Free workarounds
Why an X List, a notification bell, or a spreadsheet stops working
Each one is free and each one covers a slice of the job. Here is exactly what each tracks, where it breaks, and when a free workaround is genuinely enough.
TL;DR
X Lists group accounts on X. LinkedIn's bell tells you that something happened. A spreadsheet holds what you paste into it. None of them collect both platforms on a schedule, keep a filterable archive, or rank posts against your goals.
X Lists
A grouped timeline of accounts you add on X.
What it tracks
New posts from those accounts, on X only, while you open the list. Membership is manual and per platform.
Where it breaks
No LinkedIn, no archive, no saved filters beyond X's own, and no relevance ranking. Leave the list and the view is gone.
LinkedIn follow + notification bell
A ping when someone you follow posts.
What it tracks
The fact that something happened, at the moment it happens. You still read it inside LinkedIn's feed.
Where it breaks
No text archive to search, no filter by type or time, and notifications get missed. Noise grows with every person you add.
A spreadsheet
A manual log you keep yourself.
What it tracks
Exactly what you type, and only as fresh as your last edit.
Where it breaks
It cannot collect, rank, or keep media and engagement counts. It goes stale the moment you stop updating it.
What each one actually tracks
| Capability | X Lists | LinkedIn bell | Spreadsheet | Surfolks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn and X in one view | No | No | No | Yes |
| Collects while you are away | No | No | No | Yes — server-side |
| Filterable history (platform, type, time, goal) | No | No | Manual | Yes |
| Posts scored against your ICP or goal | No | No | No | Yes |
| Engagement counts and media preserved | No | No | Manual | Yes |
| Per-person activity timeline | No | No | Manual | Yes |
| Acts on your account | No | No | No | Never |
| Price | Free | Free | Free | $29/mo founding |
When a free workaround is genuinely enough
If you follow fewer than about ten people, all on one platform, and you only need a nudge to go and look, a list plus the notification bell does the job. We would rather say that plainly than pretend everyone needs a subscription.
It stops being enough when you add a second platform, when you want to filter or search what people posted last month, or when the question is not "what did they post" but "which of these posts is worth my attention".
A browser-extension feed is still not a collection system
Custom-feed extensions improve the reading experience inside LinkedIn, and that is a real improvement. But the feed is a view rendered while the tab is open: history exists only as far as the extension stores it, nothing is collected while the browser is closed, and there is no LinkedIn plus X view. If closing a tab makes your archive disappear, you have a reader, not a collection.
What Surfolks does differently
- Both platforms, one feed. LinkedIn and X activity from the people you track, in one place.
- Collected on a server-side schedule. The archive exists whether or not you have a tab open.
- Ranked against your goal. Posts are scored against your stated ICP, so you get a finite queue instead of a person-by-person reading list.
- It never acts on your account. No posting, commenting, DMs, or engagement automation.
Exactly what we collect — and what we never do — is spelled out in the coverage matrix on our About page. Comparing paid tools too? See the Extrovert alternative or Surfolks vs MultiFollow.
Common questions
Do I need a paid tool to track a handful of people?
No. If you follow fewer than roughly ten people on a single platform and only need a nudge, an X List or the LinkedIn notification bell is genuinely enough. The workaround stops working when you add a second platform, want history and filters, or want posts ranked against a goal.
Can a spreadsheet do the same job?
Only as a manual log. It cannot collect posts for you, keep media and engagement counts accurate, or rank anything, and it goes stale as soon as you stop updating it.
What about desktop-extension feed tools?
They render a custom view of LinkedIn while the tab is open. That is a better reading experience, but it is not a collection system: there is no server-side archive, nothing collected while the browser is closed, and no LinkedIn plus X in one feed.
Does Surfolks post, comment, or send DMs?
No. Surfolks is read-only: it collects public posts, keeps a filterable history, and scores posts against your goals. Everything that acts on your account stays yours.
One feed for the people you actually track
Surfolks collects LinkedIn and X activity on a schedule, keeps a filterable history, and ranks posts against your goals. Early access is open.
Get startedFounding members lock in the founding price for good.