Is HeyOrca or SmarterQueue cheaper?

SmarterQueue is cheaper to start, from $21 against $59 for HeyOrca. The unit each one charges by differs, so the real bill depends on how many channels or seats you run.

Does HeyOrca or SmarterQueue have a free plan?

HeyOrca has a free plan; SmarterQueue does not, though it offers a 14-day trial.

Which is better, HeyOrca or SmarterQueue?

HeyOrca is the stronger pick for agencies that want a calendar and approval flow per client, while SmarterQueue is the better fit for creators and small businesses who want evergreen recycling and curation. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.

Head to head

HeyOrca vs SmarterQueue

Last updated 4 June 2026

HeyOrca

HeyOrca is an agency tool organised around the client calendar: you get a calendar per client, unlimited users on it, and a sign-off flow where clients approve posts by email without logging in. It charges per calendar, $59 on Basic or $149 on Pro, with a 40% discount once you run five or more.

From: $59 per calendar / mo
Free plan

Visit HeyOrca

SmarterQueue

SmarterQueue is built around evergreen recycling and content curation: you sort posts into categories, it re-shares the best ones automatically with small variations, and a curation tool helps you find fresh content to fill the gaps. It runs two flat plans with a profiles slider, no free plan, and a trial that starts after your first queued post.

From: $21 /mo
Free plan

Visit SmarterQueue

Bottom line

HeyOrca and SmarterQueue both cover the basics; the right one comes down to how you post. HeyOrca is the stronger pick for Agencies that want a calendar and approval flow per client; choose SmarterQueue for Creators and small businesses who want evergreen recycling and curation.

Features compared

Feature	HeyOrca	SmarterQueue
AI captions	Yes	Yes
Basic analytics	Yes	Yes
Advanced reports	Yes	Yes
Bulk upload	Not assessed	Yes
Evergreen recycling	No	Yes
Team roles	Yes	Yes
Approvals	Yes	Yes
Link in bio	Yes	No

Platforms compared

Network	HeyOrca	SmarterQueue
Instagram	Auto	Auto
Facebook	Auto	Auto
X (Twitter)	Auto	Auto
LinkedIn	Auto	Auto
TikTok	Auto	Auto
Pinterest	Auto	Auto
YouTube	Auto	Auto
Threads	Auto	Auto
Google Business	Auto	Auto

Pricing

HeyOrca

Free

Seats: 1
Accounts: 2
Scheduled posts: 15

1 calendar, 2 social accounts, 1 user
15 scheduled posts a month
Inspo library, Instagram bio link, AI tools, mobile app

Basic

$59 per calendar / mo

Seats: Unlimited
Accounts: 10
Scheduled posts: Unlimited

$59 per calendar/mo, unlimited users, 10 social accounts per calendar
Unlimited scheduling, approval workflows, Canva, best time to post, custom branding
Reporting ($59), social inbox ($39), and listening ($39) are paid add-ons per calendar

Pro

Popular

$149 per calendar / mo

Seats: Unlimited
Accounts: 10
Scheduled posts: Unlimited

$149 per calendar/mo, unlimited users, 10 social accounts per calendar
Everything in Basic, with reporting, social inbox, and listening included
Advanced and custom reports, competitor analysis, sentiment, Instagram demographics

Enterprise

Custom

Seats: Unlimited
Accounts: Unlimited
Scheduled posts: Unlimited

Custom pricing for managing many clients
White-label onboarding, priority support, ongoing training
Dedicated account management

Priced per calendar, which is HeyOrca's word for a brand or client: the headline $59 / $149 is for one calendar, and you pay again for each one. Every paid calendar includes unlimited users and 10 social accounts.
There's a 40% volume discount once you run 5 or more calendars, so the per-calendar rate drops to roughly $35 on Basic and $89 on Pro at agency scale; the cost-at-scale table reflects that. Annual billing is a further 15% off.
Extra social accounts beyond the 10 per calendar are $10 a month each.
On Basic, reporting ($59/mo), the social inbox ($39/mo), and social listening ($39/mo) are paid add-ons per calendar; Pro bundles all three in.
There's a genuine Free plan (1 calendar, 2 social accounts, 1 user, 15 posts a month) plus a 14-day trial of Pro, no card required.
Prices are USD, read off the live pricing page and cross-checked against current third-party listings.

SmarterQueue

Pro

$25 /mo

$21/mo billed annually

Seats: 1
Accounts: 5

$25/mo, $21 on annual; base covers 5 social profiles and 1 user
1 workspace, 10 content categories, 1 RSS importer
100 scheduled posts and 100 published posts per profile a month
10,000 AI words a month

Team

Popular

$50 /mo

$42/mo billed annually

Seats: 3
Accounts: 5

$50/mo, $42 on annual; base covers 5 social profiles and 3 users
Unlimited workspaces, 20 content categories, 3 RSS importers, advanced importer
250 scheduled and 200 published posts per profile a month, advanced analytics
25,000 AI words a month

Two plans, Pro and Team, with a slider: the base price covers 5 social profiles and the bundled users, and you add more profiles and users to scale, so the monthly cost grows with the slider. SmarterQueue recently replaced its older Solo / Business / Agency lineup with this Pro / Team-plus-slider structure.
There's no free plan, only a free trial whose timer starts after your first queued post rather than at signup.
Annual billing is 15% cheaper: at the 5-profile base, Pro is $21 a month and Team $42.
Extra social profiles and extra users are add-ons priced through the slider. AI caption writing is metered (10,000 words a month on Pro, 25,000 on Team), and X posting is capped at 5 tweets a week.
Nonprofits, charities, schools, and full-time students get 50% off.
Prices are USD, read off the live pricing page with the currency switched to USD and the billing toggled; the GBP figures (about £17 and £34 a month on annual) cross-check to the same numbers.

Pros and cons

HeyOrca

Client approvals without the client needing an account
Unlimited users on every paid plan
Per-calendar pricing with a 40% volume discount at scale
Reporting, inbox, and listening all included on Pro
On Basic, reporting, inbox, and listening are paid add-ons
No evergreen recycling
Per-calendar pricing adds up before the volume discount kicks in
Paid plans are priced for teams, not solo creators

SmarterQueue

Strong category-based evergreen recycling with text and media variations
Built-in content curation and importer to keep the queue full
Fairly priced, with competitor analysis and a social inbox included
Publishes to nine networks with an AI caption writer
No free plan, and the trial timer starts after your first queued post
AI words are metered and X posting is capped at five a week
No visual feed planner or link-in-bio
Profiles and users scale the price through the slider

HeyOrca vs SmarterQueue: FAQ

Is HeyOrca or SmarterQueue cheaper?: SmarterQueue is cheaper to start, from $21 against $59 for HeyOrca. The unit each one charges by differs, so the real bill depends on how many channels or seats you run.
Does HeyOrca or SmarterQueue have a free plan?: HeyOrca has a free plan; SmarterQueue does not, though it offers a 14-day trial.
Which is better, HeyOrca or SmarterQueue?: HeyOrca is the stronger pick for agencies that want a calendar and approval flow per client, while SmarterQueue is the better fit for creators and small businesses who want evergreen recycling and curation. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.