Top Hootsuite Alternatives & Competitors in 2026

The best Hootsuite alternative is Buffer if you want a free plan or pay-per-channel pricing, Loomly if a small team needs approvals at a flat price, and Sendible if you're an agency with many clients. Most teams look for alternatives to Hootsuite because every seat costs $99 to $399 a month and there's no free tier. Our Hootsuite review covers the full product.

What changed at Hootsuite?

• The free plan ended on March 31, 2023. Today there's a 14-day trial with no card, capped at 10-20 posts a day and no bulk scheduling.
• Everything is per user. The Hootsuite plans page lists Standard from $99, Professional $199 and Advanced up to $399 per user per month, billed annually. Monthly rates aren't published.
• Approvals sit on Advanced. Reviewing and approving content with your team is listed on the Advanced plan.
• Hootsuite relaunched as "Social OS" in June 2026. Listening (Lumen by Talkwalker), care inbox (Nest) and employee advocacy (Parliament) are separate products with unpublished prices.

Plan details and what each tier includes live in our Hootsuite pricing breakdown.

Why do teams look for an alternative to Hootsuite?

• Per-user pricing grows with every hire. Three people on Advanced cost up to $1,197 a month. "The cost is too high for a small business relative to other options" - founder of a 2-10 person HR firm, July 2026.
• No free tier. "Hootsuite used to have a free tier, but now all of their tiers are eye-wateringly expensive" - admin assistant in publishing, December 2023.
• Annual plans lock you in. Self-serve plans renew automatically, and if you cancel or downgrade mid-term, you keep paying for the rest of it. See the Hootsuite terms.
• The best tools are separate products. Listening, care, and advocacy aren't in the core plans. Our review's verdict is that the real value starts at higher tiers.
• Support is uneven. "Support is spotty; complex account tweaks take time to achieve" - tech support engineer, November 2025.

Stay on Hootsuite if

• You need listening, customer care, and employee advocacy from one vendor, and you have an enterprise budget.
• You're midway through an annual term. There's no refund, so switch at renewal.
• You're one user with 10 or fewer accounts on Standard, and you use Hootsuite's built-in AI.

Signs you've outgrown Hootsuite

• 3 or more people need approvals. That's Advanced at up to $399 each, up to $1,197 a month.
• You manage more than 10 accounts. Standard caps there and pushes you to Professional at $199 per user.
• You bring in freelancers or clients often. Every seat is billed, while Buffer Team, Loomly Beyond and Sendible include unlimited users.
• You want month-to-month without paying more. Hootsuite doesn't publish its monthly rates.

Best Hootsuite alternatives by team size

Tools like Hootsuite differ most in how they charge. Pick the pricing model that fits your team, then the features.

Hootsuite alternatives for small business

For a small business, the answer is usually Buffer or Loomly. Buffer costs $5 per channel and includes an AI assistant on every plan. Loomly gives 3 users and approval workflows for $49 a month billed annually. Both cost less than a single Hootsuite Standard seat. More options in our social media management tools list.

Buffer: best free Hootsuite alternative

Buffer is free for 3 channels, then $5 per channel per month on Essentials and $10 on Team. You pay for channels, not people.

• Where it beats Hootsuite: a real free plan. The team includes unlimited users with approvals. The AI assistant is included on every plan, Free too.
• Where it falls short: engagement covers comments only, not DMs. No ads management. Our review notes that analytics cover a limited set of networks.
• Skip it if: you need a unified DM inbox or listening.
• Contract: monthly or annual. If you don't pay after the 14-day trial, the account drops to Free.
• Moving from Hootsuite: reconnect your profiles and re-queue posts. We found no Hootsuite importer.

Loomly: best for approvals at a flat price

Loomly Starter is $49/mo billed annually ($65 monthly) with 3 users and 12 accounts. Beyond is $249/mo billed annually with unlimited users and 60 accounts.

• Where it beats Hootsuite: 3 users for $49, against $297 or more on Hootsuite. Unlimited users on Beyond. Strong ideation and approval tools.
• Where it falls short: no native listening or ads management.
• Skip it if you need listening or a strong unified inbox.
• Contract: yearly plans can't be terminated early. Monthly plans stop anytime.

Sendible: best Hootsuite alternative for agencies

Sendible starts at about $30/mo billed annually for 1 workspace and 6 profiles, with unlimited users on every plan. Plus is about $84 for 3 workspaces.

• Where it beats Hootsuite: unlimited users, client workspaces, Client Connect, and a white-label add-on. Standard plans have no contract.
• Where it falls short: no full ads management. Profile caps per plan dropped in 2026.
• Skip it if: you're one brand that needs deep listening.
• Moving from Hootsuite: 1:1 onboarding on Premium and up.

Agorapulse: best for inbox and ROI reporting

Agorapulse is $79, $119 or $149 per user per month billed annually. Same per-user model as Hootsuite, at about half the price of Hootsuite's upper tiers.

• Where it beats Hootsuite: Advanced is $149 per user against up to $399. ROI and competitor reports on Advanced. A 30-day trial.
• Where it falls short: still per user. 10 profiles per plan. Listening and advocacy are add-ons.
• Skip it if: you have a large team and want flat pricing.
• Moving from Hootsuite: onboarding support, CSV post-import, and a contract buyout program that may cover remaining Hootsuite fees. It needs a sales demo.

Vista Social: best all-in-one at a flat price

Vista Social Professional is $99/mo, or $950 a year, with 15 profiles. Advanced is $199/mo with 30.

• Where it beats Hootsuite: reviews, listening on owned profiles and DM automation from about $79 a month. Users are bundled into the plan.
• Where it falls short: X (Twitter) costs $29/mo extra. Our review notes that the mobile app lags with large account sets.
• Skip it if: you need enterprise governance or SSO.
• Moving from Hootsuite: historical data migration is Enterprise-only.

Sprout Social: best inbox and reporting (not cheaper)

Sprout Social Essentials is $79 per seat per month, billed annually, with 5 profiles. Standard is $199, Professional $299, Advanced $399.

• Where it beats Hootsuite: our review rates its Smart Inbox and reports highly. 30-day trial with no card. A published $79 entry tier.
• Where it falls short: not cheaper at Standard and above. Listening costs extra.
• Skip it if: cost is why you're leaving.

Is there a Hootsuite free alternative?

Yes, but only one. If you want Hootsuite competitors free of charge for good, Buffer is the only tool here with a permanent free plan: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user. Most Hootsuite alternatives free of charge are really trials, from 14 days (Sendible, Vista Social, Loomly) to 30 days (Agorapulse, Sprout Social). If you need a free Hootsuite alternative for a team, Buffer Free won't stretch that far, but Buffer Team at $10 per channel is the cheapest step up.

Hootsuite competitors compared

What would a cheaper alternative to Hootsuite cost?

Monthly cost at annual-billing list prices. Hootsuite's monthly rates aren't published, so we can't compare month-to-month.

The cheaper Hootsuite alternatives win by a wide margin once a second person joins. Buffer's channels above 10 are discounted, so $200 is the ceiling at 20 channels.

How do you leave Hootsuite without losing your posts?

1. Find your renewal date. Self-serve plans auto-renew, and there are no refunds for the remainder of the term.
2. Export scheduled posts to CSV from Publisher's list view. Images aren't included, and the columns need to be remapped before bulk upload elsewhere.
3. Download your analytics reports before you cancel.
4. Save image and video assets from your library separately.
5. Reconnect every social profile in the new tool, including Meta business permissions.
6. Rebuild approval flows, saved replies, and asset folders.
7. Check the new tool's caps (profiles, AI credits, X surcharge) against your account count.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Is pricing per user, per channel, or per workspace, and what does the fourth seat cost?
• Which tier unlocks multi-step approvals?
• Can an annual plan be canceled early?
• Are listening, inbox, and AI credits included, or are they add-ons?
• Does X (Twitter) or any network cost extra?
• Will you import my Hootsuite CSV or buy out my contract?
• How long can I access my data after I cancel?

How we chose these alternatives

These programs, like Hootsuite, all have a full Sonary review, so every pick links to our testing. We checked each vendor's pricing and terms pages, then ordered the list by how well each pricing model fixes per-user cost. Tools without a Sonary review are left out. Sonary may earn a commission from some providers. That never decides who appears or in what order.

FAQ

What is the best Hootsuite alternative? Buffer for solo users and small teams (free plan, pay per channel), Loomly for small teams that need approvals ($49/mo billed annually, 3 users), and Sendible for agencies (unlimited users). Agorapulse and Sprout Social fit teams that live in the inbox.

Is Hootsuite free? No. Hootsuite has no free plan. It offers a 14-day trial with no card, capped at 10-20 posts a day.

Does Hootsuite still have a free plan? No. The Hootsuite free plan ended on March 31, 2023. For a permanent free tier, Buffer Free includes 3 channels, each with 10 scheduled posts, for one user.

What is the best free Hootsuite alternative? Buffer. It's the only tool here with a permanent free plan. The rest offer 14- to 30-day trials.

How much does Hootsuite cost in 2026? Standard from $99, Professional $199, and Advanced up to $399 per user per month, billed annually. Enterprise is custom. Monthly billing costs more but the rate isn't published. Details in our Hootsuite pricing.

What is the cheapest alternative to Hootsuite? Buffer, with a free plan and paid channels from $5 a month. For teams, Loomly Starter ($49/mo, 3 users) and Sendible Core (about $30/mo, unlimited users) each cost less than one Hootsuite seat.

Hootsuite vs Buffer: which is better? Buffer for small teams that want simple, cheap scheduling: per-channel pricing and unlimited users on Team. Hootsuite is for organizations that need inbox, listening, and advocacy in one suite, at a much higher per-user cost. See Buffer's pricing.

Hootsuite vs Sprout Social: is Sprout cheaper? Generally not. Sprout Standard is $199 per seat, compared to Hootsuite Standard at $99. Sprout's $79 Essentials plan is limited to 5 profiles. Choose Sprout for inbox and reporting quality, not savings.

Hootsuite vs Loomly: which suits a small team? Loomly. Starter includes 3 users and approval tools for $49 a month, billed annually. The same three people on Hootsuite cost at least $297.

Hootsuite vs Agorapulse: which is cheaper for a team? Agorapulse. Its Advanced plan is $149 per user billed annually, compared to up to $399 on Hootsuite Advanced. Agorapulse also offers a contract buyout program, subject to a demo.

Hootsuite vs Sendible: which is better for agencies? Sendible. It includes unlimited users on every plan, client workspaces and a white label option. Hootsuite bills every agency seat separately.

Can I get a refund if I cancel Hootsuite? Not on self-serve plans. If you cancel or downgrade mid-term, you keep paying for the rest of it, and plans auto-renew. Cancel before your renewal date.

Can I export my scheduled posts from Hootsuite? Yes, to CSV from Publisher. Images aren't included, and the file needs remapping before you import it into another tool.

Does anyone use Hootsuite anymore? Yes. It relaunched as Social OS in June 2026 and still fits large teams that want listening and care in one place. For small teams, the per-user price is the reason to look elsewhere.

See also

• Best social media management tools
• Hootsuite review
• Buffer alternatives
• Sprout Social alternatives
• Agorapulse alternatives
• Loomly alternatives
• Vista Social alternatives