Channel X-Ray vs BeyondComments
BeyondComments and Channel X-Ray share the same instincts — paste any public YouTube link, no login, pay once, get comments classified instead of dumped. The difference is the unit of work. BeyondComments analyses one video at a time and hands you a PDF. Channel X-Ray reads the whole channel's last 30 days — every video ranked by a performance model, every comment classified into 5 categories, plus transcripts and a CSV/JSON export. If you want to read one video, they're great. If you want to read a channel, that's us.
Credit where it's due
BeyondComments is the closest thing to us on the market, and it's good. Its pitch, "not a wall of comments, a plan for your channel," is one we respect, because it's the same anti-subscription stance we take. It reads every comment on a video, not just the top ten, and turns them into a structured Creator Brief: sentiment, topics, questions worth answering, the videos people are asking for. No OAuth, works on a competitor's video, genuinely pay-once.
So this isn't a teardown — it's a scope question
BeyondComments is a video microscope. Channel X-Ray is a channel x-ray. Here is exactly where the two diverge.
Side by side
| Channel X-Ray | BeyondComments | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of analysis | Whole channel — last 30 days of uploads | One video per analysis |
| Comments classified | Yes, every comment into 5 categories | Yes, a structured Creator Brief per video |
| Channel performance model | Yes, recent videos ranked by overperformance | No, per-video score only |
| Transcripts included | Yes | No |
| Export format | CSV + JSON | PDF only |
| Any channel, no OAuth | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Pay once, flat per report | Pay once, metered by comment (credits) |
| Paid price | $29 standard | $5 / 10k · $19 / 50k · $49 / 150k comments |
| Free tier | Instant teaser, no card, real classified output | 50 comments/video, 3 analyses per day |
| Privacy | Tokenized link, auto-deletes in 7 days, no account | Report stored in account; credits valid 12 months |
BeyondComments figures taken from beyondcomments.io, re-checked 2026-07-22.Competitors change their products and prices — if you spot something out of date here, tell us and we'll fix it.
Where it actually matters
One video vs the whole channel
BeyondComments answers "how did this video land?" Channel X-Ray answers "what is happening across this whole channel right now?" — which videos are overperforming for their age, and what the audience under all of them is asking for. If you're mining a niche or vetting a creator, you don't want to buy thirty per-video briefs and stitch them together.
Credits burn on busy channels
BeyondComments meters by comment: one credit, one comment. A single busy video can eat a chunk of a 10,000-comment pack, and a channel's worth of videos burns through packs quickly. Channel X-Ray is a flat price for the whole report — you know the cost before you paste the handle, however loud the comment section is.
PDF vs CSV/JSON
This is the one nobody else closes. A PDF is nice to read and impossible to pipe into a spreadsheet, a research deck or your own model. Channel X-Ray gives you CSV and JSON, so every classified comment lives in your workflow rather than locked in a document.
Transcripts
BeyondComments doesn't include them. Channel X-Ray does, so you can connect what the creator said to what the audience asked for in response.
Use BeyondComments if
- You only care about one video — a viral hit, your latest upload, one competitor video to dissect.
- A polished PDF brief is the deliverable you want, and you don't need the raw data out.
- You like chatting with the report one video at a time.
Use Channel X-Ray if
- You want the whole channel's last 30 days — every recent upload ranked, every comment classified.
- You need transcripts and CSV/JSON to move the data into your own deck, sheet or model.
- You want a flat, predictable price instead of comment-metered credits.
- You're doing competitor teardowns or sponsorship vetting across a creator's full recent output.
FAQ
Is Channel X-Ray a BeyondComments alternative?
Yes, same DNA (paste any public channel, no login, pay once, comments classified rather than dumped), but scoped to a whole channel's last 30 days instead of one video, with transcripts and CSV/JSON exports BeyondComments doesn't include.
Does BeyondComments do transcripts or CSV export?
No. As re-checked on 2026-07-22 its paid tiers list PDF export only, and transcripts aren't part of the product. Channel X-Ray includes both.
Which is cheaper?
It depends on volume. BeyondComments starts at $5 for 10,000 comments but meters by comment, so a whole channel adds up. Channel X-Ray is a flat per-report price however many comments the channel has.
Do I need an account for either?
Neither requires a login to run an analysis. Channel X-Ray goes further: no account at all, and the report link auto-deletes after 7 days.
See it before you decide
Paste a channel handle and read real classified output free — no signup, no card. If it reads the room the way you hoped, the full report is one payment away.