COMPARISON
plinio® TL or Exploding Topics: trend data or finished thought leadership?
Exploding Topics shows which terms, products and markets are growing right now. plinio TL picks the B2B topics that will matter to your particular company in 6–18 months, writes the pieces on them and checks whether the prediction came true. Both look ahead – but with Exploding Topics, the real work only starts once you have found the trend.
In short
plinio TL
plinio TL fits if you are a B2B company that wants to lead the conversation in its market and needs topic choice, evidence, drafts and follow-up in one workflow.
Exploding Topics
Exploding Topics fits if you are looking for consumer, product or investment trends and have a team that turns them into topics, theses and texts.
| plinio TL | Exploding Topics | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Topics with a thesis, counter-position and evidence, plus drafts in your voice | Trend data: growth curves, search volume, channels, forecasts |
| Data | Generated for each customer, from its market, competitors and expertise – no two customers get the same topics | One shared database of 1.1M+ trends, the same for every customer |
| Focus | B2B markets, tailored to your company and expertise | Markets, products, startups and investment ideas across all industries |
| Timing | 6–18 months before a topic is widely discussed | According to the vendor, 12+ months before a trend takes off |
| Writing | Drafts for LinkedIn, articles and short formats, every claim checked against its sources | No writing – the content is up to you |
| Follow-up | Every recommendation checked after 30, 60 and 90 days, exportable track record | Track trends and how they develop |
| Price | From €797 a month with annual billing; 90-day pilot for €1,990 | $39, $99 or $249 a month; 7-day free trial |
The three key features of plinio TL compared
Your topics, not everyone else’s.
With Exploding Topics, every customer sees the same trend database – your competitors included. plinio TL generates topics for each customer, from its market, its competitors and its Strategic Brief; no two customers get the same results. Every topic comes with a thesis and a counter-position, and the Narrative Graph shows where your expertise is already proven.
The work after the find is included.
With a trend tool, the work starts there: research, form a thesis, write, schedule. In plinio TL it is part of the workflow – drafts in your voice, every claim checked against its sources, deadlines and market moments as countdowns in your content plan.
A loop that learns from outcomes.
plinio TL checks every recommendation 30, 60 and 90 days after publication. What comes true sharpens the next selection, and your edits to drafts go into the Memory Bank. The result is a track record you can show. We measured the method itself in a blind test against a control group.
When Exploding Topics is the better choice
- You are looking for consumer, e-commerce or product trends, for example for your range or product development.
- You are scouting fast-growing startups and investment ideas.
- You have your own research and writing team and mainly need raw data.
- You need a low-cost entry from $39 a month.
Use both?
Possible, but rarely needed for B2B thought leadership: plinio TL finds topics itself, in market, research, regulatory and practitioner sources. Exploding Topics can add to it if you also follow consumer or product trends.
Questions
Is plinio TL an alternative to Exploding Topics?
Why does plinio TL cost more?
How early does plinio TL spot topics?
Sources
As of 5 November 2026. Information about Exploding Topics from the vendor’s website.
Exploding Topics is a trademark of Semrush Inc. plinio TL is not affiliated with Exploding Topics or Semrush.
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