Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads
Buffer vs Hootsuite vs Stripo
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: Email marketers, agencies and designers who make lots of branded emails for one or more email platforms.
Overview
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | Stripo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | Builds responsive email templates by drag and drop, then exports them to your email tool. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $6/channel/mo | $99/user/mo | $20/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 | Stripo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| 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 | 4.0 |
| 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 | Stripo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | No | – | No |
| Browser extension | 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 | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | No | – | – |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 10/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | Stripo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Trying it out. |
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. | Basic $20/mo, or $200/yr A small business sending a few campaigns a month. | |
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. | MediumOur pick $45/mo, or $450/yr In-house teams and small agencies. | |
Enterprise Custom Big organisations with compliance needs. | Pro $125/mo, or $1,250/yr Agencies with many clients. | ||
Prime Custom Large teams. | |||
| 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. | Basic covers a business sending a few campaigns a month. Medium is the better fit for teams and small agencies, where 50 exports and two seats run out quickly. Extra members cost $10 each a month. |
Key features
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | Stripo |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | Stripo |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | Stripo |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Buffer, Hootsuite or Stripo?
They tie on our overall rating (Buffer 4.2/5, Hootsuite 3.6/5 and Stripo 4.2/5). 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. Stripo is best for designing responsive emails without code and agencies working across many email platforms.
Which is cheaper, Buffer, Hootsuite or Stripo?
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. Stripo: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo.
Which is easier to use, Buffer, Hootsuite or Stripo?
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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