Head to head

CoSchedule vs Hootsuite

vs

Part social scheduler, part marketing calendar: CoSchedule schedules to eleven networks, recycles evergreen posts with ReQueue, and on the bigger plans pulls whole content projects onto the same timeline. It is priced per seat from a free plan up to quote-only tiers, with social profiles and X billed as extras.

From
$19 per user / mo
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

CoSchedule is the pick for content teams that want social and editorial work on one calendar, and it's the only one of the two with a free plan. Hootsuite fits small teams that need listening and reporting in one place better, and it adds social listening and competitor tracking that CoSchedule leaves out.

CoSchedule starts cheaper, $19 per user / mo against $99 per user / mo for Hootsuite. CoSchedule brings evergreen recycling that Hootsuite skips, while Hootsuite has social listening CoSchedule doesn't.

Key differences

Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.

  • CoSchedule has a free plan; Hootsuite doesn't, though it offers a 14-day trial.
  • CoSchedule starts at $19 per user / mo, Hootsuite at $99 per user / mo.
  • CoSchedule posts to 12 networks, Hootsuite to 9.
  • Only CoSchedule reaches Google Business, Mastodon, and WordPress.
  • CoSchedule has evergreen recycling; Hootsuite doesn't.
  • CoSchedule has posting queue; Hootsuite doesn't.
  • Hootsuite has social listening; CoSchedule doesn't.
  • Hootsuite has competitor tracking; CoSchedule doesn't.

Features compared

FeatureCoScheduleHootsuite
AI captionsYesYes
Basic analyticsYesYes
Advanced reportsYesYes
Bulk uploadYesYes
Evergreen recyclingYesNo
Team rolesYesYes
ApprovalsYesYes
Link in bioYesYes

Platforms compared

NetworkCoScheduleHootsuite
InstagramAutoAuto
FacebookAutoAuto
X (Twitter)AutoAuto
LinkedInAutoAuto
TikTokAutoAuto
PinterestAutoAuto
YouTubeAutoAuto
ThreadsAutoAuto
BlueskyAutoAuto
Google BusinessAutoNo
MastodonAutoNo
WordPressAutoNo

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.

CoScheduleper user / mo

Free plan available.

1 seat
$29/mo~$19/mo annual
2 seatsTypical
$58/mo~$38/mo annual

Cheapest plan: Social Calendar.

Hootsuitequote-based

No free plan; 14-day trial.

Cheapest paid plan
$99/mo

Plan set by your profile count.

CoSchedule

Free Calendar

Free
Seats
1
Accounts
1
Scheduled posts
15
  • Free forever, 1 user, 1 social profile
  • Up to 15 scheduled social messages
  • Drag-and-drop calendar, best-time publishing, AI assistant, 20 AI templates

Social Calendar

Popular
$29 per user / mo

$19/mo billed annually

Seats
3
Accounts
3
Scheduled posts
Unlimited
  • $29 per user/mo, $19 on annual; up to 3 seats
  • 3 social profiles included, $5/mo per extra (X billed separately at $8/profile/mo)
  • Unlimited scheduling, ReQueue recycling, bulk scheduling, 1,600+ AI templates
  • Social analytics, Facebook and Instagram inbox

Agency Calendar

$69 per user / mo

$59/mo billed annually

Seats
3
Accounts
5
Scheduled posts
Unlimited
  • $69 per user/mo, $59 on annual; up to 3 seats
  • 5 social profiles included, $5/mo per extra (X at $25/profile/mo)
  • Unlimited client calendars, all-network inbox, profile groups
  • White-label reports, social approvals, read-only calendar sharing

Content Calendar

Custom
Seats
5
Accounts
5
Scheduled posts
Unlimited
  • Custom pricing, up to 5 seats
  • Adds Kanban and table views, marketing campaigns, custom fields and project types
  • Project and campaign reports, guest user access, dedicated account management

Marketing Suite

Custom
Accounts
5
Scheduled posts
Unlimited
  • Custom pricing and custom user limits
  • Adds sub-calendars, approval workflows, intake forms, digital asset management
  • Team management dashboard, advanced audience targeting, custom permissions, SSO
  • Priced per user/seat: the headline $29 / $69 is for one seat and multiplies by how many people you add. The two self-serve paid plans, Social Calendar and Agency Calendar, cap at 3 seats each; Content Calendar and Marketing Suite are quote-only.
  • Social profiles are a second, separate cost. Social Calendar bundles 3 and Agency 5, then it is $5 a month per extra profile.
  • X (Twitter) is billed on top of everything else because of X's API pricing: $8 per profile a month on Social Calendar and $25 per profile a month on Agency, Content, and Marketing Suite.
  • There is a genuine Free Calendar (1 user, 1 profile, 15 scheduled messages) plus a 14-day trial of the paid features.
  • Annual billing is cheaper per seat (the page shows a 'save 20%' banner): Social Calendar drops from $29 to $19 a seat and Agency from $69 to $59.
  • Prices are USD read off the live pricing page, which renders client-side; monthly and annual figures were read by toggling the billing switch and cross-checked against current third-party 2026 listings.

What it really costs

CoSchedule charges per seat, so the headline price is for one. Here is the monthly cost as you connect more, with the 2-seat row marked as a realistic setup.

seatsSocial CalendarAgency Calendar
1$29/mo$69/mo
2Typical$58/mo$138/mo
3$87/mo$207/mo
5$145/mo$345/mo
10$290/mo$690/mo
25$725/mo$1725/mo
50$1450/mo$3450/mo

Monthly billing.

Hootsuite

Standard

Custom

$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
Custom

$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

Custom

$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

Custom
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

CoSchedule

  • ReQueue is a genuinely good evergreen recycling engine
  • Publishes directly to eleven networks, with a usable free plan
  • Doubles as a marketing project and content calendar on the higher tiers
  • Strong agency features: client calendars, white-label reports, approvals
  • Per-seat pricing plus per-profile and X surcharges make the real cost hard to read
  • Self-serve plans cap at three users; the top two tiers are quote-only
  • No social listening or competitor tracking
  • The marketing-calendar breadth is overkill if you only want to schedule posts

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

CoSchedule vs Hootsuite: FAQ

Is CoSchedule or Hootsuite cheaper?
CoSchedule is cheaper to start, from $19 against $99 for Hootsuite. The unit each one charges by differs, so the real bill depends on how many channels or seats you run.
Does CoSchedule or Hootsuite have a free plan?
CoSchedule has a free plan; Hootsuite does not, though it offers a 14-day trial.
Which is better, CoSchedule or Hootsuite?
CoSchedule is the stronger pick for content teams that want social and editorial work on one calendar, 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.

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