Hootsuite is one of the oldest and most recognized names in social media management — and one of the most expensive ways to schedule posts. Plans are priced per user and billed annually, starting at a listed $99/month per seat, with no free plan and no monthly-billing option shown. Here is what each plan actually includes, where the costs hide, and who the price genuinely makes sense for. Every figure below was verified on hootsuite.com/plans in a real browser on June 10, 2026.
Quick answer
Hootsuite starts at $99 per user per month, billed annually — about $1,188/year for one seat with up to 10 social accounts (verified June 10, 2026). There is no free plan or monthly-billing option. Unlimited accounts require Advanced at $249 per user/month, and approval workflows are reserved for the custom-quoted Enterprise tier.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Not listed | $99/month per user | Up to 10 social accounts · 1+ user seats · unlimited post scheduling · best-time recommendations · OwlyGPT AI assistant · one inbox with DM automations |
| Advanced | Not listed | $249/month per user | Unlimited social accounts · 1+ user seats · custom analytics reports · bulk scheduling up to 350 posts · auto-route and tag inbox messages |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | — | 5+ user seats · approval workflows · custom user permissions · SSO · employee advocacy (Amplify) · Talkwalker social listening · Salesforce & Proofpoint integrations |
Hootsuite displays USD prices based on annual billing only — no monthly-billing toggle appears on the plans page. Standard and Advanced include a 30-day free trial (with a “skip trial, get 25% off” offer for paying annually up front), and trial accounts have daily posting limits. There is no free plan, and no money-back guarantee is mentioned (verified June 10, 2026).
Prices verified June 10, 2026 from Hootsuite’s public pricing page. Prices may change — see Hootsuite's current pricing page.
Hidden costs
The listed $99/month buys one seat, billed annually — about $1,188 a year before a single teammate joins. Every additional person is another full subscription, so a second seat takes the bill to about $198/month. Third-party pricing trackers estimate median real-world customer spend above $12,000 per year once multiple users and profiles are added (as of June 2026).
On the live plans-page feature table (verified June 10, 2026), approval workflows are checked only in the Enterprise column — not Standard, not Advanced. A team that wants a review step before posts go out is looking at a custom-quoted tier with a 5+ seat minimum, not a toggle on the $99 plan.
Standard covers up to 10 social accounts per user. An eleventh account means upgrading to Advanced, listed at $249/month per user (verified June 10, 2026) — roughly two and a half times the Standard rate, triggered by one extra connection. Multi-brand and agency setups should count their accounts before trusting the entry price.
There is no free plan, the 30-day trial converts to a paid subscription unless cancelled, and trial accounts have daily posting limits. Billing is annual, and no money-back guarantee is mentioned on the plans page (verified June 10, 2026). Users report on Trustpilot surprise renewals after the trial and friction obtaining refunds — though Hootsuite’s G2 reviews, written largely by enterprise buyers, are notably more positive about the product itself.
The intelligence suite — Talkwalker listening, employee advocacy, SSO, Salesforce integrations — sits on the custom-quoted Enterprise tier, yet the whole platform is positioned and priced for that buyer. If what you need is scheduling, a calendar, and analytics, the $99-per-seat entry price is paying for a class of product you may never open (as of June 2026).
| Channels | Hootsuite | SocialKit |
|---|---|---|
| 3 channels | Lists at $99/month for one Standard seat (annual billing)No free plan; the price is per user, not per channel (June 2026) | Solo: €29/month flat (€17.40/month billed annually) |
| 5 channels | Lists at $99/month — one seat covers up to 10 accountsA second teammate doubles the bill to about $198/month | Solo: €29/month flat — same plan, 15 accounts included |
| 10 channels | Lists at $99/month — Standard’s 10-account ceilingAn 11th account means Advanced, listed at $249/month | Solo: €29/month flat — same plan, 15 accounts included |
Hootsuite costs are derived from the rates published on their public pricing page as of June 2026 and may change. SocialKit Solo includes 15 social accounts across all 11 platforms at one flat price.
Honest take
Hootsuite is worth it for the buyer it is actually built for: enterprises and large agencies where social listening is part of the job. The depth is real — Talkwalker-powered listening across 30+ networks, employee advocacy, a unified inbox, 100+ integrations, SSO, and the track record of one of the oldest brands in the category (founded 2008). If you manage social for a large organization, run procurement-grade vendor reviews, and will genuinely use the intelligence tooling, $99 per user per month buys a class of product most schedulers do not attempt.
The math turns when you mainly need scheduling, a calendar, and analytics. Then every seat is about $1,188 a year for capability you will not open, approval workflows sit behind a custom-quoted Enterprise tier, and per-user billing multiplies with headcount. Big organization with listening needs: worth it. Small team that schedules posts: do the math first.
If you landed here doing seat math, SocialKit attacks the exact line items that make Hootsuite expensive. Every plan covers all 11 platforms — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, Mastodon, and Google Business — at a flat EUR price. Solo is €29/month (€17.40/month billed annually) with 15 social accounts: more than Standard’s 10-account cap, for roughly the cost of two months of one Hootsuite seat per year. And SocialKit publishes natively to Mastodon, which Hootsuite only monitors.
The team math is where the gap widens. SocialKit’s Team plan is a flat €49/month (€29.40/month billed annually) with 30 social accounts, 2 seats, and approval workflows included — the feature Hootsuite reserves for custom-quoted Enterprise — and extra teammates cost €2 each instead of another $99+ seat. API + webhooks and AI come on every plan (metered credits, not unlimited). Honest caveat: if you need social listening, employee advocacy, or SSO, Hootsuite plays in a class SocialKit does not compete in. For everyone else, the trial is 7 days, €0.00 due today, with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
billed annually · €29/month billed monthly
€0.00 due today · cancel anytime · 7-day money-back guarantee
Full plan details on our pricing page.
FAQ
Still weighing it up? These are the answers people look for before they switch.
€0.00 due today · cancel anytime · 7-day money-back guarantee
The full head-to-head: every feature, platform, and price compared with Hootsuite.
Best Hootsuite alternativesHootsuite is one of the oldest names in social media management, and its enterprise depth — social listening, employee advocacy, 100+ integrations — is real. But the cheapest way in lists at $99 per user per month billed annually, there is no free plan, and approval workflows are listed from the $249/month Advanced plan (as of June 2026). If that bill buys capability you never open, this list compares the strongest alternatives honestly: what each tool actually costs, which platforms it covers, and who it genuinely fits. All facts are taken from each vendor’s public pricing page as of June 2026.
Buffer vs HootsuiteBuffer and Hootsuite are the two most recognized names in social media management — and they sit at opposite ends of the market. Buffer is a clean, per-channel workspace built for creators and small businesses, with a genuinely useful free plan. Hootsuite is an enterprise social intelligence platform priced per seat, with listening and advocacy tooling most small teams never open. This page compares the two honestly — pricing, platforms, and team features as of June 2026 — and shows where a third option, SocialKit, undercuts them both on flat EUR pricing.
Hootsuite vs Sprout SocialHootsuite and Sprout Social are the two enterprise heavyweights of social media management — and they are more alike than different. Both price per seat in USD at annual terms, both bundle listening and engagement suites on top of publishing, and neither has a free plan. Hootsuite, founded in 2008, leads with social listening and 100+ integrations; Sprout Social, founded in 2010 and publicly traded on NASDAQ, leads with its unified inbox and reporting depth. This page compares the two honestly — pricing, platforms, and team features as of June 2026 — and shows where a third option, SocialKit, undercuts them both on flat EUR pricing.