Hootsuite Alternatives in 2026: 9 Tools for Teams and Agencies

Hootsuite is the long-standing all-in-one suite: publishing, a shared inbox, listening, analytics and ads in one place. Buyers who look elsewhere usually hit these points on its own plans page on 9 October 2026:

• It’s priced per user. Standard is $99 per user a month, Professional is $199 and Advanced is $399, based on annual billing. Each extra team member needs a seat.
• Approvals sit near the top. Content review and approval is listed on Advanced.
• Standard caps accounts. It covers up to 10 social accounts. Unlimited accounts start at $199 per user.
• There’s no free plan, and no monthly price shown. The page lists a 14-day trial, and the prices it displays are annual rates. Trial accounts also have daily posting limits.

The tools below price teams in other ways: flat bundles, per-brand tiers, or per-seat plans with a lower start. For solo users and small accounts, see our guide to Buffer alternatives, which compares cheaper schedulers.

The alternatives

1. Sprout Social: the closest rival

Sprout covers the same ground as Hootsuite: publishing, a smart inbox, reviews, listening and reporting. Essentials is $79 per seat a month billed yearly ($99 monthly) for five profiles. Standard is $199, Professional is $299 with unlimited profiles, and Advanced is $399 with API access and sentiment features, all per seat on annual billing. Plans include 100 AI credits per seat a month, and there’s a 30-day trial with no card.

Limit: Essentials is cheaper than Hootsuite Standard but caps at five profiles. Past that, Sprout’s tiers cost as much as Hootsuite’s or more.

2. Agorapulse: built around the inbox

Agorapulse is $79 per user a month billed yearly ($99 monthly) on Standard, $119 ($149 monthly) on Professional and $149 ($199 monthly) on Advanced. Each self-serve plan covers 10 social profiles. Professional adds post and inbox assignments and team performance reports. Advanced adds labels, saved replies, automated moderation rules, ads reports, ROI analysis and competitor benchmarking. The trial is 30 days with no card.

Limit: unlimited profiles, AI reply suggestions and SSO are on the custom plan.

3. SocialPilot: agency features at a flat price

SocialPilot’s Premium plan is $100 a month ($85 billed yearly) for 20 accounts, six users, 5,000 AI credits, client approval and white-label reports. Standard is $40 ($34 yearly) for 10 accounts and three users. Ultimate is $200 ($170 yearly) for 40 accounts, unlimited users and a dedicated account manager. Extra accounts are $4 a month. Trial: 14 days, no card.

Limit: its inbox and listening are lighter than Hootsuite’s, going by the plan lists.

4. Sendible: unlimited users on every plan

Sendible works in workspaces, which fits agencies and multi-location brands. Core is $35 a month ($30 billed yearly) for one workspace and six profiles. Plus is $99 ($84 yearly) for three workspaces and 18 profiles, and adds assignment and approvals. Premium is $199 ($169 yearly) for seven workspaces, with content libraries, branded reports and dedicated onboarding. Elite is $299. Every plan includes unlimited users and unlimited AI credits.

Limit: white label is a paid add-on.

5. Vista Social: bundled profiles and users

Vista’s Professional plan is $99 a month for 15 profiles and two users ($950 a year). Advanced is $199 for 30 profiles and three users ($1,910 a year), with advanced workflows, reporting and Zapier and Make integrations. Scale is $449 for 70 profiles and four users ($4,310 a year). There’s a 14-day trial with no card. Employee advocacy, listening and X are optional add-ons.

Limit: the entry price is the same as Hootsuite’s Standard, so the value is in the bundle, not a lower start.

6. Loomly: calendar-first approvals

Loomly’s Starter plan is $65 a month ($49 billed yearly) for 12 social accounts and three users, and includes approval workflows and roles, an AI assistant chat, advanced analytics and link shorteners. Beyond is $332 a month ($249 yearly) for 60 accounts and unlimited users, adding custom branding and workflows. Enterprise starts at 61 accounts.

Limit: Starter allows three users, so teams larger than that jump to Beyond.

7. Later: for visual social teams

Later bundles profiles into “social sets” of eight. Growth is $50 a month ($37.50 billed yearly) for two sets, two users, approvals, a social inbox and 180 posts per profile a month. Scale is $110 ($82.50 yearly) for six sets and four users, with competitive benchmarking and brand mentions. Trial: 14 days.

Limit: it’s centered on visual platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, and users beyond the included number cost $5 each.

8. Zoho Social: low entry and per-brand agency plans

Zoho Social has a free plan for one brand and six channels. Standard is $15 a month ($10 billed yearly) and Professional is $40 ($30 yearly), each for one brand, 14 channels and one team member. A separate agency tab prices by brand and member, starting at $17 per brand and $12 per member monthly on its first tier. There’s a 15-day trial.

Limit: the business plans include one team member, so they suit a solo manager more than a team.

9. Buffer: the simple option

Buffer’s Free plan allows three channels. Essentials is $6 per channel a month ($5 billed yearly) for one user. Team is $12 per channel ($10 yearly) with unlimited members and approval workflows. It’s a simple scheduler, not an inbox and listening suite. Limit: the price multiplies with channels, and branded reports are Team only.

Quick comparison

How to choose

1. Count seats before comparing prices. Hootsuite, Sprout and Agorapulse charge per user. SocialPilot, Sendible, Vista and Loomly bundle users in. A five-person team can cost far more on a per-seat plan.
2. Check where approvals start. If a compliance or client step is required, find the cheapest plan that includes it. That’s Sendible Plus, SocialPilot Premium or Loomly Starter in this list.
3. Match inbox and listening needs. If customer replies are the main workload, Sprout and Agorapulse go deeper. If you only publish, you can skip those costs.
4. Look at monthly versus annual. Hootsuite shows annual rates only. Sprout charges $99 monthly versus $79 annual on Essentials, and Loomly’s Starter is $65 versus $49.
5. Plan for agencies separately. Client workspaces, white-label reports and per-brand pricing differ a lot. See our guide to Buffer alternatives for lower-cost options and AI social media post generators if drafting is the bottleneck.

If the hard part is writing, not scheduling

A suite manages the queue, not the quality of what goes into it. For a public-company CEO or an IR and comms team that must keep every post in one voice and inside disclosure rules, Parlance is a voice-trained content system built for exactly that. One brief becomes a LinkedIn post, X thread, blog post, email and press release. It isn’t a scheduler, so you’d keep a tool from the list above for publishing. It’s invite-only.

Get a voice-matched sample from Parlance →

Disclaimer: we own Parlance (which is how we know it’s good).