Hootsuite pricing doesn't give you much room, which means you would have to compromise and settle for what you get in each plan (that meets your budget).
Or you have to pay many folds more (there's a big jump between each plan) to get the desired social media management features.
And some of the features, such as approvals, labels, etc, which are otherwise pretty standard (you and I would agree) SMM features, are all unpriced (enterprise).
For perspective, here's a complete list of features from an SMM tool and how Hootsuite fairs and compares with others.
In this article, we'll take a look at Hootsuite pricing and how much it actually costs.
(We've also compiled a list of Hootsuite alternatives that match Hootsuite in every aspect without needing add-ons or enterprise packages.)
Hootsuite pricing and plans explained
"The pricing is covering every segment without really covering it"
Hootsuite has three plans.
(Source- Hootsuite pricing page)
The $99/mo (annual) or $149/mo entry plan (professional) rents you the basic scheduling, content calendar & reporting features.
It has one user, so no plus-ones for your team members!
Sure, you could share credentials, but with only one active session, you'll end up playing musical chairs with logins all day!
(Source- Giphy)
If you're looking for an individual-focused scheduling platform, tools such as Buffer and Later might offer better value for money.
The database we talked about earlier includes a section for tools priced under $200/month. You can look there to find the best options in this price range.
Next up is the team plan at $249/mo (annual) or $399/mo, which offers 3 users but no team features such as approval workflows, content tagging, notifications, etc.
In the "team" plan, you can assign team messages & roles, but you can't view team activity or view team performance.
And if you need to add 1 more user, guess what? You can't.
You have to pay 4-5 times more and move to the 3rd Hootsuite plan, which is the enterprise plan.
Or you share login credentials and end up with a crippled experience (remember musical chairs?).
It's still better than tools (Sprout Social or Sprinklr) that charge per user seat.
All Roads Lead To Enterprise
Even if you're not an enterprise, you would become one (at least for Hootsuite's pricing model)
Do you need more than 3 users? Move to an enterprise plan.
Do you need approvals? Move to an enterprise plan.
Do you wish to add tags (labels) to outgoing posts, conversations, or campaigns? Move to an enterprise plan.
Need customer support? Need to move to enterprise.
On average, customer-facing SMBs would have more than 3 users.
If you need more than 3 users on your Hootsuite account, you can only contact them directly for a sales call.
So, if your agency has more than 3 people managing social and doing community management, or if your customer support team has more than 3 agents answering questions on social media, you’re paying the big bucks.
If you have a very active social media presence, you’ll most likely need the following features:
1. Automated moderation rules: When dealing with a high volume of incoming messages, you have to implement some kind of automation.
2. Saved replies: When your team has to provide the same answer again and again on different social media accounts, you have to give them the tools to do that while remaining sane and avoiding mistakes!
3. Collision prevention: Make sure team members aren’t stepping on each other’s toes and duplicating efforts when responding to followers (especially for different social media channels.)
Am I Talking To A Wall
(Source- Giphy)
Social media management tools integrate with different social media sites and use APIs to do their job.
But sometimes, things go wrong with these connections, or there might be issues specific to your accounts.
When that happens, you'll need help from the platform's support team or your success manager (someone who helps you get the most out of the tool and not the salesperson who sells you extra features).
The key here is to find a platform that makes it easy and fast to get help when you need it. Ideally, they should offer convenient communication channels like live chat or email.
Here's the catch: some users on online forums have complained that if you're not a high-paying customer, support might ignore you.
This means waiting longer for answers, which is frustrating, especially when you're paying a lot for the tool in the first place.
Where do we go from here?
You have other options. We recommend checking out our complete list of Hootsuite alternatives, which offer all the features of Hootsuite and even more but @ 50% of the price.
We also encourage you to see if Statusbrew is a perfect fit for you, so we offer a free trial. Sign up and try it out for yourself; no strings are attached.
