Head to head
ContentCal vs Hootsuite
Last updated 21 July 2026
ContentCal was a well-liked UK content calendar built around planning and approvals. Adobe bought it in December 2021, closed the standalone product on 31 March 2023, and rolled its features into Adobe Express, so it's here for the record rather than as a tool you can buy.
- From
- Custom
- Free plan
Hootsuite does more than schedule: listening, a shared inbox, and deep reporting sit in one dashboard, and you pay for the breadth. It starts at $99 a user each month and there's no longer a free plan.
- From
- $99 per user / mo
- Free plan
Bottom line
Hootsuite is the pick for small teams that need listening and reporting in one place, and it's the cheaper start, from $99 per user / mo. ContentCal fits most setups better, and it adds posting queue that Hootsuite leaves out.
Hootsuite publishes a price, from $99 per user / mo; ContentCal is quote-only. ContentCal adds posting queue that Hootsuite leaves out.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Hootsuite starts at $99 per user / mo; ContentCal is quote-only.
- ContentCal posts to 7 networks, Hootsuite to 9.
- Only ContentCal reaches Google Business.
- Only Hootsuite reaches YouTube, Threads, and Bluesky.
- Hootsuite auto-publishes TikTok; ContentCal sends a reminder to post.
- ContentCal has posting queue; Hootsuite doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | ContentCal | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Not assessed | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Not assessed | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Not assessed | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | Not assessed | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio | Not assessed | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | ContentCal | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Reminder | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | No | Auto |
| Threads | No | Auto |
| Bluesky | No | Auto |
| Google Business | Auto | No |
Pricing
Headline prices are for a single unit. Here is the real monthly cost as each tool scales, costed on its own unit so the two stay honest.
No free plan; 14-day trial.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $99/mo
Plan set by your profile count.
ContentCal
- ContentCal was acquired by Adobe in December 2021 and the standalone product closed on 31 March 2023. You can no longer buy it.
- Its content calendar and scheduling features were folded into Adobe Express as the Content Scheduler, which is reviewed separately.
- When it ran, ContentCal sold flat monthly plans (a Pro tier and a larger Company tier); those plans no longer exist, so no current pricing applies.
Hootsuite
Standard
$99/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $99 per user/mo billed annually
- Up to 10 social accounts
- Unlimited scheduling, AI assistant, one inbox
Professional
Popular$199/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $199 per user/mo billed annually
- Unlimited social accounts
- Automations for repetitive work
- No approval workflows (Hootsuite points approval-heavy teams at Advanced)
Advanced
$399/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $399 per user/mo billed annually
- Approval workflows, team assignments, custom reports
- Customer care routing
Enterprise
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Custom pricing, 5+ users, unlimited accounts
- SSO, employee advocacy (Amplify), premium listening
- Salesforce, review management, compliance integrations
- Hootsuite restructured its lineup between June and July 2026: a Professional tier at $199 now sits between Standard ($99) and Advanced (previously $249 on annual, now $399), and the trial dropped from 30 days to 14.
- Priced per user/seat: the headline $99 / $199 / $399 is for one seat and multiplies by how many people you add.
- The advertised prices are the billed-annually rates. Monthly billing exists for all three self-serve plans at a higher per-seat rate, but Hootsuite no longer prints the monthly figures on the plans page; they appear at checkout. Before the restructure, Standard was $149 monthly vs $99 annual.
- No free plan. The 14-day trial needs no credit card. Nonprofit discounts exist on some plans.
- Prices are USD list from the plans page structured data (offers marked 'Billed annually'), read 2026-07-21.
Pros and cons
ContentCal
- Clean, approachable content calendar and content hub
- Strong, simple approval workflows
- Good team and client collaboration
- Discontinued on 31 March 2023; no longer sold
- Folded into Adobe Express, with a different shape and focus
- Existing comparisons that still list it are out of date
Hootsuite
- Broad by design: scheduling, listening, inbox, and reporting together
- Deep analytics and competitor benchmarking
- Publishes to nine networks, including Bluesky and Threads
- Strong approval workflows on Advanced and up
- Expensive, and per-seat pricing climbs quickly
- No free plan, and the entry price is $99 a month
- Monthly billing costs far more than annual
- The depth is overkill if you only schedule a few accounts
ContentCal vs Hootsuite: FAQ
- Is ContentCal or Hootsuite cheaper?
- Hootsuite starts at $99 per user / mo, while ContentCal is quoted custom, so Hootsuite is the one with a public entry price.
- Does ContentCal or Hootsuite have a free plan?
- Neither has a free plan. You get a free trial to test things, then you pay.
- Which is better, ContentCal or Hootsuite?
- ContentCal is the stronger pick for most people, while Hootsuite is the better fit for small teams that need listening and reporting in one place. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.