Top 10 Hootsuite Alternatives (with Feature Parity) In 2024

Hootsuite, founded in 2008, is closer to the first photo uploaded on the Internet than it is to today.

Like many, you probably discovered Hootsuite early on - through its academy or its influence via search engines and irl recommendations.

And, like many, you were determined to make it work.

but despite your best efforts, you are questioning why it feels outdated, why it's so expensive, and why basic features are so hard to access.

Jump directly to Best Hootsuite alternatives.

Beyond Hootsuite

In 2010s, mobile accelerated the rise of new social networks and propelled the established ones to go public.

This led to a new category creation (social media management).

Hootsuite was positioned as the early player. The defacto social media management tool.

But like any other category, new players came to the party.

thus creating alternatives that would end up competing with Hootsuite.

Each entrant brought a different focus, taste, and positioning. This variety ensures that no matter what brought you here today, you will find something that aligns with your "psyche's needs."

In this blog, we’ll explore the best Hootsuite alternatives that could become the new home for your social media profiles.

Let’s start with it.

(we've ranked these Hootsuite alternatives considering the feature parity, the price to value ratio, and focus on things that are better solved such as automations, approvals, report customizations and more).

Statusbrew

Statusbrew has 1:1 feature parity with Hoosuite and is generally lower priced for the same features, social channels, and team access.

If you're hearing about Statusbrew for the first time, it's a good modern team friendly software around $129/mo offering Hootsuite Enterprise like features (approvals, saved replies, tags, automations, team reporting, etc).

Statusbrew is agile and less encumbered by legacy issues.

If it did the same thing in the same manner as existing tools, it doesn't deserve to exist.

So you're bound to get a few unique things you didn’t know you needed.

For quick validation, go for a demo with the team.

We'll also attach a few videos here, so you can quickly see if it looks and feels good to you.

(watch this quick video to see how you can manage and distribute content in Statusbrew.)

Social Engagement implies just responding to messages, comments, etc. but it's so much more deeper than that.

Encouraging the community, priortizing the important customers, keeping out the spam and being able to get to Inbox Zero.

Hootsuite is just not the effecient system for that.

Statusbrew brings so many things to the table, that it would take less time than ever to view and go to Inbox Zero.

If this matters to you, i'll force you to watch (or skim) the video below and see for yourself.

For more details on everything it offers, check out our page on social media engagement.

You get a BI like tool for social reporting, it's easy to get started with (using templates) and end to end customizable.

Also, Statusbrew's 18 month data backill (very few platforms give you backfill) frees up your anxiety of leaving your data behind (when switching platforms).

There are no contracts with Statusbrew, so try it out, go month by month or directly book a call with team to make a quick judgement.

If you've watched any of the videos above, you would have the idea of the simplicity and customizability, so make the use of Statusbrew team and get a curated setup.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social has a big overlap when it comes to features, which is why we're keeping it second in our list.

However, it has a per user pricing and depending on your team size it might cost you more or less (not likely) than Hootsuite.

(we've covered Sprout Social pricing in detail, if you're considering them.)

Sprout is generally a safe choice! (No one ever got fired for hiring IBM)

And would likely be an upgrade from Hootsuite for most social media management tasks.

But Hootsuite is a better social listening tool and Sprout doesn't have social advertising or boosting features.

Hootsuite has streams which are pioneered by them and none of the other platforms offer. Industry has a mixed opinion on streams and they aren't preffered by everyone, but if you like a columnar layout, you'd miss this in Sprout.

Hootsuite has an app directly and boasts 100+ integrations

Sprout, Statusbrew integrates with more than 20+ apps and app selection is more curated.

Sprout's reports generally require less setup and are usable from Day 1. However, they have limited reporting and all the good stuff is available via a premium anlytics add on (starts at $999/mo).

P.S.: If you have already tried Sprout Social but are drawn away by its higher-than-average price, check out our list of Sprout Social Alternatives

Sprinklr

Sprinklr would be the most expensive (by far) platform on our list.

If your reason for searching Hootsuite alternatives was price, better to jump to the next one.

Sprinklr over delivers in terms of features but you would be dependent on their team to set everything up for you (it takes a lot to get in running).

You would need to get an account manager who would manage Sprinklr for you or you would end up spending a lot of time.

But for the time investment, value and cost, people are perplexed at choosing Sprinklr.

It is however the most comprehensive listening platform (in this list), if that's what you're looking for as an alternative to Hootsuite.

It also integrated with most amount of social and messaging networks in the industry (such as Wechat, telegram, Viber, weibo, etc).

You can also manage social ads across all platforms (META ADS, LinkedIn ADS, TikTok, X, etc).

It goes beyond social and also includes tools for Email, Live Chat, calling, etc.

We don't like saying a platform is buggy or has slow customer support (ofc, we don't use it daily), but we came across a lot of such experiences by Sprinklr users. More than others, so be thorough in your testing.

The choice here is if you are a big enterprise and need a one single solution for everything, Sprinklr would be the only platform for that (in this list).

But if you aren't that and don't want to settle for average chat, social, care, email experiences, we would recommend getting a platform that focuses on one solution and does it really well.

Agorapulse

Agorapulse has features that overlap with Hootsuite, but only when it comes to publishing, and you might end up paying less.

However, the inbox is a bit lacking, with a profile-level inbox (not unified). So, if you have a lot of channels and your team needs to go through all the conversations, you need to click on each profile, which would be really hard after a certain threshold.

If you need strictly defined "basic" reports, it "might" work for you, but if you need to build a custom dashboard (or "advance" reports), you have to opt for a different Hootsuite competitor.

(Basic means the usual likes, comments, shares, reach, followers, etc.)

They do however market a customizable reports feature in their Advance Plan ($199 per user) called "Power Reports".

But what it lets you do is just remove the metrics that you don't need from the default reporting.

I never understood these words (Advance, Power, customizable). Their meaning varies so much between platforms, and some allow you to remove certain metrics.

Also, you would have to rely on their presentation style as you cannot change that.

It's more "beautiful" than powerful or advanced.

Agorapulse "Beautiful Reports" is available in the Advance (for $199 per user) plan.

They just don't have enough reporting metrics compared to Hootsuite, Sprout or Statusbrew.

Agora has recently moved to seat-based pricing, so you must ration team member access.

NapoleonCat

NapoleonCat is a relatively low cost alternative to Hootsuite that covers both publishing and engagement.

We can compare the napoleoncat's inbox to Hootsuite for getting the job done which means you would pay less for a somewhat similar experience.

It handles repetitive tasks by defining triggers (e.g., comments with offensive language) that set off automatic actions (e.g., hiding the comment). You can create multiple Auto-moderation rules for various issues and choose from ready-to-go automation templates for easy setup.

Sendible

Sendible, priced at around $4 per profile, is more affordable than many of the previously mentioned tools. It covers essential social media management features, including publishing (with approval workflows), inbox management, and reporting.

However, I’m personally not a fan of their UI. If you’re accustomed to modern apps, you might feel transported back to the early 2010s, with a design reminiscent of the era when every website looked the same, thanks to Twitter’s Bootstrap CSS.

As a power user who prefers shortcuts, keyboard navigation, minimal animations, and direct actions, Sendible doesn’t quite hit the mark. I value a clean, intuitive UI/UX that inspires my team and doesn’t obstruct their workflow. While I’m not suggesting that Sendible’s UI/UX is poor, it just wouldn’t be my first choice.

Sendible has historically targeted agencies, as evident from their website copy and certain features. It is the first tool in this list which has Whitelabel option (none of the above tools offers this).

It is printed in bold on their website and in their pricing plans (they have 2 plans, which are named "Whitelabel" and "Whitelabel+"). If whitelabeling is a must for you, I would go with Sendible. Although I haven’t personally tested their Whitelabel feature, I haven't tested the Whitelabel feature in Sendible (I looked at their marketing and support resources); from what I gathered, it offers the full Whitelabel features, wipe out the Sendible branding and support CNAME (custom domain), and for that, It would be my top recommendation.

Buffer

While Hootsuite discontinued its free plan on March 31st, 2023, Buffer still offers a free plan for individual users and businesses starting out with social media. Its free plan lets you schedule content for up to 3 channels (30 posts in total), a drag-and-drop social media calendar, a content library, and Buffer's AI Assistant. It's super affordable as compared to Hootsuite, as Buffer’s paid plans start at $6 per month per channel.

Buffer’s calendar outshines Hootsuite’s with a better drag-and-drop option and a cleaner interface. The approval infrastructure in Buffer is straightforward, featuring a dedicated approval tab that shows content approval status and allows for quick actions. It also has a “Queue” feature that simplifies content management.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social is an affordable social media tool for agencies and SMBs. Its UI is easy to use and uncluttered. Like the other platforms we discussed above, Zoho Social offers a 15-day free trial without entering your credit card details.

It is much more affordable than Hootsuite, as its paid plan starts at $15/month. They also offer 2 different pricing plans for agencies to cater to the varying needs of an agency without costing a bomb.

Zoho Social offers the ability to repeat posts when necessary. While Hootsuite integrates with 200+ apps, it still doesn’t include Mastodon, which Zoho Social does.

While Hootsuite’s scheduled posts can only be viewed in its planner, Zoho Social offers a dedicated scheduled posts tab. Approval workflows are available in Hootsuite only in the Enterprise plans, but Zoho Social offers them starting from the Premium plan.

Brandwatch

Brandwatch (previously Falcon.io) offers brand monitoring, consumer intelligence, and influencer marketing for enterprise businesses. It boasts superior listening features and AI-powered advanced competitive analysis. With access to over 100 million unique data sources and 1.6 trillion historical conversations since 2010, Brandwatch provides unmatched social listening insights.

It offers end-to-end influencer marketing by discovering and managing influencers from a database of over 30 million global creators. Brandwatch also automates reporting and provides better campaign measurement. Brandwatch has full Firehose data for Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr, so it provides real-time access to all public posts on these platforms for in-depth analysis and trend identification.

Brandwatch can be a good Hootsuite alternative if social/web listening is your primary concern. Brandwatch does not have a publicly available pricing, so you would have to talk to their team to get an estimate. It usually starts from $1000/month.

eClincher

With eClincher, you can easily schedule and automate your social media posts.

eClincher offers a comprehensive social media inbox, detailed analytics, and superior monitoring tools in addition to its scheduling capabilities. Its visual calendar is easy to use. eClincher’s collaboration and content approval features are also superior to Hootsuite. eClincher offers approval workflows starting from the Premium plan, but Hootsuite only provides it in the enterprise plan.

eClincher is also quite affordable as its lowest-tier plan for individuals and micro-businesses starts at $65 per month. eClincher's customer service is quick, supportive, and extremely helpful.

SocialFlow

Socialflow offers AI-powered social publishing to amplify your content. Using real-time data and machine-learning optimization, Socialflow ensures your content reaches the right place at the right time. With its AI publishing tool, you can load up your content queue and let the AI optimize post distribution during peak audience engagement hours.

Socialflow's responsiveness to real-time data results in higher engagement without manual configuration. Socialflow also supports branded and sponsored content campaign management, lead generation, subscriber acquisition and retention. Socialflow was acquired by Piano in 2022, and is since a Piano solution.

Which one is the best Hootsuite alternative?

The social media tools mentioned above are top Hootsuite competitors, each with unique selling points and features at competitive prices.

Depending on your must-haves, your nice-to-haves and your budget, you can make a choice.

Use the database we've linked above to narrow down your choices, and then try out at least a couple of them for a few weeks. If you aren't ready for the trials yet, you can also do demos with your selected platforms to get an idea if it would be worth making an investment.

Statusbrew usually gets 6-7 people/week on average who move from Hootsuite. So we've done a lot of work to ensure the move is quick and smooth. The team will help transfer all your reporting data (and dashboards), tags setup, inbox views and more so you can get into testing from Day 1.

Frequently Asked Questions

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