Head to head
Hootsuite vs Post Planner
Last updated 4 June 2026
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
Post Planner is a budget scheduler built around content discovery: it surfaces proven, high-engagement posts to share, lets you recycle your best content, and schedules to eight networks. Plans run from a free tier up to $57 a month on annual billing.
- From
- $7 /mo
- Free plan
Bottom line
Post Planner is the pick for solo creators and small businesses on a tight budget, 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 reaches Threads and Bluesky, which Post Planner doesn't.
Post Planner starts cheaper, $7 a month against $99 per user / mo for Hootsuite. They bill on different units, so the real gap depends on how much you run. Hootsuite brings social listening that Post Planner skips, while Post Planner has evergreen recycling Hootsuite doesn't.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Post Planner has a free plan; Hootsuite doesn't, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Post Planner starts at $7 a month, Hootsuite at $99 per user / mo.
- Hootsuite posts to 9 networks, Post Planner to 8.
- Only Hootsuite reaches Threads and Bluesky.
- Only Post Planner reaches Google Business.
- Hootsuite has social listening; Post Planner doesn't.
- Hootsuite has advanced reports; Post Planner doesn't.
- Hootsuite has competitor tracking; Post Planner doesn't.
- Hootsuite has approvals; Post Planner doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | Hootsuite | Post Planner |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | No |
| Bulk upload | Yes | Not assessed |
| Evergreen recycling | No | Yes |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | No |
| Link in bio | Yes | No |
Platforms compared
| Network | Hootsuite | Post Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | Auto | Auto |
| Threads | Auto | No |
| Bluesky | Auto | No |
| Google Business | No | Auto |
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; 30-day trial.
- 1 seat
- $149/mo~$99/mo annual
- 3 seatsTypical
- $447/mo~$297/mo annual
Cheapest plan: Standard.
Free plan available.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $7/mo
Whole-plan price; it doesn't scale per unit.
Hootsuite
Standard
$99/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $99 per user/mo on annual, $149 monthly
- Up to 10 social accounts
- Unlimited scheduling, AI assistant, one inbox
- 7-day mention search, benchmark vs 5 competitors
Advanced
Popular$249/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $249 per user/mo on annual, $399 monthly
- Unlimited social accounts
- Bulk schedule up to 350 posts at once
- Custom reports, approval workflows, 30-day listening
Enterprise
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Custom pricing, 5+ users, unlimited accounts
- SSO, employee advocacy (Amplify), premium listening
- Salesforce, review management, compliance integrations
- Priced per user/seat: the headline $99 / $249 is for one seat and multiplies by how many people you add.
- No free plan. There's a 30-day trial, and the 25% trial-skip discount only applies on annual billing.
- Annual billing is much cheaper than monthly: Standard is $99 vs $149 a seat, Advanced $249 vs $399.
- Prices are USD list. Hootsuite renders prices client-side in local currency by region, so the annual figures were read off the live plans page and the monthly figures corroborated against current third-party listings.
What it really costs
Hootsuite charges per seat, so the headline price is for one. Here is the monthly cost as you connect more, with the 3-seat row marked as a realistic setup.
| seats | Standard | Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $149/mo | $399/mo |
| 3Typical | $447/mo | $1197/mo |
| 5 | $745/mo | $1995/mo |
| 10 | $1490/mo | $3990/mo |
| 25 | $3725/mo | $9975/mo |
| 50 | $7450/mo | $19950/mo |
Monthly billing.
Post Planner
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 1
- Scheduled posts
- 15
- 1 social account, 1 user, 15 scheduled posts
- 3 daily posts per account, 100 AI credits a day
- Basic scheduling and content discovery
Starter
$7/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 3
- Scheduled posts
- 150
- $12/mo, $7 on annual ($84/yr)
- 3 social accounts, 1 user, 150 scheduled posts
- 12 daily posts per account, 1,000 AI credits a day
Growth
Popular$37/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 2
- Accounts
- 12
- Scheduled posts
- 1000
- $49/mo, $37 on annual ($444/yr)
- 12 social accounts, 2 users, 1,000 scheduled posts
- 18 daily posts per account, 20,000 AI credits a day, analytics
Business
$57/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 5
- Accounts
- 25
- Scheduled posts
- 5000
- $79/mo, $57 on annual ($684/yr)
- 25 social accounts, 5 users, 5,000 scheduled posts
- 24 daily posts per account, 40,000 AI credits a day, analytics
- Flat, quota-bundled plans: each tier bundles social accounts, users, scheduled posts, a daily posting cap per account, and a daily AI credit allowance. You move up a plan to grow; for more than Business you contact them.
- There's a genuine Free plan (1 account, 15 scheduled posts) plus a 7-day trial of the paid features.
- Annual billing is roughly 30-40% cheaper: Starter is $7 a month, Growth $37, Business $57.
- Analytics arrive on the Growth plan and up; the AI features are metered by a daily credit allowance.
- Prices are USD, read off the live plans page by toggling monthly and annual, and cross-checked against current third-party listings.
Pros and cons
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
Post Planner
- Strong content-discovery engine with predicted-performance ratings
- Cheap, with a real free plan and a $7 entry on annual billing
- Evergreen recycling and a simple posting plan
- Publishes to eight networks with AI content built in
- No social inbox, and no Threads or Bluesky
- Analytics are basic and only from the Growth plan up
- AI is capped by a daily credit allowance
- No approval workflows, client workspaces, or white-label
Hootsuite vs Post Planner: FAQ
- Is Hootsuite or Post Planner cheaper?
- Post Planner is cheaper to start, from $7 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 Hootsuite or Post Planner have a free plan?
- Post Planner has a free plan; Hootsuite does not, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Which is better, Hootsuite or Post Planner?
- Hootsuite is the stronger pick for small teams that need listening and reporting in one place, while Post Planner is the better fit for solo creators and small businesses on a tight budget. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.