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Marketing & Ads

Hootsuite

Runs social media for a team: scheduling, shared inbox, listening and reports.

3.6our rating
PaidFrom $99/user/moWorks with Claude Code
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Quick take

  • Everything a social team needs in one place: scheduling, inbox, listening, reports and approvals.
  • Expensive for small businesses. Standard is $99 per user a month billed yearly, and month-to-month costs more.
  • Reporting is the part users still praise most. Price and renewals are what they complain about most.
  • There is a 14-day free trial but no free plan, so cancel before it ends if you are only testing.
  • If you just need posts scheduled, Buffer or Later do that for far less.

What is Hootsuite?

Hootsuite is a full social media suite for teams. Beyond scheduling posts to every major network, it has a shared inbox for comments and messages, social listening (it bought the listening company Talkwalker), analytics and client-ready reports, approval workflows and an employee advocacy add-on. Its AI tools, OwlyWriter and the newer OwlyGPT, write captions, suggest hashtags, repurpose posts and generate images.

Pick it over Buffer or Later when several people manage many accounts and you need routing, approvals, listening and proper reporting in one place. For a small business that just wants posts going out on time, Buffer does the job for a fraction of the price.

The catch is cost. Plans start at $99 per user a month on a yearly contract, the free plan was dropped in 2023, and price, renewal quotes and auto-renew charges are the most common complaints from users on Reddit and Trustpilot.

Who's using it, and who it's for

  • Marketing teams
  • Social media managers
  • Agencies
  • Enterprises
  • Government and higher education

Marketing teams, agencies and larger businesses managing many social accounts with several people involved.

Key features

  • Planner and scheduling

    Schedule and bulk-schedule posts to every major network from one calendar, with best-time suggestions.

  • Shared inbox

    Comments and direct messages from all accounts in one inbox, with assignment and saved replies.

  • Social listening

    Track mentions of your brand, competitors and keywords, with sentiment, powered by Talkwalker.

  • OwlyWriter and OwlyGPT

    AI that writes captions, suggests hashtags, repurposes top posts and generates images in your brand voice.

  • Analytics and reports

    Cross-network performance reports and competitor benchmarks you can send to clients or management.

  • Approvals and roles

    Draft, review and approve flows so nothing goes out without sign-off.

How we rate it

3.6 / 5

Our rating

From using the tool ourselves. The average of the five scores.

Ease of use
3.5

How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.

Features
4.5

How completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.

Output quality
4.0

How good the results are before you fix them.

Value for money
2.5

What you get for the price, including the free plan.

Speed & reliability
3.5

How fast it is and how often it falls over.

Hootsuite pricing

  • Our pick

    Standard

    $99/user/mo billed yearly

    A single social media manager.

    • Up to 10 social accounts
    • Scheduling, inbox and AI post writing
    • Basic listening and analytics

  • Professional

    $199/user/mo billed yearly

    Growing teams with lots of accounts.

    • Unlimited social accounts
    • Inbox automation
    • Deeper listening and reporting

  • Advanced

    $399/user/mo billed yearly

    Larger teams that need routing and approvals.

    • Team inbox routing and assignment
    • Approval workflows
    • Advanced analytics

  • Enterprise

    Custom

    Big organisations with compliance needs.

    • Advanced listening and inbox
    • SSO and security controls
    • Dedicated support

Which plan should you pick?

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.

Prices in USD unless noted, checked 22 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.

Best use cases

Ways Hootsuite can slot into your week.

  1. 1

    Run an agency's client accounts

    Keep each client's accounts in separate streams, schedule their calendars and send a monthly branded report.

  2. 2

    Answer customers from one inbox

    Route comments and DMs from every network to the right team member so nothing goes unanswered.

  3. 3

    Spot a complaint early

    Set up listening for your brand name and product terms and get alerted when mentions or negative sentiment spike.

  4. 4

    Keep posts on-brand

    Junior staff draft posts with OwlyWriter, a manager approves them, then they publish on schedule.

How it fits your tech stack

Hootsuite becomes the hub for social. It connects to CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot so social conversations reach sales, and to Canva and Adobe Express for creative.

Connects to

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Covers scheduling, inbox, listening and reporting in one product
  • Strong analytics and client-ready reports
  • Solid approval and team workflows
  • Supports a very wide range of networks and integrations

Cons

  • Expensive per user, and there is no free plan
  • Many complaints about renewal price rises, auto-renew charges and slow support on billing
  • Interface feels busy and takes time to learn
  • Month-to-month prices are not published up front

Hootsuite alternatives

The closest alternatives to Hootsuite in the library, best rated first.

Why it made the list

It is one of the longest-running and most complete social media suites, and the one larger teams most often shortlist.

Hootsuite FAQ

How much does Hootsuite cost?

There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $99/user/mo. Prices checked 22 October 2026 against Hootsuite's pricing page.

Is Hootsuite free?

No. There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $99/user/mo.

What is Hootsuite best for?

Hootsuite is best for teams managing many accounts, shared inbox for comments and DMs and monitoring brand and competitor mentions. Marketing teams, agencies and larger businesses managing many social accounts with several people involved.

What are the best Hootsuite alternatives?

The closest alternatives are Klaviyo, beehiiv, Buffer and Foreplay. Klaviyo is best for abandoned cart recovery.

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