Looking for a Hootsuite alternative that doesn't cost hundreds (or thousands) of dollars every month?
Hootsuite is the biggest social media management app in the market.
But it’s not for everyone...
Users often complain about Hootsuite's:
- Pricing that's too high for small businesses and startups
- Customer service that has been known to take a while to handle requests
- Lack of content curation tools
I spent 12 hours signing up for trials and researching the best Hootsuite alternatives. I segmented the alternatives below by what they're best at.
Feel free to skip to the section you're most interested in:
- 1. Best for content curation & scheduling: Post Planner
- 2. Good alternative for engagement management: Buffer
- 3. Good choice for agencies: Sendible
- 4. Good for multi-location businesses: Eclincher
- 5. Simple tool for scheduling: Heyorca
- 6. Budget all-in-one social media management: Loomly
- 7. Good for scaling agencies: Planable
- 8. Good choice for enterprises: SocialPilot
- 9. Most similar features to Hootsuite: Agorapulse
- Hootsuite alternative evaluation checklist
- Frequently asked questions
1. Best for content curation & scheduling: Post Planner
Post Planner is perfect for small businesses that need an affordable way to create, curate, and schedule social media posts.
How much more affordable are we talking? A LOT — Hootsuite's lowest plan is $99/month, while Post Planner's is just $7/month (not counting Post Planner's free plan). 🤯
Post Planner offers the most sought-after features and functions that Hootsuite offers — but at a fraction of the cost.
Unlike Hootsuite, which offers a bunch of different features that most social media marketers aren't going to use, Post Planner focuses on the essentials. This means Post Planner's bread and butter is:
- Helping you find VIRAL post ideas
- Helping you create VIRAL content
- Scheduling and automating your posts across networks
Post Planner does not currently have features for social listening, DM & comment management, and employee advocacy, so if those are important to your company, consider the other (much) more expensive options below.
Here's a demo video that shows you just how simple it is to use (the video will open in a new tab):
Pros:
- Personal and quick customer support
- Affordable for small businesses
- The interface is simple and easy to use
- Easily schedule weeks of content in an afternoon
- Identify trending content for sharing
- You can recycle top-performing posts
- Bulk post scheduling
- Great for tracking competitors' content across platforms
- Content creation tools that help you never run out of ideas
Cons:
- Although Post Planner helps you track your engagement, its reporting features are more simple compared to other tools on this list
- No social listening tools
- No inbox to manage comments and DMs
Key features
- Connect - All of your social media accounts in one place (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Google Business).
- Discover - Curate content from around the web to share.
- Design - Create your own visual posts with our content studio.
- Categorize - Organize your content into bucket categories.
- Create - Tailor each of your posts to be optimized for each social media platform.
- Schedule - Automate your content to be posted at the perfect time with bulk scheduling and post recycling.
- Analyze - Evaluate your historical posts' engagement and performance.
- Mobile app - Create and schedule content from your mobile device with the IOS or Android app.
Pricing
Post Planner comes in 4 different pricing plans:
- Free
- Starter - $7/month paid annually
- Growth - $27/month paid annually
- Business - $47/month paid annually
Check out our pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
Post Planner mostly receives 4-5 stars across online review platforms. Customers love the time they save scheduling their posts with Post Planner's easy-to-navigate UI. Some more critical reviews mention that they wish there were more advanced reporting features.
Here's what Dustin P. has to say about using Post Planner:
"I have been using Post Planner for the past few months and it has been a game changer for my business. With the ability to schedule posts to multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and TikTok, my social media presence has never been stronger. The content curation feature has also saved me so much time by allowing me to easily find and share relevant articles, images, and videos from top sources. The calendar view and post recycling feature have also helped me stay organized and efficient in my social media planning. But the best part about Post Planner has been the customer service. Josh and the team have been incredibly responsive and helpful in addressing any questions or issues I've had. I highly recommend Post Planner to any business looking to streamline their social media efforts and drive more sales."
2. Good alternative for engagement management: Buffer
Buffer's simple design and UX make scheduling, posting, and collaborating an intuitive process.
Buffer can connect to Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Google Business, and even Mastodon.
Even though Buffer can connect to all these platforms, Instagram is where it really shines.
Since Instagram only allows users to share one link in their bio, Buffer allows you to make a landing page that allows you to share various links and calls-to-action. This is a stand-out feature that'll help you turn your Instagram traffic into sales and signups.
Similar to Hootsuite, Buffer suffers because it doesn’t provide the user with a solution for finding posts. Its suite of tools is excellent for planning and scheduling, but it doesn’t allow the user to quickly and efficiently find the top posts in their niche.
Buffer is heavily focused on teams and analytics. If you’re just looking for something to help you provide better content for your followers, it may not be for you.
Pros:
- Team collaboration features
- Supports the social media Mastodon, unlike other tools on this list.
- In-depth analytics & dashboard
- Great for converting your social traffic into sales with its link shortener and landing page tools
Cons:
- Pricing can get expensive because they charge for each social media platform you use
- No features to find the top content in your industry
Key features
- Publishing - Create and schedule posts from one place.
- Analytics - Track engagement, reach, and sales, and create white label reports.
- Customized landing page builder - Create a landing page to drive traffic from your bio link.
- Engagement management - Manage and filter comments and DMs.
- AI assistant - Use AI to write and repurpose your content.
- Integrations - Connect with 30+ integrations like Canva, Dropbox, and Unsplash.
Pricing
Unlike some of the other schedulers on this list, Buffer charges you per channel that you use.
Buffer offers 4 main pricing plans:
- Free
- Essentials - $5/month per channel paid annually
- Team - $10/month per channel paid annually
- Agency - $100/month for the first 10 channels + $5/month for each additional channel paid annually
I recommend checking out Buffer's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
Most Buffer customers rate the software between 4-5 stars across thousands of online reviews. Most users value its scheduling, social media management, and analytics features. On the other hand, sometimes users comment on the UI being a bit funky and dislike the pricing structure being based on channels.
Here's what Daniel M. has to say about using Buffer:
"What do you like best about Buffer?
The best part of this tool is that when I was working as Social Media Coordinator, I was able to schedule my posts in different social media ahead of time, making my life easier.
What do you dislike about Buffer?
I wish that the interface were a little more user firendly and make it a little more fun for the users. I also think that would be nice to have a collaboration option (Not sure if this is available now) but it was not available when I used it. And would be very nice to have the option of some kind or included software to review your text or post to have less mistakes when writing.
What problems is Buffer solving and how is that benefiting you?
At my time working with social media, it was helping me to save time to work in other projects by managing the social media posts ahead of time."
3. Good choice for agencies: Sendible
Sendible is a scalable social media management software that's full of features that'd be a great fit for agencies.
After signing up for their free trial, I was very pleased with how easy their dashboard was to navigate. I could easily figure out how to use each feature.
If I were a social media marketing agency, I'd strongly consider using Sendible because of its collaboration and white labeling features, which can help you better manage clients.
When I was scouring online reviews, I struggled to find many cons about using Sendible that weren't inherit to most social media management platforms. It's not the most cost-friendly tool on the list, but I'd still consider it a high-value option for its agency-focused features.
The main drawback I noticed was the lack of content curation features, which is nice to have if you often struggle to come up with post ideas.
Pros
- More affordable than Hootsuite
- Allows team collaboration
- Unlimited post scheduling for every pricing plan
- Known for quick customer support
- White-label features
- Content optimization for each network
- Manage DMs and comments from one platform
Cons
- Costs more than Post Planner
- Doesn't have an employee advocacy tool like Hootsuite's Amplify
- Limited content curation, although you can add your own content to a library and view RSS feeds.
Key features
- Dashboards - Access every feature from an intuitive dashboard.
- Team collaboration - Work together with your team and clients to create, assign, and approve posts.
- Scheduling - Schedule posts in bulk across networks to your content calendar.
- Analytics & reporting - Create custom reports to track engagement, followers, traffic, and top posts.
- White label - Customize your dashboard and reports to fit your brand to look more professional to clients.
- Compatible networks - Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok, LinkedIn, Google Business, YouTube, and Facebook.
- Inbox & social feed management - Manage and monitor your comments and messages across platforms.
- Integrations - Client Connect widget, Google Chrome extension, WordPress, RSS feeds, Canva, GIPHY, Pexels, Google Analytics, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
Pricing
Sendible offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
They offer 4 main plans:
- Creator - $25/month paid annually for 1 user and 6 profiles
- Traction - $76/month paid annually for 4 users and 24 profiles
- White Label Upgrade - $204/month paid annually for 20 users and 60 profiles
- White Label+ - $638/month paid annually for 100 users and 300 profiles
I recommend checking out Sendible's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
Customers mostly rate Sendible 4-5 stars across online reviews. Customers value the amount of features you get for the price. Some reviews mention struggling with bugs when it comes to scheduling different types of Instagram posts.
Here's what Louis R. has to say about using Sendible:
"What do you like best about Sendible?
We, as a business, have had a really positive experience usining Sendible. The price is fair, and the interface is expremely easy to use too. Being able to bulk schedule is also helpful. I really like the calendar view and being able to drag posts between days and switch them all aroundby dragging between days has been great. Also have always found the customer support team great when we've had queries.
What do you dislike about Sendible?
The only issue we have had with Sendible has been with issues uploading videos for instagram. Other than a couple of videos, they've all gone on perfectly, however theres been a couple where it either fails to post or won't let me upload the video in the first place due to being the incorrect ratio (despite uploading perfectly when I go directly through the instagram app).
What problems is Sendible solving and how is that benefiting you?
It's been great as a business to not have to remember each day to post on social, and instead, bulk schedule once a week. It's really increased work flow within the office as we're able to complete the task of social in one hit."
4. Good for multi-location businesses: Eclincher
Eclincher is a social media and online reputation management software that was made for multi-location businesses like healthcare clinics.
I recommend trying Eclincher's free trial if you're a business with multiple locations and is looking for more advanced features like inbox management, social listening, and business listing management.
After trying their Basic plan, I was more pleased with the user interface than some of the other reviewers that mentioned it was unaesthetic. If you don't need more advanced features, and you're just looking for a tool that helps with social media content and scheduling, I'd recommend other options because the amount of features won't be necessary.
I also found the limitations with the Basic plan to be limiting for the price tag. For example, the Basic plan doesn't have access to the media library and reporting which I think should be standard.
Pros
- Feature-rich with tools that help you manage your online presence.
- Comes with tools for social listening and managing your DMs
- You can get a local SEO tool (for additional cost)
- Attentive customer support
- Optimize content for each social network
- Can easily review posts from your team before scheduling
- Comes with a link in bio tool
Cons
- Less intuitive with the overload of features
- Can't schedule stories
- More expensive than Post Planner
- Limited content curation and reporting tools for their entry-level plan
Key features
- Engagement - Manage your social media inboxes and feeds, and analyze the emotions of your audience.
- Publishing & scheduling - Schedule and automate your social media posting on your content calendar.
- Analytics - Use template reports or create your own customer reports and templates.
- Listening - Track brand mentions, competitors, and industry trends.
- Reputation management -
- AI & automation
- Listings management
- Local SEO
Pricing
Eclincher's entry-level plan is more affordable than Hootsuite's, although it's pretty limited in features.
They offer 3 main plans:
- Basic - $58.50/month paid annually for 1 user and 10 profiles
- Premier - $157.50/month paid annually for 3 users and 20 profiles
- Agency - $382.50/month paid annually for 6 users and 40 profiles
I recommend checking our Eclincher's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
Eclincher mostly receives 5-star reviews across online review sites like G2 and Capterra. Users value the quality customer support and loads of features for local businesses. More critical reviewers, which there are few, sometimes mention glitches and there being a learning curve for all of the features. Here's what Eeva L. has to say about using Eclincher:
"What do you like best about eclincher?
I've been using eClincher for a couple of years now, and they've been a vital part of my work. I use it every day. Just imagine how much time it will take to post to all social media sites using several business accounts. Not to mention my clients'. But thanks to them, my business runs like clockwork. I just connect eClincher to all my social media account and add my content to a queue, and they'll be posted in the schedule I set.
The best part is the customer support. It's unrivaled, in my opinion. If I have a question, a complaint or if I simply want to whine about a feature they changed, I can reach someone in an instant. I highly recommend them, especially if you're a heavy social media marketer.
What do you dislike about eclincher?
I hope eClincher keeps things uncomplicated. Sometimes, more features doesn't always mean better. There are still ways to improve. It's not that easy to use if you're new to the site. There's a learning curve.
What problems is eclincher solving and how is that benefiting you?
eClincher gives me back my time and removes the drudgery of having to keep my social media accounts updated."
5. Simple tool for scheduling: HeyOrca
HeyOrca customers seem to love HeyOrca for 2 main reasons: It's simple to use AND they have fast customer support.
They make it super easy to switch to different calendars, which is useful if you're an agency that manages multiple clients' social media.
After signing up for the free trial, I can confirm that they do have one of the most straightforward social calendars.
It might lack tools that its competitors have (like better content curation), but I do like how they keep their features limited so users don't get overwhelmed.
Another note to keep in mind when comparing HeyOrca to Hootsuite: Although the Basic plan with 1 calendar is more affordable than Hootsuite, it does get pricey if you have to add more calendars. However, they do give you unlimited users and scheduled posts, unlike other tools on this list.
Pros
- Quick customer service (a lot of customer reviews rave about this)
- Simple social media scheduler
- Helpful community of users
- Can manage comments and DMs from their social inbox
- Comes with a post approval system for managing clients
Cons
- Not as affordable as Post Planner
- Limited Basic plan
- You'll need the Pro plan for features like Notes, Reports, and Inbox, which makes it less affordable if you need those features.
- Very limited content curation features (probably the weakest of the tools on this list)
Key features
- Scheduling - Plan and schedule posts across platforms from intuitive social calendars.
- Collaboration - Work together with teammates and clients to create, approve, and leave feedback on content.
- Reporting - Create automatic reports that track reactions, comments, shares, clicks, page actions, and more.
- Community management - Manage comments, DMs, and brand mentions from one social inbox.
Pricing
All of HeyOrca's pricing plans come with unlimited users and unlimited post scheduling. However, you'll have to pay more for additional content calendars.
Here are HeyOrca's 3 main pricing plans:
- Basic - Starts at $50.15/month per calendar paid annually
- Pro - Starts at $126.65/month per calendar paid annually
- Agency - Contact them for pricing
I recommend checking out HeyOrca's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
HeyOrca mostly receives 5 starts across review sites. Many reviews mention HeyOrca's simplicity and speedy customer service being their most-liked attributes. Of the very few critiques that users have, the price is one of the most common.
Here's what Sara K. has to say about using HeyOrca:
"What do you like best about HeyOrca?
I was looking for a simple social media scheduler to work with, pretty to look at and fit all of my clients' accounts on one page. I wanted a month-view calendar and HeyOrca had exactly what I was looking for. The customer service is quick and has always helped me figure out any issues I've come up against. I use this platform every day and recoommend it to other social media managers on a regular basis. Connecting HeyOrca to social media channels is simple. LOVE!
What do you dislike about HeyOrca?
The only reason I might not have chosen HeyOrca is the price, but I've learned over the years that you get what you pay for! It is worth the investment, in my opinion.
What problems is HeyOrca solving and how is that benefiting you?
HeyOrca keeps my posts organized and keeps me on track. Whenever I have a question with my account, the customer service team is SO helpful and so quick to answer questions."
6. Budget all-in-one social media management: Loomly
Loomly is a great option if you're looking for a more feature-heavy Hootsuite alternative that can be used across a large team and is a lot more affordable.
Its user interface is a little old-school-looking. However, I found it pretty easy to navigate and its onboarding process easy to follow.
One standout feature that Loomly has that most other alternatives don't is that it supports Snapchat.
Pros
- Intuitive to use
- The approval feature makes managing client content easier
- Can manage comments and DMs from one place
- Responsive customer support
- Recommends posts based on holidays
Cons
- Older-looking user interface
- Although it has some content curation features, it doesn't help you find viral content like Post Planner
- Can't schedule recurring posts
Key features
- Post planning & scheduling - Create custom content calendars that you can use to schedule and automate your publishing.
- Collaboration & approval workflows - Create approval workflows to manage content across your team and clients.
- Campaign management - Keep your different content calendars and analytics segmented based on your brands and clients.
- Analytics & reports - Track your posts' performance and generate shareable reports.
- Community management - Manage and delegate all of your comments and messages across your accounts.
- Content creation - Create your own unique content with their image editor or curate post ideas from Loomly's suggestions.
- Integrations - Loomly allows you to schedule to X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. But it also supports integrations with Zapier, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Canva, Giphy, Google Drive, and Unsplash.
Pricing
Loomly offers 4 main pricing plans that all offer unlimited scheduling:
- Base - $32/month paid annually for 2 users and 10 accounts
- Standard - $60/month paid annually for 6 users and 20 accounts
- Advanced - $131/month paid annually for 14 users and 35 accounts
- Premium - $277/month paid annually for 30 users and 50 accounts
I recommend checking out Loomly's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
Loomly mostly receives 5-4 star reviews across review sites. One of the most common pros that users mention is how easy it is to use. Meanwhile, one of the few common complaints is about how the user interface appears a bit outdated.
Here's what Amanda S. has to say about using Loomly:
"What do you like best about Loomly?
easy to use and the approval process for clients is amazing. Great product. Easy to use for both our business and the clients we assist with. Love the approval process with clients.
What do you dislike about Loomly?
A bit more "old school" platform in the design but overall love it.
What problems is Loomly solving and how is that benefiting you?
approval process for clients we service."
7. Good for scaling agencies: Planable
Planable is another Hootsuite alternative that's a good fit for agencies that manage many clients.
They offer content collaboration features that allow you to communicate with your team internally to manage your social posts.
My personal favorite feature — that's also a common theme across Planable's user experience — is its ability to generate AI captions in one click based on an image.
I'd say that they have one of the better user experiences out of most alternatives because of how quickly you can get to any feature in 1-2 clicks.
They also offer features to plan your blog posts and newsletters in the same place as your social posts, although I think most companies won't use those features because they'll already have software for those use cases.
One thing I'd note that it's lacking is a feature for curating content. They do offer GIFs, but I couldn't find any other form of media that comes with the platform.
Pros
- Easy-to-use user experience
- Helpful customer support
- Quick AI content features
- Easily swap between posts views
- Comes with content collaboration features that make managing clients easier
- Pricing is very customizable based on workspaces and users
Cons
- Doesn't offer stock images or videos
- Pricing is scalable but can get pricey if you have a lot of users
- Can't set an automated posting schedule (you have to pick a time for each post)
Key features
- Create - Create, edit, and auto-generate content in one place.
- Plan - Plan social media posts, blogs, and newsletters from a content calendar.
- Collaborate - Invite collaborators with different permissions so you can manage feedback and ideas across your team.
- Organize - Create separate workspaces for different brands and clients.
- Publish - Schedule posts to X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google Business, Pinterest, and TikTok.
- Universal Content - Manage ads, blogs, and newsletters with your social posts.
- Analytics - Track followers, reach, engagement, and more by platform or by post.
Pricing
Planable offers 4 main pricing plans that scale based on the number of workspaces and users you need.
- Free - Create and schedule 50 total posts
- Basic - $11/month per user + $17/month per extra workspace paid annually
- Pro - $22/month per user + $17/month per extra workspace paid annually
- Custom - Contact Planable for custom pricing
I recommend checking out Planable's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
Planable mostly receives 4-5 stars across customer reviews online. Users commonly praise its collaboration abilities and its simplicity. Meanwhile, one common thing reviewers criticize is its lack of reporting abilities.
Here's what Patricia L. has to say about using Planable:
"What do you like best about Planable?
Planable has saved me and my team a lot of time collaborating with account owners rather than going back and forth via email. It saves us a great deal of stress when it comes to calendaring, planning, and scheduling posts rather than going into each social media account to schedule it.
If you're a social media manager, an individual, an agency, or a business owner, Planable is your go-to platform. I've tried all the other platforms, and Planable is the only tool that works for me and my team. I highly recommend it!
What do you dislike about Planable?
I wish Planable had an insights or analytics feature to save me a great deal in generating reporting for my clients. Other than that, Planable still serves all our social media management needs.
What problems is Planable solving and how is that benefiting you?
Planable eliminates the worry of tracking the scheduled post, whether it has been posted or the client wishes to have a revision that my team misses on the email. Planable allows our clients to be guests in the workspace to provide feedback and see our social media management plan for their accounts in real time! It makes collaboration with the client and team so much easier! A great deal for the heaps of things it takes off our worries. Planable is the best!"
8. Good choice for enterprises: SocialPilot
SocialPilot is an all-in-one social media management app that's made for social media marketing agencies.
You can schedule to all the most important social media platforms, like X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Google Business.
Plus, you get unique white-label features to manage, collaborate, and share analytics with clients.
If you manage a lot of social media accounts, SocialPilot's pricing is reasonable. However, if you manage only a few accounts, there are more affordable options (like Post Planner).
Pros:
- Supports all of the most popular social media platforms
- Great if you have a lot of social media accounts to manage
- Easy to optimize your posts for each platform
- White-label customization features
- Team collaboration features
- Manage your social media inboxes from a single place
Cons:
- More complex user experience compared to alternatives
- You can only add 1 social account of each platform for each brand
- Limited integrations compared to competitors like Hootsuite
- No free plan
Key features
- Social media calendar - Organize and filter your posts from a multi-view calendar.
- AI content assistant - Generate ideas and captions, and optimize content for each platform.
- Team management - Onboard your team, assign permissions, and collaborate on posts.
- Advanced reports - Customize and automate reports that show data by platform and post.
- Browser extension - Quickly schedule posts from your browser in a few clicks.
- Bulk scheduling - Create and schedule up to 500 posts at once.
- Content library - Save your content to be reused in the future.
- Client management - Onboard clients and create approval workflows.
- Client post approval - Clients can approve posts from any device.
- Integrations - Slack, Unsplash, Google Drive, Giphy, Dropbox, Zapier, Sniply, Rebrandly, Bitly, Feedly, Canva, and Box.
Pricing
SocialPilot offers 4 main pricing plans:
- Professional - $25.50/month billed annually
- Small Team - $42.50/month billed annually
- Agency - $85/month billed annually
- Agency+ - $170/month billed annually
I recommend checking out SocialPilot's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
SocialPilot mostly receives 4-5 stars across online reviews. Customers love the value you get for the money, especially if they're managing a lot of accounts. It was a struggle to find many complaints, although some mentioned occasional scheduling errors.
Here's what Michelle D. has to say about using SocialPilot:
"What do you like best about SocialPilot?
Our team has been using Social Pilot for over a year, having switched from Hootsuite when they increased their prices.
The dashboard is easy to use, intuitive and when we joined them the on-boarding Teams meeting was really helpful.
We have had issues connecting some Meta accounts, but that was a Meta issue and the Social Pilot team helped us to push through the issue and implement changes quickly.
The dashboard is really good to look at (we are creatives, not techy) and this is important to us!
I would definitely recommend Social Pilot, we use it every day in our business.
What do you dislike about SocialPilot?
There are so many platforms to choose from! But we are happy with our choice.
The one issue is that X is not currently supported.
What problems is SocialPilot solving and how is that benefiting you?
It enables us to plan content ahead and visibly see it across the team."
9. Most similar features to Hootsuite: Agorapulse
Agorapulse is another all-in-one social media management platform that comes with advanced features that other social media schedulers don't usually have.
In addition to being able to schedule posts Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google Business — you get tools to manage your inboxes and track brand mentions.
Agorapulse offers a basic free plan that allows you to schedule up to 10 posts, however, the majority of its features are behind a paywall.
Because of its advanced features, its pricing is less affordable for small businesses. But it's still reasonably priced for what you get compared to other alternatives with similar features.
I also did find the user experience to be pretty easy to navigate, given the number of advanced features Agorapulse has.
Pros:
- Helpful customer support
- Can respond to comments from the platform
- Advanced reporting that tracks social analytics & your team's engagement
- Has a free plan
- Makes social listening easy
- Offers an employee advocacy feature that helps boost your reach
Cons:
- The paid plans start at $49/month, which is relatively high compared to Post Planner
- You'll have to buy one of the higher-tier paid plans for more advanced features like bulk scheduling
- You can't curate high-performing content from around the web
Key features
- Social media inbox - Manage and reply to DMs and comments.
- Post scheduling - Plan and schedule your posts to your content calendar.
- Social listening - Get insights into what people are saying about your brand online.
- Reporting and analytics - Track organic and paid engagement, trends, and performance from your posts.
- ROI tracking - Connect Agorapulse to GA4 to attribute your social traffic to business KPIs.
- AI writing assistant - Use AI to enhance your written content.
- Employee advocacy - Send notifications to your brand advocates when you post and give them suggested copy to engage with your post.
Pricing
Agorapulse has 5 main pricing plans:
- Free
- Standard - $49/month billed annually
- Professional - $79/month billed annually
- Advanced - $119/month billed annually
- Custom - Contact Agorapulse for pricing
I recommend checking out Agorapulse's pricing page for more details.
Customer reviews
Most customers rate Agorapulse 4-5 stars across online reviews. Customers like being able to manage all of their social media DMs in one place and the ability to track brand mentions across social platforms. One of the most common criticisms is the high price point for smaller businesses.
Here's what one verified user has to say about using Agorapulse:
"What do you like best about Agorapulse?
Agorapulse is a game-changer for social media management. Its intuitive interface makes scheduling posts a breeze, and the user-friendly design ensures a seamless experience. Navigating through its broad array of features is surprisingly easy, making it a go-to platform for both beginners and seasoned professionals. From analytics to collaboration tools, Agorapulse combines simplicity with functionality, making social media management a joy.
What do you dislike about Agorapulse?
While Agorapulse excels in user-friendliness, its limitations become apparent in reporting functions, especially at lower subscription levels. Users might find themselves desiring more comprehensive analytics. Additionally, the inability to export scheduled posts for client sharing is a notable drawback. Some advanced features that could enhance the overall experience seem absent. Agorapulse, while intuitive, could benefit from refining its reporting capabilities and expanding on certain functionalities.
What problems is Agorapulse solving and how is that benefiting you?
Agorapulse is a time-saving boon for our agency, efficiently tackling the challenge of managing multiple accounts. Its streamlined interface ensures tasks are organized and nothing slips through the cracks. This solution significantly reduces manual effort, allowing us to focus more on strategy and client engagement. Agorapulse not only simplifies account management but also enhances our overall productivity and client satisfaction."
Hootsuite alternative evaluation checklist
Your next step is to choose which Hootsuite alternative will be best for your business.
Here's a checklist to make your decision easier.
Don't forget: Take advantage of free trials
Most alternatives on this list are going to offer free trials without the need of your credit card.
Take advantage of that!
Create a shortlist of the tools you're interested in and start trying them out.
DON'T just sign up and look around.
Connect your social media accounts and try using the features that interest you most.
Consideration #1: What social media platforms are you using?
What social media platforms do you and your clients use?
There are over 100 social media sites (and that number is constantly growing).
In most cases, these platforms are a MUST:
Make a list of which social media platforms you and your clients use.
Then, rule out the tools that don’t support your favorites.
Consideration #2: How many users & accounts do you manage?
Consider how many users are on your team and how many accounts you’ll be managing.
SMM tools price their products in tiers. And the price increases after a certain number of users.
Think of your client roster and your goals.
You can always upgrade later when your team grows.
But make sure the plans offered make sense for your team and clients.
Consideration #3: Features & capabilities
What features and capabilities will work best for you and your clients?
What do you need your social media management and scheduling tool to do to make your life easier?
For example, do you want to add industry-specific content to a bucket and automatically distribute it at certain times of day?
Do you need your management platform to have a built-in analytics feature?
Consideration #4: Ease of use & user experience
At some point, we’ve all had a bad user experience with a tool or product.
Friction in user experience leads to frustration. Afterall, there’s a reason why 70% of customers abandon a purchase because of poor user experience.
While some tools have a beautiful and intuitive interface, others are harder to learn and maintain.
Consider which ones are easiest to use.
Some platforms have features that focus on larger teams. Those platforms might prove to be too much to maintain for smaller teams as you don’t need all those specific features.
Spoiler alert: The more features a tool has, the larger the learning curve.
Consideration #5: Customer support
Does the platform have an educational library of learning materials?
Does it have video tutorials?
Does it have information that’s easy to search and understand?
Does it have a support team that’s easy to reach?
Having access to good customer support can remove many of the typical roadblocks to implementing your new social media management tool.
Consideration #6: Customization
Can you customize features the way you need them?
Can you create custom streams of shareable content for your industry?
Can you create custom posting plans?
It might take signing up for a free trial to see whether the platform has the customization you need.
Consideration #7: Pricing & Value
It's GREAT when you find a product that fits your budget AND gives you amazing value, right?
In the world of social media scheduling and content curation tools, you’ll find options anywhere from $548/month up to $1000s per month.
And a higher price doesn’t necessarily mean better value.
Frequently asked questions about Hootsuite alternatives
Is Hootsuite free?
Hootsuite stopped offering its free plan after March 31st, 2023.
The good news is there are plenty of alternatives that still offer capable free plans (like Post Planner).
Why might someone want a Hootsuite alternative?
Hootsuite is loaded with valuable features, but it has become expensive for smaller businesses.
What is the best free Hootsuite alternative?
I recommend trying Post Planner's free plan. It allows up to 15 scheduled posts at a time.
Get started with Post Planner for just $7/month
Post Planner offers great value to solopreneurs and SMBs — at an affordable price.
With Post Planner, you’ll have everything necessary to increase engagement, grow your accounts, curate content, post consistently, and report to clients.
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