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We are living in an age that is tech-savvy and social media platforms are gaining huge recognition because of their reach amongst the masses. It comes as no surprise that almost all individuals wish to adopt social media networking in order to gain more traction. Also, with the help of this platform, industries now wish to expand their businesses and create awareness amidst people. Although, managing this social media network is not an easy task. There are instances where you may need to analyze your audience and the trends to ensure that you make the right decisions. This is where you need a single platform that can perform all these tasks without any hassle.
» What exactly is Hootsuite?
Hootsuite is a third-party tool that is specifically designed to cater your social media management needs. It lets you manage multiple channels on a single platform and keep a track of all the activities on these accounts. This multiple streaming platform allows you to monitor your social media, manage team members, get reports and statistics of the performance, measure ROI, post and schedule updates, etc.
» Why opt for Hootsuite Alternatives?
Obviously, there are reasons why you should opt for Hootsuite alternatives, but by this, we do not mean that you shouldn’t consider Hootsuite for social media management. It’s just that there are other apps out there which offer you the same or more features at a better price.
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» Here are 3 reasons why you should opt for Hootsuite Alternatives:
› It is Expensive
Yes, you read it right. Although the pricing may seem to be considerable in the beginning, as you start exploring this platform, you feel bound to the features within the pricing you are opting for. In case you wish to opt for a free plan, then you are limited to 3 social profiles and only 30 scheduled messages. The premium rates start at $29 per month with the option of 10 social profiles and unlimited scheduling for a single user. This pricing increases with the increasing number of users.
› The interface is Clunky- Less Organized Stream
The UI has been almost the same since the beginning and it's time they come up with something that is much faster and attractive.
› Professional Plan lacks Advance Features
You expect to have all the features when you purchase the Premium Plan. But this is not the case. The basic premium plan costs around $29 per month and in order to use additional apps and features, you need to pay for each of them.
» 11 Budget-Friendly Hootsuite Alternatives
1. Sendible
One of the strong rivals of Hootsuite is Sendible. This is also a single platform all in one tool that enables post scheduling, analytics, and content curation. Hootsuite has a multi-column approach and Sendible is a hybrid between a single dashboard and a multi-column approach. Here, you have a single priority inbox where you also have the option to add customizable streams for the various profiles that you have.
Pros and Cons of Sendible
› Pros:
• Multiple platform support.
• Monitor and Filter Keywords based on various aspects easily.
• Send emails and publish blogs.
• Visual Calendar.
• Integrated Analytics & Tracking.
• Ability to upload a CSV file for scheduling a lot of posts at once.
• Canva integration.
› Cons:
• Sendible doesn’t offer any free plan, has an option of a 30-day trial.
• The analytics feature does not seem to be user-friendly and has a steep learning curve.
• Less accuracy on Geographic Keyword Monitoring.
› Cost:
• Starts at $29 per month for 12 social profiles and 10 scheduling posts. This increases with the increasing profiles.
• No free account available. Although you can opt for a 30-day free trial.
2. AgoraPulse
AgoraPulse is a tool whose features are not just confined to publishing. On this platform, you can research your competitors and also do social listening. It seems to be an all-rounder social media management tool that enables the users to keep themselves engaged with their followers. It also has a clutter-free and user-friendly dashboard.
Pros and Cons of AgoraPulse
› Pros:
• Supports all social media handles.
• Unlimited and free report making.
• Automated comments moderation.
• Unified Inbox for viewing, replying, or assigning comments.
• Visual calendar.
• User profiling.
• Bulk upload options.
• Unlimited RSS feeds.
• Monitor competing social channels(Facebook, Instagram & Twitter)
• Republish Content
› Cons:
• As compared to other available tools, AgoraPulse is expensive.
• It has many tools which you cannot keep a track of.
› Cost:
• Free Trial for 14 days available.
• Solo plan for $49 per month.
3. Buffer
Buffer is considered to be the closest tool to Hootsuite. It has a smart scheduling feature which has an integrated user interface where you can add your posts in any form ranging from photos, videos, articles, etc. These posts can be scheduled with a virtual queue. This tool has the capability of predicting the best time to post your content to get more audience engagement.
Pros and Cons of Buffer
› Pros:
• Integration with multiple social media profiles.
• You don’t need to individually schedule posts.
• Integration with Pablo.
• RSS feed integration.
• Cheapest plan costs.
› Cons:
• Limited scheduling of posts even for the premium plan.
• Cheapest Plan limits only 100 scheduled posts.
› Cost:
• Free plan for the basic account that allows 3 social media profiles and only 10 scheduled posts.
• Free trial for all premium plans
• Premium plan starts at $15 per month and allows 100 scheduled posts & 8 social media profiles for a single user.
• The most expensive plan is for $99 per month which allows 25 profiles with 2000 scheduled posts for a maximum of 6 users.
4. Contentstudio
Discovering, planning, publishing, and monitoring trending content could mean the difference between a successful and otherwise content strategy. ContentStudio offers Content Discovery, Media Monitoring, Content Management, and social media management all under one roof to allow its users an unfair advantage in the digital marketing arena.
ContentStudio is the perfect Hootsuite alternative. It has all that Hootsuite has to offer and then some at much reasonable price. With the recent addition of a powerful analytics module, ContentStudio now enables you to measure the performance of the posts you publish. This and many more such features make ContentStudio the absolute Hootesuite alternative.
Pros and Cons of Contentstudio
› Pros:
• Amazing content curation and Content discovery - very easy to find content quickly in many niches
• Highly Customized Topic Feeds
• Content Insights - popular hashtags suggestions
• Built-in influencer discovery module
• Multiple publishing queues
• Evergreen recycling
• Content approval workflow for agencies
• Dedicated workspace for each client
• Integration with Pocket, Bitly, Content Spinners.
• UTM tracking available
› Cons:
• Instagram integration isn’t direct due to API restrictions but this is something being worked on and will be solved soon.
› Cost:
• Free plan for the basic account that allows 3 social media profiles and only 10 scheduled posts.
• Free Trial for 14 days available (no credit card required!)
• For business plans, ContentStudio offers their Large plan for 299/month, whereas, a similar package for Hootsuite is at 599/month.
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5. Sprout Social
In case you are looking for a minimalist yet all in one platform for your social media management, Sprout Social is your choice. This is great at scheduling and analytics and has a different approach as compared to Hootsuite. For example, on the Hootsuite platform we have the option to customize various tabs and columns for each social media handle, whereas when you use Sprout Social, you can see all these posts from all the platforms on a single feed. The reporting feature of this particular tool is very simple and practical.
Pros and Cons of Sprout Social
› Pros:
• Simple integration with almost all social media platforms.
• User-friendly interface with minimal design.
• Advanced scheduling tools.
• Social CRM features that help you to view and share customer records.
• Integrated inbox.
› Cons:
• LinkedIn Integration not up to the mark.
• Expensive as compared to other platforms with pricing starting at $99 per month.
› Cost:
• No free plan.
• 30 day free trial for all premium features.
• Starts at $99 per month which allows 5 social profiles. For additional features, the pricing can go up to $249 per month.
6. SocialPilot
If you are looking for an affordable package that includes publishing, analytics, and engagement, SocialPilot is the right choice for you. This platform has a unified dashboard to manage social media feeds. Social channels can also be grouped together based on any kind of specifics. This seems to be a great feature when you are working for a client and you do not intend to do any kind of mix up.
Pros and Cons of SocialPilot
› Pros:
• Single dashboard for managing all social channels
• Post scheduling in various time zones
• Automated RSS Feeds
• Visual Calendar
• Branding on Facebook
• Team Collaboration
• Content Suggestions based on the niche
• Link Shorteners available
› Cons:
• The support for Instagram is limited
• The iOS application for this platform requires more work
› Cost:
• 14 days of free trial available
• Basic pricing starts at $10 per month.
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7. SocialOomph
SocialOomph was originally a Twitter Automation and Management tool named TweetLater, but it has now broadened its virtue across other social media platforms as well. This tool is very powerful in Twitter management considering the history and contains features like keyword search and tweet via mail for the Twitter platform. It has a simple UI and has an easy to schedule management system, thus making it a very affordable tool.
› Pros and Cons of SocialOomph
› Pros:
• Affordable prices starting at $15 per month.
• Specialty in Twitter marketing also extends to platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
• Unlimited scheduled posts for all plans.
• Create posts and blogs automatically from RSS feeds.
• Bulk content uploading
› Cons:
• It has almost all advanced features just for Twitter
• It has limited reporting features and analytics.
› Cost:
• 30-day free trial available
• Free plan allows only one social profile.
• The pricing starts at $15 per month but is limited to only one social profile with added features.
• The professional plan starts at $25 per month allowing 10 social profiles.
8. eClincher
eClincher is an all in one social media management platform which allows features like, monitoring, publishing, and reporting. It has a feature called “Pocket integration” that allows you to share any saved content directly to your social media from your pocket account.
Pros and Cons of eClincher
› Pros:
• Smart Visual Calendar.
• Select & share stock images in high quality.
• Have control of your links using Google UTM tracking.
• Shorten links using sniply.
• Monitor keywords, hashtags, and mentions.
• Autopost with Smart Queues and RSS feed.
• Analytics Dashboards & Reports customized as per your requirements
• Built-in Visual Marketing tools like Canva, Giphy, etc.
› Cons:
• No collaboration on social media tasks. Need to do this via email/slack.
• Does not have a user-friendly UI.
› Cost:
• All plans include a 14-day free trial.
• Plans start at $49 per month and range to $199 per month.
9. Salesforce Social Studio
Salesforce Social Studio is a product of Salesforce Marketing Cloud that is aimed at administrating marketing strategy across all the social media platforms you have. It lets you explore the world of social media marketing, customer services, and sales. It ensures that posts are scheduled according to the right time and critical communications are automatically and directly forwarded to the right person.
Pros and Cons of Salesforce Social Studio
› Pros:
• Assign priorities to your posts
• It has real discussion insights
• It has built-in Social Advertising
• Analysis based on Machine Learning techniques
• Multichannel customer view
• Get campaign feedbacks
• Customize dashboards according to your taste.
› Cons:
• In order to create a different platform for the same thing, you need to pay extra.
• Implementation takes a long time.
• New versions need to be created even for small edits.
• You can add subscribers to retargeting audiences but not remove them from them.
› Cost:
• Custom pricing as per your requirements.
10. Zoho Social
As their platform promotes, Zoho Social is an excellent platform to manage your brands on social media. It allows each team member to create their individual accounts and thus prevent the mess of using a single account for a large number of people. Here, users can be assigned specific tasks and they can also be viewed.
Pros and Cons of Zoho Social
› Pros:
• Instagram Direct Scheduling.
• View edits, tasks of other people.
• Time predictions for more user engagements.
• Content Calendar.
• Sticky Monitoring Dashboard.
• Pre-built reports for Analytics.
• Bulk Schedule & Content Queues.
› Cons:
• Instagram Direct Scheduling only limited to Images.
• Does not support Google My Business Profile.
• You cannot moderate a Facebook Group.
› Cost:
• Ranges from $10 per month to $300 per month depending on the features needed.
• Add ons $5 per month to $53 per month available
11. Khoros Marketing
Khoros Marketing platform enables people to turn complex social marketing into simpler social marketing. This also enables them to build their brand. Social media campaigns can be orchestrated, governed, and engaged using this tool. It is easy to configure and highly adaptable tool which helps you to stay ahead in the market, know your competition and your audience and get real-time insights.
Pros and Cons of Khoros Marketing
› Pros:
• Unlimited search across public social channels.
• Access and credential management.
• Single platform for all the social channels & centralized visibility.
• Crisis Management
• Competitive intelligence
› Cons:
• Not very up to date with the latest social media functionalities.
• Automatic posting is not very accurate.
• Complicated User Interface
› Cost:
• Customized based on your requirements and specifications.
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12. Socialbakers
Socialbakers is a seamless platform that is AI-based and thus enables the users to post content at the correct times for maximum engagement. They have a simple yet intricate user interface that allows you to quickly schedule and monitor your social media accounts. It is a great option for small marketing teams.
Pros and Cons of Socialbreakers
› Pros:
• AI-based Research and Planning
• Tools for Content Strategy
• Accurate reports
• Single platform for multiple social media handles
• Influencer Marketing options
› Cons:
• No specifics on pricing available. You need to ask for the quotes.
• They have a lot of add-ons which make it very expensive.
› Cost:
• Customized pricing based on your preferences and requirements.
There is no doubtedly an abundance of alternative options for Hootsuite. They mostly differ based on pricing and features. While some may seem affordable, others may provide excellent overall features. Each tool has its own unique feature for example, for budget-conscious people, SocialPilot is the best option whereas people who are looking for enterprise-grade tools should opt for AgoraPulse. We know for a fact that social media is the driving force for all businesses, it is essential that we take our approaches cautiously. When the right tools are combined with great strategy, you can expect excellent results and also gain customer loyalty.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is Hootsuite used for?
Hootsuite is a leading social media dashboard that helps you manage your social media accounts. It is the best tool for social media managers. It lets you create content and schedule the time of posting and even manage your team members and calculate the ROI with a few clicks, without any prominent coding knowledge.
How much does Hootsuite cost?
The professional plan of Hootsuite starts from $29 per month allowing you to access ten media profiles for one user. The team plan enables three users to manage 20 social media profiles for $129 per month. The Business plan lets you use 35 social profiles of 5 users with a monthly charge of $599, and the Enterprise account can set the custom pricing according to your needs. It gives you a 30 day trial period to choose and check whether the plan and the application works for you.
Which is a better buffer or Hootsuite?
If you have a small business and need at most 8-10 social media profiles, you should opt for Hootsuite, as it will give you more access and customization despite being costlier. But from the Business plan onwards, buffer exceeds Hootsuite as it will let you access to far more profile with significantly lesser price models.
What is the best Hootsuite alternative?
- Sendible
- AgoraPulse
- Buffer
- Content studio
- Sprout Social
- SocialPilot
- SocialOomph
- eClincher
- Salesforce Social Studio
- Zoho Social
- Khoros Marketing
- Socialbakers
What are the best free alternatives to Hootsuite?
For services like tweet scheduling, URL shortening, and keyword tracking, SocialOomph gives you the best outcome in the free version. You can handle up to 5 twitter accounts. But for features like Email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest accounts, you need to upgrade to a paid version that costs you $18 per month.
