SaaS directory
8 Hootsuite alternatives for 2026
The tools buyers compare with Hootsuite, side by side on price, pricing model and what each one is built for.
Why teams look beyond Hootsuite
- Limited Instagram features.
- Price seen as high versus competitors.
- Solo creators or small businesses on a tight budget (cheapest plan starts at $99 per user per month)
- Teams needing SSO without going to Enterprise.
From Hootsuite's published plan limits and recurring themes in public reviews. See the Hootsuite review for sources.
Hootsuite vs. its alternatives
| Tool | Pricing model | Starting price | G2 rating | Scheduling and publishing | Supported networks | Analytics and reporting | Social inbox and engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hootsuite Current | per user | $99 per user per month (Standard, annual billing basis) | 4.3 (7,400 reviews) | Scheduler, bulk scheduling, best-time-to-post recommendations; bulk scheduling unavailable during the trial. | Says 'all major social networks' without a list; listening covers 30+ networks. | Post performance, sentiment, industry benchmarks, scheduled and custom reports; GA4 and Adobe Analytics ties on Enterprise. | Unified inbox for public and private messages with saved replies, auto-tagging, assignment and skill-based routing. |
 Sprout Social | per user | $79 per seat per month (Essentials, annual); $99 monthly | 4.4 (6,867 reviews) | Compose box, calendar, Sprout Queue, ViralPost; CSV bulk scheduling up to 350 messages on Professional and Advanced. | Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok. | Group, profile and post reports on all plans; competitor reports on Professional and up; scheduled reports on Advanced. | Smart Inbox with moderation and case management; tagging on Professional and Advanced. |
 Buffer | per channel | $5 per channel per month (Essentials) | 4.3 (1,039 reviews) | Unlimited scheduled posts on paid plans; 10 per channel on Free; ideas library. | G2 reviewers name Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X; full current list not verified. | Advanced analytics on Essentials and Team. | |
 Agorapulse | per user, with social profile limits | $79/user/month (Standard, billed annually) | 4.5 (968 reviews) | Unlimited scheduling and unified calendar; CSV bulk upload (200 posts) and queues from Advanced. | Multi-network publishing; X handled via paid X Lite/X Plus add-ons; full list not verified. | Basic and white-label reports from Standard; team reports Professional; scheduled reports, ads reporting, PowerPoint export Advanced; retention 6/12/24 months. | All-in-one inbox on all plans incl. Google reviews moderation; saved replies and bulk actions from Advanced. |
 Sendible | per workspace/profile bundle; unlimited users | $35/month (monthly billing; third-party listing, not confirmed on the vendor page) | 4.5 (900 reviews) | Scheduling, bulk scheduling, smart queues (10 on Core up to unlimited on Elite), daily send limits of 100 to 500 per workspace. | Standard reports on Core; custom branded reports from Premium. | Monitoring and replying included from Core. | |
 SocialPilot | tiered by social accounts and users, with per-account and per-user add-ons | $17/month billed yearly ($20/month billed monthly) | 4.5 (844 reviews) | Bulk scheduling from Standard; content library on all plans. | Analytics on all plans; PDF and scheduled reports from Standard; competitor and custom reports from Premium; history 3/12/24 months by tier. | Social inbox from Standard. | |
 Sprinklr | custom | Contact sales | 4.1 (1,182 reviews) | AI recommendations for posting times, hashtags and tone; automatic repurposing by region, audience, channel. | 30+ social and messaging channels per vendor (list not published on page) | Unified dashboards, campaign attribution, audience insights, AI summaries of dashboards. | Engagement tools respond across platforms; AI sorts by channel, sentiment, intent (not called 'unified inbox') |
 Loomly | per social account bundle (users and accounts rise by tier) | $49/month billed yearly ($65/month billed monthly) | 4.6 (1,794 reviews) | Calendar scheduling with unlimited calendars on all plans; link shorteners. | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Threads. | Advanced analytics on Starter; scheduled reports only on Beyond. | Reply to interactions, saved replies and conversation assignment on both paid plans. |
 Later | flat per plan with social set and user limits | $18.75/month (Starter, billed yearly) | 4.5 (370 reviews) | Visual calendar, smart scheduling and best-time-to-post; post caps per profile per month: 30 (Starter), 180 (Growth), unlimited (Scale) | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok named on pricing page for best-time features; full network list not verified. | Platform analytics history: 3 months (Starter), 1 year (Growth), 2 years (Scale); custom and Meta Ads analytics on Scale only. | Social inbox from Growth plan; not on Starter. |
The alternatives in detail
Sprout Social
Premium per-seat social suite with strong analytics and inbox, listening sold as a paid add-on.
- Starting price
- $79 per seat per month (Essentials, annual); $99 monthly
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (6,867 reviews)
- Scheduling and publishing
- Compose box, calendar, Sprout Queue, ViralPost; CSV bulk scheduling up to 350 messages on Professional and Advanced.
- Supported networks
- Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok.
- Analytics and reporting
- Group, profile and post reports on all plans; competitor reports on Professional and up; scheduled reports on Advanced.
- Social inbox and engagement
- Smart Inbox with moderation and case management; tagging on Professional and Advanced.
Choose it if
- Mid-size and enterprise teams that value reporting and a unified inbox.
- Teams needing approval workflows including external reviewers.
Skip it if
- Solo creators or low budgets (from $79 per seat per month)
- Teams wanting listening included in the base price.
Worth knowing
- Listening, Premium Analytics, Employee Advocacy and professional services are separate paid add-ons.
- External approval workflow is Advanced only.
- SSO is Enterprise only, with a dedicated setup service.
Buffer
Low-cost, per-channel social scheduler with a free plan, aimed at creators and small teams.
- Starting price
- $5 per channel per month (Essentials)
- Pricing model
- per channel
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (1,039 reviews)
- Scheduling and publishing
- Unlimited scheduled posts on paid plans; 10 per channel on Free; ideas library.
- Supported networks
- G2 reviewers name Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X; full current list not verified.
- Analytics and reporting
- Advanced analytics on Essentials and Team.
- Approvals and collaboration
- Approval workflows and custom permissions on Team only.
Choose it if
- Creators and small businesses with a few channels.
- Teams wanting a free tier to start.
Skip it if
- Teams needing social listening or a deep shared inbox (not found on pricing page)
- Buyers needing SSO or audit logs (not published)
Worth knowing
- Upgrading from Free means paying for all connected channels, including the original three.
- Annual discount shown as 'save 2 months' (about 17%) on cards but 20% in the FAQ.
- API keys: 1 on Free, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Team.
Agorapulse
Per-user social media suite with a strong inbox and reporting, aimed at small teams and agencies.
- Starting price
- $79/user/month (Standard, billed annually)
- Pricing model
- per user, with social profile limits
- G2 rating
- 4.5 (968 reviews)
- Scheduling and publishing
- Unlimited scheduling and unified calendar; CSV bulk upload (200 posts) and queues from Advanced.
- Supported networks
- Multi-network publishing; X handled via paid X Lite/X Plus add-ons; full list not verified.
- Analytics and reporting
- Basic and white-label reports from Standard; team reports Professional; scheduled reports, ads reporting, PowerPoint export Advanced; retention 6/12/24 months.
- Social inbox and engagement
- All-in-one inbox on all plans incl. Google reviews moderation; saved replies and bulk actions from Advanced.
Choose it if
- Agencies and small teams that prioritize inbox and comment moderation.
- Teams wanting white-label reports from the entry plan.
- Buyers who want EU (AWS Ireland) data hosting.
Skip it if
- Solo creators on a tight budget (entry is $79 per user per month annual)
- Buyers needing SSO below the Custom plan.
- Teams needing paid-campaign tracking depth (lowest G2 feature score)
Worth knowing
- Priced per user: 20 users on Standard cost $18,960/year annual billing.
- Data hosted in AWS Ireland region, a plus for EU buyers.
- Security page claims AWS certifications, not its own SOC 2 or ISO.
Sendible
Agency-oriented social media tool with unlimited users on every plan, priced by workspaces and social profiles.
- Starting price
- $35/month (monthly billing; third-party listing, not confirmed on the vendor page)
- Pricing model
- per workspace/profile bundle; unlimited users
- G2 rating
- 4.5 (900 reviews)
- Scheduling and publishing
- Scheduling, bulk scheduling, smart queues (10 on Core up to unlimited on Elite), daily send limits of 100 to 500 per workspace.
- Analytics and reporting
- Standard reports on Core; custom branded reports from Premium.
- Social inbox and engagement
- Monitoring and replying included from Core.
- Social listening
- Monitoring included; depth by plan not published.
Choose it if
- Agencies managing many client brands (workspaces) with many teammates, since users are unlimited.
- Teams that need approvals and assignment from the second tier.
Skip it if
- Solo creators on a tight budget (cheapest paid tier is about $35/month)
- Teams needing SSO below the Enterprise tier.
Worth knowing
- Users are unlimited on every plan; cost scales by workspaces and profiles instead.
- Approvals and assignment start at Plus, not Core.
- SSO is Enterprise only; white label is a paid add-on on Elite and Enterprise.
Sprinklr
Enterprise unified customer experience platform whose Sprinklr Social suite covers publishing, engagement and listening across 30+ channels.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- custom
- G2 rating
- 4.1 (1,182 reviews)
- Scheduling and publishing
- AI recommendations for posting times, hashtags and tone; automatic repurposing by region, audience, channel.
- Supported networks
- 30+ social and messaging channels per vendor (list not published on page)
- Analytics and reporting
- Unified dashboards, campaign attribution, audience insights, AI summaries of dashboards.
- Social inbox and engagement
- Engagement tools respond across platforms; AI sorts by channel, sentiment, intent (not called 'unified inbox')
Choose it if
- Large enterprises with many brands, markets and compliance workflows.
- Teams that want social, listening and customer care on one platform.
- Buyers who need US or EU data hosting and a negotiated DPA.
Skip it if
- Small businesses and solo creators (no public pricing, sales-led)
- Teams that want a quick self-serve start.
- Buyers sensitive to complexity; reviewers cite a learning curve.
Worth knowing
- No public price list: Sprinklr is sold as separate suites (Social, Insights, Marketing, Service) so social-only buyers should specify scope.
- Hosting is in US or Europe and is chosen during contracting.
- A global DPA is offered but is attached to the MSA during negotiation.
Loomly
Calendar-first social media scheduler with built-in approval workflows, priced by social accounts rather than per user.
- Starting price
- $49/month billed yearly ($65/month billed monthly)
- Pricing model
- per social account bundle (users and accounts rise by tier)
- G2 rating
- 4.6 (1,794 reviews)
- Scheduling and publishing
- Calendar scheduling with unlimited calendars on all plans; link shorteners.
- Supported networks
- Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Threads.
- Analytics and reporting
- Advanced analytics on Starter; scheduled reports only on Beyond.
- Social inbox and engagement
- Reply to interactions, saved replies and conversation assignment on both paid plans.
Choose it if
- Small marketing teams and agencies that want an approval workflow in the cheapest tier.
- Teams that want unlimited users at the Beyond tier instead of paying per seat.
Skip it if
- Teams that need a large social listening quota (2 to 5 searches per month)
- Buyers who need SAML SSO or a published SOC 2 report for Loomly itself.
Worth knowing
- Operated by Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A. under the current Terms, so renewal pricing and policy follow that company's terms.
- Yearly plans cannot be terminated early; Terms auto-renew at the then-current fee, non-refundable.
- Price per account bundle: moving from Starter (3 users) to Beyond is $49 to $249/month on yearly billing, a 5x jump, and it is the only way to get more than 3 users.
Later
Visual-first social scheduler (Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest focus) that sits inside a larger creator and affiliate marketing company.
- Starting price
- $18.75/month (Starter, billed yearly)
- Pricing model
- flat per plan with social set and user limits
- G2 rating
- 4.5 (370 reviews)
- Scheduling and publishing
- Visual calendar, smart scheduling and best-time-to-post; post caps per profile per month: 30 (Starter), 180 (Growth), unlimited (Scale)
- Supported networks
- Instagram, Facebook, TikTok named on pricing page for best-time features; full network list not verified.
- Analytics and reporting
- Platform analytics history: 3 months (Starter), 1 year (Growth), 2 years (Scale); custom and Meta Ads analytics on Scale only.
- Social inbox and engagement
- Social inbox from Growth plan; not on Starter.
Choose it if
- Solo creators, small brands and small teams that plan visual Instagram and TikTok content.
- Teams that want a published, low flat price per social set rather than per-user pricing.
- Brands that also run influencer or affiliate programs through the same vendor.
Skip it if
- Enterprise teams needing SSO, SCIM or audit logs (none documented on public pages)
- Teams needing a shared inbox on the cheapest plan (inbox starts at Growth)
- Buyers who need social listening below the top Scale plan.
Worth knowing
- Pricing is per plan with set and user caps, not per seat: Growth includes 2 users and extra users cost $3.75/month each.
- Starter allows no add-ons at all, so a second user forces an upgrade to Growth.
- Later is now part of a creator and affiliate marketing company (Mavrck merge 2024, Mavely 2025), and enterprise deals sit under a separate SaaS agreement.
When to stay with Hootsuite
- Teams that need scheduling, inbox and listening in one suite and can budget per user.
- Organizations wanting an annual-invoiced Enterprise contract.
SocialPilot
Low-cost social media scheduler for agencies and small teams with per-account add-ons and client approval workflows.
Choose it if
Skip it if
Worth knowing
Full SocialPilot review