15 tools to consider instead of Hootsuite, with who each one suits, where it falls short and a source for every price. No scores or star ratings.
Updated 27 Sep 2026 · Next review 26 Dec 202615 tools · 21 min read
Disclosure: We make startbuddi, so we've put it first and been upfront about where it falls short. There are no scores or star ratings here. Every price and feature below comes from the tool's own website or our own test account, and each one links to its source.
TL;DRThe short answer
Small businesses that plan and schedule posts next to their other marketing?startbuddi.
Solo founders scheduling posts to a few channels?Buffer.
In-house marketing teams that need publishing, inbox and reporting together?Sprout Social.
Small brands scheduling visual posts to Instagram, TikTok and other networks?Later.
Teams that handle publishing, a shared inbox and reporting in one tool?Agorapulse.
Agencies managing social media for several clients?Sendible.
Find your fit · 2 questions
Which alternative suits you?
1. Do you need a free plan?
2. Which sounds most like you?
Answer both to see a suggestion. It only uses the facts on this page.
Small businesses that want social scheduling linked to Zoho CRM
₦7,700 per month, billed annually (Standard)
Yes
Prices are list prices as each company publishes them, never converted. startbuddi's price is shown in your currency where we can.
The alternatives
01
startbuddi
Our productBest for small businesses that plan and schedule posts next to their other marketing
Best for
Small businesses that plan and schedule posts next to their other marketing
Starting price
Free plan. Paid from $29 a month Starter plan, our pricing
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Social Media Manager plans, schedules and publishes posts to connected accounts, with a calendar, trends and Chip drafting captions. It sits in the Marketing hub with email and WhatsApp.
Best for solo founders scheduling posts to a few channels
Best for
Solo founders scheduling posts to a few channels
Starting price
$5 USD, per channel per month, billed monthly (Essentials); $60 per channel per year billed annually
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android, browser extension
Buffer is a social media scheduling tool priced per connected channel. It publishes to networks including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube and Pinterest, and adds analytics, a comment inbox and a link-in-bio page. The free plan covers up to 3 channels.
Strengths
Free plan for up to 3 channels
Per-channel pricing, with lower rates above 10 channels
AI assistant for drafting and repurposing posts
iOS and Android apps plus a browser extension
Limitations
Free plan allows 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time
Approval workflows and unlimited team members need the Team plan ($10 per channel per month)
Best for in-house marketing teams that need publishing, inbox and reporting together
Best for
In-house marketing teams that need publishing, inbox and reporting together
Starting price
$79 USD, per seat per month, billed annually (Essentials)
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Sprout Social is a social media management platform covering publishing, a shared inbox, listening and reporting. It is priced per seat, starting with Essentials for publishing and reporting, and every plan has a 30-day trial with no credit card.
Strengths
30-day free trial with no credit card
Essentials covers up to 5 profiles with optimal send times and post-level reporting
Standard adds a consolidated inbox, keyword monitoring and review management
Mobile apps for iOS and Android on all plans
Limitations
Per-seat pricing, from $79 to $399 per seat per month
Essentials and Standard are limited to 5 social profiles
Best for small brands scheduling visual posts to Instagram, TikTok and other networks
Best for
Small brands scheduling visual posts to Instagram, TikTok and other networks
Starting price
$18.75 USD, per month, billed yearly (Starter)
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web
Later is a social media scheduling and analytics tool that supports Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. Plans are sold by social sets, users and monthly post limits.
Best for teams that handle publishing, a shared inbox and reporting in one tool
Best for
Teams that handle publishing, a shared inbox and reporting in one tool
Starting price
$79 USD, per user per month, billed annually
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web
Agorapulse is a social media management tool covering scheduling, a unified inbox for messages and comments, and reporting. It supports Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business, TikTok, Bluesky and Reddit. Plans are priced per user and each paid plan includes 10 social profiles.
Strengths
Unlimited post scheduling on every paid plan
Unified inbox for messages and organic comments from the Standard plan
Supports 11 networks including Threads, Bluesky, Reddit and Google Business
30-day free trial with no credit card required
Limitations
No free plan, only a 30-day trial
Priced per user, so cost rises with each team member
Automated moderation rules, shared content calendars, ROI analysis and competitor benchmarking start on Advanced ($149 per user per month, billed annually)
Best for agencies managing social media for several clients
Best for
Agencies managing social media for several clients
Starting price
$29 USD, per month, billed monthly (Core)
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web
Sendible is social media management software built for agencies, franchises and multi-location businesses. Every plan includes unlimited users, and plans are sized by workspaces and social profiles.
Strengths
Unlimited users on every plan
Supports Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Threads and Bluesky
Client dashboards and in-app approvals (approvals from Plus)
Bulk importer for scheduling
Limitations
No free plan, only a 14-day trial
Core includes only 6 profiles and 1 workspace
White label is a paid add-on, only on Elite and Enterprise
Best for agencies and teams that need client approval on social posts
Best for
Agencies and teams that need client approval on social posts
Starting price
$33 USD, per workspace per month (Basic plan)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Planable is a social media planning and approval tool, priced per workspace with unlimited users. Teams draft posts, collect feedback and approvals, then schedule to nine networks.
Strengths
Priced per workspace with unlimited users
Publishes to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Google Business Profile and Threads
Required approvals on Pro and multi-level approvals on Enterprise
Free plan with 50 posts, no time limit and no card
Limitations
Free plan is 50 posts in total, not per month
Basic plan caps each workspace at 60 posts a month and 4 social pages
Analytics ($12) and social inbox ($7.5) are paid add-ons per workspace per month
Best for solo creators scheduling to many networks on a small budget
Best for
Solo creators scheduling to many networks on a small budget
Starting price
$5 USD, per month, billed monthly (Professional); $4 per month billed yearly
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Publer schedules posts to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Business Profiles, Bluesky and more. The free plan covers 3 social accounts; paid plans add unlimited scheduling and, on Business, analytics and AI prompts.
Strengths
Free plan with 3 social accounts
Unlimited scheduling and drafts on paid plans
Analytics, best times to post and competitor analysis on Business
Every tenth social account is free
Limitations
Free plan allows 10 scheduled posts per account and keeps post history for 24 hours
X (Twitter) accounts need a paid plan
Analytics and API access start on Business ($10 per month billed monthly)
Best for freelancers and agencies scheduling and reporting across several brands
Best for
Freelancers and agencies scheduling and reporting across several brands
Starting price
€16 per month, billed annually (Starter, up to 5 brands)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Metricool is a social media tool for planning, publishing, analytics, ads reporting and a shared inbox. The free plan covers one brand and 20 scheduled posts a month, and paid plans are priced by the number of brands.
Strengths
Free plan for 1 brand with up to 20 scheduled posts a month
Supports Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, X and Google Business Profile
Ads reporting for Google, Facebook and TikTok
Link-in-bio pages, PDF and PPT reports and Canva integration on Starter
Limitations
The free plan excludes LinkedIn and X (Twitter)
Team and client management and post approvals need the Advanced plan (from €43 per month billed annually)
Best for small businesses and solo marketers who plan posts by content category
Best for
Small businesses and solo marketers who plan posts by content category
Starting price
$24.20 USD, per month, billed annually (Bootstrap); $29 billed monthly
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web
SocialBee schedules posts to ten networks, organises them into content categories and can reshare evergreen posts. It includes an AI assistant called Copilot, approvals and a shared inbox.
Strengths
Posts to Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Google Business Profile
Best for small teams planning and scheduling posts across many networks with AI help
Best for
Small teams planning and scheduling posts across many networks with AI help
Starting price
$19 USD, per month, billed annually (Standard; $29 billed monthly)
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
ContentStudio is a social media management tool with a shared content calendar, content discovery, AI captions and images, a social inbox and analytics. It supports networks including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky and Google Business Profile.
Strengths
Supports a wide range of networks, including Threads, Bluesky and Google Business Profile
Standard includes 5 social accounts and AI text, image and video credits
7-day free trial with no credit card required
Mobile apps for iOS and Android
Limitations
No free plan
Standard allows 1 user and 5 social accounts
Social inbox, approval workflow and bulk CSV scheduling start on Advanced ($49 a month billed annually)
Best for small teams that plan, approve and schedule social posts on a shared calendar
Best for
Small teams that plan, approve and schedule social posts on a shared calendar
Starting price
$49 USD, per month, billed annually (Starter, $588 per year; $65 billed monthly)
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Loomly is a social media management tool built around a content calendar with approval workflows. It publishes to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business Profile and Threads. Plans are priced by social accounts and users.
Strengths
Starter includes 12 social accounts, 3 users and unlimited calendars
Custom approval workflows with comments and version history
Unified inbox for comments, mentions and messages
Apps for iOS and Android
Limitations
No free plan, only a free trial
Starter is limited to 3 users
Custom branding, custom roles and hashtag manager need Beyond ($249 per month billed annually)
Best for freelancers and agencies scheduling posts for clients
Best for
Freelancers and agencies scheduling posts for clients
Starting price
$25 USD, per month, billed monthly (Pro, 1 social set)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Pallyy is a social media scheduler built for agencies and freelancers, priced per client social set rather than per channel. Clients can preview and approve posts from a shared link without an account.
Strengths
Free plan with 1 social set
Client approvals from a shared link
Per-client PDF reports
Supports 10 platforms including Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Bluesky
Limitations
Free plan allows 15 scheduled posts a month, image posts only
Vista Social is a social media management platform for publishing, a shared inbox, listening, review management and reporting. Professional includes 15 social profiles and 2 users, and each paid plan has a 14-day trial with no credit card.
Strengths
Professional includes 15 social profiles, 2 users and 1,000 AI credits a month
Best for small businesses that want social scheduling linked to Zoho CRM
Best for
Small businesses that want social scheduling linked to Zoho CRM
Starting price
₦7,700 per month, billed annually (Standard)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android, browser extension
Zoho Social schedules and publishes posts across networks including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and TikTok. Higher plans add a shared inbox, approvals and Zoho CRM integration.
Strengths
Forever free plan for one brand
Supports networks including Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon and Pinterest
Premium adds inbox, content approvals and CRM integration
Agency plans with client portal and branded reports
Limitations
Standard and Professional include only 1 team member
Inbox and content approvals need Premium
Free plan has limited features after the 15-day trial
Built for or usable by small businesses and small teams
A published product page and pricing page we could check
Actively maintained, with a working sign-up or trial
Covers the core job this list is about, not just a feature of it
A mix of free, low-cost and established options
About this list
Where the facts come from
Every price, plan and feature comes from the tool's own website, pricing page or docs, or from our own test account. Each tool links to its sources and shows the date we checked them.
What we leave out
No scores, star ratings or review counts. If we can't confirm a fact from an official source, we leave it out and mark it "not published".
When it's reviewed
Last updated 27 Sep 2026. Next review due 26 Dec 2026. We review every list at least every 90 days.
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