Hootsuite vs Orlo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hootsuite grades higher than Orlo: 2.6 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hootsuite grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. Orlo grades higher on value for money.
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
Which one is for you
Pick Hootsuite if
- Fits if your team answers comments and DMs, WhatsApp included, as much as it posts
- Works for brands that want listening and competitor tracking next to publishing, at $99 a user
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're a small team: every person is a paid seat at $99 a month billed yearly, so two pay $198
- Not for you if you want a free plan. The 14-day trial caps you at 10 to 20 posts a day, with no bulk scheduling
- Tight if you have more than 10 profiles, since unlimited ones need Professional at $199 a user
- Watch out: approvals and message routing need Advanced at $399 a user, and single sign-on is Enterprise only
- Watch out: there's no desktop app, and the dearer monthly price isn't published on the plans page
Pick Orlo if
- Fits if you run social or customer messages for a council, health trust or university
- Works for teams that need archiving and a shared inbox across channels
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price before talking to sales, as none is published
- Not for you if you're a small business, which isn't its stated audience
- Skip it if you want to try it first, because no trial or free plan is listed
- Watch out: social, community voice and customer service are chosen and priced as separate modules
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHootsuiteGood | 1.6GPAOrloWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CNo price is published: the pricing page asks you to pick a sector and request a quote, so there's nothing to set against the category's middle of $24.99. |
| 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. | FNothing free on the pricing page and no trial listed. |
| 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 need Advanced at $399 a user. | CScheduling, unified inbox, media monitoring, surveys, chatbot and live chat, and archiving. It's a wide public-sector product, and its modules are priced separately. |
| Ease of use | AIts iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 34,300 ratings. Connecting profiles and setting up approvals takes some setup first. | CNo store rating on record. A multi-module platform sold through quotes, so expect onboarding. |
| 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. | CWeb only, though it connects to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Nextdoor, TikTok, X, YouTube and WhatsApp. |
| Best for | publishing, inbox and listening in one place | social, inbox and listening for councils and public bodies |
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 Orlo. How we grade
Where they differ
- Orlo also covers surveys and chatbots.
At a glance
| Hootsuite | Orlo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $99 per user / month, billed annually | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hootsuite Inc. | Orlo |
| Price read from | hootsuite.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
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.
Orlo
- No prices are published; the pricing page asks you to pick a sector and request a quote.
- It is built for public sector organizations, so a small business is not its stated audience.
- Modules (social, community voice, customer service) are chosen separately when pricing.
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.
Orlo
- Scheduling and publishing
- Multi-channel scheduling with a content calendar, AI alt text and hashtag generation, and approval, auditing and lockdown controls.
- Unified inbox
- Brings social messages and other digital conversations into one inbox, with AI prioritization and automated responses.
- Listening and media monitoring
- Tracks public sentiment and emotion, and measures public trust, as part of its Voice of the Community module.
- Surveys
- Builds and promotes surveys and reports on the results alongside social and listening data.
- Chatbot and live chat
- An AI chatbot and live chat for answering resident queries, with CRM integration.
- Analytics and archiving
- Pulls analytics from all connected platforms; archiving of posts is included as standard.
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.
Orlo
Pricing could not be confirmed. See orlo.tech.
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.
Orlo
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hootsuite or Orlo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hootsuite starts at $99 per user / month, billed annually, and Orlo has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Hootsuite or Orlo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Hootsuite nor Orlo has a free plan. Hootsuite has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hootsuite and Orlo run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Hootsuite lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.