Alternatives
The best Hootsuite alternatives in 2026 (honest picks)
I've looked hard at Hootsuite alternatives because I build one. Full disclosure: I'm the founder of Pinned, so yes, I'm biased. Below is what I'd actually use, and most of the picks aren't mine.
Quick answer: if Hootsuite's per-seat price is the problem and you're one person, look at Buffer or Pinned. If you're a team that needs Hootsuite's inbox and listening but wants a different vendor, Sprout Social is the closest match, and it isn't cheaper. If you report on many brands, try Metricool. If Instagram and TikTok planning is the whole job, try Later.
Hootsuite alternatives at a glance
| Product | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinned (mine) | Creators, streamers, small brands | $39/month for 15 accounts | Link in bio only |
| Buffer | Solo users and small teams on a budget | $5 per channel/month, billed yearly | Yes, 3 channels |
| Sprout Social | Teams that need an inbox and listening | $79 per seat/month, billed annually | No, 30-day trial |
| Metricool | Agencies, analytics, many brands | $20/month billed annually, up to 5 brands | Yes, 1 brand |
| Later | Instagram and TikTok-first brands | $18.75/month, billed yearly | Limited, plus a 14-day trial |
Why people look for Hootsuite alternatives
First, credit where it's due. Hootsuite is a deep product. Every plan includes one inbox for public and private messages, listening with sentiment analysis, competitor benchmarking, a link in bio tool, bulk scheduling and AI writing. It publishes to TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky and the usual networks. For a brand's social team, that's a lot in one place.
The reasons people leave are mostly about fit and cost:
- Per-seat pricing. Hootsuite's plans start at $99 per user/month, billed annually, and each teammate is another seat.
- No free plan. There's a 14-day trial, with daily posting limits and no bulk scheduling while it runs.
- Caps and upgrades. Standard covers 10 social accounts. Post approvals need Advanced, at $399 per user/month billed annually.
- Too much tool for one person. Message routing, customer service surveys and listening are great for a care team and dead weight for a solo creator.
- No Discord. If your community lives in a Discord server, Hootsuite can't post there.
1. Pinned
Mine- Best for
- creators, streamers, esports teams and small brands
- Price
- Free link in bio; Creator $39/month or $390/year; Business $100/month per brand
- Posts to
- X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook Pages, Threads, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Discord, Shopify blog
Pinned puts a social scheduler, a link in bio page, a media kit builder and analytics in one $39 plan. The scheduler covers up to 15 accounts with unlimited posts, per-platform captions, first comments, a month calendar and a social board with columns for notifications, upcoming posts and analytics.
What makes it different from Hootsuite is the creator side: a live badge when you stream, a weekly stream schedule on your page, Discord posting with no bot to install, and event reminders that schedule themselves. The Business plan adds AI agents and up to 10 team members per brand, and the AI runs on your own AI key.
The catch: no TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest or Google Business Profile posting yet (they're coming), no shared team inbox with assignments and no listening. If those are why you used Hootsuite, Pinned won't replace it.
2. Buffer
- Best for
- solo users and small teams who want simple and cheap
- Price
- Free for 3 channels; Essentials $6 per channel/month monthly or $5 billed yearly
- Posts to
- Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Mastodon
If price is your reason for leaving, Buffer is the simplest move. You pay per channel, so 3 channels on Essentials cost $15/month billed yearly. The free plan gives you 3 channels and 10 queued posts per channel, and the AI Assistant is on every plan, free plan included.
The Team plan, at $10 per channel/month billed yearly, adds unlimited users and approval workflows, which Hootsuite only gives you on Advanced. The catch: per-channel pricing adds up past 10 or so accounts, and there's no listening suite.
3. Sprout Social
- Best for
- social teams that want a full suite with an inbox, listening and reports
- Price
- Essentials $79 per seat/month billed annually ($99 monthly); Standard $199 per seat/month billed annually
- Posts to
- X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky
If you're leaving Hootsuite but still need what it does, Sprout Social is the like-for-like option. Standard includes a consolidated inbox, keyword and location monitoring, review management and Trellis, its AI agent, with 100 AI credits per seat each month. It has iOS and Android apps and a 30-day free trial with no credit card.
Be clear on price: it isn't the cheaper move. Standard is $199 per seat/month billed annually ($249 month to month), for 5 social profiles. Essentials, at $79, is the lighter plan aimed at publishing: 5 profiles, optimal send times, post and profile reporting, and Trellis.
4. Metricool
- Best for
- agencies and anyone who lives in analytics and reports
- Price
- Free for 1 brand; Starter from $20/month billed annually ($25 monthly) for up to 5 brands
- Posts to
- Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile; X as an add-on
Metricool prices by brand, which suits agencies better than per-seat or per-channel pricing. Starter covers up to 5 brands with unlimited publishing, PDF and PPT reports and analytics with unlimited history. Advanced, from $53/month billed annually, adds team and client management and a post approval system for up to 15 brands.
The catches: the free plan allows 20 posts a month and leaves out LinkedIn and X, and on paid plans X needs a separate add-on. AI comes as a monthly allowance of credits per brand.
5. Later
- Best for
- brands and creators planning visual content for Instagram and TikTok
- Price
- Starter $25/month monthly or $18.75/month billed yearly; 14-day free trial
- Posts to
- Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Snapchat
Later is built around a visual calendar and "social sets": one profile on each network it supports, 8 in total. Starter gives you 1 social set, 1 user, 30 posts per profile a month, 5 AI credits and Link in Bio by Later. Growth, at $50/month or $37.50 billed yearly, adds a social inbox, approvals and a second user.
The catch: X and Bluesky aren't on Later's list of supported profiles, and the post limits on Starter are tight if you post daily.
My pick
If you're one creator or a small brand and Hootsuite felt like a cockpit for a job you don't have, pick Pinned if you stream or run a Discord, and Buffer if you need TikTok and YouTube today. If your team answers customers all day, don't downgrade: move to Sprout Social or stay on Hootsuite. Agencies juggling client reports should start with Metricool, and Instagram-first brands with Later.
What I'd do today
- Open Hootsuite and list what you used in the last 30 days: inbox, listening, approvals, or only scheduling.
- Count your accounts and people, then price them: per seat (Hootsuite, Sprout), per channel (Buffer), per brand (Metricool) or flat (Pinned).
- Start free: Buffer's free plan or Pinned's free link in bio page, then a trial of the one you'd pay for.
- Schedule one real week of posts in the new tool before your Hootsuite renewal date.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Hootsuite?
Buffer has the most useful free plan here: 3 channels, 10 queued posts per channel, the AI Assistant and a comment inbox. Metricool's free plan covers 1 brand and 20 posts a month, without LinkedIn or X. Pinned's free plan is the link in bio page only; scheduling starts on Creator at $39/month, with a 14-day trial. Hootsuite itself has no free plan.
Is Sprout Social cheaper than Hootsuite?
Usually not. Sprout Social's Standard plan is $199 per seat/month billed annually, against $99 per user/month billed annually for Hootsuite Standard, and Sprout's Standard includes 5 social profiles to Hootsuite's 10. Sprout's Essentials plan is $79 per seat/month billed annually, a lighter plan aimed at publishing and reporting. Both tools charge for every seat, so a team of 4 pays 4 times the list price. People pick Sprout for how it works, not to save money.
Which Hootsuite alternative can post to Discord?
Pinned posts to Discord server channels you choose in Discord's own connect window, with no bot to install, alongside X, Instagram, Facebook Pages, Threads, LinkedIn and Bluesky. None of the other tools on this list publish to Discord. The trade-off is that Pinned doesn't post to TikTok, YouTube or Pinterest yet, so check where your audience is first.
Can Pinned replace Hootsuite for a social media team?
Only if your team mainly schedules posts. Pinned's Business plan gives each brand up to 10 team members and unlimited accounts for $100/month, but it has no shared team inbox with assignments or message routing, and no social listening. If your team answers DMs all day or reports on brand sentiment, Sprout Social or Hootsuite will serve it better than Pinned.
Try Pinned free
If you're a creator, streamer or small brand, start with a free Pinned page and try the scheduler on the 14-day Creator trial. Cancel any time in the trial and you pay nothing. If another pick above fits better, go with that one.
I checked prices and features for every product here on October 3, 2026. They change often, so double-check before you buy.