Social media management

Hootsuite alternatives 59 tools ranked by verified data

Data checked Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026 against the vendors' own pages. How we verify

Disclosure: TrackMedia is made by the team behind this site. It is scored by the same scorecard and code as every other tool, with no custom weights. Methodology

We found 59 tools comparable to Hootsuite among social media management tools, and scored each with the same scorecard; 48 have enough verified data to be ranked.

Buffer ranks first with 96/100, ahead of Pallyy (93) and PostEverywhere (93).

Hootsuite itself scores 44/100 on the same scorecard, so 44 alternatives score higher.

22 alternatives have a free plan.

Hootsuite's cheapest paid plan is $99 a month; 38 alternatives start lower (entry prices, not like-for-like plans).

Hootsuite alternatives ranked

Score is 0-100 over the criteria with verified data; coverage is the share of the scorecard those criteria carry.
Hootsuite alternatives ranked
#ToolScoreCoverageFrom, billed monthlyFrom, billed yearlyFree planPlatformsChecked
1Buffer96/10075%5 of 7 criteriaNot offered$5/account/moYes, 3 social accounts–Oct 14, 2026
2Pallyy93/10085%6 of 7 criteria$25/moNot offeredYes, 1 workspace10Oct 14, 2026
3PostEverywhere93/100100%7 of 7 criteria$9/moNot offeredNo10Oct 14, 2026
4Posterly93/100100%7 of 7 criteriaNot offered$6/moNo12Oct 14, 2026
5Publer91/10060%5 of 7 criteriaFreeFreeYes, 1 user12Oct 14, 2026
6Metricool91/10085%6 of 7 criteria$25/mo$20/moYes, 1 workspace10Oct 14, 2026
7TrackMediaOur product90/10085%6 of 7 criteriaNot offered$8.25/moYes, 15 scheduled posts per month13Oct 15, 2026
8Zoho Social89/10090%6 of 7 criteriaNot offered$10/moYes, 1 workspace14Oct 14, 2026
9Antwork88/10075%5 of 7 criteria$5/account/moNot offeredYes, 2 social accounts–Oct 14, 2026
10Planable87/10085%6 of 7 criteria$33/moNot offeredYes9Oct 14, 2026
11social-media-skills87/100100%7 of 7 criteriaNot offered$6/moYes, 15 scheduled posts per month2Oct 14, 2026
12Iconosquare85/100100%7 of 7 criteriaNot offered$10/moYes, 2 social accounts8Oct 14, 2026
13Typefully85/10085%6 of 7 criteriaFreeFreeYes, 1 user5Oct 14, 2026
14Social Champ84/100100%7 of 7 criteria$29/mo$23.20/moYes6Oct 14, 2026
15RecurPost82/10090%6 of 7 criteria$9/moNot offeredNo10Oct 14, 2026
16CoSchedule80/10090%6 of 7 criteria$39/mo$29/moYes, 15 scheduled posts total11Oct 14, 2026
17SocialPilot79/100100%7 of 7 criteria$30/mo$85/moNo10Oct 14, 2026
18Cross-Post79/100100%7 of 7 criteria$15/moNot offeredNo8Oct 14, 2026
19Sendible79/10090%6 of 7 criteria$35/moNot offeredNo9Oct 14, 2026
20TryPost.it76/100100%7 of 7 criteria$19/moNot offeredNo12Oct 14, 2026
21ContentStudio75/100100%7 of 7 criteriaNot offered$19/moNo11Oct 14, 2026
22Aidelly73/10085%6 of 7 criteriaNot offered$29/moNo11Oct 14, 2026
23Post Planner73/10090%6 of 7 criteria$14/mo$9/moYes, 1 social account5Oct 14, 2026
24Caroush73/10090%6 of 7 criteria$29/moNot offeredNo–Oct 14, 2026
25Reachlee72/10075%5 of 7 criteria$9/moNot offeredYes2Oct 14, 2026
26SocialBee72/10080%5 of 7 criteria$29/moNot offeredNo–Oct 14, 2026
27Edgar70/10090%6 of 7 criteria$29.99/mo$24.91/moNo9Oct 14, 2026
28NapoleonCat70/100100%7 of 7 criteria$79/moNot offeredNo7Oct 14, 2026
29PostPlanify70/100100%7 of 7 criteriaNot offered$31/moNo10Oct 14, 2026
30cadencz69/10090%6 of 7 criteria$19/moNot offeredYes, 2 social accounts6Oct 14, 2026
31OneUp69/100100%7 of 7 criteria$1,000/mo$15/moNo12Oct 14, 2026
32Hubcast68/10090%6 of 7 criteria$29/moNot offeredNo5Oct 14, 2026
33brightbean-studio66/100100%7 of 7 criteria$119/moNot offeredYes, unlimited workspaces10Oct 14, 2026
34Agorapulse65/100100%7 of 7 criteria$99/user/mo$79/user/moNo10Oct 14, 2026
35Statusbrew63/10060%5 of 7 criteriaContact salesContact salesNo4Oct 14, 2026
36Marky63/10090%6 of 7 criteria$39/mo$19/moNo7Oct 14, 2026
37Missinglettr62/10090%6 of 7 criteriaNot offered$12/moNo1Oct 14, 2026
38Munch62/10060%4 of 7 criteria$68/mo$38/moNo5Oct 14, 2026
39Ocoya61/100100%7 of 7 criteria$29/moNot offeredNo2Oct 14, 2026
40Loomly61/100100%7 of 7 criteria$65/mo$49/moNo8Oct 14, 2026
41Sked Social59/100100%7 of 7 criteriaNot offered$58/moNo7Oct 14, 2026
42Post.Buzz56/10090%6 of 7 criteria$19/mo$15/moNo1Oct 14, 2026
43Sprout Social54/100100%7 of 7 criteria$99/user/mo$79/user/moNo7Oct 14, 2026
44Postana50/10075%5 of 7 criteria$29/moNot offeredNo3Oct 14, 2026
45Emplifi38/10085%6 of 7 criteria$1,249/moNot offeredNo2Oct 14, 2026
46XreplyAI30/100100%7 of 7 criteria$599/moNot offeredNo10Oct 14, 2026
47Lately22/10065%4 of 7 criteriaNot offered$199/moNo–Oct 14, 2026
48linkedin-skills18/10085%6 of 7 criteria$2,999/user/moNot offeredNo1Oct 14, 2026
–Countdown Timer AppNot ranked50%4 of 7 criteriaNot offeredNot offeredYes1Oct 14, 2026
–Dash SocialNot ranked50%4 of 7 criteriaContact salesContact salesNo3Oct 14, 2026
–MixpostNot ranked50%4 of 7 criteriaNot offeredNot offeredYes–Oct 14, 2026
–DMfloNot ranked35%3 of 7 criteria––Yes1Oct 14, 2026
–Fanpage KarmaNot ranked35%3 of 7 criteria––Yes9Oct 14, 2026
–BlablaNot ranked25%2 of 7 criteria––Yes4Oct 14, 2026
–DropapostNot ranked25%2 of 7 criteria–––4Oct 14, 2026
–InfluencityNot ranked25%2 of 7 criteria–––3Oct 14, 2026
–Vista SocialNot ranked25%2 of 7 criteria–––6Oct 14, 2026
–KhorosNot ranked15%1 of 7 criteria––––Oct 14, 2026
–X-PilotNot ranked10%1 of 7 criteria–––1Oct 14, 2026

Each value links the vendor page it was read from (hover for the check date). Coverage is the share of the scorecard's weight with verified data, and "N of M criteria" how many criteria the score is based on; a tool is ranked at 60% or more.

– = not published by the vendor, or not verified yet.

For reference, Hootsuite scores 44/100 with 100% coverage. Hootsuite review

Why each one ranks where it does

  1. 1. Buffer 96/100

    Social media publishing tool with scheduling queues, an idea library, analytics, a community inbox, a link-in-bio page and an AI assistant.

    • Entry price (100/100): $5/month per account billed annually on Essentials; no monthly-billed price published (scored against annual-billed prices)
    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)

    From $5 per social account per month billed yearly on the Essentials plan.

    Buffer reviewPricing

    Buffer homepage (screenshot)
    Homepage captured Oct 14, 2026
  2. 2. Pallyy 93/100

    Social media scheduler organised around client social sets, with shared approval links, per-client calendars and reports, a social inbox and link in bio pages.

    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
    • Verified features (100/100): 13 of 21 tracked features verified: posting queue, calendar view, first-comment scheduling, direct auto-publishing, media library, ai caption assistant, post and account analytics, report exports (pdf/csv), approval workflows, user roles and permissions, separate client workspaces, unified social inbox, competitor analytics

    From $25 per month billed monthly on the Pro plan.

    Pallyy reviewPricing

  3. 3. PostEverywhere 93/100

    Social media scheduler that cross-posts to many networks, with a content calendar, bulk CSV scheduling, AI writing and image tools, an API and an MCP server.

    • Entry price (100/100): $9/month billed monthly on Lite (scored on the monthly price)
    • Verified features (100/100): 11 of 21 tracked features verified: posting queue, bulk scheduling (csv or multi-post), calendar view, direct auto-publishing, ai caption assistant, post and account analytics, best-time-to-post suggestions, approval workflows, user roles and permissions, separate client workspaces, content repurposing

    From $9 per month billed monthly on the Lite plan.

    PostEverywhere reviewPricing

  4. 4. Posterly 93/100

    Social media scheduler with AI caption tools, brand voice learning, client approvals, a social inbox and link-in-bio pages for creators and agencies.

    • Entry price (100/100): $6/month billed annually on Starter; no monthly-billed price published (scored against annual-billed prices)
    • Cost per connected account (100/100): $1.12 per connected account per month on Starter (5 accounts, 2 users, billed annually)

    From $6 per month billed yearly on the Starter plan.

    Posterly reviewPricing

  5. 5. Publer 91/100

    Social media scheduling and management tool with a calendar, bulk scheduling, analytics, workspaces and link in bio across many networks.

    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
    • Verified features (100/100): 12 of 21 tracked features verified: bulk scheduling (csv or multi-post), calendar view, first-comment scheduling, direct auto-publishing, media library, ai caption assistant, post and account analytics, best-time-to-post suggestions, approval workflows, separate client workspaces, content repurposing, competitor analytics

    Publer reviewPricing

  6. 6. Metricool 91/100

    Social media planner and analytics dashboard with scheduling, an inbox, reports, competitor tracking, link in bio pages and ad campaign management.

    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
    • Verified features (100/100): 11 of 21 tracked features verified: calendar view, recurring posts, media library, post and account analytics, report exports (pdf/csv), best-time-to-post suggestions, approval workflows, user roles and permissions, separate client workspaces, unified social inbox, competitor analytics

    From $25 per month billed monthly ($20 billed yearly) on the Starter plan.

    Metricool reviewPricing

  7. 7. TrackMedia 90/100Our product

    Social media publishing tool that posts one draft to many networks with per-network versions, queues, link tracking, analytics, an API and an MCP server.

    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
    • Pricing transparency (100/100): 3 of 3 plans have a public price

    From $8.25 per month billed yearly on the Creator plan.

    TrackMedia reviewPricing

  8. 8. Zoho Social 89/100

    Social media management platform for scheduling, monitoring, analytics and team collaboration across many networks, with Zoho CRM integration.

    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
    • Verified features (100/100): 14 of 21 tracked features verified: bulk scheduling (csv or multi-post), calendar view, first-comment scheduling, direct auto-publishing, recurring posts, media library, post and account analytics, best-time-to-post suggestions, approval workflows, user roles and permissions, separate client workspaces, unified social inbox, link tracking (utm / short links), social listening

    From $10 per month billed yearly on the Standard plan.

    Zoho Social reviewPricingZoho Social vs Hootsuite

  9. 9. Antwork 88/100

    Social media manager that works inside AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT, drafting posts in each account's own voice and publishing them on schedule to eight networks.

    • Entry price (100/100): $5/month per account billed monthly on Per account (scored on the monthly price)
    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)

    From $5 per social account per month billed monthly on the Per account plan.

    Antwork reviewPricing

  10. 10. Planable 87/100

    Social media planning and collaboration tool with feed and calendar views, step-by-step approvals, scheduling, inbox, analytics and social listening.

    • Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
    • API, integrations and export (100/100): public API

    From $33 per month billed monthly on the Basic plan.

    Planable reviewPricing

How we picked

Every one of these social media management tools is scored by the same 7 criteria (scorecard v2). Each criterion gives 0 to 100 from the vendor's published data; the total is the weighted average. A criterion without verified data is left out and the other weights are re-normalised. A tool with under 60% of the weight covered is listed as not ranked, and so is a tool with no verified price and fewer than 2 verified features (“needs a verified price”); each score shows how many criteria it is based on. The core criteria are the same in every category; the category criteria are specific to social media management tools. Nobody gets custom weights, including our own products.

Scorecard criteria and weights
CriterionWeightTypeWhat we measure
Entry price25%CorePrice per month of the cheapest paid plan, against the prices of other social media management tools on the same billing basis (monthly-billed prices against monthly, annual-billed against annual).Log scale. Billed monthly: $9/month or less = 100, $599 or more = 0. Only billed annually: $6/month or less = 100, $79 or more = 0. Only free plans = 100. Usage-priced and one-time plans are not scored.
Free plan or trial15%CoreWhether you can use the tool before paying: a free plan, or failing that a free trial, as shown on the vendor's pricing page.Free plan = 100. No free plan but a free trial = 60. The pricing page lists plans but shows neither = 0. No plans read = not scored.
Pricing transparency10%CoreHow much of the pricing is public: the share of plans with a published price ("contact sales" counts against), and whether there are at least 3 published tiers.80 x (plans with a public price / plans listed) + 20 x (public plans, up to 3) / 3. No plans read = not scored.
Verified features15%CoreHow many of the 21 features we track for this category the vendor's own pages verifiably show (posting queue, bulk scheduling (csv or multi-post), calendar view, first-comment scheduling, direct auto-publishing, recurring posts, media library, ai caption assistant, post and account analytics, report exports (pdf/csv), best-time-to-post suggestions, approval workflows, user roles and permissions, separate client workspaces, unified social inbox, white-label reports, link tracking (utm / short links), content repurposing, ugc collection, social listening, competitor analytics). This counts verified features only: a tool that documents less scores lower here, and only here.Linear: verified features / 11 (half the tracked list) x 100, capped at 100. No tracked feature verified = not scored.
API, integrations and export10%CoreWhether a public API exists, how many integrations the vendor states, and whether the vendor documents a way to export your data.Average of the parts with data: public API yes = 100, no = 0; integrations on a log scale (100 or more = 100); a documented data export = 100. None verified = not scored.
Platform coverage10%CategoryHow many of the 15 social platforms we track the vendor says the tool supports.Linear: platforms / 10 x 100, capped at 100. No verified platform list = not scored.
Cost per connected account15%CategoryMonthly price per connected account on the cheapest paid plan that allows at least 5 social accounts and 2 users.Log scale: $3 per account or less = 100, $60 or more = 0. Plans that do not state an account limit are not used.

Sources are vendor pricing pages, docs and changelogs, each with the date we checked it. We did not test these tools hands-on unless a listing says so. Full formulas: methodology.

Questions, answered from the data

What is the best alternative to Hootsuite?

Buffer, with 96/100 on our scorecard; Pallyy is second with 93/100.

Is there a free alternative to Hootsuite?

Yes: Buffer, Pallyy and Publer have a free plan; Buffer ranks highest of them.

What is the cheapest Hootsuite alternative?

By entry price, Buffer: $5 per social account per month billed yearly on the Essentials plan.