Argus vs Black Magic
Black Magic shut down on 1 July 2026, with prorated refunds to paying subscribers. As of July 2026 there is nothing to compare against: this page is now a migration note for people who used it and are working out what to do next. It was a good tool, and it is worth being clear about what it did well before saying what Argus does and does not cover. See how Argus works or the full comparison hub.
looking for a replacement?
The migration guide lives at Black Magic alternatives for X - what to use for each piece of what Black Magic did, including the parts Argus does not cover.
What Black Magic was
Black Magic (blackmagic.so) was a browser extension plus native mobile apps that lived inside X and turned it into a data surface. It gave you richer analytics than X's own numbers, a CRM layer for keeping notes and reminders on the people you were building relationships with, best-hours and consistency tracking, scheduling, and emailed performance reports. It was mature, well-liked, and for a lot of people it was the only X tool they paid for. It is genuinely a loss.
Where that leaves you
If you were using Black Magic, you were probably using it for one of two jobs, and they need different answers.
If you used it as a CRM - notes, reminders, pins on people - Argus does not do that, and there is no point pretending otherwise. That was Black Magic's strongest feature and it does not have an obvious one-for-one successor. A general CRM or even a notes file will do more for you than Argus will here.
If you used it to understand your numbers and decide what to do, that is closer to what Argus is for. Argus reads the same analytics X streams into your browser, but frames them as a funnel - reach, profile visits, follows, saves - so you can see which stage is leaking instead of watching a dashboard go up and down. Then it does the part a dashboard never did: it ranks live posts by reply opportunity, surfacing rising, relevant posts that aren't crowded yet, and drafts a reply in your voice so firing off 25 a day is actually doable.
What Argus covers, and what it does not
| Argus (live) | Black Magic (shut down 1 Jul 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Live | Discontinued, prorated refunds issued |
| Reads your X analytics | Yes - funnel view: reach → visits → follows → saves | Did - dashboards, best hours, consistency |
| Ranks who to reply to | Yes - live posts by reply opportunity, before they get crowded | No |
| Drafts in your voice | Yes - optional AI, using your own key | No - offered tweet inspiration, not voice-matched drafts |
| CRM (notes, reminders, pins) | No - not covered, and not planned | Did - its core strength |
| Native mobile apps | No - Chrome extension only | Did - iOS and Android |
| Scheduling / emailed reports | No, draft-and-insert only, never automates your account | Did |
Black Magic details describe the product as it stood before it shut down on 1 July 2026. Nothing here is a live comparison.
If you want the reply half
The honest pitch is narrow. Argus is not a rebuild of Black Magic. It is built for one thing: at a small-to-mid account, growth comes from replies, and the hard part is deciding which of the fifty live posts in front of you is worth one right now, then writing something that sounds like you before the thread fills up. That decision, plus a voice-matched draft, is the whole product. The reasoning is in the reply-first playbook, part of the Argus guides.
Common questions
Is Black Magic still available?
No. Black Magic shut down on 1 July 2026 and issued prorated refunds to paying subscribers. As of July 2026 it is not a live option for anyone comparing X tools.
Is Argus a replacement for Black Magic?
For part of it. Argus reads your X analytics inside the browser like Black Magic did, but frames them as a funnel: reach, profile visits, follows, saves. It does not replace the CRM or the scheduling, and it has no mobile apps. If the CRM was the reason you paid, Argus will not fill that hole.
What did Black Magic do that Argus does not?
Three things. A CRM layer with notes, reminders, and pins on the people you talk to. Native iOS and Android apps. Scheduling and emailed performance reports. Argus has none of those and is not planning to build them.
Does Argus automate replies?
No, and deliberately so. Argus is draft-and-insert only. It never auto-posts, auto-replies, auto-follows, or auto-likes. Automating the send button is the fastest way to get an account restricted, so you always press send.
See also: Black Magic alternatives · Argus vs Hypefury · Argus vs Typefully
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