Top 10 Hootsuite Alternatives for 2026

If you are looking for the best Hootsuite alternatives, you are in the right place.

Social media management is important for maintaining an effective online presence. The web is full of digital marketing tools that can help you with that. However, finding the right one can make all the difference.

This article guides you to find the best Hootsuite competitors that match your business goals. We also discuss what is important when selecting the best tool alternatives.

In short, Hootsuite is a popular social media management platform.

The app allows users to manage their social media accounts with a smart inbox. Businesses use Hootsuite’s content calendar to schedule and publish social media posts across all networks.

It also introduces customers to Owly, a writer assistant who helps with AI content creation. The tool also tracks brand mentions and offers social media analytics for business growth.

Other valuable features include: 

• Social listening and sentiment analytics
• Best times to post and engagement tools
• Employee advocacy and team collaboration
• Social selling and ad management
• Integration with Mentionlytics and other apps

Is there still a free version of Hootsuite?

Hootsuite is no longer free software.

But it offers some free tools for content creation. The pricing plans also have a 30-day free trial, but the app does not provide a free plan.

Moreover, the app has certain limitations. According to G2 reviews, some of these include:

• ❌High Cost: Pricing seems too high for many users, while others complained about contract issues.
• ❌Customer Support: Clients mentioned receiving no response after asking multiple times.
• ❌Data Issues: People complained about data shortage (e.g., engagement rates) and inaccurate analytics.
• ❌Functionality Limitations: Reviews mentioned slow performance, bugs, and glitches. Also, some features (e.g., Twitter tags and AutoBoost) do not always work.

These drawbacks might cause clients to start looking for other options as well. So, we will review the best alternatives in the next section!

List of Top 10 Hootsuite Alternatives and Competitors

Since Hootsuite handles all social media needs, the next section covers a variety of platforms. From social listening tools to social media management software, here are the best alternatives to Hootsuite:

1. Mentionlytics

Mentionlytics is an AI-powered social listening tool that helps you manage your social presence effectively.

Do you ever wonder how people feel about your brand? Mentionlytics gives you the answer in a few seconds. It tracks mentions of your business, competitors, and industry across the web and all social networks. Users praise the tool for data accuracy and interactive customer service.

Offering custom reports and real-time notifications, Mentionlytics is perfect for PR crisis management. You get to manage not only your social media presence but also your brand reputation. The app operates with a user-friendly interface to help you boost your social media marketing.

Key Features

From AI brand monitoring to social media scheduling, Mentionlytics offers a variety of features, like:

• Sentiment and Emotion Analysis: Categorize mentions into sentiments (positive, negative, neutral) and emotions (joy, anger, sadness, fear).
• Trend and Influencer Identification: Discover viral trends in your industry and influential social media profiles.
• Social Intelligence Advisor: SIA converts large volumes of data into smart insights. The AI software also alerts you when it detects spikes in negative mentions and provides personalized tips.
• Team Collaboration: Use the app’s features to work efficiently with team members. Assign tasks, use specific labels, and tag co-workers on important cases.
• AI Mention Clustering: Save time by letting the AI software group similar mentions by topic.

Pricing 

Starts at $69 per month and offers a 14-day free trial.

Try Mentionlytics for FREE

2. Buffer 

Buffer is a next-level social media management tool that simplifies content creation.

Many brands consider Buffer their go-to platform for social media success. Users create posts on the app’s social media calendar and publish their scheduled content. They can organize posts and easily import media.

Besides scheduling, Buffer helps individuals and companies engage with their audience. The software makes sure that they always see their social media comments. Users can brainstorm, get content inspiration, and let the app repurpose old posts.

Key Features

Apart from scheduling and engagement, Buffer offers features such as:

• Library of content ideas and AI assistance
• Social media performance tracking and reporting
• Account analytics and audience demographics
• Custom landing page building and link click tracking
• Team collaboration and approval workflows

Pricing

Starts at $6 per month per channel. Are you looking for free Hootsuite alternatives for small businesses? You should know that Buffer also offers a free version with a few publishing features.

3. Planable

As the name suggests, Planable makes planning an easy job for clients.

Planable is a social media collaboration platform that helps business teams streamline their content strategy. Clients can manage social media campaigns while ensuring seamless teamwork.

The platform does not offer social media monitoring tools. However, you can easily use it, and get real-time feedback to help your team communicate better. Users can even drag and drop elements into the social media content calendar and save time.

Key Features

Here is what you get with Planable:

• Intuitive interface and WYSIWYG design
• Multi-level agency approval workflows
• Multiple content views (feed, calendar, list, and grid views)
• Social media analytics and reporting
• Profile performance and audience demographics

Pricing

Starts at $13 per month per user. It also offers a free version of the tool.

4. Sprout Social 

Sprout Social is ideal for bigger companies; Just like Hootsuite. That makes it a clear competitor and alternative option.

Sprout Social leads social media management by integrating all channels into a user-friendly interface. The all-in-one inbox feature keeps you on track of important messages, mentions, and comments.

The app allows you to use tools like Canva to design content. Plan your monthly posts on the app’s social media calendar. After having scheduled posts for all platforms, save time and move on to new projects.

Users love this tool as it offers social media analytics, audience demographics, and business insights. Sprout Social can also help with task management, custom approval workflows, and CRM.

Key Features

Sprout Social offers many tools — depending on the subscription you choose. However, some cool features include:

• AI content creation and repurposing
• Review management and crisis alerting
• Paid performance reporting and ad management
• Influencer recognition and trend analytics
• Team collaboration and team activity reports

Pricing

Starts at $249 per month per seat.

Also Read: Best Sprout Social Alternatives and Competitors 

Try Mentionlytics for FREE

5. Social Champ

Looking for a free alternative to Hootsuite? Social Champ is the one for you.

The tool is an all-in-one solution for automating social media management. Social Champ helps users schedule and publish content on all social media channels. This includes niche platforms, like Meta Threads, Bluesky, and Metadon.

Social Champ also leads clients to boost their content strategies by simplifying content creation. In fact, it offers A/B testing, bulk post-uploading, and team collaboration tools.

Key Features

Here are the features you can enjoy with Social Champ :

• Social media calendar and smart social inbox
• Smart queues and evergreen content automation
• RSS feed automation and trending topics monitoring
• Performance analytics and report generation
• URL shortener and CTR (Click-through rate) tracking

Pricing

Starts at $29 per month. The tool also offers a free plan for 3 social accounts and 1 user.

6. Agorapulse

Agorapulse delivers a comprehensive social media management solution that integrates with most social media platforms.

The popular software aggregates all your messages, mentions, and engagements in an easy-to-use social inbox. Social media managers use Agorapulse to boost engagement, manage their reputation, and improve customer service.

Agorapulse also offers intelligent social listening. You can monitor your brand or competitors online and extract valuable performance insights. Learning how people think of your brand will help you grow faster.

Key Features

Agorapulse helps with managing your social inbox, but it also offers features like:  

• Social media scheduling and publishing from one platform
• Trend tracking and influencer identification
• Campaign tracking and ROI evaluation
• Power Reports and sentiment analytics
• AI assistance and content creation

Pricing

Starts at $69 per month per user.

Also Read: 12 Best Agorapulse Alternatives and Competitors Compared

7. Statusbrew

Over 16M users rely on Statusbrew to manage their social media efforts.

Statusbrew is a good alternative to Hootsuite, as it displays similar capabilities. Users can plan their social media content and publish it across multiple channels. They also get to reply to direct messages and comments from a single interface.

Community managers love Statusbrew’s reporting features. The software does a good job of analyzing social media data and extracting valuable insights. For example, it informs you about audience demographics and best posting times.

Key Features

Here are some of the unique features Statusbrew offers:

• Shareable calendars and smart bulk scheduling
• Content library and media asset management
• Approval workflows and parent-child tagging
• CRM integrations and review management
• Link shortener and campaign URL builder

Pricing

Starts at $89 per month.

8. Later

Later is an all-encompassing social media marketing solution for all businesses.

What Later lacks in brand monitoring and engagement, it makes up for in content management. Users can design, edit, and optimize their social media content. Then, they can use the app’s planner to schedule engaging posts across all channels.

Later is particularly popular for its influencer marketing. Log in to the app’s Creator Database and discover meaningful influencer partnerships for your brand. You can also reach, communicate, and pay influencers from the app.

Key Features

Besides influencer marketing, Later offers many social media features, like:

• AI caption writer and hashtag suggestions
• Best times to post and performance analytics
• Linkin.bio builder for website traffic growth
• Photo/video editing and Canva integration
• Mobile app integration and Visual Planner

Pricing

Starts at $25 per month.

9. Loomly

In general, Loomly makes collaborating with clients and creating engaging social media content look super easy.

Loomly is a social media management platform that focuses mostly on content creation. Sure, it offers engagement tools, like automatically responding to customer messages, mentions, and comments.

However, most brands know it for leading content optimization and scheduling. Loomly’s tips are always effective for improving your posts. You can get suggestions when crafting posts, like “add/remove words” or “use these visuals”.

Key Features

Here is a list of Loomly’s best social media marketing features:

• Loom.ly link shortener and clicks tracking
• Loomly Post Ideas and RSS feeds
• Hashtag suggestions and trending topics
• Asset management and access to unique visuals
• Ad and paid campaign management

Pricing

Starts at $42 per month.

10. CoSchedule

CoSchedule may not be similar to most choices on this list, but it has rightfully secured its position.

The platform’s Marketing Suite helps businesses streamline content organization. CoSchedule’s Suite offers a set of calendars to make organizing easier. You can base your choice of plan on budget and features. The options include:

• Social Calendar
• Agency Calendar
• Content Calendar
• Marketing Suite

For example, CoSchedule’s Social Calendar features include message drafting and optimization, drag-and-drop rescheduling, and posting automation. Users can manage multiple social profiles, track performance, and create reusable templates to maintain consistency.

Key Features

Some interesting CoSchedule features include:

• Team permissions and client approvals
• HireMia: AI assistance for research and editing
• Headline Studio for content optimization
• Social engagement and campaign reports
• Marketing training and educational courses

Pricing

Starts at $19 per month per user. However, CoSchedule also offers a Free Calendar for individuals who need basic scheduling features.

How To Select The Best Hootsuite Alternative for You

When selecting an alternative tool, you must consider specific factors and compare capabilities. Here are 5 factors you need to focus on:

1. Features: Evaluate what each platform offers and how it covers your brand’s needs. For example, important features include social media scheduling, analytics & reporting, content creation, and team collaboration.
2. Integrations: Check how it integrates with other tools you use, like CRM systems and email marketing platforms. You should ensure nothing will change in your workflow system, at least for the worse.
3. Customer Support: Read several reviews before deciding, as customer support is important for project results. Check availability and live chat, email, or phone communication options.
4. Pricing: Compare subscription plans and features to find a solution that fits your budget. Do not forget to check if the budget-friendly plans function correctly.
5. User Interface: A user-friendly and intuitive interface can boost productivity and make your job easier. Also, it would help if the visuals and design match your aesthetic values.

Try a Hootsuite Alternative for Free

This was a long list of Hootsuite alternatives and competitor tools! Now you know what each tool can offer for you or your business. So, choose the option closest to your brand’s needs and budget.

Ready to optimize your social media presence? Sign up for a free trial with Mentionlytics and manage your social media presence effectively!