Search X manually if you find a manageable number of worthwhile requests and want to tune every query. Test a buying-intent tool if finding and screening those requests has become recurring work. The deciding question is not which option produces the longer list; it is which produces posts you would actually answer for an acceptable amount of effort.
What each approach does—and leaves to you
The difference is who sets up discovery and does the first pass of screening. Neither a search result nor an intent score tells you whether a particular conversation is appropriate for your business.
| Task | Manual X search | ReachFast |
|---|---|---|
| Set up discovery | Choose and adjust the phrases yourself; ReachFast’s manual-search guide shows a phrase-based approach. | Submit a website or store; ReachFast says it builds the search without keywords to configure. |
| Find recent asks | Run searches when you want to check for posts and review what they return. | The first scan reads up to the last two weeks of X posts; daily scans begin after subscribing. |
| Screen for fit | Read the results and decide which posts are genuine, relevant requests. | Review public posts presented with buying-intent scores; you still judge whether each one fits. |
| Prepare and send a reply | Write your own response and decide whether to post it. | A suggested reply opens on X with text prepared; you decide whether to send it from your account. |
When is manual search enough?
Stay manual when requests are occasional, your searches yield a short list you can comfortably read, or adjusting the query is part of how you learn what buyers ask. A tool becomes worth testing when repeating those searches and rejecting poor matches takes time you would rather spend answering good ones. This is a test of fit and effort, not a promise that either method will find every useful post.
Keep reply control in the decision. ReachFast prepares text but does not post on your behalf, so a tool can reduce preparation without replacing your review of the thread, the proposed wording and whether you should join the conversation at all.
Test a free scan against your own searches
ReachFast’s terms offer new customers one first project scan free without a card. Daily scans require a subscription, with the first monthly payment charged immediately when you subscribe. Use that one-off scan to compare useful results—not to assume what future scans will deliver.
For example, imagine a custom pet-portrait seller comparing posts from the same recent two-week period. In this hypothetical check, their manual searches turn up four relevant posts they would still answer; the shop’s scan turns up six. Three appear in both lists, leaving three scan-only posts and one manual-only post—a combined shortlist of seven distinct posts. The seller chooses to test a subscription if finding those additional three worthwhile conversations, alongside less screening work, justifies the recurring cost. They keep the manual query for the kind of request the scan missed. Those counts describe only this fictional check, not expected lead volume.
Cost belongs in that decision. As checked on September 23, 2026, ReachFast advertised a launch price of US$49 per month per project, retained while the subscription stays active, and a post-launch standard price of US$99 per month per project. Compare the price available when you subscribe with the effort your own check actually saves.
- Before scanning, note your manual search phrases and record which recent posts you would genuinely answer. Compare the scan with that same period, rather than with an unrelated day’s search.
- Check the overlap and both kinds of misses. Are scan-only posts useful? Did your manual search find worthwhile requests absent from the scan?
- Open promising threads and review the proposed replies. Count a post as useful only if the request still fits and you would be comfortable sending an appropriate response.
- Decide whether the relevant posts and screening effort saved warrant an ongoing per-project expense. If not, keep searching manually and revisit the choice if the workload changes.