Head to head
Hootsuite vs Tailwind
Last updated 4 June 2026
vs
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
Tailwind is a visual-social specialist: it grew up on Pinterest, added Instagram and Facebook, and pairs scheduling with AI that writes posts and designs images. It publishes to just those three networks, runs flat plans from a free tier up to $49.99 a month on annual billing, and ignores X, LinkedIn, and TikTok entirely.
- From
- $17.99 /mo
- Free plan
Bottom line
Hootsuite and Tailwind both cover the basics; the right one comes down to how you post. Hootsuite is the stronger pick for Small teams that need listening and reporting in one place; choose Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram creators and small businesses.
Features compared
| Feature | Hootsuite | Tailwind |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Yes | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | No | Yes |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | No |
| Link in bio | Yes | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | Hootsuite | Tailwind |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | No |
| Auto | No | |
| TikTok | Auto | No |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | Auto | No |
| Threads | Auto | No |
| Bluesky | Auto | No |
Pricing
Hootsuite
Standard
$149 per user / mo
$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$399 per user / mo
$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
Custom
- 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.
Tailwind
Free Forever
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 1
- Scheduled posts
- 5
- 1 account, 1 user, 5 posts a month across Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook
- 5 Tailwind credits and 5 post designs a month
- Smart.bio link, basic analytics
Pro
$29.99 /mo
$17.99/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 1
- Scheduled posts
- 150
- $29.99/mo, $17.99 on annual (save $144/yr)
- 1 account, 1 user, 150 posts a month
- 150 Tailwind credits, 200 post designs, advanced analytics, Smart.bio
Advanced
$54.99 /mo
$29.99/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 2
- Accounts
- 2
- Scheduled posts
- 300
- $54.99/mo, $29.99 on annual (save $300/yr)
- 2 accounts, 2 users, 300 posts a month
- 300 Tailwind credits, unlimited post designs, advanced analytics
Max
$99.99 /mo
$49.99/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 5
- Accounts
- 3
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $99.99/mo, $49.99 on annual (save $600/yr)
- 3 accounts, 5 users, unlimited posts a month
- 1,000 Tailwind credits, unlimited post designs, advanced analytics
- Flat, quota-bundled plans: each tier bundles a number of accounts (social profiles), monthly posts, Tailwind credits, and users. Publishing is limited to Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook; there's no X, LinkedIn, TikTok, or YouTube.
- There's a genuine Free Forever plan (1 account, 5 posts a month) and no separate trial; you upgrade when you outgrow it.
- Annual billing is steeply discounted, 40% to 50% off, so Pro is $17.99 a month, Advanced $29.99, and Max $49.99.
- Tailwind Credits power the AI features (Ghostwriter writing and Tailwind Create designs) and refill at about $10 per 100 credits when you run out.
- Separately, Tailwind sells Pinterest-only products (Pin Scheduling and Creation, Pinterest SEO, Pinterest Engagement) priced per Pinterest account; the plans above are the main multi-network suite. Nonprofits get 50% off.
- Prices are USD, read off the live pricing 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
Tailwind
- Best-in-class for Pinterest, with SmartSchedule, SmartLoop, and Communities
- AI that both writes posts (Ghostwriter) and designs images (Tailwind Create)
- Instagram feed planner and Smart.bio link-in-bio built in
- Genuine free plan and steep annual discounts
- Only publishes to Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook
- AI features are metered by credits that cost extra to top up
- No social inbox or approval workflows
- Not built for agencies or client management
Hootsuite vs Tailwind: FAQ
- Is Hootsuite or Tailwind cheaper?
- Tailwind is cheaper to start, from $17.99 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 Tailwind have a free plan?
- Tailwind has a free plan; Hootsuite does not, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Which is better, Hootsuite or Tailwind?
- Hootsuite is the stronger pick for small teams that need listening and reporting in one place, while Tailwind is the better fit for Pinterest and Instagram creators and small businesses. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.