Social media takes time. And, if you’re not careful, it can be a huge waste of time. I’m talking about hours you could be dedicating to something better. Luckily, we have social media management tools.
These tools help you organize your whole social media week in a single day so you can move on with other things in your life. They allow marketers and influencers to handle multiple social media accounts by scheduling posts, tracking performance, and so much more.
Currently, Hootsuite is one of the most popular in the market.
However, it has its flaws. For example, users might not be able to access a lot of its features without spending a significant amount of money.
That’s why we’re going to take a look at some Hootsuite alternatives that are not only loaded with features but also affordable.
Why you might want a Hootsuite alternative?
Hootsuite has many advantages: a 30-day free trial, social listening tools and teamwork tools. And although it is currently one of the most popular tools for social media, it also has flaws.
Hootsuite has hidden costs for additional features, plus expensive analytics, and team management features. Moreover, to unlock 3 users on your plan, you’ll have to pay over $130 per month.
Sure, it has a free plan, but it’s pretty limited: you can schedule up to 5 messages. So if you’re looking for a tool with many features and affordable prices, consider some of these Hootsuite alternatives:
1. StoryChief
Trusted by Evernote and the British Council, this is a powerful tool to plan content and improve your SEO. StoryChief is particularly suitable for anyone that works with a team.
Its lower plan includes 4 team members and it’s used by marketing teams in 70 different countries.
They have plenty of resources online, including a content marketing blog and a series of ebooks.
Features
- Synchronize with Google and Apple calendars.
- SEO and writing assistant.
- Evergreen content recycling.
- Multiple language content in upper tiers.
- Works with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google My Business.
- More than 1,000 integrations: WordPress, Mailchimp, Shopify, etc.
Pricing
It has a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. After that, you can choose one of their plans:
- Team: $100 per month if paid annually.
- Team plus: 180 per month.
- Agency: $350 per month.
2. Creator Studio
Creator Studio is a free tool created by Meta. It lets you schedule and automatically publish your posts on Facebook and Instagram from your computer.
This Hootsuite alternative is perfect if you already have your Instagram account linked to a Facebook Page. Otherwise, you’ll need to connect them to Instagram in the Creator Studio.
Features
- Monetization options.
- Manages all types of Facebook and Instagram posts.
- Inspiration hub.
- User-friendly interface.
- Detailed insights.
- Auto-suggestions for hashtags.
Pricing
It’s free, but it doesn’t have a lot of features.
3. Sprout Social
If you want to go the extra mile with analytics, then pick SproutSocial.
Sprout Social gives you social listening insights. What’s social listening? It’s the process of understanding the online conversation about your brand. You can always directly ask your customers for their opinion, but accessing their unfiltered thoughts, well, that’s even better.
Features
- Available for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google My Business.
- iOS and Android mobile apps.
- Social commerce integrations.
- Shared content planner.
- Social listening.
- Collaboration tools for teamwork.
- Chatbots and automated link tracking in upper tiers.
Pricing
It has a free 30-day trial and three paid plans:
- Standard: $89 per month if paid annually.
- Professional: $149 per month.
- Advanced: $249 per month.
4. Loomly
Loomly is one of the best Hootsuite alternatives for those who seek cheaper options but need more features than the Creator Studio has to offer. The brand was founded in 2016 and has helped since then more than 335K users.
If you’re not sure which Loomly plan to purchase, just use their Wizard. It will take less than 30 seconds to recommend the best plan for you.
Moreover, although Loomly is perfect for beginners, its multiple tiers allow you to upgrade as you keep growing. So the sky’s the limit!
Features
- Post ideas based on RSS feeds, holidays, and Twitter trends.
- Preview your posts and ads.
- Automated publishing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google My Business. Manual publishing for Snapchat and TikTok.
- Advanced analytics.
- Collaborative review and approval workflow.
- Loomly studio, hashtag manager, UTM parameters generator.
- Unsplash and Giphy integrations.
Pricing
Loomly has a 15-day free trial, no credit card required.
- Base: $26 per month. Two users can join calendars and create unlimited content.
- Standard: $59 per month.
- Advanced: $129 per month.
- Premium: $$269 per month.
5. MeetEdgar
If you use social media to drive traffic and engagement to your profile, then you might love MeetEdgar. Founded in 2014, Edgar came to help professionals manage their social media with more consistency and in less time.
Many, including Neil Patel, have admired its amazing features.
And what makes Edgar different is that it keeps working even when you’re focused on other things. It builds a bottomless library of evergreen content to choose from over time.
Features
- Automate Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter.
- Unlimited scheduled posts.
- An organized library that recycles posts.
- Auto-generate variations for every update.
- Edgar makes sure you never run out of stuff to post by re-sharing your old content.
- Monitor your engagement and conduct A/B testing.
- Great customer support.
Pricing
They have a 7-day free trial.
- Edgar Lite: $19 per month. For up to 20 team members and 3 social accounts.
- Edgar: $49 per month. For 20 team members and 25 social accounts.
6. PromoRepublic
Next on our list is PromoRepublic, one of the best-rated media marketing platforms. It has a wide variety of plans so it can be a great Hootsuite alternative both for agencies and freelancers.
It makes your posting schedule intelligent with time slots where the AI is in charge. Yes, artificial intelligence is each day more present in digital tools, as you might have seen in our recent posts.
Features
- Supports Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter in all plans. Upper tiers include Pinterest and Google.
- 500,000 post templates.
- Visual editor.
- Content suggestion library.
- Social media calendar with intelligent algorithms.
- Reach, engage, and share analytics.
- Collaborative features like separate workspaces.
Pricing
PromoRepublic offers a 14-day trial for the first two plans.
- Solo: $19 per month.
- Pro: $49 per month.
- Agency: $119 per month.
- Expansion: $199 per month.
Besides plans for most businesses and agencies, PromoRepublic also offers solutions for franchises and direct sales. All solutions come with platform localization to onboard markets in the languages they operate in.
7. Later
If you were getting discouraged with this list for the lack of TikTok in these tools, Later is for you. Besides supporting the classic apps, it’s also available in Chinese.
However, keep in mind Later is focused mostly on Instagram. In fact, they have many training programs and downloadable templates for Instagram.
Finally, another detail that makes Later a bit different is that their page is also available in Spanish.
Features
- Available on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and TikTok.
- Best time to post: Later’s personalized insights learn when your followers are most engaged and suggest you the best time to post.
- Built-in media editing and storage.
- Includes a Linkin.bio page and Shopify connection in upper tiers.
- Stock photo library.
- Instagram analytics.
- Share calendar and other team management tools.
Pricing
Paid tiers offer a 14-day free trial period.
- Free.
- Basic: $8 per month.
- Starter: $15 per month. Although it includes only 1 user, you can add more for $5 per month each. You can also add more profiles per platform for $15 per month.
- Growth: $25 per month.
- Advanced: $40 per month.
8. Sendible
Like Later, Sendible’s advantage over the other Hootsuite alternatives is that it supports a social network.
The others don’t: in this case, WordPress. The inclusion is quite interesting since tools don’t usually consider WordPress alongside traditional social media platforms.
Sendible also has a smart take on brand success. Let me share it with you. They say, “brands on social media can only be successful when they stop interrupting what people are interested in and become what people are interested in.”
Features
- Built-in image editor.
- Canva integration.
- Bulk scheduler: schedule campaigns months in advance.
- Dashboard available in multiple languages.
- Social listening.
- Collaboration features: custom user hierarchies and permission groups, contribute to your Content Library and more.
- Custom reports for your clients with over 250 modules.
Pricing
Sendinblue offers a 14-day free trial, no card required.
- Creator: $29 per month.
- Traction: $89 per month.
- Scale: $199 per month.
- Expansion: $399 per month.
9. Kontentino
Finally, for those who manage the social media accounts of their clients, there’s Kontentino. Kontentino resides in the capitals of Slovakia and the Czech Republic and stores data within the U.S.A., Canada and EU.
Initially developed as an internal tool for an ad agency, Kontentino now offers its tool to social media managers all around the world. They also offer a 50% discount for non-profit organizations.
Features
- Supports Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest.
- Easily prepare reports for your clients.
- Drag and drop social media content calendar.
- Unlimited visual content storage.
- UTM tag builder and URL shortener.
- Advanced and custom social media metrics.
- Multiple languages.
Pricing
Kontentino offers a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
- Starter: $53 per month if paid annually.
- Standard: $117 per month.
- Pro: $216 per month.
If you are interested in a more in-depth take, read our Kontentino review.
Conclusion
In this post, we discover how powerful social media management tools are. We covered some of the pros and cons of Hootsuite while looking at its alternatives:
- StoryChief
- Creator Studio
- SproutSocial
- Loomly
- MeetEdgar
- PromoRepublic
- Later
- Sendible
- Kontentino
There are options for all your needs and at all ranges of prices. If you’re looking for a free tool, we recommend Creator Studio.
However, for those interested in having advanced analytics and even social listening, SproutSocial and Sendible are better. If your target audience is young, on the other hand, then you might want Loomly or Later since they support TikTok.
StoryChief is perfect for anyone looking for social media optimization and a wide variety of integrations. Finally, if you’re an NPO, Kontentino will definitely be your new go-to platform.
So what are you waiting for to start using one of these Hootsuite alternatives? Tell us in the comments if you have tried any!
Amazing list of affordable Hootsuite alternatives!