6 Best Hootsuite Alternatives in 2026 (With Real Prices)

Hootsuite is one of the best-known social media tools, and it’s good at what it does. It’s also priced for larger teams. Plans start at around $99 per user per month on annual billing, there’s no free plan any more, and every extra team member costs another seat. For a freelancer, a small business or a growing agency, that adds up quickly.

So we compared the most popular Hootsuite alternatives on price, limits and who they suit best. Full disclosure: GoBrandIt is our product, so it’s on the list. We’ve been upfront about its limits too, and every price below links to the vendor’s own pricing page so you can check it.

Prices are as listed in September 2026, in US dollars, and can change. Always confirm on the vendor’s site.

Why people look for Hootsuite alternatives

• Price per seat. Hootsuite’s Standard plan is listed at about $99 per user per month on annual billing, and higher tiers cost $199 and $399 per user. A team of three on Standard is roughly $3,564 a year.
• No free plan. Hootsuite retired its free plan in 2023. There’s a 14-day trial instead.
• More than many teams need. Social listening and enterprise features are powerful, but a lot of small teams mainly need scheduling, a calendar, approvals and basic analytics.

Hootsuite alternatives at a glance

Tool	Free plan	Paid from (per month)	Pricing model	Best for
GoBrandIt	Yes	$4.99 (or $50/year)	Flat per plan	Small businesses, creators and agencies on a budget
Buffer	Yes	$5 to $6 per channel	Per channel	Solo creators with a few channels
Later	Yes (limited)	$25 ($18.75 annual)	Per social set	Instagram and TikTok-first brands
SocialPilot	No (14-day trial)	$30 ($25.50 annual)	Flat per plan	Agencies needing many accounts
Metricool	Yes	$25 ($20 annual)	Per brand bundle	Analytics-minded marketers
Sprout Social	No (30-day trial)	$99 per seat ($79 annual)	Per seat	Larger teams wanting an all-in-one suite
Hootsuite	No (14-day trial)	$99 per user (annual)	Per seat	Enterprises and social listening

1. GoBrandIt: the lowest-cost all-rounder

GoBrandIt is an all-in-one social media scheduler for brands, creators and agencies. It covers Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Mastodon and Bluesky, with LinkedIn Pages and Google Business Profile coming soon.

What you get: a multi-network composer with per-network versions, a content calendar, smart queue, bulk CSV scheduling, AI captions and hashtags, an Idea Board for planning, approval workflows, an engagement inbox, analytics, Canva integration, client workspaces and mobile apps for iPhone and Android.

Pricing:

• Free: $0 forever, 3 social accounts and 15 scheduled posts
• Creator: $4.99/month or $50/year, 10 social accounts and 30 scheduled posts
• Business: $12.99/month or $120/year, 25 social accounts and 150 scheduled posts
• Agency: $24/month or $240/year, 50 social accounts and 10 client workspaces
• In Nepal, plans are billed yearly in NPR (from Rs. 2,500 a year) with eSewa or bank transfer

Watch out for: scheduled-post limits on the lower plans, and fewer enterprise features such as social listening. If you need deep listening across the web, look at Sprout Social or Hootsuite instead.

Best for: small businesses, creators and agencies that want scheduling, approvals and client workspaces without per-seat pricing. See the full GoBrandIt vs Hootsuite comparison or pricing.

2. Buffer: simple and popular with creators

Buffer is known for a clean, simple interface. The free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel.

Pricing: Essentials is $5 per channel per month on annual billing ($6 monthly). Team, which adds unlimited users and approval workflows, is $10 per channel annually ($12 monthly). There are volume discounts above 10 channels.

Watch out for: per-channel pricing. Ten channels on Team is around $100 to $120 a month. Approvals are only on the Team plan.

Best for: solo creators and small brands with a handful of channels. See our Buffer alternative page for a side-by-side. Or compare more options in our Buffer alternatives roundup.

3. Later: built around Instagram and TikTok

Later started as an Instagram planner and is still strongest for visual, short-form content, with a visual planner and link-in-bio tools.

Pricing: Starter is $25/month ($18.75 on annual billing) for 1 social set and 1 user. Growth is $50/month for 2 social sets and 2 users, and Scale is $110/month. Extra users and social sets are paid add-ons.

Watch out for: limited users on lower plans, and add-ons that raise the price for teams.

Best for: Instagram and TikTok-first brands, creators and influencer marketers.

4. SocialPilot: agency-friendly scheduling

SocialPilot is popular with agencies for its account limits and client management.

Pricing: Essentials is $30/month for 7 accounts and 1 user. Standard is $50/month for 15 accounts and 3 users, Premium is $100/month and Ultimate is $200/month. Annual billing saves about 15%. There’s a 14-day trial but no free plan.

Watch out for: no free plan, and extra users cost more on mid-tier plans.

Best for: agencies managing lots of client accounts.

5. Metricool: scheduling plus strong analytics

Metricool combines scheduling with detailed analytics and competitor tracking, and it has a free plan for one brand.

Pricing: Starter is about $25/month ($20 annual) and Advanced about $67/month ($53 annual). Pricing grows with the number of brands you manage.

Watch out for: a feature-heavy interface that can feel busy if you only need scheduling.

Best for: marketers who live in analytics and reports.

6. Sprout Social: the premium suite

Sprout Social is the closest like-for-like replacement for Hootsuite, with strong publishing, engagement, reporting and listening.

Pricing: per seat. Essentials is listed at $79 per seat per month on annual billing ($99 monthly), and higher plans go to $199, $299 and $399 per seat. There’s a 30-day free trial.

Watch out for: it isn’t cheaper than Hootsuite. You switch to Sprout for features and experience, not savings.

Best for: mid-size and larger teams with budget for a premium suite.

How much could you save?

Here’s a rough yearly comparison for a small agency with 3 team members and about 10 social accounts, using the annual prices above:

Tool and plan	Approximate yearly cost
Hootsuite Standard (3 users)	about $3,564
Sprout Social Essentials (3 seats)	about $2,844
Buffer Team (10 channels)	about $1,200
SocialPilot Standard	about $510
GoBrandIt Business	$120

Your real cost depends on features and limits, so compare what you actually use: number of accounts, scheduled posts, users and whether you need approvals.

How to choose the right Hootsuite alternative

Ask yourself five questions:

Comparing other tools as well? Read our guides to Buffer alternatives, Publer alternatives, SocialBee alternatives, Nuelink alternatives and Postly alternatives.

1. How many social accounts do you manage? Per-channel pricing gets expensive past 10.
2. How many people need access? Per-seat pricing punishes growing teams.
3. Do you need approvals? Essential for agencies and regulated industries.
4. Do you manage clients? Look for separate workspaces per client.
5. Do you need social listening? If yes, a premium suite is worth it. If not, you’re probably overpaying.

How to switch from Hootsuite

1. Export your scheduled posts and your best-performing content.
2. Sign up for a free plan or trial of the new tool.
3. Connect your social accounts.
4. Re-create your queue time slots and upload future posts, using CSV bulk upload if available.
5. Invite your team and set roles.
6. Run both tools for a week, then cancel Hootsuite before it renews.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

If you need enterprise listening and have the budget, Hootsuite and Sprout Social are strong choices. If you mainly need to schedule, plan, approve and report across your brands, you can get that for a fraction of the cost. Try GoBrandIt free and see if it covers what you use Hootsuite for.

Adding Bluesky, Threads or Mastodon while you switch? Read how to schedule Bluesky, Threads and Mastodon posts.