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The Hootsuite Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Hootsuite in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPAOctober 2026

Hootsuite

The Insider’s Guide

Social media suite for publishing, inbox, listening and reports

Hootsuite, as pictured on hootsuite.com

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among social media schedulers, read from Hootsuite’s own pages.

Made by Hootsuite Inc. · checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.6GPA

Contents

  1. 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
  2. 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
  3. 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
  4. 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
  5. 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
  6. 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
  7. 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Hootsuite’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Hootsuite’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.6

GPA, above 15 of the 19 other social media schedulers we grade

Hootsuite is a social media management suite sold per user. It schedules posts to the major networks from one calendar, gathers comments and messages into a shared inbox, tracks competitors and brand mentions, and builds performance reports. Its AI assistant, Wisdom, runs on every plan, and higher tiers add inbox automation, approvals and message routing for larger teams.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Hootsuite, taken from its own pages and our grades.

Connecting profiles and setting up approvals takes a little time, but people clearly get on with it.
From our grade for ease of use
  1. 1

    Best for publishing, inbox and listening in one place

    Hootsuite does the whole job: one calendar, a shared inbox that takes WhatsApp too, listening and competitor benchmarks, and its Wisdom AI on every plan.

  2. 2

    Paid plans start at $99 a month for each person

    As its pricing page puts it: $99 per user / month, billed annually.

  3. 3

    You can try it first

    14-day free trial, no credit card required

  4. 4

    It runs on 3 platforms

    Web, iOS and Android.

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 6

    Shared inbox

    DMs and comments land in one inbox, WhatsApp included, with saved and suggested replies. Professional automates replies; Advanced adds assignment and routing.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

    A 2.6 GPA, above 15 of 19

    That is against the other social media schedulers we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.

  9. 9

    Keep it

    To replace Hootsuite you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

Hootsuite at a glance

Pricing
Free trial, from $99 per user / month, billed annually
Free plan
No
Free trial
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Runs on
Web, iOS, Android
Made by
Hootsuite Inc., since 2008
Category
Social Media Schedulers
Our grade
2.6 GPA, good
Store rating
4.7 on the App Store, 34,293 ratings

The report card

Best for publishing, inbox and listening in one place

Hootsuite does the whole job: one calendar, a shared inbox that takes WhatsApp too, listening and competitor benchmarks, and its Wisdom AI on every plan. The problem is the bill. At $99 a user a month billed yearly, two people pay $198, several times what most tools here cost.

ToolGPA report cardHootsuiteGraded Oct 17, 2026
SubjectGradeComment
Value for moneyDStandard 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.
Free plan and trialCNo 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.
FeaturesBPublishing 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.
Ease of useAIts 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.
Platforms and integrationsBWeb, 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.
Grade point averageGood, out of 4.02.6

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Hootsuite is for

  • Great if your team answers customers in comments and DMs as much as it posts
  • Good for brands that want listening and competitor tracking next to publishing
  • Handy when your company already runs on Salesforce, Slack or monday.com

Who it is not for

  • Pricey if you're a small team, at $99 a month for every person
  • Not for you if you want a free plan, as there's only a 14-day trial
  • Tight if you have more than 10 profiles, since unlimited ones need Professional at $199 a user

Good to know

Good for

  • 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

Worth knowing

  • 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.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$99

A month to start, for each person

Hootsuite is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $99 per user / month, billed annually.

Listening and competitor benchmarks are what the money buys over cheaper tools.
From our grade for value for money

  • 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.

  • Enterprise

    Custom

    Single sign-on, compliance tools, 13 months of listening history, attribution and ROI reporting, employee advocacy and onboarding.

Trying it first

14-day free trial, no credit card required

Read from hootsuite.com on Oct 17, 2026.

Ways to pay less

  • 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.

    Stated on hootsuite.com

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

3

Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android

Social media suite for publishing, inbox, listening and reports. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, calendar, shared inbox, reports.

Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job; approvals and routing just cost more, on Advanced.
From our grade for features
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.

Where it runs

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android

What it works with

  • Canva
  • Adobe Express
  • Salesforce
  • Slack
  • monday.com
  • Wrike
  • Bynder
  • Google Business Profile

Hootsuite is made by Hootsuite Inc., and has been around since 2008.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

15/19

Other social media schedulers it is graded above

Hootsuite's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 15 of the 19 other social media schedulers we grade, and level with 3.

It stands best on ease of use (A, above 17 of 19) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $99 a month for each person, against a middle price of $27.25 for the category: 18 of the 19 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 20 social media schedulers we grade, cut by the letter each got. Hootsuite’s own letter is outlined.

  • DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 19
  • CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 19
  • BFeaturesAbove 11 of 19
  • AEase of useAbove 17 of 19
  • BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 1 of 19

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 20 social media schedulers. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Hootsuite is the marked dot.

C2.0B3.0A4.0$2$5$10$20$50$100More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessHootsuitePublerBufferZoho SocialMetricool

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

To replace Hootsuite you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 15 of the 19 other social media schedulers we grade. It costs $1,188 a year.

What you could make

  • Calendar and reports: an app builder makes these well.

What you could not

  • One mailbox that several people work at once.
  • A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
  • It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
  • It plugs into other products, Canva, Adobe Express and Salesforce among them.
  • AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
  • The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. Hootsuite’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Sprout Social, Agorapulse, Sendible, SocialPilot and Vista Social

The 5 tools Hootsuite is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

14

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Hootsuite free?

No, Hootsuite is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

How much does Hootsuite cost?

Hootsuite lists 4 plans. Standard: $99 per user / month, billed annually.

What platforms does Hootsuite work on?

Hootsuite is available on Web, iOS and Android.

Does Hootsuite offer any discounts?

Hootsuite publicly lists the following: Up to 60% off for nonprofits.

How is Hootsuite rated?

Hootsuite's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 34,293 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 17, 2026.

Does Hootsuite have a Windows app?

No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Hootsuite is listed for Web, iOS and Android.

Does Hootsuite have a macOS app?

No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Hootsuite is listed for Web, iOS and Android.

Is Hootsuite open source?

Hootsuite is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.

What does Hootsuite integrate with?

Hootsuite's listing names Canva, Adobe Express, Salesforce, Slack, monday.com, Wrike, Bynder and Google Business Profile.

Who makes Hootsuite?

Hootsuite is made by Hootsuite Inc. It dates from 2008.

What are the alternatives to Hootsuite?

The closest alternatives to Hootsuite in our directory are Sprout Social, Agorapulse, Sendible, SocialPilot and Vista Social.

How does Hootsuite compare with other social media schedulers?

Hootsuite's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 15 of the 19 other social media schedulers we grade, and level with 3.

Is Hootsuite good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Hootsuite D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $99 a month for each person, against a middle price of $27.25 for the category: 18 of the 19 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Hootsuite?

To replace Hootsuite you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Hootsuite’s own pages on Oct 17, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 17, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hootsuite's own pages on 17 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Hootsuite Inc. Prices change, so check hootsuite.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

1,880

Tools graded, in 47 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

  • 1,880

    tools graded

  • 47

    categories

  • 426

    price changes on record

  • 579

    apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Hootsuite: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/hootsuite

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See our other guides

The best-graded social media schedulers after Hootsuite, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

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Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Hootsuite’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Hootsuite is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Hootsuite Inc. Prices and plans change: check hootsuite.com before you buy.