work with you and feel a natural connection to your brand. The trade-off, however, is that your pool of candidates is limited to those who see and apply, meaning you have less control compared to actively hand-picking who you want.

Here’s an example of a campaign where influencers are actively applying to collaborate with a brand.

II. Search tool

With a search function, you take a more hands-on approach by browsing through a database of pre-vetted influencers. You can filter results by niche, location, demographics, engagement, or payment type to find exactly what you need. This gives you more control and a wider range of options compared to waiting for applications, making it especially useful if you’re looking for very specific types of influencers. The downside is that it can take more time, and not every influencer you reach out to will be as eager or responsive as those who apply to your campaign.

Or, you can take the other route, scrolling through a list of influencers tailored to your needs.

III. Why are people looking for these influencer search tools?

Here is one of the best answer to this question that we found online:

"I'm part of a two person marketing team that runs all the marketing for a financial app. We're looking into testing an influencer program. I'm looking for something that ticks most all these boxes:

1. a platform where i can search for influencers that might work for our app. specifically i want to filter by their audience - location, age, interests at the very least
2. lets me reach out to influencers and helps me with template contracts to get influencers into our program... manages all the comms in one place
3. lets me send a brief (or RFP) per campaign to influencers that might fit what we're looking for
4. makes it easy for the influencers to upload their content to the platform so our compliance can review and we can track it all in one place
5. has some level of reporting or monitoring in place for us to check the content and how it's doing once it's been posted"

Reddit question

Now that you understand the difference between inbound applications and actively searching for influencers, it’s time to explore the tools that can help you put this into practice. Let’s take a look at the best influencer search platforms available and see how they can support your campaigns.

IV. Best influencer search tools

1. Social Cat

🥇 Best for: Small to medium brands looking for authentic collaborations with influencers.

🤔 What is it: Social Cat connects brands with pre-vetted influencers in two ways. First, you can launch a campaign and receive inbound applications from creators genuinely interested in working with your brand, saving time and making collaborations feel more natural. Second, if you’d like to be more hands-on, you can use our powerful search tool to filter through thousands of influencers by location, niche, demographics, engagement, or payment type. This way, you can either let influencers come to you or go out and find the perfect match yourself.

🆓 Free trial: Yes, available with limited campaigns.

💵 Price: Paid plans start at $99/month 👉 See Social Cat Pricing

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok

✅ Influencer search features:

• Influencers apply directly to your campaigns
• Pre-vetted profiles with niche, location, and engagement data
• Filters to find influencers by audience, category, or region
• Collaboration history & ratings to help you choose the right partners
• Focus on influencers (high engagement, affordable rates)

🤓 Pro tip: Start by running a test campaign with 5–10 micro-influencers on Social Cat. You’ll often see higher ROI than chasing a single large influencer.

👍 Other key features:

• Campaign and collaboration management
• Messaging inside the platform
• Influencer reviews and performance tracking
• Scales easily as your budget grows

🤝 Used by: Startups, e-commerce brands, DTC companies

✨ Review score: ★ 4.7/5 (reviews.io)

📣 Testimonial:

“In my first few weeks I have been matched up with a great variety of people, I'm actually spoilt for choice. The people I have selected so far to work with have been fantastic, great communication. I'm really excited to see how working with these infuencers will help grow my brand.“

2. Modash

🥇 Best for: Influencer search & campaign management for Shopify brands.

🤔 What is it: Modash is an end-to-end influencer marketing platform designed for Shopify stores and e-commerce brands. With over 350M profiles across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, Modash makes it easy to find creators, check their authenticity, manage outreach, and even handle product seeding and affiliate codes, all integrated with Shopify.

🆓 Free trial: Yes, 14 days, with usage limits.

💵 Price: Paid plans start at $199/month (annual) or $299/month (monthly) 👉 Modash Plans

📱 Platforms: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok

✅ Influencer search features:

• Search across 350M+ profiles with 1k+ followers
• Filters: follower count, engagement rate, fake followers, bio keywords, hashtags, audience demographics
• Import customer emails to find influencers who already use your products
• AI-powered influencer discovery (analyzes content inside posts, not just captions)
• Lookalike search to find creators with similar audiences

🤓 Pro tip: Use Modash’s lookalike search to quickly expand once you’ve found a top-performing influencer.

👍 Other key features:

• Campaign tracking without requiring influencer authentication
• Shopify integration for promo code management & product gifting
• Centralized inbox for influencer outreach
• Team collaboration features

🤝 Used by: Birkenstock, Victoria’s Secret, Mont Blanc, Sennheiser

✨ Review score: ★ 4.9/5 (Capterra)

📣 Testimonial:

“Using Modash, we’ve been able to contract 70+ influencers and 500+ nano influencers, and we plan to scale internationally! The discovery tools make it quick to see the metrics we care about and how content performs.”

3. Upfluence

🥇 Best for: E-commerce brands and agencies looking for an all-in-one influencer marketing solution.

🤔 What is it: Upfluence is a comprehensive influencer marketing platform that combines discovery, outreach, and campaign management in one place. It integrates directly with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, making it easy to identify influencers among your existing customers and track sales via affiliate codes.

🆓 Free trial: Demo available upon request.

💵 Price: Custom pricing, typically starting at around $800/month.

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogs

✅ Influencer search features:

• Access to a large, global influencer database
• Advanced filters: niche, keywords, engagement rates, demographics
• Identify influencers already in your customer base
• Fake follower detection and fraud analysis
• Real-time analytics on audience quality and engagement

🤓 Pro tip: Sync your e-commerce store with Upfluence to uncover influencers who are already buying from you, instant warm leads.

👍 Other key features:

• Affiliate code creation & tracking
• End-to-end campaign workflow
• Influencer relationship CRM
• Reporting & ROI dashboards

🤝 Used by: Amazon, Verizon, Universal, Farfetch

✨ Review score: ★ 4.2/5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“Upfluence helped us streamline our influencer campaigns and connect with creators who already knew our brand. The integration with Shopify is a game-changer.”

4. HypeAuditor

🥇 Best for: Brands that want to verify influencer authenticity and audience quality.

🤔 What is it: HypeAuditor is best known for its Audience Quality Score (AQS), a metric that helps you detect fake followers and low-quality engagement. With over 200M+ influencer profiles, it’s ideal for brands that want to make sure they’re working with genuine creators and not wasting budget on bots.

🆓 Free trial: Yes, with limited features.

💵 Price: Paid plans start at $399/month.

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch

✅ Influencer search features:

• 200M+ influencer profiles in the database
• Audience Quality Score for fake follower detection
• Detailed audience demographics: age, gender, location
• Competitor analysis: see what influencers your competitors work with
• Benchmarking by industry and region

🤓 Pro tip: Always check the AQS before launching a campaign, it saves you from wasting money on influencers with inflated numbers.

👍 Other key features:

• Campaign tracking & reporting
• AI-powered influencer discovery
• Fraud detection tools
• Competitor benchmarking

🤝 Used by: Dior, L’Oréal, Samsung, Ogilvy

✨ Review score: ★ 4.6 /5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“HypeAuditor’s audience insights gave us peace of mind. We now know we’re investing in influencers with real, engaged communities.”

5. Heepsy

🥇 Best for: Small brands and startups on a budget.

🤔 What is it: Heepsy is a budget-friendly influencer discovery platform that gives you access to 11M+ profiles. It’s simple, lightweight, and effective, perfect if you’re just starting out and don’t need enterprise-level tools.

🆓 Free trial: Yes, free version available.

💵 Price: Paid plans start at $49/month.

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch

✅ Influencer search features:

• Search 11M+ influencers by category, location, engagement rate
• Audience demographics like age, gender, and location
• Fake follower audits
• Contact information discovery
• Engagement rate benchmarks

🤓 Pro tip: Use Heepsy’s engagement filters to spot micro-influencers with small but highly active audiences.

👍 Other key features:

• PDF reports for influencer shortlists
• Easy-to-use search filters
• Affordable entry-level plan

🤝 Used by: New Balance, Huawei, Ikea

✨ Review score: ★ 4.1/5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“Heepsy is straightforward and affordable — a great way to get started with influencer discovery without breaking the bank.”

6. Pitchbox

🥇 Best for: Brands and agencies looking for blogger and content creator outreach (beyond just social media).

🤔 What is it: Pitchbox is primarily an outreach automation platform that helps you discover and contact bloggers, publishers, and content creators. It’s especially useful if you’re looking for influencer-style partnerships in SEO, PR, or niche blogging, rather than just Instagram or TikTok campaigns.

🆓 Free trial: Demo available upon request.

💵 Price: Custom pricing (usually starting at around $195/month).

📱 Platforms: Blogs, websites, YouTube

✅ Influencer search features:

• Search for bloggers and niche publishers in your industry
• Outreach automation with built-in email templates
• CRM-style interface for managing relationships
• Detailed campaign analytics

🤓 Pro tip: Use Pitchbox if you’re running link-building or content-driven campaigns alongside social media, it’s a great hybrid tool for PR + influencer marketing.

👍 Other key features:

• Bulk email outreach and follow-up sequences
• SEO integrations (Moz, SEMrush, Majestic)
• Pipeline and collaboration features for teams

🤝 Used by: 360i, Siege Media, REI

✨ Review score: ★ 4.7/5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“Pitchbox makes influencer outreach and link-building way more efficient. It saves us hours every week.”

7. IMAI (Influencer Marketing AI)

🥇 Best for: Large-scale brands that want AI-powered influencer discovery.

🤔 What is it: IMAI uses AI to help brands discover influencers at scale. Instead of relying only on keywords, you can describe the type of creator you want (e.g., “food vloggers in Paris”), and IMAI’s AI will find them. It’s designed for teams that need precision and volume in their influencer campaigns.

🆓 Free trial: Available upon request.

💵 Price: Custom pricing (enterprise-level).

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

✅ Influencer search features:

• AI-powered discovery with natural language search
• 250M+ influencer profiles in the database
• Demographic and psychographic filters
• Audience authenticity checks
• Lookalike discovery to expand creator lists

🤓 Pro tip: Use IMAI’s AI search when entering new markets, it helps you quickly find local influencers without needing insider knowledge.

👍 Other key features:

• Campaign management dashboard
• Real-time analytics and reports
• Team collaboration features

🤝 Used by: Coca-Cola, Samsung, Huawei

✨ Review score: ★ 4.6/5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“IMAI’s AI search is incredible — it helped us find niche creators we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.”

8. Traackr

🥇 Best for: Enterprise brands managing global influencer programs.

🤔 What is it: Traackr is a premium influencer relationship management platform built for large companies. It focuses on influencer discovery, campaign management, and performance benchmarking across multiple regions. It’s one of the most data-driven platforms on the market, but also one of the most expensive.

🆓 Free trial: Demo available upon request.

💵 Price: Enterprise pricing (starts around $32,000/year).

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs

✅ Influencer search features:

• Global database of vetted influencers
• Advanced filters: topic, geography, brand mentions, demographics
• Benchmarking tools to measure campaign ROI
• Audience authenticity and fraud detection

🤓 Pro tip: Traackr is best if you’re running global, multi-market campaigns where consistency and benchmarking matter.

👍 Other key features:

• Relationship management CRM
• Campaign budget tracking
• Compliance and fraud detection tools

🤝 Used by: L’Oréal, Shiseido, Samsung, Nike

✨ Review score: ★ 4.5/5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“Traackr gave us the ability to benchmark and optimize our influencer campaigns globally — it’s become our go-to platform.”

9. GRIN

🥇 Best for: DTC and e-commerce brands looking for an all-in-one influencer marketing suite.

🤔 What is it: GRIN combines influencer discovery with end-to-end campaign management. With access to 190M+ creators, GRIN helps brands not only find influencers but also manage outreach, product seeding, affiliate codes, and ROI tracking. It’s built with e-commerce in mind and integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento.

🆓 Free trial: Demo available upon request.

💵 Price: Custom pricing (starts around $1,000/month).

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch

✅ Influencer search features:

• Database of 190M+ influencer profiles
• Advanced filters for niche, engagement, and demographics
• Lookalike search for similar profiles
• Audience authenticity checks
• Built-in CRM to track influencer relationships

🤓 Pro tip: Use GRIN if you want to combine influencer discovery with affiliate program management, it’s strong at tracking conversions.

👍 Other key features:

• Shopify and WooCommerce integrations
• Affiliate & promo code tracking
• Campaign ROI dashboards
• Built-in influencer CRM

🤝 Used by: MVMT, Lume Cube, Allbirds

✨ Review score: ★ 4.7/5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“GRIN allows us to manage influencer partnerships at scale. The integrations with Shopify make product seeding and ROI tracking effortless.”

10. Aspire.io

🥇 Best for: Mid-sized to large brands that want a community-driven influencer marketing platform.

🤔 What is it: Aspire.io is an all-in-one influencer marketing platform designed to help brands build influencer communities. It offers influencer discovery, campaign management, product seeding, and analytics. What sets Aspire apart is its strong focus on relationship-building, helping brands move from one-off collaborations to long-term partnerships.

🆓 Free trial: Demo available upon request.

💵 Price: Starts at around $2,000/month.

📱 Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest

✅ Influencer search features:

• Database of 500M+ influencer profiles
• Filters for niche, audience demographics, engagement, and content style
• Influencer lookalike search
• Audience authenticity and fraud detection
• AI-powered recommendations

🤓 Pro tip: Use Aspire’s influencer CRM to track all conversations, content, and performance, it makes scaling partnerships much smoother.

👍 Other key features:

• Campaign briefs and content approval workflows
• Affiliate & promo code management
• Product seeding automation
• ROI and sales tracking dashboards

🤝 Used by: Walmart, Garnier, Rothy’s, Purple

✨ Review score: ★ 4.6/5 (G2)

📣 Testimonial:

“Aspire helps us scale our influencer marketing while keeping relationships at the center. It feels less transactional and more community-driven.”

V. Quick Tips

Before wrapping up, here are a few quick tips to keep in mind. You’ve seen some of the best influencer search tools, but remember, it’s all about testing, analyzing, and finding what works for your brand before making a decision.

1. Don’t get caught up in the size of the influencer database alone. A smaller, more curated pool of influencers (like on Social Cat) often delivers better results than sifting through millions of generic profiles.
2. Start small. Test 5–10 influencers on a platform before committing long-term. This way, you’ll see real results without overspending.
3. Think about workflow, not just search. The best platform isn’t always the one with the most influencers, but the one that saves you time managing outreach, communication, and reporting.

VI. Final Thoughts

Some, like Social Cat, focus on authentic, influencer collaborations. Others, like Traackr or Aspire.io, are built for enterprise-scale programs.

The key is choosing the tool that matches your brand size, budget, and goals. If you’re a small to medium brand, start with Social Cat or Heepsy. If you’re an enterprise with global campaigns, look at Traackr or Aspire.io.

Either way, the right platform can save you hours of manual work and help you build partnerships that actually deliver ROI.