Buffer vs Hootsuite
Buffer bills per channel and has a free plan for 3 channels; Hootsuite bills per user, has no free plan, and adds a unified inbox and social listening. Here is how they compare on free plan, platforms and the jobs each does best, from each vendor's own pages.
| Compared on | Visit | Visit |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Schedules social posts and handles comment replies, priced per connected channel | Social media suite for publishing, inbox, listening and analytics, billed per user |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $5/mo billed annually (Essentials)Buffer pricing | $99/user/mo (Standard)Hootsuite pricing |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Essentials and Team | 14-day free trial of Standard, Professional and Advanced, no credit card required |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Browser extension | Web, iOS, Android |
| Integrations (vendor's figure) | Not stated | 100+ apps and integrations |
| Open source | No | No |
| Made by | Buffer, Inc. | Hootsuite Inc. |
Choose Buffer if…
- You want a free plan: Hootsuite does not have one.
- The job is creators and small businesses managing a few channels on a budget.
- The job is agencies that want to pay per channel rather than per brand or client.
Choose Hootsuite if…
- The job is brands managing more than 10 social accounts (Professional and up).
- The job is teams combining publishing, a customer-care inbox and social listening in one tool.
What Buffer does
- Channels: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Google Business Profile and Substack
- Posting queue, visual content calendar, drafts and ideas board
- Community inbox for replying to comments, with AI reply suggestions
- AI Assistant for writing, refining and repurposing posts
- Analytics with CSV, PDF and markdown reports; branded reports on Team
- Public GraphQL API with API keys on every plan, including Free
Watch out for
- Billed per connected channel; after upgrading, the 3 channels that were free are billed too
- Free plan: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, 1 user and 30 days of insights
- Essentials includes 1 user; approval workflows and access levels need the Team plan
What Hootsuite does
- Networks: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest and Bluesky; WhatsApp in the inbox
- Planner calendar with bulk scheduling of up to 350 posts at once
- Unified inbox with saved replies; DM and reply automations from Professional
- Social listening with Quick Search, sentiment analysis and trend forecasting
- Analytics with report templates and competitor benchmarking
- Wisdom AI for captions, ideas and hashtags, with 100 AI credits a month on self-serve plans
Watch out for
- Billed per user seat, from $99 per user a month on annual billing
- Standard plan is capped at 10 social accounts
- No free plan; trials allow 10-20 posts a day per organisation and no bulk scheduling
Questions
Is Buffer or Hootsuite cheaper?
On published entry prices, Buffer is cheaper: $5/mo billed annually (Essentials) for Buffer against $99/user/mo (Standard) for Hootsuite. What each plan includes differs, so compare the limits too.
Do Buffer and Hootsuite have free plans?
Buffer does; Hootsuite does not, though it offers a 14-day free trial of Standard, Professional and Advanced, no credit card required.