Hootsuite vs Zoho Social
We give Hootsuite and Zoho Social the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Hootsuite grades higher on ease of use. Zoho Social 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
Zoho Social
Social media scheduler priced per brand, with agency plans
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHootsuiteGood | 2.6GPAZoho 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. | CPremium is $40 a month billed yearly for one brand with 3 team members, the inbox and approvals; Professional plus a $10 member comes to the same $40. That's between this category's $29 middle and $58 dearer quarter. One person on Standard pays $10. |
| 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. | CThe free plan covers 1 brand of 6 channels but only posts straight away, with no scheduling or calendar. There's also a 15-day trial with no card, and that's what earns the C. |
| 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. | BA calendar and queues for 14 networks, monitoring, an inbox with assignment rules, custom reports, approvals, and leads and tickets sent to Zoho CRM and Desk. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job; most of it sits on Premium. |
| 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. | B4.7 from 700 App Store ratings, which clears the bar for a B. An A needs 1,000 ratings or more behind it. |
| 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, Android and a browser extension, with Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Canva and Bitly. No desktop app, which an A needs, and the list of outside integrations is short. |
| Best for | publishing, inbox and listening in one place | Zoho users posting to many networks |
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 Zoho 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. Zoho Social starts at $10 a month and scores 3.0.
Hootsuite scores higher, and starts $89 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 none scores higher than Zoho 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. Zoho Social starts at $10 per month for 1 brand (14 channels), billed annually ($15 monthly).
- Zoho Social has a free plan. Hootsuite does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Zoho Social lists a browser extension.
At a glance
| Hootsuite | Zoho Social | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $99 per user / month, billed annually | $10 per month for 1 brand (14 channels), billed annually ($15 monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 1 brand of 6 channels (X, Instagram, Facebook Page, LinkedIn profile and page, Google Business Profile) and 1 member. Posts go out at once; no scheduling. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 15-day free trial of all features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Hootsuite Inc. | Zoho Corporation |
| Price read from | hootsuite.com | zoho.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
Zoho Social
- Small businesses with one account on each of many networks
- Teams already using Zoho CRM or Zoho Desk
- Agencies managing 10 to 20 client brands with a client portal
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.
Zoho Social
- A brand holds one account per network, so two Instagram accounts need two brands; Professional can add up to 5 brands at $14.50 a month each.
- The free plan only publishes straight away; scheduling, drafts and the calendar start at Standard.
- Standard and Professional include 1 team member; extra members cost $10 a month each billed yearly, on Professional and Premium only.
- The full inbox, approvals, custom reports and the Zoho CRM and Desk links need Premium.
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.
Zoho Social
- Publishing calendar and queues
- From Standard, see planned and published posts on one calendar and reschedule by dragging. Queues post into set time slots, and SmartQ on Premium picks times from audience activity.
- Inbox
- Direct messages from X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages start on Professional. Premium adds a full inbox with assignment rules, saved replies and WhatsApp and Telegram.
- Listening dashboard
- Columns track mentions, brand keywords and reviews across networks, with a live stream of new engagement. Monitoring starts on Professional.
- Reports
- Summary reports from Standard, post stats and hashtag reports from Professional, and custom, exported and scheduled reports on Premium. Agency plans brand reports as the agency's own.
- Team approvals
- Premium adds custom roles, draft approvals and discussion threads, plus chat and audio or video calls between team members.
- Zoho CRM and Desk links
- On Premium, social contacts become Zoho CRM leads and social messages can be turned into Zoho Desk tickets.
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.
Zoho Social
Free$0
1 brand of 6 channels and 1 team member. Posts publish right away, with no scheduling or calendar. Accounts move here after the trial.
Standard$10
per month for 1 brand (14 channels), billed annually ($15 monthly)
1 team member, all 14 networks, scheduling, drafts and the calendar, Stories and Reels, summary reports and 40 AI credits.
Professional$30
per month for 1 brand (14 channels), billed annually ($40 monthly)
1 team member, plus bulk and repeat scheduling, RSS feeds, post insights, direct messages and monitoring. Up to 5 extra brands.
Premium$40
per month for 1 brand (16 channels), billed annually ($65 monthly)
3 team members, WhatsApp and Telegram, the inbox, approvals, SmartQ, custom reports and Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk integrations.
Agency$230
per month for up to 10 client brands, billed annually ($320 monthly)
5 team members, Premium features, client invites, a client portal and agency-branded scheduled reports. 5 more clients cost $76 a month.
Agency Plus$330
per month for up to 20 client brands, billed annually ($460 monthly)
Everything in Agency for 20 client brands and 5 team members, with 80 AI credits.
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.
Zoho Social
- Annual discount
Save 33% with yearly billing
Yearly billing brings Standard from $15 to $10, Professional from $40 to $30 and Premium from $65 to $40 a month.
- Nonprofit
Discounts for nonprofits
The pricing FAQ says Zoho Social offers discounts to nonprofits, NGOs and government institutions; terms are given on request.
