Updated 13 Nov 2026 · prices read on vendor pages

13 best Hootsuite alternatives in 2027

Reviewed by Mehmet Elmicenni, founder of Zekai•Prices checked 10 Nov 2026•How we check

The short answer

The best Hootsuite alternatives in 2027 are Sprout Social (best overall, $79/seat/mo billed yearly), Buffer (best free plan: 3 channels, 10 posts each) and Postiz (best open source, AGPL-3.0). Hootsuite itself starts at $99/user/mo. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 10 Nov 2026; 10 more are compared below, including 1 with a free plan and 4 open source.

Open the Zekai Cost Finder Get price alerts

Best overallSee in table →

Sprout Social

$79/seat/mo billed yearly

8.9

Best free planSee in table →

Buffer

$5/channel/mo · free plan

9.3

Best open sourceSee in table →

Postiz

Free to self-host · AGPL-3.0

7.9

13alternatives compared

2with a free plan

5open source

$5/channel/mocheapest paid · Buffer

$99/user/moHootsuite starts at

01 · Zekai Price Ledger

Which Hootsuite alternatives are worth it in 2027?

The strongest Hootsuite alternatives in 2027 are Sprout Social for larger teams, Buffer for low cost, SocialPilot and Agorapulse for agencies, and Postiz or Mixpost if you can self-host. Every tool listed here schedules and analyses social posts, so the choice comes down to pricing unit and account limits.

Zekai Cost Finder · team1 person

Tool	Type	Starting price	Free plan limit	Best for	Cost for your team	Checked
HootsuiteThe tool you are replacing	You are here	$99/user/moStandard, starting rate quoted on the pricing FAQ (billing basis not stated)	No free plan	Large teams managing social accounts	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Sprout Social Zekai score 8.9Best overall	Paid	$79/seat/mo billed yearlyEssentials, billed yearly ($99/seat monthly)	No free plan	Larger teams needing reporting depth	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Buffer Zekai score 9.3Best free plan	Free plan + paid	$5/channel/moEssentials, monthly, per channel	Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user	Small teams on a tight budget	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
SocialPilot Not yet reviewed by ZekaiCheapest paid	Paid	$20/moEssentials, monthly (5 accounts, 1 user)	No free plan	Agencies wanting low per-account cost	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Agorapulse Zekai score 7.8	Paid	$79/user/mo billed yearlyStandard, yearly (page lists $99 and $79 without labelling which is monthly)	No free plan	Social inbox and review management	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Later Zekai score 8.8	Paid	$18.75/mo billed yearlyStarter, billed yearly (monthly price not shown)	No free plan	Visual planning for Instagram and TikTok	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Publer Zekai score 7.9	Free	Free plan; paid price not published	3 social accounts (not X), 10 scheduled posts per account, 25 drafts	Freelancers starting scheduling at no cost	$0	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
ContentStudio Zekai score 8.8	Paid	$19/mo billed yearlyStandard, billed yearly ($29 monthly)	No free plan	Agencies needing many workspaces	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
FeedHive Zekai score 7.2	Paid	$15/mo billed yearlyCreator, billed yearly	No free plan	Solo creators scheduling short-form content	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Postiz Zekai score 7.9Best open source	Open source	$29/mo (hosted)Hosted Standard, monthly (5 channels)	No limit, self-hosted (AGPL-3.0)	Self-hosted scheduling with agent integrations	—	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Mixpost Zekai score 6.3	Open source	$299 one-time (hosted)Pro licence, one-time, 1 domain, 1 year of updates	No limit, self-hosted (MIT (Lite edition))	Self-hosted Laravel publishing app	$0	10 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
TryPost Zekai score 7.0	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (AGPL-3.0)	Self-hosted scheduler driven by AI agents	$0	14 Nov 2026	Code ↗
OpenPost Zekai score 7.3	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (AGPL-3.0)	Scheduling plus image and video editing	$0	14 Nov 2026	Code ↗
Socioboard Zekai score 6.0	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (GPL-3.0-or-later)	Older open GPL multi-network social platform	$0	14 Nov 2026	Code ↗

Every price was read on the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. The Cost Finder assumes one entry plan per person, so it multiplies by your team size; yearly prices are shown per month, and team or business plans can cost more per seat. "Not checked" means we could not confirm a public price.

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02 · Free plan

Is there a free version of Hootsuite?

Hootsuite has no free plan on its current pricing page. It offers a 14-day free trial with daily posting limits of 10 to 20 posts per organization and no bulk scheduling during the trial. Paid plans start at $99 per user per month.

Source: Hootsuite pricing page, read 10 Nov 2026.

FreeNone

No free plan on the pricing page

Paid from$99/user/mo

Standard, starting rate quoted on the pricing FAQ (billing basis not stated)

03 · Free alternatives

What are the best free Hootsuite alternatives?

Buffer has the most usable free plan among Hootsuite alternatives: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user. Publer's free plan also allows 3 accounts with 10 scheduled posts each, but excludes X. Hootsuite itself offers only a 14-day trial on paid plans.

Buffer

Best free planFree plan + paid

Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user

Paid from $5/channel/mo

vs Hootsuite →Zekai review

Publer

Free

3 social accounts (not X), 10 scheduled posts per account, 25 drafts

vs Hootsuite →Zekai review

04 · Open source

What are the best open-source Hootsuite alternatives?

Open-source Hootsuite alternatives are Postiz (AGPL-3.0), Mixpost (MIT Lite edition, paid Pro), TryPost (AGPL-3.0), OpenPost (AGPL-3.0) and Socioboard (GPL-3.0). Self-hosting needs a server and a developer app for each network you connect, and none matches Hootsuite's paid-ads management, social listening or large app marketplace.

Postiz

AGPL-3.0★ 41.5k GitHub stars · 13 Nov 2026

To self-host: Deploy with Docker, Coolify, Railway or any VPS; needs Postgres, Redis, media storage and environment variables, plus developer keys for each social network you connect.

Commercial use: Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.
Runs on: Docker host with Postgres, Redis and media storage.
Setup: Moderate · Docker plus a developer app and keys for each network.
Last commit: 13 Nov 2026

Last release 13 Nov 2026

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

Mixpost

MIT (Lite edition)★ 3.9k GitHub stars · 13 Nov 2026

To self-host: Laravel/PHP application you install with Docker, manually, or inside an existing Laravel app; it needs a public domain so networks can reach it. Pro costs $299 one-time per domain.

Commercial use: Yes for Lite (MIT); Pro and Enterprise need paid licences.
Runs on: A PHP or Docker server with a public domain.
Setup: Moderate · Docker, manual PHP or Laravel install; networks need their own app keys.
Last commit: 16 Mar 2026

Last release 16 Mar 2026

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

TryPost

AGPL-3.0★ 860 GitHub stars · 13 Nov 2026

To self-host: Laravel application (PHP 8.2 or newer) you run on your own servers; the self-hosted version has every feature of the cloud product, with setup steps in its documentation.

Commercial use: Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.
Runs on: A web server running PHP 8.2 or newer with Laravel 13.
Setup: Moderate · Laravel application; follow its documentation to set up and connect networks.
Last commit: 13 Nov 2026

Last release 1 Nov 2026

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

OpenPost

AGPL-3.0★ 907 GitHub stars · 13 Nov 2026

To self-host: Run it with Docker Compose in one container using SQLite and local media storage; some networks need provider app approval or publicly reachable media URLs before posting works.

Commercial use: Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.
Runs on: Docker Compose; the default setup is one container with SQLite.
Setup: Moderate · One container, but each network needs its own app credentials.
Last commit: 13 Nov 2026

Last release 13 Nov 2026

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

Socioboard

GPL-3.0-or-later★ 1.5k GitHub stars · 13 Nov 2026

To self-host: Node.js microservices behind a PHP front end, with MongoDB and MySQL databases and PM2; the repository ships a separate installation guide and the licence header dates from 2014-2021.

Commercial use: Yes; GPL-3.0 means sharing source if you distribute modified versions.
Runs on: Server with Node.js 14+, PHP front end, MongoDB, MySQL and PM2.
Setup: Hard · Several Node microservices plus PHP, MongoDB and MySQL, per its install guide.
Last commit: 17 Aug 2026

Last release 16 Jan 2024

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

05 · Side by side

How does Hootsuite compare with each alternative?

Hootsuite starts at $99 per user with 10 accounts on Standard. Sprout Social starts at $79 per seat billed yearly, Buffer charges $5 per channel, SocialPilot starts at $20 monthly, and Agorapulse lists $79 per user billed yearly. Each row below states one concrete difference and when to switch.

Hootsuite vs Buffer

Best free planFree plan + paid$5/channel/mo · checked 10 Nov 20269.3

The differenceCharges $5 per connected channel instead of per user, allows unlimited team members on Team, and keeps a free plan of 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel.

Switch to Buffer ifyou pay by channel, have few profiles, and want a permanent free tier to start

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need unlimited accounts on higher tiers, social inbox features and enterprise onboarding

Pros

Intuitive interface is easy to learn and use.
Flexible per-channel pricing model saves money.

Cons

Free plan is limited to 10 scheduled posts per channel.
Advanced analytics are only available on paid plans.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Buffer · Verdict: Reliable Social Media Hub

Visit Buffer Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs SocialPilot

Cheapest paidPaid$20/mo · checked 10 Nov 2026

The differenceEssentials costs $20 monthly for 5 accounts and 1 user; Standard adds 3 users and 10 accounts for $40, with a 14-day trial and no card required.

Switch to SocialPilot ifyou want flat plans with several users included rather than a per-user charge

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou prefer per-user plans and Hootsuite's published unlimited accounts on Professional

Visit SocialPilot Price alert

Hootsuite vs Agorapulse

Paid$79/user/mo billed yearly · checked 10 Nov 20267.8

The differenceLists three paid tiers that all include 10 social profiles per user ($79, $119, $149 billed yearly), so higher tiers add features rather than more profiles.

Switch to Agorapulse ifprofile count matters less to you than inbox, reporting and approval features per user

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need unlimited social accounts, which Hootsuite Professional and Advanced list

Pros

30-day free trial with no credit card needed
Standard plan lists unlimited post scheduling and a unified inbox for 10 social profiles

Cons

Priced per user from $79 per month billed annually, higher than account-based schedulers
No free plan, only the 30-day trial

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Agorapulse · Verdict: Inbox-first social suite

Visit Agorapulse Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs Later

Paid$18.75/mo billed yearly · checked 10 Nov 20268.8

The differenceSells social sets: Starter gives 1 set of 8 profiles and caps posts at 30 per profile each month, with a 14-day trial.

Switch to Later ifyou plan visually around a few brands and fit within 30 posts per profile monthly

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou publish at volume across many accounts under one workspace

Pros

14-day free trial offered for paid plans
Visual calendar allows simple drag-and-drop scheduling across platforms

Cons

AI credits are capped each month, ranging from 5 to 100 depending on your plan
Starter plan caps scheduling at 30 posts per profile per month

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Later · Verdict: Clear visual scheduler.

Visit Later Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs Publer

FreeFree plan; paid price not published7.9

The differenceFree plan connects 3 accounts (not X) with 10 scheduled posts each and 25 drafts; paid pricing uses an account slider where every 10th account is free.

Switch to Publer ifyou manage few accounts and want a free-forever tier without X support

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need X publishing and unlimited scheduling without a free-plan queue cap

Pros

Saves 5+ hours weekly with bulk and auto-scheduling features.
Affordable pricing with a functional free plan available.

Cons

Analytics are more focused on performance than deep competitor analysis.
Core strength is scheduling, with fewer features for social listening or inbox management.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Publer · Verdict: Efficient Social Scheduling

Visit Publer Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs ContentStudio

Paid$19/mo billed yearly · checked 10 Nov 20268.8

The differenceStandard covers 5 accounts and 1 workspace at $19 billed yearly; Agency Unlimited allows unlimited workspaces and users, with only a one-time 7-day trial.

Switch to ContentStudio ifyou run client workspaces and want content discovery bundled with scheduling

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou want a 14-day trial and Hootsuite's established enterprise integrations

Pros

Comprehensive toolset unifies publishing, analytics, and engagement.
Strong agency features like white-labeling, workspaces, and client approvals.

Cons

Interface can be complex for beginners due to the vast number of features.
The free trial is short at only 7 days.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of ContentStudio · Verdict: Powerful Agency-First SMM Suite

Visit ContentStudio Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs FeedHive

Paid$15/mo billed yearly · checked 10 Nov 20267.2

The differenceCreator gives 4 social accounts for $15 monthly billed yearly; Business reaches 100 accounts over 50 workspaces for $69, each with a 7-day trial.

Switch to FeedHive ifyou are a creator or small brand and want a cheaper plan with built-in AI drafting

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need seats, approvals and social customer-care tooling beyond creator workflows

Pros

Supports all major social platforms including X, LinkedIn, and TikTok
Powerful AI for generating post ideas, copy, and hashtags

Cons

7-day free trial is short for evaluating advanced features
AI credits and automation runs are limited on lower-tier plans

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of FeedHive · Verdict: AI Social Media Engine

Visit FeedHive Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs Postiz

Best open sourceOpen source$29/mo (hosted) · checked 10 Nov 20267.9

The differenceSchedules to many networks from one AGPL codebase with a calendar, AI helpers and agent integrations; running it yourself needs Postgres, Redis and a developer app for each network you connect.

Switch to Postiz ifyou want to own your scheduling data and skip per-seat fees, and can run a server

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need paid-ads management, a large app marketplace and vendor support

Visit Postiz Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs Mixpost

Open source$299 one-time (hosted) · checked 10 Nov 20266.3

The differenceLite is MIT and free, built on Laravel; the inbox, extra networks and team features are in Pro, a $299 one-time licence per domain, so it is open core rather than fully free.

Switch to Mixpost ifyou prefer a one-time licence on your own PHP server to a monthly subscription

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need every network and a social inbox without buying a licence

Visit Mixpost Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs TryPost

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)7.0

The differenceExposes an MCP server with 80+ tools and a REST API so AI agents can draft, queue and publish posts, and its self-hosted build carries every feature of the cloud product.

Switch to TryPost ifyou want AI agents to draft and queue posts through MCP into a self-hosted calendar

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need listening, ad management and enterprise approvals from one vendor

Visit TryPost Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs OpenPost

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)7.3

The differenceBundles an image editor, video editor and workflow canvas with scheduling, and runs from a single Docker container with SQLite by default; it lists 16 networks including Mastodon, Bluesky and PeerTube.

Switch to OpenPost ifyou want scheduling plus image and video editing in one app you host yourself

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou need dedicated account support and a mature team permission model

Visit OpenPost Read the Zekai review Price alert

Hootsuite vs Socioboard

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)6.0

The differenceOlder codebase that supports nine networks with analytics and reporting, but needs Node.js microservices, a PHP front end, MongoDB and MySQL, and its licence header dates from 2014-2021.

Switch to Socioboard ifyou need a free, modifiable GPL codebase and have developers to maintain it

Stay with Hootsuite ifyou want a maintained product with current network integrations and no servers

Visit Socioboard Read the Zekai review Price alert

06 · What changed

Why do people leave Hootsuite?

10 Nov 2026
Pricing page shows Standard from $99, Professional $199 and Advanced up to $399 per user a month, with no figures on the plan cards themselves. (source)
10 Nov 2026
Trial accounts have daily posting limits of 10 to 20 posts per organization and no bulk scheduling during the 14-day trial. (source)
5 Apr 2021
Hootsuite's help centre records the Free plan cut to 2 social accounts and 5 scheduled posts, down from 3 accounts and 30 posts; no free plan appears on the current pricing page. (source)

08 · FAQ

Questions people ask about Hootsuite alternatives

What is the best alternative to Hootsuite in 2027?

Sprout Social is the best overall Hootsuite alternative on this page ($79/seat/mo billed yearly). For no cost, Buffer has a free plan (Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user). To self-host, Postiz is open source (AGPL-3.0).

Is there a free version of Hootsuite?

No. Hootsuite has no free plan; paid plans start at $99/user/mo, checked on 10 Nov 2026.

Is there a 100% free alternative to Hootsuite?

Yes. Postiz, Mixpost, TryPost, OpenPost, Socioboard are open source and free to self-host. Buffer, Publer have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

What is cheaper than Hootsuite?

SocialPilot starts at $20/mo, against $99/user/mo for Hootsuite, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 10 Nov 2026.

How much do Hootsuite alternatives cost for a team of 5?

If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 10 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Buffer $25/mo, FeedHive $75/mo, Later $93.75/mo, against Hootsuite $495/mo for Hootsuite. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

Which is better, Sprout Social or Hootsuite?

Prices per seat from $79 billed yearly with 5 profiles on Essentials and a 30-day trial; Hootsuite Standard starts at $99 per user with 10 accounts and a 14-day trial. Choose Sprout Social if you want a 30-day no-card trial and tiered per-seat plans with Trellis AI credits included. Stay with Hootsuite if you need 10 accounts on the entry plan and a single AI assistant bundled in every tier.

Why are people leaving Hootsuite?

The documented reasons are: Pricing page shows Standard from $99, Professional $199 and Advanced up to $399 per user a month, with no figures on the plan cards themselves (10 Nov 2026); Trial accounts have daily posting limits of 10 to 20 posts per organization and no bulk scheduling during the 14-day trial (10 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

What is better than Hootsuite?

It depends on the job: Sprout Social for analytics and team workflows, Agorapulse for inbox handling, Buffer for simple scheduling, Later for visual calendars.

09 · Method

How did Zekai check this page?

Zekai independently reviews AI tools. For this page we read each vendor's own pricing and product pages and recorded the starting price, the free-plan limit and the date of the check. Only tools that do the same job as Hootsuite are listed, and sponsors never change the order or the scores.

Mehmet Elmicenni

Founder of Zekai. Reviews the alternatives pages and the price checks behind them.

About the founder · How Zekai scores tools

JSON copy Markdown copy

1 · Same job onlyEvery alternative does the same task as Hootsuite; tools for other jobs are left out.

2 · Vendor pages onlyPrices and free limits come from each vendor's own pricing page, never from blogs.

Zekai score0–10, from four published weights: ease 25%, output quality 30%, value 20%, time saved 25%. How we score

3 · Re-checkedA price older than 35 days is re-read or the page falls back to an older version.

Change log

10 Nov 2026
Page rebuilt on v6; all prices re-read on vendor pages.
13 Nov 2026
Open-source options expanded; each now shows licence, commercial use, hardware and setup.

13 best Hootsuite alternatives in 2027

Sprout Social

Buffer

Postiz

Which Hootsuite alternatives are worth it in 2027?

Know first when Hootsuite or an alternative changes price

Your tool here

Is one of these tools yours?

Is there a free version of Hootsuite?

What are the best free Hootsuite alternatives?

Buffer

Publer

What are the best open-source Hootsuite alternatives?

Postiz

Mixpost

TryPost

OpenPost

Socioboard

How does Hootsuite compare with each alternative?

Hootsuite vs Sprout Social

Hootsuite vs Buffer

Hootsuite vs SocialPilot

Hootsuite vs Agorapulse

Hootsuite vs Later

Hootsuite vs Publer

Hootsuite vs ContentStudio

Hootsuite vs FeedHive

Hootsuite vs Postiz

Hootsuite vs Mixpost

Hootsuite vs TryPost

Hootsuite vs OpenPost

Hootsuite vs Socioboard

Why do people leave Hootsuite?

More comparisons for Social media scheduler / manager

Questions people ask about Hootsuite alternatives

What is the best alternative to Hootsuite in 2027?

Is there a free version of Hootsuite?

Is there a 100% free alternative to Hootsuite?

What is cheaper than Hootsuite?

How much do Hootsuite alternatives cost for a team of 5?

Which is better, Sprout Social or Hootsuite?

Why are people leaving Hootsuite?

What is better than Hootsuite?

How did Zekai check this page?