Hootsuite vs SocialBu (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hootsuite grades higher than SocialBu: 2.6 against 2.4 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 ease of use. SocialBu 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
SocialBu
Social media scheduler with inbox, listening and automation
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 SocialBu if
- Fits if you want bulk scheduling and RSS automation
- Works for small agencies on the 20-account plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as 10 lifetime posts run out fast
- Not for you if you need X on the free plan, as it is paid only
- Skip it if you need an inbox on the cheaper plan, as Starter has none
- Watch out: team seats are 4 on Growth and 8 on Agency, and no desktop or phone apps are named
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHootsuiteGood | 2.4GPASocialBuFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 is $22 a month on yearly billing for 8 accounts, between the $14 cheaper-quarter line and the $24.99 middle. |
| 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. | CA free plan with 3 accounts, but only 10 lifetime posts and no X. There is also a 7-day trial on paid plans. |
| 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. | BScheduling, bulk posting, inbox, listening, AI writing, RSS automation and approvals. The listing shows no gap in the core job, though the inbox starts on Growth. |
| 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. | CA web app with accounts, queues and automations to set up. No store rating on record. |
| 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 only, with Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox and ChatGPT. |
| Best for | publishing, inbox and listening in one place | scheduling with an inbox and automation |
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 SocialBu. 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. SocialBu starts at $22 a month and scores 2.7.
Hootsuite scores higher, and starts $77 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 SocialBu 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 also covers shared inbox.
- SocialBu also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Hootsuite | SocialBu | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $99 per user / month, billed annually | $22 per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 3 social accounts and 10 lifetime posts; X (Twitter) is available on paid plans only. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 7-day free trial on every paid plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hootsuite Inc. | SocialBu |
| Price read from | hootsuite.com | socialbu.com |
| 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.
SocialBu
- The free plan allows only 10 lifetime posts and excludes X (Twitter).
- Starter has no social inbox and no teams; those start at Growth.
- Team member counts are small: 4 on Growth and 8 on Agency.
- The pricing page lists a web app only; no desktop or mobile apps are named.
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.
SocialBu
- Scheduling and bulk posting
- Plan posts on a shared calendar, preview them per network, recycle evergreen posts and bulk import campaigns.
- Social inbox
- Messages, comments, mentions and reviews land in one inbox. The inbox is not included on Starter.
- AI writing
- An AI writer drafts captions and posts for each network, paid for with monthly credits that rise from 500 to 10,000 across the paid plans.
- Listening streams
- Track keywords and mentions with listening streams, each plan capping the streams and matched items per month.
- Automation and RSS
- Auto-post from RSS feeds, trigger webhooks and set up auto replies, with run limits that rise by plan.
- Team approvals
- Teams, roles and content approvals keep client work separate; Growth allows 4 team members and Agency 8.
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.
SocialBu
Free$0
3 social accounts and 10 lifetime posts; no X (Twitter).
Starter$22
per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly)
8 accounts, up to 750 posts a month, 1 queue, basic analytics, no teams or social inbox.
Growth$59
per month, billed yearly ($79 billed monthly)
20 accounts, up to 3,000 posts a month, 5 teams, social inbox and advanced analytics.
Agency$149
per month, billed yearly ($199 billed monthly)
50 accounts, up to 100,000 posts a month, 20 teams, 30 queues and the highest AI credit allowance.
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.
SocialBu
- Annual discount
Save 25% with yearly billing
SocialBu's pricing page lists a 25% saving on paid plans when billed yearly instead of monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hootsuite or SocialBu?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hootsuite starts at $99 per user / month, billed annually, and SocialBu starts at $22 per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Hootsuite or SocialBu?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SocialBu has a free plan. Hootsuite does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hootsuite and SocialBu 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.