Comparison
Pinned vs Hootsuite: an honest comparison for creators and teams (2026)
This is my Pinned vs Hootsuite comparison, and full disclosure: I'm the founder of Pinned, so yes, I'm biased. I'll show you where Hootsuite is the better tool, because for a lot of teams it is.
The short answer. Hootsuite is a suite for brands and social teams who answer messages, watch their brand and report to a manager. It starts at $99 per user/month, billed annually. Pinned is one plan for creators, streamers and small brands: a social media scheduler, a link in bio page, a media kit and analytics for $39/month.
One more thing up front: if you need TikTok or YouTube posting today, Hootsuite does that and Pinned doesn't yet.
Pinned vs Hootsuite at a glance
| What matters | Pinned (mine) | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Creators, streamers, small brands | Brands and social teams |
| Price | $39/month or $390/year | From $99 per user/month, billed annually |
| Free option | Free link in bio plan; 14-day trial of paid plans | No free plan; 14-day free trial |
| Social accounts | 15 on Creator, unlimited on Business | 10 on Standard, unlimited from Professional |
| Posts to Discord | Yes | No |
| Posts to TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest | Not yet (coming soon) | Yes |
| Shared team inbox and listening | No | Yes, on every plan |
| AI included | Business plan, runs on your own AI key | Yes, on every plan |
What Hootsuite is built for
Hootsuite is now sold as Hootsuite Social OS, announced in June 2026: publishing and planning (Perch), a social inbox (Nest), listening and insights (Lumen), employee advocacy (Parliament), and an AI assistant called Wisdom that runs in every plan. That list tells you who the buyer is. It's a marketing or customer care team at a brand that gets DMs, comments and mentions all day and has to show results to someone.
The pricing follows that buyer. Plans are per user: Standard is $99, Professional $199 and Advanced $399 per user/month, billed annually. Monthly billing exists and costs more per user, but the plans page doesn't show the month-to-month price. Standard covers 10 social accounts. Post approvals and message assignment wait for Advanced.
The real difference
Hootsuite is organized around conversations: messages come in, someone answers, someone reports on it. Pinned is organized around a creator's week: you go live, you post clips, you announce an event, you update your page. That's why Pinned has a live badge, a stream schedule on your link in bio page, Discord posting and event reminders, while Hootsuite has skill-based message routing and customer service surveys.
1. Pinned
Mine- Best for
- creators, streamers, gamers 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 is one web app. The Creator plan gives you the scheduler for up to 15 social accounts with unlimited posts, more than one account per platform, a link in bio page with a custom domain and no watermark, advanced analytics, and a media kit builder with 6 templates. You compose once, adjust the caption per platform, add first comments, and plan the month on a calendar or on a TweetDeck-style social board.
It started gaming first, so it does a few things big schedulers don't: Discord posting into the server channels you pick, a live badge on your page that turns on when you go live on Twitch or Kick, and event reminders that schedule the posts for you. The Business plan adds AI agents, an email campaign builder and an SEO tool for Shopify blogs, with up to 10 team members per brand.
The catch: no TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest or Google Business Profile posting yet (they're coming), no shared team inbox with assignments, no social listening, and the AI runs on your own AI key.
2. Hootsuite
- Best for
- brands and social teams that need an inbox, listening, approvals and reports
- Price
- From $99 per user/month billed annually, no free plan
- Posts to
- Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, X, TikTok, Bluesky, YouTube, Pinterest
The depth shows in the plans table. Every plan has a single inbox for public and private messages, recommended times to post, bulk scheduling, a link in bio tool (Hootbio), social ads publishing, and listening with a 7-day Quick Search and sentiment analysis. Standard benchmarks you against up to 5 competitors.
Professional ($199 per user/month billed annually) unlocks unlimited accounts, inbox automation, custom reports and 90-day trend forecasting. Advanced ($399) adds post approvals, internal comments and message assignment. WhatsApp and Google Business Profile connect for the inbox only.
The catch for a creator: it's priced per seat, there's no free plan, and the trial limits you to 10 to 20 posts a day with no bulk scheduling. It doesn't post to Discord.
Where Hootsuite is better
- More places to post. TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest work today. If short video is your main channel, that alone decides it. The full list is in Hootsuite's help center.
- The inbox. DMs and comments from every network in one place, with notes and saved replies. Pinned's social board covers X mentions and DMs and Facebook Page comments, with no shared team inbox.
- Listening and benchmarking. Brand monitoring, sentiment and competitor reports. Pinned has no social listening at all.
- Big-team workflows. Approvals, routing, team productivity reports, and SSO and compliance tools on Enterprise.
- AI included. Wisdom drafts captions, hashtags and images inside every plan. You don't bring a key or pay a model provider.
- A mobile app. Pinned is a web app that works on phones; there's no native app.
Where Pinned is better
- Price for one person. $39/month covers 15 accounts. Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user/month, billed annually, for 10.
- Discord. Pinned posts announcements straight into the Discord channels you pick, with no bot to install. Hootsuite doesn't post to Discord.
- Built for streamers. Live badge, weekly stream schedule, clips and a Discord invite card on your page, plus event reminders that go out on their own.
- Media kit in the plan. 6 templates with stats pulled from your connected accounts, shared as a link.
- A free tier that stays free. The link in bio page costs nothing, forever. Hootsuite has a trial, then you pay.
- Agents that ask first (Business). Pinned's AI agents draft and propose; nothing posts without your click.
Pricing compared
A solo creator with 8 accounts: Pinned Creator is $39/month, or $390/year. Hootsuite Standard is $99/month billed annually, so $1,188 a year, for one user and up to 10 accounts.
A team of 3: on Hootsuite each person is a seat, so Standard is 3 seats at $99, or $297/month billed annually, and approvals need Advanced at $399 per user. On Pinned, Business is $100/month per brand with up to 10 team members and unlimited accounts. If you use the agents, add your AI provider's usage on top. The details are on Pinned's pricing page.
My pick
If you run social for a brand, answer customers in DMs, or need approvals and reports for a manager, pick Hootsuite. Same if TikTok or YouTube is where your audience lives today: Pinned can't post there yet, and you shouldn't wait on my roadmap.
If you're a creator, streamer, esports team or small brand, and your week is posts, streams, a link in bio page and a Discord server, pick Pinned. You'll pay less and get the pieces you actually use.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pinned cheaper than Hootsuite?
For one person, yes. Pinned's Creator plan is $39/month or $390/year for up to 15 social accounts, plus the link in bio page, media kit and analytics. Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user/month billed annually for 10 accounts, and every extra teammate is another seat. Hootsuite includes more team tools for that money, like a shared inbox and listening, so compare what you'll really use.
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
No. Hootsuite offers a 14-day free trial of Standard, Professional and Advanced with no credit card required, but there is no free plan after it ends. During the trial, posting is limited to 10 to 20 posts a day per organization, and bulk scheduling is off. Pinned's link in bio page is free forever, and its paid plans start with a 14-day trial too.
Can Pinned post to TikTok and YouTube like Hootsuite?
Not today. Pinned publishes to X, Instagram, Facebook Pages, Threads, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Discord and Shopify blogs. TikTok is in TikTok's app review, and YouTube, Pinterest and Google Business Profile are coming soon, but none of them work yet. If you need to schedule TikTok or YouTube videos this week, Hootsuite posts to both of them already.
Does Pinned have a social inbox like Hootsuite?
Not like Hootsuite's, and it's one of the bigger differences. Hootsuite gives every plan a single inbox for public and private messages across networks, with notes, saved replies and, on higher plans, routing and automation. Pinned's social board shows X mentions and direct messages and Facebook Page comments, and you can reply from it, but there's no shared team inbox with assignments.
Do I need my own AI key to use AI in Pinned?
Yes. Pinned's AI agents and SEO tool are on the Business plan and run on a model key you connect from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or xAI, so that provider bills your usage on top of the plan. Hootsuite includes its Wisdom AI in every plan for captions, hashtags and images. If you want AI without a second bill, that's a point for Hootsuite.
Try Pinned free
If Pinned sounds like your kind of tool, make your free page first. When you want the scheduler, start the 14-day trial of Creator; cancel any time in the trial and you pay nothing. And if Hootsuite is the better fit for your team, I hope this saved you a few sales calls.
I checked prices and features for every product here on October 3, 2026. They change often, so double-check before you buy.