Hootsuite vs Iconosquare
We give Hootsuite a 2.6 GPA and Iconosquare a 2.4, out of 4.0. Hootsuite grades higher on ease of use. Iconosquare grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hootsuite
Social media suite for publishing, inbox, listening and reports
Iconosquare
Social media analytics and scheduling for brands and agencies
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHootsuiteGood | 2.4GPAIconosquareFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStandard is $99 a user a month billed yearly, so two people managing five profiles pay $198 a month and three pay $297. That's in this category's dearest tenth, which starts at $99. Listening and competitor benchmarks are what the money buys over cheaper tools. | CStarter and Launch are one user, so two or three people need Scale: €69 a month billed yearly for 5 profiles and 3 users. At any normal exchange rate that's above this category's $58 dearer quarter but under its $99 dearest tenth. Alone, Starter is €15 for 5 profiles. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed. Trial accounts are held to 10 to 20 posts a day and can't bulk schedule, which is fine for a look around. | CFree for good with 2 profiles and 10 posts a month per profile, plus a 14-day trial with no card. One month of analytics history is thin for an analytics tool, though. |
| Features | BPublishing to nine networks, a shared inbox with WhatsApp in it, listening, benchmarks against 5 competitors and analytics on the first plan. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job; approvals and routing just cost more, on Advanced. | BAnalytics for 8 networks with dashboards and scheduled PDF and XLS reports, scheduling with captions per network, an inbox from Launch, and competitor and hashtag tracking on Scale. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | AIts iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 34,300 ratings. Connecting profiles and setting up approvals takes a little time, but people clearly get on with it. | CThere's no App Store rating on record for us to go by, and you'll connect profiles and build dashboards to get the most from it. So it gets the ordinary grade. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with more than 100 apps in its directory, among them Canva, Salesforce, Slack and monday.com, plus MCP connectors for ChatGPT and Claude. No desktop app, which an A needs. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Zapier, Adobe Express and an MCP link for ChatGPT and Claude. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | publishing, inbox and listening in one place | social analytics and client reports |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Hootsuite and Iconosquare. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hootsuite starts at $99 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Iconosquare starts at about $10.09 a month and scores 2.7.
Hootsuite scores higher, and starts $88.91 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other social media schedulers on the chart, none scores higher than Hootsuite for less, and 3 score higher than Iconosquare for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Hootsuite starts at $99 per user / month, billed annually. Iconosquare starts at €9 per month for up to 3 social profiles, billed annually.
- Iconosquare has a free plan. Hootsuite does not, though it has a free trial.
- Hootsuite also covers shared inbox.
At a glance
| Hootsuite | Iconosquare | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $99 per user / month, billed annually | €9 per month for up to 3 social profiles, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | 1 user, up to 2 social profiles, 10 scheduled posts a month per profile, standard analytics and 1 month of history. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of all features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hootsuite Inc. | Iconosquare (part of Positive) |
| Price read from | hootsuite.com | iconosquare.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Hootsuite
- Marketing and social teams that also handle customer messages on social
- Brands that want listening and competitor tracking beside publishing
- Larger organizations that need approvals, routing and single sign-on
Iconosquare
- Brands that care most about reporting on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook results
- Agencies sending clients regular performance reports
- Teams that watch competitors and hashtags alongside their own posts
Worth knowing
Hootsuite
- There is no free plan. Trial accounts are limited to 10 to 20 posts a day and cannot bulk schedule.
- Every user is a paid seat, and Standard stops at 10 social accounts; unlimited accounts need Professional at $199 per user / month.
- Approval workflows and message assignment need Advanced at $399 per user / month; single sign-on is Enterprise only.
- Monthly billing is offered at a higher rate than the annual figures the plans page shows, but the monthly price is not published there.
Iconosquare
- Starter and Launch include 1 user; Scale includes 3, and more users need the Custom plan.
- Publishing to X and the comments and DMs inbox start at Launch.
- Posting is capped at 30 posts a month on Starter and 100 on Launch; only Scale and Custom are unlimited.
- The free plan keeps just 1 month of analytics history and allows 10 posts a month per profile.
Key features
Hootsuite
- Publishing calendar
- Posts for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest and Bluesky are planned on one calendar, with best-time suggestions and bulk scheduling.
- Shared inbox
- DMs and comments land in one inbox, WhatsApp included, with saved and suggested replies. Professional automates replies; Advanced adds assignment and routing.
- Listening and competitors
- Track mentions, trends and competitors' posting. Standard benchmarks 5 competitors and Professional 20; Enterprise covers 13 months of history across more sources.
- Analytics and reports
- Performance analytics come with every plan. Custom, scheduled and exported reports start on Professional, and branded reports shared outside the account need Advanced.
- Wisdom AI and MCP connectors
- An AI assistant drafts posts, recommends and analyzes on every plan, and MCP connectors let ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini run Hootsuite tasks.
- App directory
- More than 100 apps plug into the dashboard, among them Canva and Adobe Express in the composer, Salesforce, Slack, monday.com and Google Business Profile.
Iconosquare
- Analytics across eight networks
- Reach, engagement and audience data for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Pinterest and YouTube, including Reels and Stories, with custom dashboards.
- Scheduled reports
- Profile, competitor, hashtag and dashboard reports in PDF or XLS, sent on a schedule. Custom adds white-label reports with your own logo.
- Scheduling and cross-posting
- Schedule posts, Stories and Reels to several networks with captions adjusted per network, saved caption templates and a media library.
- Conversations inbox
- From Launch, comments, Facebook and Instagram DMs and brand mentions sit in one inbox with saved replies.
- Competitor and hashtag tracking
- Scale adds competitor benchmarks, hashtag analysis, custom feeds of other accounts and campaign tracking, plus post approval workflows.
- Uma AI Analyst
- An AI analyst answers questions about your social data using credits included in paid plans. An AI assistant drafts captions, and an MCP link opens the data to ChatGPT or Claude.
Plans
Hootsuite
Standard$99
per user / month, billed annually
Up to 10 social accounts, unlimited scheduling, AI posts and images, a shared inbox, listening and benchmarks against 5 competitors.
Professional$199
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited social accounts, automated inbox replies and DMs, 30-day Quick Search, 90-day trend forecasts and custom scheduled reports.
Advanced$399
per user / month, billed annually
Approval workflows, internal comments, message assignment and routing, satisfaction surveys, team productivity and branded reports.
EnterpriseCustom
Single sign-on, compliance tools, 13 months of listening history, attribution and ROI reporting, employee advocacy and onboarding.
Iconosquare
Free€0
1 user, up to 2 social profiles, 10 posts a month per profile, standard analytics and 1 month of history.
Starter€9
per month for up to 3 social profiles, billed annually
1 user, 30 posts a month, AI content tools, custom dashboards and 1 year of history. €15 a month for up to 5 profiles.
Launch€33
per month for up to 5 social profiles, billed annually
1 user, 100 posts a month, automated reports, an inbox for comments, DMs and mentions, and X publishing and analytics.
Scale€69
per month for up to 5 social profiles, billed annually
3 users, unlimited posts, approvals, campaign and paid post tracking, competitor and hashtag monitoring. €219 a month at 20 profiles.
Custom€116
per month and up, billed annually
5 to unlimited profiles, one or unlimited users, white-label reports, onboarding and a customer success manager. Arranged through sales.
Ways to pay less
Hootsuite
- Nonprofit
Up to 60% off for nonprofits
The HootGiving program gives approved nonprofits a discount of up to 60% on the Standard, Professional and Advanced plans, by application.
Iconosquare
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Paying yearly saves the equivalent of two months: €36 a year on Starter, €72 on Launch, €168 on Scale and €276 on Custom.
