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6 Free Hootsuite Alternatives

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By Shephalii Kapoor

Published | Updated on
6 min read

Six free Hootsuite alternatives that help social media managers in managing social media accounts.

Are you a social media manager who uses Hootsuite as a social media marketing and management tool to manage multiple social network channels?

Well, for years, social media executives such as yourself have used the tool to schedule social media posts, monitor audience engagement, share information with customers and understand the effectiveness of their business’s social media strategy.

Despite having been a popular social media tool for years, Hootsuite’s pricing remains a concern for many users. Thankfully, there are quite a few products in the social media marketing and management category that offer free versions to users.

We asked users about certain Hootsuite alternatives they considered opting for when purchasing a social media marketing solution for their organization. Here are the six best alternatives they identified. Our list (presented alphabetically) can provide a starting point for your search.

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1. Buffer

Buffer is an online social media tool that allows users to customize posts for several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The software also enables users to automatically publish posts at predetermined times, share content, and analyze the weekly or monthly performance of social media campaigns.

The social media solution allows you to identify unanswered comments on your social media post and highlight the most important ones. It also helps determine negative comments and those with a question by leveraging machine learning.

You can use the tool to create a professional social media report that highlights the overall performance of your social media channels, top and recent posts, metrics breakdown, and audience insights.

Key Features

  • Automated publishing
  • Campaign management
  • Collaboration tools
  • Content management
  • Multi-Account management
  • Post scheduling

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Buffer

Posting schedule in Buffer (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Buffer compares to Hootsuite


Both Buffer and Hootsuite allow small and midsize businesses to manage their social media presence via a single interface. However, Hootsuite, with its extensive range of features, is a pricier option of the two. Moreover, it has a slightly complicated user interface as compared to Buffer, which offers an easy-to-use and attractive dashboard that allows you to easily manage scheduled posts.

Platforms supported: Both Buffer and Hootsuite are web-based tools having a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both the tools can be used by freelancers, small businesses, and mid-large enterprises.

Customer support: Unlike Hootsuite, which provides phone, email, and chat support to users, Buffer provides only chat and email support.

Pricing: As opposed to Hootsuite, Buffer offers a free account to users. The starting price of Hootsuite is $49 per month (up to 10 social accounts), whereas the pricing for Buffer starts at $5 per month per social channel.

2. Later

Later is a social media management platform with a drag-and-drop calendar tool that allows users to schedule posts and preview them to check how exactly they will look post upload. The platform allows you to add finishing touches to your posts and add captions and hashtags before scheduling them to a specific date or timeslot.

As a Later user, you can organize all your photos and videos at a central location, referred to as the media library. The tool allows you to import media from various sources, such as Dropbox and Google Drive.

While Later allows you to post across several social media channels, Instagram remains the major focal point. You can use the platform to add labels to Instagram content so that they can be located and filtered easily. Later analyzes your top-performing posts from recent months and suggests you the best time to post stories for maximum engagement.

Key Features

  • Automated publishing
  • Content management
  • Multi-Account management
  • Post scheduling
  • Reporting/Analytics

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Later

Analytics overview in Later (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Later compares to Hootsuite


Both Later and Hootsuite offer the primary functions of content planning and scheduling. However, Later is easier to use compared to Hootsuite. The tool features a user-friendly dashboard, which makes it easy to navigate between features. On the flip side, this social media platform offers limited features under its free plan. Compared to Later, Hootsuite offers a robust scheduling feature with the facility to collaborate on campaigns.

Platforms supported: Both Later and Hootsuite are web-based and have a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both Later and Hootsuite have been designed to be used by freelancers and businesses of all sizes.

Customer support: Unlike Hootsuite, which provides phone, email, and chat support, Later offers chat and email support to users.

Pricing: Unlike Hootsuite, Later offers a free account to users. The starting price of Hootsuite is $49 per month (up to 10 social accounts), whereas the pricing for Later starts at $8 per month, which includes 30 posts per social profile.

3. OneUp

OneUp is a social media scheduling tool that allows you to schedule and automatically repeat specific social media posts after the desired interval, say, for instance, days or weeks. The platform provides Canva integration so that users can create and share images directly from Canva’s dashboard instead of saving them to a device first.

OneUp is compatible with several social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. It also supports Google My Business and enables users to add images, links, and even Call-To-Action (CTA) buttons to their Google My Business posts.

The social media software allows you to schedule bulk posts via a CSV file from your computer, Google Drive or Dropbox. The platform also provides a chrome extension for easy image scheduling.

Key Features

  • Automated publishing
  • Collaboration tools
  • Content management
  • Customer engagement
  • Post scheduling
  • Social media monitoring

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

OneUp

Auto-repeat feature in OneUp (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how OneUp compares to Hootsuite


Both OneUp and Hootsuite allow users to schedule posts. However, Hootsuite does not allow you to set them to repeat. Moreover, Hootsuite does not allow users to schedule Google My Business posts. However, if you look at the list of features, Hootsuite provides some unique features, such as post recycling, post preview, and social inbox.

Platforms supported: Both the platforms are web-based and have a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both OneUp and Hootsuite are meant for small, medium, and large enterprises.

Customer support: Unlike Hootsuite, OneUp does not provide phone support. It offers only email and chat support to users.

Pricing: Unlike Hootsuite, OneUp offers a free version to users. The starting price of Hootsuite is $49 per month (up to 10 social accounts), whereas the pricing for OneUp starts at $9 per month for sole proprietors.

4. Publer

Publer is an online tool that enables businesses to manage content on all major social networking channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The software allows you to insert your frequently used hashtags or website URLs in your posts, add up to 10 email signatures per social media account, and insert watermarks to images for copyright protection.

As a Publer user, you can add emojis, GIFs, and even videos up to 1GB in size to your posts. The platform features an in-built hashtags suggestion tool that provides you with suggested hashtags that best match your post.

The social media solution not only allows you to reshare your posts but also add delays in between the original message and the re-shares. The tool also features an auto-delete feature that allows you to delete a post automatically after a pre-determined time.

Key Features

  • Automated publishing
  • Campaign management
  • Collaboration tools
  • Content management
  • For small businesses
  • Multi-Account management

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Publer

Creating and scheduling posts in Publer (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Publer compares to Hootsuite


Both Publer and Hootsuite are popular web-based tools, offering features such as multi-account management and automated publishing. While Publer offers certain unique features, such as watermark and signature support, Hootsuite is better in terms of integrations and customer support.

Platforms supported: Both Publer and Hootsuite are online tools. Unlike Hootsuite, Publer does not have a mobile app for Android or iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both Publer and Hootsuite are meant for businesses of all sizes. However, Publer is best suited for up to 200 users. Hootsuite, on the other hand, can support over 1,000 users.

Customer support: Unlike Hootsuite, Publer does not provide phone support. It offers only email and chat support to users.

Pricing: Unlike Hootsuite, Publer offers a free version to users. The starting price of Hootsuite is $49 per month (up to 10 social accounts), whereas the pricing for Publer starts at $10 per month (up to 5 social accounts).

5. TweetDeck

TweetDeck is an online Twitter tool that allows users to manage multiple Twitter accounts and track engagement in real time. The tool also enables you to keep a tab on the latest trends and hashtags.

As a social media manager, you can use TweetDeck to jump between accounts without the need to sign in and out, organize your tweets according to topics such as events or interests, and filter your searches based on keyword, date, or time.

TweetDeck allows users to mute tweets and even accounts across the entire application. It also allows you to schedule posts at a later date or time. The platform highlights the social media profile icon from which you are posting.

Key Features

  • Automated publishing
  • Multi-Account management
  • Post scheduling

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

X Pro

User interface overview in TweetDeck (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how TweetDeck compares to Hootsuite


Both TweetDeck and Hootsuite are popular social media management tools. While the two might sound relatively similar, there are some key differences between the two. For instance, Hootsuite allows you to manage multiple social media accounts, whereas TweetDeck is only meant for the management of Twitter accounts. The next major difference lies in the pricing. While TweetDeck is 100 percent free, Hootsuite offers both, a free and a paid version.

Platforms supported: Both TweetDeck and Hootsuite are web-based tools with a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both TweetDeck and Hootsuite are meant for freelancers and businesses of all sizes.

Customer support: Unlike Hootsuite which provides phone, email, and chat support to users, TweetDeck provides only chat support.

Pricing: Unlike Hootsuite, TweetDeck offers a free version to users. The starting price of Hootsuite is $49 per month (up to 10 social accounts), whereas TweetDeck is free.

6. Zoho Social

Zoho Social is a cloud-based social media management tool that allows marketers to manage multiple social media accounts, create a posting schedule, and understand the pulse of the market via custom reports that can be shared with the team. The software features a real-time monitoring dashboard that enables users to track and manage conversations.

As a Zoho Social user, you can have discussions with your team via chat, audio, and video calls. You can also tag your team members in specific discussion threads and assign roles to them.

In addition to scheduling and collaboration, the tool allows you to monitor important keywords, product reviews, and discover industry trends. It also provides you with an insight into how often people have engaged with your posts and a snapshot of their social media profile.

Key Features

  • Automated publishing
  • Brand tracking
  • Collaboration tools
  • Contact management
  • Content management
  • Conversion tracking

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Zoho Social

Engagement overview in Zoho Social (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Zoho Social compares to Hootsuite


Both Zoho Social and Hootsuite are popular solutions that enable marketers to manage multiple social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The only difference is Zoho Social doesn’t support certain platforms such as Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok. While both tools provide for bulk scheduling of posts, Zoho Social’s bulk-scheduling feature limits the user to 350 posts at a time.

Platforms supported: Both tools are web-based and have a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both Zoho Social and Hootsuite can be used by a freelancer or small business and even a mid-large enterprise.

Customer support: Unlike Hootsuite, which provides phone, email, and chat support to users, Zoho Social provides only chat and email support.

Pricing: Unlike Hootsuite, Zoho Social offers a free version to users. The starting price of Hootsuite is $49 per month (up to 10 social accounts), whereas the pricing for Zoho Social starts at $10 per month.

Assess all options when looking for the best free Hootsuite alternative

Being an expensive option, Hootsuite might not be the best cut for you. However, there are plenty of other social media management tools that can be looked out for as a suitable yet free Hootsuite alternative.

For instance, if you only need to manage Twitter accounts, you might not want a product with a complete social media management package. In such a case, TweetDeck may be the best Hootsuite alternative for you. Similarly, if you are an Instagram brand with multiple IG business accounts, you can consider Later for your social media management needs. The tool not only allows you to schedule Instagram posts and view feed previews but also provides you with advanced analytics to track the performance of your posts. It also suggests trending hashtags for different topics and the best time to post.

If you want to focus more on the social media content creation side of things, Buffer can be a good choice for you. The tool allows you to visually plan your social media campaigns and provides insights for measuring engagement. Similarly, if you are focusing more on ease of use and setup, you might want to try Zoho Social, which is also an affordable alternative to Hootsuite.

Lastly, if you require advanced features to support your social media needs, you may want to consider Publer as a suitable Hootsuite alternative. The platform offers some unique customizations such as URL shorteners, shortcodes, and signatures for individual accounts.



How did we choose these products? We didn’t—you did

At Capterra, we objectively select and rank products based on a methodology developed by our research team. Some vendors pay us when they receive web traffic, but this has no influence on our methodology.

Products featured in this article were identified in user reviews as other products considered at the same time as Hootsuite. In this article, we highlighted the products with the highest number of other products considered mentions.

To be included in this list, alternative products had to provide the following social media management features: content management, social media monitoring, multi-account management.

Disclaimer: We conducted this analysis based on reviews and ratings data as of Feb. 1, 2022. In order to present the most up-to-date information, the product cards below show real-time ratings. Please note that this means the ratings’ value in the product card may not reflect the value of the ratings at the time of analysis.

Product research for this article was contributed by Himanshi Arora.


Looking for Social Media Monitoring software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Social Media Monitoring software solutions.

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About the Author

Shephalii Kapoor profile picture

Shephalii Kapoor is a writer at Capterra. She helps small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing user reviews for top-rated software products. Prior to Capterra, she worked as an assistant content manager at InfoEdge India Ltd. She has also worked in company law, aviation, and real estate. She is a published author and has contributed to various magazines and websites. During her free time, she enjoys reading.

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