Exploding Topics alternative
An Exploding Topics alternative with its method in the open
Exploding Topics, now part of Semrush, sells a large catalog of rising searches, products and startups from $39 a month. It doesn't say which sources it reads or how it weighs them, and its forecasts start at $99. Next Big confirms every trend with sources outside search, publishes its method and its record, and says where each trend is heading on every page.
Exploding Topics, also written ExplodingTopics. Compared on October 13, 2026, from Exploding Topics' own pages. Every source.
Before you switch, save
What to keep from Exploding Topics, so nothing you built there is lost.
- Save your tracked trends before you cancel: Semrush's help pages say projects and tracked trends are kept three months after cancelling, then deleted.
- CSV export comes with the Investor and Business plans. On Entrepreneur, copy your tracked list by hand.
- Check whether your plan renews monthly or yearly, so you cancel before the next charge.
In short
Choose Next Big if
- You want to see why a trend counts: every one here is confirmed by independent sources named on its page, and the method is public.
- You want the numbers on every page: searches a month, the value of a click and a 12-month projection, scored in public as its weeks pass.
- You'd rather see markets and scored business ideas than a list of rising keywords.
Stay with Exploding Topics if
- You need a large, global catalog of trends today, with startups' funding and headcount.
- You already work inside Semrush and want trends in the same account.
Next Big and Exploding Topics, side by side
Exploding Topics as read on its own pages on October 13, 2026. Prices change: check theirs before you decide.
| What | Next Big | Exploding Topics |
|---|---|---|
| What it tracks | Rising searches, read every night and blended into one line of overall interest, the Next Big Pulse | A database of 1.1M+ trends by category with growth stages, plus Trending Products and, from the Investor plan, Trending Startups[5] |
| How a trend is confirmed | Independent sources that have no reason to follow search: Wikipedia views, research papers, Hacker News, Bluesky, news coverage and Bing | Its algorithm and research team; no source list or weighting published. Semrush describes millions of unstructured data points plus Google search volume[5] |
| Search volume | Searches a month, cost per click and ranking difficulty on every trend page (Google Ads estimates, US) | Monthly search volume and growth on each trend[3] |
| Forecast | A 12-month projection for each trend, with the odds it's higher in 6 months | Trend forecasts for the next 12 months, on the Investor and Business plans[2] |
| Product trends | Product types rising in search and on Amazon's best-seller lists, by stage | Trending Products from Amazon data; TikTok product insights as an add-on[5] |
| Business ideas | Scored business ideas on each trend and market, and where to start by kind of business | Not offered: trends, products and startups, without business ideas[2] |
| Your own site | Search Console fixes for your own site (Founder and up, at launch) | Not offered[2] |
| API or agents | MCP server and REST API (Unicorn and up, at launch) | An add-on to the Business plan, from 1,000 requests a month; it can't look up your own keywords or places[4] |
| Free plan | Every public trend, market and product page, free; Scout is free at launch | Public trend lists with some rows locked, a weekly newsletter and a 7-day trial[2] |
| Price | Waitlist now. At launch: Scout free, Founder $29, Unicorn $79, Decacorn $199 a month | As listed on October 13, 2026: Entrepreneur $39, Investor $99, Business $249 a month; the API add-on $1,000 to $4,000 a month[2] |
Where Exploding Topics is stronger
Where Next Big is different
- Every trend is confirmed by sources that have no reason to follow search, named on its page, and the method is public.
- Live now: AI agent: +230% in a year, confirmed by 6 independent sources.
- Every page says where the trend is heading, and every projection is kept and scored in public as its weeks pass.
- Live now: ringconn gen 3: likely to keep rising, +49% over the next 12 months by our projection.
- Ideas come scored, on markets that carry an opportunity score of their own.
- Live now: Building-wide dryer vent compliance program for condo and co-op associations, scored 59/100, on dryer vent cleaning service.
- When a trend stops, its page says so instead of quietly disappearing.
- Live now: 3D printer table: no longer trending, and its page says so.
Switching from Exploding Topics
Send us the trends you track on Exploding Topics when you join. We'll track them from day one and tell you which are confirmed by independent sources and where each is heading. Email the list to [email protected] once you're on the waitlist.
Questions
Who owns Exploding Topics?
Semrush, which bought it in 2024; Adobe completed its purchase of Semrush on April 28, 2026. Josh Howarth and Brian Dean launched it in 2019.
How much does Exploding Topics cost?
As listed on October 13, 2026: Entrepreneur $39, Investor $99 and Business $249 a month, with a 7-day trial. Its API is an add-on to Business, from $1,000 a month.
Is there a free Exploding Topics alternative?
Google Trends is free for terms you already know. Every Next Big trend, market and product page is free to read now, and its Scout plan is free at launch.
Where does Exploding Topics get its data?
From what Semrush describes as millions of unstructured data points plus Google search volume, with social channel data and Amazon data for products. It doesn't publish a full source list or how it weighs them.
Are Exploding Topics forecasts accurate?
It doesn't publish an accuracy rate. Next Big keeps every projection it makes and scores it in public on its report card as the weeks pass.
What happens to my data if I cancel Exploding Topics?
Semrush's help pages say projects and tracked trends are kept for three months after cancelling, then permanently deleted.
Does Exploding Topics have an API?
Yes, as an add-on to the Business plan: 1,000 requests for $1,000 a month up to 25,000 for $4,000, and it can't look up your own keywords. Next Big will offer an MCP server and REST API on its Unicorn plan at launch.
How is Next Big different from Exploding Topics?
Every Next Big trend is confirmed by independent sources named on its page, its method and track record are public, and each page carries searches a month, the value of a click and a 12-month projection. Exploding Topics has the larger, global catalog.
How we compared
We built Next Big, so read this knowing that. We read Exploding Topics' own pages on the dates below and quote only what they say; where they say nothing, the table says so. Spotted a mistake? Write to us and we'll fix it within a day. Names are used to identify each product; no endorsement is implied.
Bring your Exploding Topics keywords
Join the waitlist: we open Next Big to a few people at a time. The first 200 lock Next Big Unicorn at $390 a year.