Best Social Media Scheduler

Verdict

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.

Hootsuite has been around since 2008 and it shows, in good ways and awkward ones. You get social listening, sentiment, a shared inbox, approval workflows, and reporting that goes well past what a Buffer or a Later attempts, all in one place. The catch is the price and the shape of it: billing is per user, the cheapest plan is $99 a month for a single seat on annual billing, and the free plan is gone, so a small team adds up quickly. If you need the listening and the reporting and you have a few people sharing the work, it earns its keep. If you mostly want to queue posts to a handful of accounts, you'll pay for a lot you won't touch.

Pros and cons

The good

  • 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

The catch

  • 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

Pricing

Priced per user / mo. Verified 21 July 2026.

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.

Who it's for

Best for

  • Small teams that need listening and reporting in one place
  • Businesses managing many accounts across networks

Look elsewhere if

  • Solo creators scheduling a few accounts
  • Anyone on a tight budget
  • Teams that just want a simple posting queue

Platforms it posts to

  • InstagramAuto-publish
  • FacebookAuto-publish
  • X (Twitter)Auto-publish
  • LinkedInAuto-publish
  • TikTokAuto-publish
  • YouTubeAuto-publish
  • PinterestAuto-publish
  • ThreadsAuto-publish
  • BlueskyAuto-publish

Features

Publishing

8
  • YesContent calendar
  • NoPosting queueCalendar and best-time scheduling rather than a reorderable queue.
  • YesBulk uploadBulk schedule up to 350 posts at once; Advanced and Enterprise.
  • YesAuto-publish
  • YesBest-time schedulingRecommended posting times.
  • NoEvergreen recycling
  • YesLink shorteningOw.ly link shortening and tracking.
  • YesAd managementBoost posts and manage paid ads alongside organic.

Content & AI

8
  • YesAI captionsOwlyWriter AI for captions, hashtags, and ideas.
  • YesAI imagesAI image generation in the assistant.
  • YesHashtag toolsAI hashtag suggestions and generator.
  • YesAsset libraryBrand-approved content library; Advanced and Enterprise.
  • YesContent ideasAI content ideas and trending topics.
  • YesContent tagsTag posts and messages; Advanced and Enterprise.
  • YesCanva integrationCanva and Adobe Express templates.
  • YesLink in bioLink-in-bio page builder; Advanced and Enterprise.

Engagement

4
  • YesSocial inboxOne inbox for Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp.
  • YesSaved repliesSaved replies and auto-responses; Advanced and Enterprise. Standard has DM automations.
  • PartialAI repliesGenerative AI chatbot for replies is an Enterprise add-on.
  • YesReview managementEnterprise add-on.

Analytics

7
  • YesBasic analytics
  • YesPerformance overviewWeekly social performance score and highlights.
  • YesCustom analyticsCustomizable reports and templates; Advanced and Enterprise.
  • YesAdvanced reportsScheduled, exportable custom reports; Advanced and Enterprise.
  • YesAudience demographicsDemographic insights.
  • YesCompetitor trackingBenchmark against 5 competitors on Standard, 20 on Advanced and Enterprise.
  • YesExport reportsPDF, PowerPoint, CSV, XLSX; Advanced and Enterprise.

Listening

3
  • YesSocial listeningMention and keyword monitoring; 7-day history on Standard, 30-day on Advanced, up to 13 months on the Enterprise listening add-on.
  • YesSentiment analysisBrand and competitor sentiment.
  • YesInfluencer discoverySurfaces relevant influencers around a topic.

Collaboration

5
  • YesTeam rolesPer-user seats with permissions.
  • YesInternal notesInternal comments and contact notes.
  • YesApprovalsCustom approval workflows; Advanced and Enterprise.
  • YesCustom permissionsAccess controls and skill-based routing; deeper on Enterprise.
  • YesEmployee advocacyAmplify; Enterprise add-on.

Access

5
  • YesMobile app
  • YesBrowser extensionHootlet extension.
  • YesTwo-factor auth
  • YesSingle sign-onEnterprise plan.
  • YesAPI accessApp directory and developer API.

Sources

Hootsuite FAQ

Is Hootsuite free?
No, there's no free plan, but Hootsuite gives you a 14-day free trial so you can test it before you pay.
How much does Hootsuite cost?
Paid plans start at $99 per user / mo. There's a 14-day free trial first.
What platforms does Hootsuite support?
Hootsuite posts to 9 networks, including Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and TikTok.
Who is Hootsuite best for?
Hootsuite suits small teams that need listening and reporting in one place and businesses managing many accounts across networks. It's a weaker fit for solo creators scheduling a few accounts, anyone on a tight budget, and teams that just want a simple posting queue.

Compare Hootsuite head to head

Vendor: Hootsuite Inc., Vancouver, Canada · founded 2008

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