- Hootsuite is a popular social media platform, packing lots of features, such as post scheduling, analysis, social listening, AI content generation, and more.
- Yet, Hootsuite has its downsides---it’s expensive, has a learning curve, and a lot of useful functionality locked up behind higher-paid tiers
- The best Hootsuite alternatives include Highperformr, AgoraPulse, CoSchedule, Buffer, Sprout Social, Later, Content Studio, Feedhive, Hopper HQ, Iconosquare, Loomly, Napoleon Cat, Social Pilot, and Planable.
- Highperformr excels against Hootsuite with more features at a fraction of the price. It also comes with a super valuable lifetime access plan.
14 Best Hootsuite Alternatives Compared
In a rush and need the TL/DR version?
Hootsuite is popular in the social media management space. Out there since 2008, Hootsuite has carried loads of features like social listening, analytics, AI content generation, and more.
However, it’s expensive and comes with a learning curve. Users also report issues on the APIs and integration front.
Fortunately, there are many Hootsuite alternatives in the market.
We cover 14 Hootsuite alternatives with a detailed analysis of their features and how they compare with Hootsuite to help you make a better buying decision
Let’s begin.
The Problems With Hootsuite
Although Hootsuite is one of the first tools people recommend when it comes to a social media management tool, it is not without its cons.
For starters, if you rely on Twitter or LinkedIn’s API, you’re bound to face problems. API integration is not as smooth as it’s supposed to be and it’s laden with frustrations. A verified reviewer on G2 writes:
Plus, more than a few users have reported occasional glitches, especially for features like LinkedIn tagging, and Instagram story scheduling. It also misses out on the ability to edit scheduled posts across platforms.
Some other gripes with Hootsuite include:
- Lack of strong team management functionality
- No custom thumbnails for videos on LinkedIn
- Limitations with community management functionality
- Sizing elements that feel enforced, and more
- Not the best option for small businesses on a limited budget
However, after a lot of research by our team, we have compiled a list of some of the best Hootsuite alternatives that give you a better bang for your buck. Read on.
Which Are The Best Hootsuite Alternatives?
Here's a list of 15 Hootsuite competitors. Happy comparing!s—some offer better features, some have better pricing, and some have unique plus points that might sway you toward a purchase decision.
➡️ Highperformr
Pricing: Lifetime free plan available, paid plans start at $18/month (Lifetime access available for $59)
Highperformr is a complete social media solution in one package—a social media management platform with a GenAI-native Social Media AI Agent for content creation, image creation, content distribution, and employee advocacy.
Highperformr can take control of your entire social media content creation workflow. The native Social AI copilot can generate multiple posts within just a few minutes and build your social content calendar. You can schedule one month’s worth of content in just 30 minutes.
That’s not all though; The Social AI Agent can generate personalized posts from the news, keywords, or other content sources, and even repurpose long-form content into multiple social posts.
Similar to Hootsuite, Highperformr can plan, create, and distribute content easily with Social AI and automations such as LinkedIn reposting, crossposting, and automate first comment. Plus, you can simplify collaboration among unlimited users with approval workflows and access controls.
Best Hootsuite Alternative For:
Social media managers, marketers, solopreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses, influencers, freelancers, content creators and creatives looking for a cost-effective and feature-rich all-in-one social media solution.
Star rating:
Rated 5 on G2
Supported Social Media Platforms:
LinkedIn and X (Twitter)
Key Features:
- Social publishing at scale on LinkedIn and X(Twitter): Use AI and automation to create, schedule, and publish posts on LinkedIn and X. Invite unlimited users to put your best foot forward.
- Social Media AI Agent: Helps you write new posts from scratch or improve existing drafts. You can also easily turn existing content collaterals(blog posts, news etc.) into posts. The best part? Social AI can be personalized to suit your brand style and writing guidelines
- AI Image Generation: Highperfomr’s AI just doesn’t generate text. It can also help generate images for all your posts, this reducing dependence on designers.
- Secure Roles and Permissions: Decide if someone is a Collaborator, Content Creator, Publisher, or Admin. Give only specific rights to specific people to keep all data secure, while endlessly creating stellar posts
- Competitor Watchlist: With Highperformr, you’re not restricted to just analyzing the posts you create. See how your competitors perform, see which posts work more, and enjoy detailed analytics for both your accounts and your competitors’
- LinkedIn Cross-Posting and Reposting: Automate reposting of a LinkedIn post. The primary post can be reposted as is, or reposted with thoughts. You can schedule the repost to go live with a time delay or at the time when the primary post is published.
- Powerful Analytics: Know most popular posts, see which accounts engage with you the most, identify trending topics, and see if you're posting consistently with Highperformh's powerful analytics. Visualize every info in neat charts so you can take the right actions, quick. https://www.highperformr.ai/products/analytics
Pros:
- The platform has detailed instructions and tutorials which eliminates any learning curve
- The AI can enhance, proofread and energize your content in no time
- It effortlessly converts LinkedIn content into multiple posts, tweets and threads
Cons:
- There is no focus on video creation
- The CRM may seem a bit intimidating for novices
➡️ Sprout Social
Pricing: Free trial available, plans start at $249/month
Both Hootsuite and Sprout Social are social media management tools for large companies with a truckload of features.
The differences start with the pricing; Hootsuite is easier on your wallet compared to Sprout Social. Plus, the latter has a more capable AI writer. Sprout Social’s other exclusive features include the ability to add media directly from stock multimedia sites, best times suggestions directly in your calendar, and more.
Sprout Social hits back with a better social listening system, built-in Shopify integration, and a notes tool in the calendar dashboard for reminders and team messages. Customization is also arguably better, with the ability to add captions, images, and videos. However, unlike Hootsuite, Sprout Social does not allow you to adjust the post length for each channel.
Best HootSuite Alternative for:
Medium and large-sized companies, enterprises, social media management agencies, and marketing teams looking for a social media management tool with e-commerce integration.
Star rating:
Rated 4.4 on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, X (Twitter), YouTube, Tumblr, Reddit, Messenger.
Key Features:
- AI-driven summaries
- Salesforce Service Cloud integration
- Review management
- Message spike alerts
- Sentiment analysis
Pros:
- The tool has a responsive and helpful customer service team
- It takes less than 10 minutes to get your social accounts connected to Sprout Social
- The Instagram Grid Planner is an underrated but very useful feature
Cons
- There is currently no option to schedule PDFs for LinkedIn
- Users have noticed an occasional delay in accessing new API features
- The pricing is very high for small businesses and individual users
➡️ Buffer
Price: A basic free plan is available, paid plans start at $5/month per channel.
Initially just a publishing tool, Buffer is now a packed software with abilities beyond just content scheduling.
It offers a clean UI and is pretty straightforward to use. Perfect for those looking to avoid the feature overload with HootSuite. You get analytics, audience management, “Link in bio” page creation, and a few more features.
Buffer has also integrated an AI assistant in its application to let you get creative with posts. There's also a handy Zapier integration that adds more functionality like adding new Instagram media, posts to schedule directly, etc.
Best HootSuite Alternative Tool For:
Small businesses, small and mid-sized startups, non-profit organizations, and even individuals looking for social publishing tools with robust third-party integrations via Zapier.
Star Rating:
4.3 on G2 and 4.5 on Capterra
Apps:
Android and iOS mobile app and web version.
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), Pinterest, Shopify, Google Business Profile, Mastodon, TikTok, and YouTube .
Key Features:
- Multi-channel publishing
- Comprehensive audience insights
- AI-powered content generator
- Built-in social media calendar
- Unified engagement metrics
- Customizable landing page template
- Post-performance analysis
Pros:
- It can create ads quickly and it's equally easy to connect different social media accounts
- It has a clear methodology which makes it very useful to work with
- It offers multi-platform monitoring of customer profiles and responses in a single platform
Cons:
- It misses out on in-depth social listening features
- Support options are quite limited; there’s no phone or live assistance
- It surprisingly doesn’t support specialized posts like carousels
➡️ AgoraPulse
Pricing: Starts at $99/month per user, customized enterprise plans available.
AgoraPulse is another feature-clad social media management tool that centralizes multi-channel management and automates content scheduling.
Similar to Sprout Social, AgoraPulse has an easy-to-use dashboard and is user friendly, with a great mobile app. For engagement, it provides detailed insights into who’s engaging with what.
Hootsuite still leads the way in terms of pricing though. The calendar views and bulk scheduling features come with more customization on Hootsuite. Plus, integrations with third party platforms like Canva work better on Hootsuite.
Best Hootsuite alternative for:
Professionals, brands, medium and large businesses, agencies, enterprises, marketing firms looking for a social media tool with ROI calculating abilities.
Star rating:
Rated 4.5 on G2 and 4.6 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business, TikTok.
Key features:
- Centralized comment moderation
- Brand mention tracking
- Automated custom social media reports
- Centralized multi-channel publishing
- ROI reporting with Google Analytics
Pros
- It has strong social listening features like specific keyword analysis
- AgoraPulse has a thoughtfully laid out dashboard that offers insightful analytics and data
- It has a central inbox manager for all connected social media accounts
Cons
- Users don’t get much control over image and URL linking
- The maximum permitted image size and resolution is low by 2024 standards
- Pinterest management is not added
➡️ CoSchedule
Pricing: Starts at $29/month per user, tailored plans are also available.
CoSchedule is an all-in-one AI Marketing Calendar that packs a social calendar, an agency calendar, and a content calendar in one unified platform.
While HootSuite and CoSchedule are not the same kind of platforms, the things they do are almost the same. CoSchedule’s focus lies more on the marketing side of things, while Hootsuite is focused on social media management. For businesses looking to unify their marketing channels, CoSchedule will be the better option.
However, if you’re looking for features like a social inbox and more comprehensive social analytics, recurring posts, URL shortening, you'll still have to rely on Hootsuite.
Best Hootsuite Alternative for:
Business professionals, marketers, sales and advertising teams, marketing agencies, content planners, agencies, and consultants looking for a scheduling focused solution.
Star rating:
Rated 4.4 on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X (Twitter).
Key Features:
- Collaborative AI editor
- Fully customizable marketing content calendar
- Drag and drop rescheduling
- Unified social media calendar
- Social message optimizer
Pros:
- The unified calendar bakes social media management right into your marketing strategy
- The ReQueue features automatically reschedules best performing content
- It lets you assign tasks and manage workflows from anywhere
Cons:
- The user interface feels outdated by 2024 standards
- Integrations are weak and don’t enable any automatic data transfer
- The customer service division needs some work
➡️ Later
Pricing: Starts at $16.67/month (billed yearly), with more advanced plans available
Later is a leading social media management tool focused primarily on visual content.
It's known for its seamless integration with platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, making it a favorite for creators who prioritize visual storytelling.
While Hootsuite is kind of a jack of all trades, Later is more suited for businesses or individuals prioritizing visual platforms like Instagram. Its drag-and-drop calendar, and Link in Bio tool, makes it a go-to choice for influencers and small businesses. Thus, it’s not the best option for LinkedIn and Twitter.
It also misses out on the advanced analytics and social listening features that Hootsuite provides. Hence, it's less suitable for larger enterprises or agencies.
Best Hootsuite Alternative For:
Influencers, social media creators, small and medium-sized businesses, freelancers and agencies looking for a design-first and visual-focused tool.
Star Rating:
Rated 4.3 on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive content calendar
- Scheduling and publishing
- Link-in-bio builder
- Creator and brand collaborations
- Conversation monitoring
Pros:
- The mini website builder feature comes in handy
- The platform is highly visual which makes it ideal for board curation and feed building in Pinterest and Instagram
- The built-in AI tools help with content creation and post ideas
Cons:
- Users have faced issues with payment processing and refunds
- There is no option to unschedule a post once it's queued for scheduling
- The free version is extremely limited
➡️ ContentStudio
Pricing: Starts at $29/month, custom plans available.
ContentStudio is a social media management tool that claims to manage and grow your social media accounts up to 10 times faster with AI.
While we don’t exactly know if it's true, we do know that it comes with a capable AI writer that helps with AI caption templates, generating hashtags, auto-appending emojis, generating images with AI, and much more.
Apart from that, you get the usual features you expect from a Hootsuite competitor—social publishing, hands-free scheduling, social posting automation, RSS feed integration, CSV uploads, multi-channel social analytics, and the bunch. However, we recommend Hootsuite if you're looking for a more rounded social media management tool.
Best Hootsuite alternative for:
Agencies, freelancers, and businesses managing multiple platforms and looking for advanced automation and collaboration.
Star rating:
Rated 4.6 on G2 and 4.7 on Capterra
Supported social media platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube
Key Features:
- Shared social content calendar
- Scheduling with custom queues and preset content categories
- Pre-scheduled analytics report
- Presentation-ready white-labeled reports
- Web trending content curation
Pros:
- The tools make it easy to categorize different workflows
- There is no significant learning curve with the platform and it is beginner-friendly
- The content curation system is a boon for creatives
Cons:
- The curates topics only pull from a limited number of sources
- It has limited dashboard customization options
- The influencer tab needs improvement for niche audiences
➡️ Feedhive
Pricing: Starts at $19/month and scales up to $299 for agencies.
FeedHive is a dynamic social media management tool built in the interest of content creators and small to medium-sized businesses.
Compared to Hootsuite, which leans toward large-scale enterprise solutions with extensive analytics, FeedHive offers a more lightweight, creator-focused alternative.
It emphasizes AI-powered features for smarter, quicker content creation and planning. If you’re looking for simplicity without sacrificing functionality, FeedHive might be the pick for you. Keep in mind, this platform does not support Twitter which can be a major downside for some.
Best Hootsuite Alternative For:
Content creators, freelancers, and small teams trying to build organic social media engagement.
Star rating:
Rated 4.7 on G2 and 4.9 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business, Threads.
Key Features:
- AI-powered post suggestions
- Content libraries
- Smart scheduling
- Collaborative workflows
- Analytics dashboard
Pros
- It supports dynamic posting formats like carousels and polls
- It is really easy to create a social media content plan
- The inspiration feature comes in handy when you have a creative block
Cons:
- There is limited functionality for multi-channel in-depth reporting compared to Hootsuite.
- It lacks advanced integrations with third-party apps like Google Analytics.
- There is no proper mobile app
➡️ Hopper HQ
Pricing: Starts at $19/month, separate plan for enterprise users.
Hopper HQ is a popular social media management tool that streamlines content creation and scheduling for businesses of all sizes.
Compared to Hootsuite, which is targeted at enterprises with extensive analytics and social listening features, Hopper HQ focuses on visual content scheduling and post analytics.
You benefit from plenty of time-saving features like bulk uploading, drag-and-drop content planning, and automated publishing. If you’re looking for a visually intuitive platform with strong scheduling capabilities, Hopper HQ might be something you should go for.
Best Hootsuite Alternative For:
Small businesses, startups, and social media teams managing multiple accounts with a focus on visual content.
Star rating:
Rated 4.5 on G2 and 4.7 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Google Business
Key Features:
- Bulk upload and bulk scheduling
- Unlimited members and media library
- Instagram grid previews
- First comment scheduling for Instagram posts
- AI-powered caption and hashtag suggestions
Pros:
- It saves plenty of time and resources with bulk uploading and automated publishing
- You get to use an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface for visual planning
- Hopper HQ supports advanced Instagram-specific features like grid preview and hashtag suggestions
Cons:
- It has limited advanced analytics compared to Hootsuite and other competitors
- It has no integrations with third-party apps like Google Analytics
- You get fewer social listening features compared to others in its segment
➡️ Iconosquare
Pricing: Starts at $59/month per user, custom plans available.
Iconosquare is your one-stop shop for social media marketing needs. It comes with advanced analytics and reporting features, post-scheduling, collaboration tools, and a separate AI suite.
While Hootsuite narrows down on broad social media management and extensive integrations, Iconosquare excels in in-depth analytics and actionable insights.
It's ideal for users who prioritize data-driven strategies and performance tracking. With features like customized reports, competitor analysis, and hashtag tracking, Iconosquare is the better choice for marketers looking to optimize their content effectively.
However, it does not support LinkedIn and Twitter.
Best Hootsuite Alternative for:
Brands, agencies, and data-focused marketers looking to combine analytics with streamlined scheduling.
Star rating:
Rated 4.5 on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest (YouTube support coming soon)
Key features:
- Real-time campaign performance tracking
- Competitor benchmarks
- Multi-profile management
- AI-powered content suggestions
- Hashtag tracking
Pros:
- The insights provided by the platform are ideal for making monthly reports
- The platform is backed by a supportive team that is ready to help with installation and troubleshooting
- The analytics produced by the tool are very detailed but easy to understand
Cons:
- There should be an easier way of choosing which metrics appear on your CSV file
- There is no option to edit audio in Instagram Reels
- It can occasionally be glitchy and disconnect the content
➡️ Loomly
Pricing: Starts at $42/month, enterprise plan available separately
Loomly is designed to simplify content creation, collaboration, and scheduling for teams of all sizes, with one singular focus—removing the complexity of social media management.
Loomly prioritizes providing a user-friendly interface while having your usual host of collaboration features.
It is particularly well-suited for teams that need a centralized hub for planning and executing their social media strategies. Something that isn’t too daunting for small businesses and management novices.
Among other things, it lets you track feedback with end-to-end post history and preview posts before they go live, level posts and visual assets to see campaigns at a glance, and save post templates to repeat content like store hours or seasonal sales in the content calendar.
Best Hootsuite Alternative For:
Marketing teams, small businesses, and freelancers looking for an easy-to-use platform with strong collaborative capabilities.
Star Rating:
Rated 4.6 on G2 and 4.7 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Google Business Profile
Key Features:
- Content calendar with drag-and-drop scheduling
- AI-powered post inspiration tool
- Collaboration and approval workflows
- Hashtag manager and URL shortener
- Advanced analytics with exportable reports
Pros:
- The drag-and-drop content calendar is easy to use and supports the direct uploading of content
- It is priced competitively compared to similar products with equivalent feature sets
- You can have stuff waiting in the queue until it is reviewed and approved for posting
Cons:
- There is currently no provision to download your calendar
- The interface feels a bit clunky when tagging accounts
- The image cropping tool is not as smooth as it should be
➡️ Napolean Cat
Pricing: Starts at $32/month, business plans available.
Napoleon Cat and Hootsuite both have the fundamentals of social media management covered—social inboxes for moderating multiple accounts, in-depth analytics and reporting, and comprehensive publishing and scheduling.
However, Napoleon packs some extra features that Hootsuite lacks like auto-moderation, scheduled reports for competitor profiles, automated comment or DM moderation, and more.
There are a bunch of features specifically for teams: you can distribute user permissions, see who is moderating a customer service ticket, assign content creation tasks to other team members, etc. You also get in-depth analytics like Inbox Activity Reports and competitor analysis.
Best Hootsuite Alternative For:
Social media managers, content moderators, content planners, content curators, and small and medium-sized businesses looking for a simple Hootsuite alternative.
Star rating:
Rated 4.7 on G2 and 4.6 on Capterra.
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business.
Key Features:
- Social inbox
- Automated moderation
- Multi-platform scheduling and publishing
- Team collaboration suite
- Social customer service
Pros:
- Its automated moderation is a boon for businesses managing large volumes of comments or queries.
- The analytics feature is granular and customizable, ideal for when you need specific data breakdowns.
- The structured workflows and approval processes come in handy for teams that rely on collaboration
Cons:
- Emerging and niche social media channels like Tumblr and Pinterest are not supported.
- It’s not budget-friendly for small businesses or solopreneurs, especially compared to simpler alternatives.
- The interface might be overwhelming due to the number of features and settings.\
➡️ Social Pilot
Pricing: Starts at $30/month for 7 social media accounts, scales up as per need.
Social Pilot is a social media management tool for agencies and small businesses. It directly competes with Hootsuite with features like bulk scheduling (publishes up to 500 posts at once), a white-label dashboard, branded downloadable reports, and more.
It also has what can be called the core of every social media management tool—a unified social inbox that gathers all comments, mentions, DMs, and interactions from all connected social accounts.
Unlike Hootsuite, Social Pilot has added holiday calendars and pre-made shareable posts to the calendar, which is a boon for marketers. You can even drag-and-drop posts and reschedule over the calendar without hassle, which is missing in Hootsuite.
Best Hootsuite Alternative For:
Marketing agencies, small and medium businesses, multi-location brands, and professionals looking for a feature-rich Hootsuite alternative.
Star rating:
Rated 4.5 on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Key Features:
- Bulk scheduling
- Direct publishing
- Unified social inbox
- White label dashboard
- First comment scheduling
Pros:
- The bulk scheduling feature lets you schedule and directly publish up to 500 posts in one go.
- It has a clean, easy-to-use interface with a negligible learning curve
- The White Label feature allows users to customize their clients’ dashboards and download branded White Label reports
Cons:
- There is no option to run or boost social media ads.
- It does not offer any competitor analysis features.
- You can see the post preview from the content calendar but not the account feed display.
➡️ Planable
Pricing: Starts at $39/month, custom plan available.
The last on our list of Hootsuite alternatives is Planable. It is a unified social media scheduling, collaboration, and organization platform with neat features like a multi-level organizational approval system.
You also get a social media calendar that gives you immediate access to Planable’s media library, a post composer, filtering options, team members, and the workspaces selection screen. The calendar is the highlight of the tool—it supports drag-and-drop, custom color-coded labels, scheduling of recycled posts, and more.
Unlike Hootsuite, Planable also lets you select custom calendar time slots. This means you can set date and time shortcuts whenever you schedule posts.
Best HootSuite Alternative For:
Businesses, social media managers, approval teams, design teams, agencies, and content strategists looking for a design-focused social collaboration tool.
Star Rating:
Rated 4.6 on G2 and 4.5 on Capterra
Supported Social Media Platforms:
Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Business, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads.
Key Features:
- Layered approval system with one-click approvals
- Auto-schedule posts
- Dedicated media library
- In-app image editing
- List, grid, feed, and calendar views for content
Pros:
- It lets you collaborate with external parties by generating a link directly to the post in question
- There is an option to auto-schedule posts upon approval, which eliminates going back and doing it yourself
- You get a dedicated media library for storing and sharing team assets
Cons:
- The platform sends a lot of onboarding emails, which gets annoying at some point
- There is no ability to suggest and create pins from a single article link
- The grid feature is not included in the basic plan
Conclusion
That was a list of the 15 best Hootsuite alternatives. Luckily, most options come with a free trial so you can experiment with their core features.
However, if there's one tool, you must definitely check out, it's Highperformr. Perfect for those who want to manage LinkedIn or X, it's an affordable platform with tons of features.