Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads
Buffer vs Hootsuite vs HubSpot
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Small businesses, solo founders and creators who want to post regularly across several social networks without paying for an enterprise suite.
Pick it if: Marketing teams, agencies and larger businesses managing many social accounts with several people involved.
Pick it if: Service businesses, agencies and B2B teams that need contacts, deals and marketing in one system.
Overview
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Schedules posts to every social network from one queue, with an AI writing helper. | Runs social media for a team: scheduling, shared inbox, listening and reports. | A free CRM with AI agents that handle leads, support and content for you. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $6/channel/mo | $99/user/mo | From $800/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2Winner | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | – | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | – | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | No | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | – | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 10/ 17 | 12/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free A sole trader posting a few times a week. | StandardOur pick $99/user/mo billed yearly A single social media manager. | Free Free Anyone who needs a CRM and basic marketing tools without a budget. |
EssentialsOur pick $6/channel/mo, or $5/channel/mo billed yearly One person running a business's social accounts. | Professional $199/user/mo billed yearly Growing teams with lots of accounts. | Marketing Hub StarterOur pick $20/seat/mo, currently $7/seat/mo for new customers Small teams ready to remove the branding and send more. | |
Team $12/channel/mo, or $10/channel/mo billed yearly Small teams who need approvals. | Advanced $399/user/mo billed yearly Larger teams that need routing and approvals. | Marketing Hub Professional From $800/mo billed yearly, or $890/mo Marketing teams that need real automation. | |
Enterprise Custom Big organisations with compliance needs. | Marketing Hub Enterprise From $3,600/mo Large teams with several brands or business units. | ||
| Which plan to pick | Start on Free to see if you will actually post regularly. Move to Essentials once you need more than 10 posts queued per channel; Team is only worth it when someone else needs to approve posts. | Standard covers one person running up to 10 accounts. Only step up when you need unlimited accounts or team routing, and negotiate at renewal, because users often report bigger quotes the second year. | Run the free CRM for as long as you can; it covers most small businesses. Starter is the sensible first paid step when you want the branding gone and more sends. Only move to Professional when you have a specific automation in mind that will pay for the jump. |
Key features
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | HubSpot |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | HubSpot |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | HubSpot |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Buffer, Hootsuite or HubSpot?
Buffer scores highest overall in our ratings (Buffer 4.2/5, Hootsuite 3.6/5 and HubSpot 4.1/5). Buffer is best for scheduling posts across many networks and small teams on a tight budget. Hootsuite is best for teams managing many accounts and shared inbox for comments and DMs. HubSpot is best for tracking leads and deals and B2B email marketing.
Which is cheaper, Buffer, Hootsuite or HubSpot?
Buffer: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $6/channel/mo. Hootsuite: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $99/user/mo. HubSpot: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $800/mo.
Which is easier to use, Buffer, Hootsuite or HubSpot?
Buffer rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small businesses, solo founders and creators who want to post regularly across several social networks without paying for an enterprise suite.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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