Hootsuite vs Vista Social
We give Hootsuite and Vista Social the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Hootsuite grades higher on ease of use. Vista Social grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
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
Vista Social
Social media management with inbox, DM automations and reviews
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHootsuiteGood | 2.6GPAVista SocialGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CProfessional is $950 a year, about $79 a month, for 15 profiles and 2 users, which covers a team of two. That's above this category's $58 dearer quarter but under the $99 where the dearest tenth starts. X is another $29 a month. |
| 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. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed. |
| 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. | BPublishing to 9 networks, an inbox with notes and assignment, DM automations, review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor and the app stores, and competitor reports on every plan. 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 there's a lot to switch on: profiles, inbox, automations and review sites. 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. | AWeb, a Mac app, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, with Canva, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Zendesk, Slack, Zapier, Looker Studio and an MCP connector. That's the full spread. |
| Best for | publishing, inbox and listening in one place | agencies that also answer reviews |
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 Vista Social. 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. Vista Social starts at $99 a month and scores 3.0.
Hootsuite scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other social media schedulers on the chart, none scores higher than Hootsuite for less, and none scores higher than Vista Social 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. Vista Social starts at $99 per month for up to 15 social profiles, billed monthly ($950 yearly).
- Only Vista Social lists a macOS app.
- Only Vista Social lists a browser extension.
At a glance
| Hootsuite | Vista Social | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $99 per user / month, billed annually | $99 per month for up to 15 social profiles, billed monthly ($950 yearly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card needed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Hootsuite Inc. | Vista Social LLC |
| Price read from | hootsuite.com | vistasocial.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
Vista Social
- Agencies managing many client profiles with a small team
- Local and multi-location businesses that also answer online reviews
- Brands using DM automations to collect leads from comments
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.
Vista Social
- There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
- Users are capped at 2 on Professional, 3 on Advanced and 4 on Scale; more users and profiles cost extra.
- X (Twitter) is a $29 a month add-on on every plan.
- Listening across social, web and news starts at $75 a month, and employee advocacy at $199 a month for 25 employees.
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.
Vista Social
- Publishing and calendar
- Posts for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Threads, YouTube, Reddit and Snapchat are planned on a calendar, with bulk scheduling and optimal-time suggestions.
- Shared inbox
- Comments and messages arrive in one inbox with internal notes, labels, saved replies and task assignment, so messages can be handed to a teammate and tracked.
- DM automations
- Automated direct-message flows collect leads from comments and messages; Advanced and up add the advanced automations, with contact limits from 10,000.
- Review management
- Reviews from sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, OpenTable, Trustpilot and the app stores are monitored and answered from the same dashboard, with review reports.
- Reports
- Profile, post, web analytics, review and competitor reports on every plan, with scheduled and downloadable reports.
- AI credits and MCP
- Monthly AI credits draft posts and replies (1,000 on Professional to 3,500 on Scale), and an MCP connector links AI assistants to the account.
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.
Vista Social
Professional$99
per month for up to 15 social profiles, billed monthly ($950 yearly)
2 users, unlimited scheduling, 1,000 AI credits a month, 10 shared calendars, the social inbox and standard reports.
Advanced$199
per month for up to 30 social profiles, billed monthly ($1,910 yearly)
3 users, custom fields, smart scheduling, multi-stage approvals, advanced reporting, DM automations and 2,000 AI credits a month.
Scale$449
per month for up to 70 social profiles, billed monthly ($4,310 yearly)
4 users, client profile connection, 3,500 AI credits a month, and extra profiles sold in packs of 10.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited profiles, 8 or more users, single sign-on, 1-on-1 training and a dedicated account manager.
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.
Vista Social
- Annual discount
20% off with yearly billing
Yearly billing costs $950 for Professional, $1,910 for Advanced and $4,310 for Scale, against $99, $199 and $449 a month billed monthly.
- Nonprofit
Up to 50% off for nonprofits
Registered nonprofits get up to 50% off the Professional and Advanced plans after sending proof of status, such as a 501(c)(3) letter.
