10 Best Hootsuite Alternatives to Supercharge Your Social Media Strategy (2025)

Introduction

In today’s fast-paced digital world, managing multiple social media accounts can be a time-consuming task. For years, Hootsuite has been a go-to platform for social media management, but many businesses and marketers are now seeking Hootsuite alternatives that offer more flexibility, better pricing, and advanced features. Whether you’re looking for a more user-friendly interface, better mobile app functionality, or deeper analytics, there are several excellent alternatives to explore. In this guide, we’ll compare the best Hootsuite alternatives to help you find the right platform to streamline your social media management and boost your online presence.

Pricing & Free Plans

When searching for the best Hootsuite alternatives, pricing is often one of the most important factors to consider. Whether you are a small business, freelancer, or larger enterprise, finding a tool that fits your budget without sacrificing necessary features is essential. Fortunately, many Hootsuite alternatives offer a range of pricing plans, including free options, to accommodate various needs.

Paid Plans and Pricing Overview

Most Hootsuite alternatives have tiered pricing that varies based on the number of social accounts you manage, the number of posts you schedule, and the additional features included in each plan. Here’s an overview of the pricing for some of the top Hootsuite alternatives:

Buffer: Buffer’s free plan includes 3 social accounts and up to 10 scheduled posts. Paid plans start at $15/month, which allows more accounts, advanced analytics, and increased post scheduling.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial. Paid plans begin at $99/month and include comprehensive analytics, team collaboration features, and unlimited social profiles for businesses.
Later: Later’s free plan allows up to 4 social profiles and 30 posts per month. Paid plans start at $18/month, with features like analytics, post automation, and advanced scheduling.
Sendible: Sendible’s 30-day free trial makes it a great option for those looking to test it out. Paid plans begin at $29/month, and offer additional features like increased posts per month and more social profiles.
SocialBee: SocialBee offers a 14-day free trial. Paid plans start at $19/month, which includes features like content recycling, advanced scheduling, and social media analytics.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers a 28-day free trial. Paid plans start at $79/month, providing features such as team collaboration, social inbox management, and comprehensive reporting tools.

Free Plans to Consider

Many Hootsuite alternatives also provide free plans, making it easier for individuals, small businesses, or startups to start managing social media without upfront costs. While free plans come with limitations, they still offer enough features to help users grow their social media presence. Here are some Hootsuite alternatives with solid free plans:

Buffer Free Plan: Includes 3 social profiles and up to 10 scheduled posts. It’s a great option for individuals or small businesses just getting started.
Later Free Plan: Manage up to 4 social profiles and schedule up to 30 posts per month with Later’s free plan, perfect for those needing basic scheduling.
Publer Free Plan: Publer’s free plan includes up to 5 social profiles and 10 scheduled posts per profile. It’s a good choice for small businesses or solo entrepreneurs.
Zoho Social Free Plan: Allows basic scheduling and monitoring for one brand with a single user.

These free plans provide an opportunity to explore the tools and decide if they meet your needs before committing to a paid version.

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Ease of Use

When evaluating Hootsuite alternatives, one of the most important factors to consider is ease of use. A user-friendly interface can make all the difference, especially for those who are new to social media management or are managing multiple accounts across platforms. In this section, we’ll explore how various Hootsuite alternatives compare when it comes to usability.

Intuitive Dashboards and Navigation

The ease of use of a social media management tool is heavily influenced by its dashboard and navigation. An intuitive interface allows users to quickly schedule posts, monitor social media activity, and analyze performance without a steep learning curve. Here’s how some top Hootsuite alternatives measure up:

Buffer: Buffer’s clean, simple dashboard is easy to navigate, making it ideal for beginners. Users can quickly add accounts, schedule posts, and access key metrics from a single screen. The layout is uncluttered, making social media management straightforward.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social has a well-organized and intuitive interface. Its layout is designed to support social media teams with different roles, making it easy for users to switch between social profiles, engage with followers, and access reports. However, the wide array of features may be overwhelming for beginners.
Later: Later offers a visually appealing and intuitive drag-and-drop calendar that makes scheduling posts a breeze. Users can also preview their Instagram posts, making it a great choice for visually-driven social media managers.
Sendible: Sendible features a comprehensive dashboard that consolidates multiple social accounts, scheduled posts, and performance reports. While feature-rich, its interface is a bit more complex and may require some time to master, especially for new users.
SocialBee: SocialBee has a clean interface that is easy to navigate. It’s designed for users looking to schedule content quickly, and it includes visual cues to guide you through the process. However, the platform can become a bit crowded if you’re managing multiple social profiles.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers a user-friendly, highly customizable dashboard. Social media managers can easily access their social inbox, schedule posts, and view reports. The interface is sleek, but users may find some of the more advanced features a bit difficult to navigate initially.

Features and Functionality

While ease of use is important, the features of a social media management tool can also impact its usability. A platform that includes all the necessary features, but is too complicated to navigate, can hinder productivity. Here’s how the features of Hootsuite alternatives measure up:

Buffer: Buffer’s features are simple yet powerful, including scheduling, basic analytics, and content planning. Its functionality is easy to understand, even for beginners.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social excels in functionality, offering features like social listening, team collaboration, and advanced analytics. While powerful, some of its more advanced tools require more learning to use effectively.
Later: Later is designed with visual content creators in mind, offering features like a drag-and-drop content calendar and Instagram post preview. The simplicity of its scheduling tools makes it easy to use, especially for visual-driven posts.
Sendible: Sendible’s features, such as the content calendar, analytics, and reporting tools, provide a comprehensive view of social media performance. However, its many features may take a bit longer to get used to.
SocialBee: SocialBee provides features like content recycling, advanced scheduling, and social media analytics. The learning curve isn’t too steep, but the platform can feel cluttered when managing multiple accounts.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers an array of features like social inbox management, content scheduling, and advanced reporting. It’s intuitive, but like Sprout Social, new users may find some of the features complex initially.

Conclusion

The ease of use of any Hootsuite alternative depends on your individual preferences and needs. While some platforms like Buffer and Later are perfect for those who want a straightforward, minimalistic approach, others like Sprout Social and Agorapulse offer a deeper set of features for more advanced users or social media teams. Finding the right balance between simplicity and functionality is key to choosing the best tool for your needs.

Scheduling & Automation

When choosing the best Hootsuite alternatives, scheduling and automation are two of the most essential features for efficient social media management. These tools save time, ensure consistent posting, and allow you to focus on other important aspects of your business. In this section, we’ll explore how Hootsuite alternatives compare when it comes to scheduling and automation features.

Scheduling Capabilities

Effective scheduling allows users to plan and automate posts across multiple social media accounts, freeing up time for other tasks. Here’s how some of the top Hootsuite alternatives handle scheduling:

Buffer: Buffer’s scheduling is straightforward and easy to use. You can schedule posts for multiple social media accounts at once and set custom posting times. Buffer also allows you to create a queue for automatic posting, making it easy to keep your social media active even when you’re not online.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers a powerful scheduling tool that supports content approval workflows, making it ideal for teams. The platform also has Smart Scheduling, which automatically selects the best time to post based on audience engagement.
Later: Later specializes in visual scheduling with its drag-and-drop calendar. You can easily plan and schedule posts, especially for Instagram. Later allows you to bulk upload media, making scheduling large amounts of content faster.
Sendible: Sendible offers a highly customizable scheduling tool that supports multiple social profiles and advanced publishing options, including recurring posts and content approval workflows for teams.
SocialBee: SocialBee’s scheduling features allow you to categorize posts for different types of content (e.g., promotions, blogs, holidays). It also includes content recycling, ensuring that evergreen posts are shared repeatedly over time without needing to reschedule manually.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers a comprehensive scheduling tool that allows users to create posts, plan campaigns, and set posting times for each social network. The platform also supports content approval workflows for teams and clients.

Automation Features

Automation is key to maintaining a consistent social media presence without spending too much time on manual posting. Here’s how automation works in different Hootsuite alternatives:

Buffer: Buffer allows users to automate the posting process through its “queue” feature. You can set up recurring posts, so Buffer automatically posts at the times you’ve chosen without needing to manually schedule every post.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers automation features such as Smart Inbox, which consolidates messages from all your social accounts, and automated posting based on audience activity. This allows users to engage with their audience at optimal times without manual intervention.
Later: Later’s automation tools are focused on Instagram, allowing you to schedule and automatically post photos and videos directly to Instagram. Later also supports auto-publishing of posts for Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Sendible: Sendible’s automation includes automatic content publishing across all linked accounts. Users can also set up a queue for automatic posting, reducing the amount of time spent on manually sharing posts across platforms.
SocialBee: SocialBee’s automation is designed around content recycling. You can create a content library, and SocialBee will automatically share your posts in a predefined schedule. This ensures that your evergreen content is posted frequently without needing to reschedule manually.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers automation for content posting and also supports automated responses to comments and direct messages, which can help maintain audience engagement even when you’re away.

Conclusion

Scheduling and automation are critical for streamlining your social media management, and the best Hootsuite alternatives offer a range of tools to make this process easier. Whether you need simple scheduling with Buffer, visual planning with Later, or advanced automation with SocialBee, there is a solution for every need. By choosing the right platform based on your specific scheduling and automation needs, you can save time and ensure your social media presence remains consistent.

When selecting the best Hootsuite alternatives, it’s crucial to consider which social media platforms each tool supports. Managing multiple accounts across different platforms can be time-consuming, and the right tool should allow you to manage all your social media profiles from one place. In this section, we’ll look at the supported platforms of several Hootsuite alternatives to help you find the best fit for your needs.

Supported Platforms for Top Hootsuite Alternatives

Each social media management tool comes with its own set of supported platforms. Let’s explore what the top Hootsuite alternatives have to offer:

Buffer: Buffer supports major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. This makes Buffer a versatile choice for businesses that want to manage multiple types of social media content from a single tool.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social supports Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. It also provides support for TikTok and YouTube through its publishing and analytics features, making it an ideal choice for businesses focused on video and visual content.
Later: Later is known for its visual content scheduling and supports Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. It’s especially beneficial for Instagram-centric users, as it offers tools for planning, scheduling, and auto-publishing posts directly to Instagram.
Sendible: Sendible supports Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Pinterest, and YouTube. Sendible also integrates with blogs and messaging platforms like Slack, making it a good option for users who want to manage both social media and other digital content channels.
SocialBee: SocialBee supports major platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google My Business. It’s a good choice for small businesses and marketers who need a broad range of platform support with content scheduling and automation.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse provides support for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. It also includes advanced features for team collaboration and social listening, making it ideal for agencies or businesses managing a large number of social media accounts.

Considerations for Platform Support

While most Hootsuite alternatives support popular platforms, it’s important to think about your specific needs. For example, if your business focuses on Instagram, Later’s specialized features for Instagram scheduling may be particularly useful. If you manage multiple types of content, such as blogs and videos, Sendible’s ability to integrate with blogs and YouTube may be a better fit.

Additionally, some platforms, like Sprout Social, offer support for newer social networks like TikTok, while others may focus on more established networks like Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to choose a tool that supports the platforms most relevant to your social media strategy.

Conclusion

When selecting the best Hootsuite alternative, considering the supported social media platforms is essential to ensure the tool aligns with your marketing strategy. Whether you need broad coverage of multiple platforms like Buffer and Sendible or specialized features for Instagram and visual content like Later, each alternative provides the ability to streamline your social media management.

Analytics & Reporting

One of the key reasons businesses turn to social media management tools like Hootsuite alternatives is to gain insights into their social media performance. The right analytics and reporting features allow you to measure engagement, track growth, and optimize your content strategy. In this section, we’ll examine how different Hootsuite alternatives stack up when it comes to analytics and reporting capabilities.

Analytics Features of Hootsuite Alternatives

Different tools offer varying levels of detail when it comes to analytics. Some focus on basic metrics, while others provide in-depth insights for more advanced reporting. Here’s a comparison of what the top Hootsuite alternatives provide:

Buffer: Buffer offers basic social media analytics, including post engagement, reach, and clicks. While the analytics are straightforward, Buffer does provide a “Pro” version with enhanced reporting features that show performance trends over time, making it a solid choice for small businesses looking to monitor their social media performance.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social excels in analytics and reporting, offering in-depth metrics across platforms. It provides detailed reports on engagement, impressions, clicks, and follower growth. It also includes a robust reporting suite that can generate customized reports, making it an excellent choice for social media teams and agencies.
Later: Later’s analytics primarily focuses on visual content performance, offering insights on post engagement, likes, comments, and follower growth. It also includes Instagram-specific metrics, which is beneficial for users focused on Instagram marketing. While Later’s reporting is more limited than some other tools, it is still useful for visual-centric campaigns.
Sendible: Sendible’s analytics and reporting tools are highly detailed, providing insights into engagement, impressions, clicks, and even SEO performance for blog posts and social media content. Sendible also allows you to create customized reports, which is perfect for agencies managing multiple clients or campaigns.
SocialBee: SocialBee offers basic analytics, including engagement rates and follower growth, but it also allows users to set up content-specific reports. This helps you track the performance of certain post types, making it a great choice for businesses that rely on content categorization.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers robust analytics and reporting features, providing detailed insights into engagement, response rates, and follower growth. It also allows users to create custom reports that can be exported and shared with clients or team members. Agorapulse is ideal for businesses that need to track a large volume of social media activity and require in-depth reports.

Customization of Reports

Some tools allow you to customize your analytics reports to match your specific needs. Whether you need daily updates or monthly reports, having the ability to customize your reports is important for tailoring insights to your business goals. Here’s how Hootsuite alternatives fare:

Buffer: Buffer provides basic reporting customization, allowing users to select different time periods for reports. However, its customization options are somewhat limited compared to more advanced tools.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers advanced customization, allowing users to create tailored reports based on specific metrics, platforms, and date ranges. This level of flexibility makes Sprout Social a great option for businesses and agencies with specific reporting requirements.
Later: Later offers limited customization but still provides enough flexibility for users to choose from different types of reports, such as engagement or follower growth over specific time frames. However, the customization options are not as robust as other tools.
Sendible: Sendible allows users to create fully customized reports that can be branded and shared with clients. The platform provides advanced filtering options to focus on specific metrics, making it a strong contender for businesses and agencies that require tailored reporting.
SocialBee: SocialBee provides customizable reports that allow users to break down analytics by content category, which is beneficial for businesses with diverse content strategies.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse excels in report customization, offering users the ability to tailor reports with a variety of metrics and filters. It’s an excellent option for businesses looking to create detailed, client-facing reports.

Conclusion

When it comes to analytics and reporting, the best Hootsuite alternatives offer a variety of options to help you track and improve your social media strategy. If you need in-depth insights and custom reports, tools like Sprout Social and Sendible are strong contenders. For businesses looking for basic analytics, Buffer and SocialBee provide sufficient reporting features. By choosing a tool that matches your reporting needs, you can ensure that your social media efforts are measurable and optimized for success.

Social listening and engagement are key aspects of social media management, helping businesses track brand sentiment, understand customer behavior, and interact with their audience. The best Hootsuite alternatives include robust tools for social listening and engagement, enabling you to stay on top of your social media presence. In this section, we’ll explore how various Hootsuite alternatives support social listening and engagement features.

Social listening allows you to monitor conversations about your brand, industry, or competitors across social media platforms. The best social media management tools offer real-time monitoring, keyword tracking, and sentiment analysis to help you gain insights from your audience.

Buffer: Buffer offers limited social listening features, mainly through its integration with third-party tools. While it doesn’t have built-in social listening, you can use Buffer in combination with tools like Brandwatch to track mentions and sentiment.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social excels in social listening with features like Keyword Monitoring, which lets you track specific words and phrases related to your brand, industry, or competitors. The tool also analyzes sentiment, so you can identify whether mentions are positive, negative, or neutral. This makes Sprout Social ideal for brands looking to monitor their social presence in real-time.
Later: Later’s social listening features are limited but can still help you monitor engagement and track interactions on Instagram and other supported platforms. While it doesn’t provide in-depth social listening, Later’s analytics will show you post engagement, which can offer indirect insights into brand sentiment.
Sendible: Sendible’s social listening features are robust, offering keyword monitoring across social media channels. You can track brand mentions, competitor activity, and industry trends, making it a solid choice for businesses that need to monitor conversations about their brand.
SocialBee: SocialBee includes some social listening features, such as keyword tracking and hashtag monitoring. However, it’s not as advanced as other tools like Sprout Social or Sendible. If you’re looking for basic social listening capabilities, SocialBee offers a good starting point.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers advanced social listening features, allowing you to track mentions, hashtags, and keywords across multiple social networks. It also has a sentiment analysis tool that helps you measure the tone of conversations, making it a powerful choice for brands focusing on brand reputation management.

Engagement Features

Social engagement is a critical aspect of maintaining an active and responsive social media presence. Effective engagement tools allow businesses to respond to comments, messages, and mentions in real-time, fostering positive relationships with their audience.

Buffer: Buffer offers basic engagement features, including the ability to respond to comments and direct messages from a centralized inbox. However, its engagement capabilities are not as extensive as other platforms like Sprout Social or Agorapulse.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social stands out in the engagement space with its Smart Inbox, which consolidates all messages, comments, and mentions across your social media profiles into one easy-to-use interface. You can quickly reply to customer inquiries and engage with your audience, making it ideal for businesses that prioritize customer interaction.
Later: Later offers basic engagement features, including comment management for Instagram. While it doesn’t have a fully integrated inbox like Sprout Social, it allows you to manage interactions on posts and schedule responses in advance, making it a good choice for smaller teams.
Sendible: Sendible’s Social Inbox gathers messages from all connected social accounts, allowing businesses to respond to customer inquiries and engage in real-time. It also supports multi-user collaboration, so teams can easily manage engagement.
SocialBee: SocialBee offers limited engagement tools, focusing mainly on comment management for Facebook and Instagram. While it doesn’t have a fully integrated social inbox, it does allow users to schedule replies and track interactions.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse provides a comprehensive social inbox that aggregates all mentions, comments, and messages from your social networks. The tool also includes automated response capabilities, enabling you to quickly engage with your audience even when you’re not actively online.

Conclusion

Social listening and engagement are essential for businesses looking to improve their online reputation and foster meaningful relationships with their audience. When choosing the best Hootsuite alternatives, it’s important to consider which tools offer social listening and engagement features that match your needs. Platforms like Sprout Social and Agorapulse offer in-depth social listening and real-time engagement, while tools like Buffer and SocialBee provide more basic options. By selecting a tool that supports the social listening and engagement features you need, you can better manage your brand’s online presence and improve customer relationships.

Team Collaboration

Effective team collaboration is crucial for businesses managing social media accounts, especially when multiple people are involved in content creation, scheduling, and engagement. The best Hootsuite alternatives offer a variety of team collaboration tools to streamline communication and make managing social media accounts easier for teams. In this section, we’ll take a look at how various Hootsuite alternatives support team collaboration features.

Team Collaboration Features in Hootsuite Alternatives

When it comes to team collaboration, the best tools allow users to work together efficiently while maintaining control over content and social media activities. Let’s compare how some of the top Hootsuite alternatives perform in this area:

Buffer: Buffer offers team collaboration features, including the ability to add team members and assign permissions. It allows users to approve or reject content before it’s published, which helps maintain control over the quality and consistency of posts. However, Buffer’s collaboration features are more basic compared to other tools.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social excels in team collaboration, offering features like shared calendars, team reporting, and the ability to assign tasks to specific team members. The Smart Inbox can be managed by multiple team members, allowing for seamless communication and response management. Sprout Social is an excellent choice for larger teams or agencies that need a more advanced collaboration solution.
Later: Later offers basic team collaboration features, including the ability to assign roles and permissions. However, it’s more suited for smaller teams or individuals. Larger teams may find it lacking in advanced features such as shared calendars or task assignment, making it less effective for complex team workflows.
Sendible: Sendible provides robust team collaboration features, including multi-user access, content approval workflows, and the ability to assign tasks to team members. It also allows users to track progress on specific campaigns and content schedules, making it ideal for larger teams or agencies with complex needs.
SocialBee: SocialBee’s team collaboration features include role assignments, content approval workflows, and user permissions. While it may not offer as many advanced collaboration tools as Sprout Social or Sendible, it’s a solid choice for small to medium-sized teams that need essential collaboration features.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers comprehensive team collaboration tools, such as task assignment, team messaging, and shared social inboxes. The tool also allows team members to leave internal notes and track tasks, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Agorapulse is great for larger teams or agencies that need to manage multiple accounts and clients.

User Permissions & Roles

One important aspect of team collaboration is ensuring that team members have the right access and permissions. Most Hootsuite alternatives offer role-based access controls to ensure that team members can only access certain areas of the platform based on their roles. Here’s a look at how different tools handle user permissions:

Buffer: Buffer offers role-based permissions, allowing team owners to assign specific roles like “Admin” or “Contributor” to team members. This helps maintain control over who can publish content and access analytics.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides more advanced user permissions, allowing for detailed access control. Team members can be assigned different roles, such as “Admin,” “Content Creator,” or “Analyst,” with customized permissions for each role. This makes Sprout Social an excellent choice for larger teams with complex workflows.
Later: Later offers basic user permissions, allowing users to assign roles like “Admin” and “Editor.” However, it lacks some of the finer-grained permissions available in more advanced tools.
Sendible: Sendible offers flexible user permissions, allowing team owners to control who can create, approve, and publish content. It’s ideal for teams that need to manage content approval workflows and maintain control over brand messaging.
SocialBee: SocialBee provides basic user role assignments, including “Admin” and “Contributor.” While it lacks some of the advanced permissions of other tools, it’s sufficient for smaller teams or businesses that don’t require complex role management.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse allows users to assign roles such as “Admin,” “Editor,” and “Moderator.” It also supports custom roles, making it suitable for businesses with specialized team structures.

Task Management & Workflow

An essential aspect of team collaboration is having a clear and organized workflow. Many Hootsuite alternatives offer task management tools that help teams stay on track with content creation, approval, and publication. Let’s look at how different tools handle task management:

Buffer: Buffer offers basic task management features, such as the ability to schedule content and assign approval tasks. However, it lacks advanced project management tools that can help teams manage larger campaigns.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides excellent task management capabilities, with features like shared calendars, task assignment, and content approval workflows. Teams can assign tasks to individual members and track progress, making it a great tool for collaboration on large campaigns.
Later: Later’s task management features are more basic, focused mainly on scheduling and content approval. While it offers role-based permissions, it does not provide advanced project management tools like task assignment or workflow tracking.
Sendible: Sendible offers comprehensive task management tools, allowing teams to assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate on content creation. It’s especially useful for teams working on multiple campaigns or with multiple clients.
SocialBee: SocialBee provides task management features such as content categorization and scheduling. While it doesn’t have advanced project management tools, it allows teams to organize content into specific categories for easier workflow management.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers robust task management and workflow tools, including task assignment, internal notes, and the ability to track team progress on specific tasks. It’s ideal for businesses that need to manage multiple accounts and campaigns simultaneously.

Content Curation & Recycling

Content curation and recycling are essential strategies for social media managers and marketers looking to maintain a consistent presence without constantly creating new content. The best Hootsuite alternatives provide tools to help streamline the content curation process and ensure that your existing content is repurposed effectively. In this section, we’ll explore how various Hootsuite alternatives handle content curation and recycling.

Content Curation Capabilities

Content curation involves finding and sharing relevant content from other creators or sources to keep your social media accounts active and engaging. A good content curation tool should allow you to easily find and schedule posts from third-party sources that align with your brand’s message.

Buffer: Buffer provides a simple way to curate and share content across multiple platforms. It offers integrations with tools like Feedly for content discovery, allowing you to schedule and post curated content directly from the app. While Buffer doesn’t have an advanced content discovery tool, its simplicity makes it easy for users to manage their curated content.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers a solid content curation feature by allowing you to schedule and share content from third-party sources. The tool includes integrations with content discovery platforms, making it easy to find relevant articles, blog posts, or videos to share with your audience. Sprout Social’s social listening features also help you curate content based on trends or audience preferences.
Later: Later is more focused on visual content like images and videos, but it offers a content discovery tool that helps you find visually appealing content to share on platforms like Instagram. While Later doesn’t provide a full-fledged content curation platform like Buffer or Sprout Social, its visual content curation feature is ideal for brands that prioritize image-based posts.
Sendible: Sendible allows users to curate content from various sources, including integrations with tools like Pocket and RSS feeds. It’s an excellent choice for content curators who need to discover and schedule content from a wide range of sources. Sendible’s content curation tools are more robust than most, making it a great option for businesses looking to keep their content pipeline full.
SocialBee: SocialBee makes content curation easy by offering an integration with RSS feeds, allowing you to pull content from your favorite sources directly into the platform. SocialBee’s content library allows you to store and organize curated content, making it easy to find and schedule posts when needed.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse provides content curation tools through integrations with RSS feeds and social listening. You can discover relevant content from third-party sources and share it with your audience directly from the platform. Agorapulse also includes a content calendar to help you plan and schedule curated posts.

Content Recycling Features

Content recycling involves reusing existing content to maximize its value and extend its lifespan. Recycling can include resharing older posts, repurposing blog content into social media posts, or updating evergreen content to make it relevant again. Let’s see how different tools handle content recycling:

Buffer: Buffer makes content recycling easy with its “Queue” feature, which allows you to reschedule and republish old posts. By adding posts to the queue, you can automate the recycling process and ensure that popular posts are reshared regularly.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social’s content recycling features are not as advanced as Buffer’s, but it does allow you to schedule content from previous posts. Additionally, the tool’s analytics features can help you identify high-performing posts, which can be recycled for future use.
Later: Later doesn’t provide dedicated content recycling features but allows you to reuse images and posts across different social platforms. You can also repurpose content from Instagram to Facebook, Twitter, and other channels, making it easy to recycle visually engaging content.
Sendible: Sendible’s Content Library allows users to store and repurpose content, which can be shared multiple times. Additionally, it has an Auto-Queue feature that allows you to recycle content based on a schedule, ensuring that your most engaging posts are shared again at optimal times.
SocialBee: SocialBee excels in content recycling with its Content Categories feature. You can create categories for different types of content (e.g., promotional, educational, engagement posts) and recycle them on a recurring basis. This feature helps you keep your content pipeline full without the need to create new content constantly.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse doesn’t offer a dedicated content recycling feature, but it does allow you to reschedule and repost content through its scheduling tools. You can repurpose posts from your content library and share them again when needed.

Best Practices for Content Curation & Recycling

To get the most out of content curation and recycling, follow these best practices:

Mix curated and original content: Don’t rely solely on curated content. Balance it with original posts to keep your audience engaged and showcase your brand’s expertise.
Repurpose high-performing content: Use analytics to identify content that performed well and repurpose it in different formats (e.g., turn a blog post into a social media post or infographic).
Create a content calendar: Organize your curated and recycled content using a content calendar to ensure your posts are timely and aligned with your brand’s objectives.
Avoid overposting: When recycling content, avoid posting the same content too often. Spread out reposts to avoid annoying your audience.

Conclusion

Content curation and recycling are essential strategies for social media success, allowing brands to maintain a consistent presence and engage with their audience without constantly creating new content. When choosing the best Hootsuite alternatives, it’s important to consider the tools available for curating and recycling content. Platforms like Buffer, Sendible, and SocialBee offer robust content curation and recycling features, making it easier to keep your content pipeline full and your social media accounts active.

Integration & API Support

For businesses and marketers using social media management tools, integration with other platforms and robust API support can significantly enhance the functionality of the tool. The best Hootsuite alternatives offer seamless integrations with third-party applications, making it easier to streamline workflows, improve automation, and track performance across different tools. In this section, we’ll explore how various Hootsuite alternatives support integrations and API functionality.

Integration with Third-Party Tools

Integrating your social media management platform with other business tools can save time, improve efficiency, and provide better insights. Here’s a look at how Hootsuite alternatives support third-party integrations:

Buffer: Buffer offers a wide range of integrations with popular tools such as Zapier, Google Analytics, and Canva. These integrations allow users to automate tasks, track performance, and create content more easily. Buffer also supports integrations with major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides excellent integration capabilities with a variety of tools, including Salesforce, Google Analytics, Zendesk, and Google Drive. It also integrates with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, ensuring that users can manage all their social channels in one place. Sprout Social’s ability to integrate with customer service and CRM tools makes it an excellent choice for businesses looking for a unified solution.
Later: Later supports integrations with Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. While its integration options are more limited compared to other tools, Later also works well with Canva for visual content creation and scheduling. These integrations help streamline the content creation and posting process, especially for visual-first brands.
Sendible: Sendible offers one of the most extensive integrations, including Zapier, Google Analytics, YouTube, and Trello. This tool also integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox, and Evernote, allowing teams to share files and collaborate more efficiently. Sendible’s integrations with major social platforms and external tools make it a strong contender for businesses with diverse needs.
SocialBee: SocialBee offers integrations with Zapier, Google Analytics, and Canva, making it easy to connect your social media management tasks with other tools you use. SocialBee supports major social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, allowing businesses to manage their posts and engage with audiences across various channels.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse supports integrations with several third-party tools, including Zapier, Google Analytics, Trello, and Slack. These integrations allow teams to collaborate more effectively and automate tasks, saving time and improving productivity. Agorapulse also integrates with social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, making it easy to manage all your accounts in one place.

API Support

API (Application Programming Interface) support is crucial for businesses looking to build custom solutions or automate specific workflows. A powerful API allows businesses to integrate the social media management tool with their internal systems or third-party software. Let’s explore how Hootsuite alternatives handle API support:

Buffer: Buffer offers a robust API that allows businesses to automate posting, retrieve analytics, and manage social media campaigns. The Buffer API enables developers to build custom solutions for scheduling, reporting, and managing social content across multiple platforms.
Sprout Social: Sprout Social’s API allows for extensive customization and integration with other tools. It supports features like user management, reporting, and scheduling, giving businesses the flexibility to automate processes and extend the platform’s functionality to suit their unique needs.
Later: Later provides limited API support compared to other tools. While Later’s API allows users to automate content scheduling and retrieve basic data, it doesn’t offer the same level of customization and integration as some of the more powerful alternatives.
Sendible: Sendible’s API is robust and supports a variety of functions, including content scheduling, reporting, and analytics. The API also integrates with other business systems, allowing teams to build custom workflows and automate tasks across different platforms.
SocialBee: SocialBee offers an API that allows users to automate content scheduling and reporting. While its API capabilities are not as extensive as those of Sendible or Sprout Social, it provides a solid foundation for small to medium-sized businesses looking for basic automation and integration options.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse provides a comprehensive API that supports features such as scheduling, reporting, and user management. The API is ideal for businesses with advanced needs that want to integrate social media management with internal systems and automation tools.

Conclusion

When it comes to Hootsuite alternatives, integration capabilities and API support are crucial factors to consider. Tools like Sprout Social and Sendible offer extensive integrations and API functionality, making them great choices for businesses looking to automate workflows, integrate with other tools, and scale their social media management. Buffer and Agorapulse also provide solid integration options, while Later and SocialBee are more focused on visual content and simpler integrations. By selecting the right tool, businesses can ensure that their social media management process is efficient, automated, and aligned with their broader business goals.

Best for Agencies & Businesses

When it comes to managing multiple social media accounts, collaborating with teams, and handling clients, businesses and agencies need a social media management tool that offers scalability, flexibility, and advanced features. The best Hootsuite alternatives for agencies and businesses cater to these needs by providing robust collaboration features, multi-account management, reporting capabilities, and client-focused tools. In this section, we’ll explore which Hootsuite alternatives are best suited for agencies and businesses.

Key Features for Agencies & Businesses

For agencies and businesses, certain features are essential to ensure smooth operation and effective management of social media accounts. Here are the key features agencies and businesses should look for in a Hootsuite alternative:

Team Collaboration Tools: These tools allow multiple team members to work together on campaigns, share content, and manage client accounts without confusion.
Client Management: Agencies need tools that allow for the easy management of multiple client accounts with separate reporting, permissions, and content calendars.
Advanced Reporting: Agencies and businesses need detailed analytics and reporting to show clients how campaigns are performing and provide insights for future strategies.
Multi-Account Management: The ability to manage multiple accounts across various clients or business profiles is crucial for agencies handling several social media channels.

Let’s see how different Hootsuite alternatives stack up for agencies and businesses:

Best Hootsuite Alternatives for Agencies & Businesses

Sprout Social: Sprout Social is a top choice for agencies and businesses due to its powerful collaboration tools, including task assignments, shared content calendars, and approval workflows. Its client management features allow agencies to manage multiple accounts from one dashboard and generate detailed reports for clients. Additionally, Sprout Social offers social listening, engagement, and performance reporting, which are invaluable for businesses looking to optimize their social media strategy.
Sendible: Sendible is another great option for agencies due to its focus on scalability and multi-account management. It supports multiple client accounts, offering custom reporting for each client. Sendible’s collaboration tools, such as team roles and approval workflows, make it easy for teams to work together efficiently. It also integrates with a wide range of third-party tools, including Google Analytics and Salesforce, helping businesses manage their social media alongside other marketing efforts.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse is well-suited for agencies looking for easy-to-use social media management with advanced reporting and team collaboration features. Agencies can assign roles to different team members, allowing for efficient collaboration and content management. Agorapulse also provides detailed reports for multiple client accounts and includes a client-facing dashboard, making it easy to present results to clients in an intuitive way.
SocialBee: SocialBee is a great option for small to medium-sized businesses or agencies looking for a cost-effective solution. It offers content curation, scheduling, and recycling tools, all of which are essential for agencies handling multiple clients. While it doesn’t have as many advanced reporting features as some of the bigger tools, its Content Categories and team collaboration features make it a solid choice for agencies with simpler needs.
Buffer: Buffer is an affordable option for businesses and agencies managing multiple accounts. It’s especially useful for smaller teams that need a straightforward tool for scheduling, publishing, and reporting across multiple platforms. Buffer also provides a “Team Collaboration” feature, allowing agencies to manage team roles and content approval workflows. Though it may not offer as robust reporting as some other tools, Buffer is simple and effective for managing social media on a tight budget.
Later: Later is a visual content-focused tool that works well for businesses and agencies specializing in Instagram, Pinterest, and other visually driven platforms. Its bulk content scheduling and visual content calendar are particularly useful for agencies managing high-volume visual content. Later also provides detailed post-performance analytics and reporting, but it’s best suited for agencies that focus on visual platforms and need a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate tool.

Best Practices for Agencies & Businesses

Agencies and businesses should follow these best practices to maximize their social media management efforts:

Set Clear Team Roles: Assign specific tasks and roles to team members within the platform. Use approval workflows to ensure content is reviewed before being published.
Client-Focused Reporting: Use detailed analytics and reporting features to show clients the success of campaigns. Customize reports to highlight the metrics that matter most to each client.
Leverage Automation: Take advantage of scheduling and automation tools to ensure content is posted at optimal times without requiring constant monitoring.
Organize Content: Use content calendars to keep track of scheduled posts, campaigns, and deadlines. This ensures that everyone on the team is aligned and helps maintain consistency.

Conclusion

When looking for a Hootsuite alternative for your agency or business, it’s essential to choose a tool that offers robust collaboration, client management, multi-account support, and powerful reporting features. Platforms like Sprout Social, Sendible, and Agorapulse are among the best options for businesses and agencies due to their scalability and advanced capabilities. For smaller businesses or agencies on a budget, tools like Buffer and SocialBee provide great value, offering key features without the high cost.

By selecting the right Hootsuite alternative based on your specific needs, agencies and businesses can improve efficiency, enhance client satisfaction, and grow their social media presence.

Customer Support & Community

When choosing a social media management tool, the quality of customer support and the strength of the user community are essential factors to consider. Whether you’re facing a technical issue, need help with a feature, or want to learn how to maximize your use of the platform, having access to responsive customer support and an active community can make a significant difference. In this section, we’ll look at how various Hootsuite alternatives offer customer support and foster strong user communities.

Customer Support

Effective customer support is crucial for businesses and marketers who rely on social media management tools to operate smoothly. Let’s explore the customer support options available in some popular Hootsuite alternatives:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers excellent customer support through live chat, email, and phone support. Their customer support team is known for being responsive and helpful, ensuring that users can get assistance quickly. Additionally, Sprout Social provides an in-depth knowledge base and detailed guides to help users resolve common issues on their own.
Sendible: Sendible provides responsive support through live chat and email. They also offer extensive help documentation, which includes video tutorials and FAQs. For users on higher-tier plans, Sendible provides priority support, ensuring faster responses for businesses with urgent needs.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse has a reputation for providing prompt and effective customer support via email, live chat, and phone support. They also offer detailed help articles and video tutorials. Agorapulse provides excellent customer service for both individual users and agencies managing multiple accounts.
Buffer: Buffer offers a range of customer support options, including email support and a robust help center with articles, guides, and FAQs. While their live chat support isn’t available 24/7, Buffer’s extensive documentation and resources help users find solutions to their issues quickly.
SocialBee: SocialBee offers email and chat support, along with a comprehensive knowledge base and tutorials. Their support team is known to respond promptly, and they also provide personalized onboarding sessions for new users to ensure smooth setup.
Later: Later’s customer support includes email support and a detailed knowledge base with helpful guides and video tutorials. While they don’t offer live chat or phone support, their resources are well-organized and easy to navigate for users who need assistance.

Community

A strong user community can be an invaluable resource for learning tips, sharing experiences, and connecting with other social media managers. Let’s see how the Hootsuite alternatives support their user communities:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social has an active community of users who engage on various forums and social media platforms. They offer a community-driven Sprout Social Lounge, where users can ask questions, share tips, and interact with other professionals. This community is a great place to gain insights, discuss strategies, and learn best practices.
Sendible: Sendible’s community is active on social media platforms, particularly Twitter and Facebook, where users often share advice, content ideas, and strategies. Sendible also has a blog and an online community hub, where users can interact and access helpful resources.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse has a vibrant community of social media marketers who actively participate in their Agorapulse Academy and webinars. They also have an active presence on social media platforms like Facebook, where users share insights, tips, and resources. Agorapulse’s online community is an excellent place to connect with other users and learn from industry experts.
Buffer: Buffer has an established online community, particularly on Twitter and Facebook, where users share social media tips, content ideas, and questions. Buffer also hosts a community-driven blog where users can contribute articles, case studies, and success stories. Their Buffer Slack community is a great place to network with other social media managers.
SocialBee: SocialBee has a growing community of users who engage through Facebook Groups and other social platforms. They actively encourage users to share tips and experiences, helping each other navigate challenges and discover new strategies. SocialBee also provides access to live webinars and community Q&A sessions to facilitate learning.
Later: Later has a supportive user community, particularly through their Facebook group and Instagram. They also offer Live Q&A sessions and webinars, which give users a chance to interact directly with Later’s team and learn more about using the platform effectively.

Conclusion

Choosing a social media management tool that offers excellent customer support and a thriving user community is essential for businesses and marketers. Sprout Social, Sendible, and Agorapulse stand out for their comprehensive support options and strong community engagement, making them ideal choices for users seeking reliable assistance and opportunities to connect with other professionals. Buffer, SocialBee, and Later also provide solid support and community resources, catering to users who may not need as many advanced features but still value strong support networks.

By considering the customer support options and community resources available in Hootsuite alternatives, businesses and agencies can choose a platform that will help them succeed in social media management with the backup of knowledgeable support and a helpful community.

Post Customization & Editing

When managing social media accounts, it’s crucial to customize and edit posts to ensure that content is tailored to each platform’s requirements. Customization features help ensure that your posts are optimized for maximum engagement, while editing options provide the flexibility to make quick updates. In this section, we’ll explore how various Hootsuite alternatives handle post customization and editing.

Customizing Posts for Different Platforms

Each social media platform has unique requirements for image sizes, character limits, hashtags, and more. The best Hootsuite alternatives provide tools to customize posts for each platform’s specifications. Here’s how some of these tools approach post customization:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers extensive customization options. You can tailor each post for specific platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Features include custom captions, image adjustments, and the ability to preview how posts will look before publishing. This ensures that your content looks professional and optimized for each social network.
Sendible: Sendible allows you to edit posts for each platform, adjusting the copy, hashtags, images, and links. It also supports bulk editing, which is ideal for users who need to post on multiple platforms at once while ensuring each post is customized appropriately.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse makes it easy to create platform-specific posts. You can add platform-tailored captions and images for each social media network. Agorapulse also allows you to preview how posts will appear, ensuring that all elements look good before they go live.
Buffer: Buffer provides a simple interface for customizing posts across multiple platforms. While its customization features are not as advanced as others, it allows you to change captions, adjust the post content, and schedule it for the relevant platform.
SocialBee: SocialBee enables in-depth post customization, offering specific features for each platform. You can create unique captions, adjust image sizes, and add platform-specific hashtags. The tool also supports content categories, making it easy to organize posts for different networks.
Later: Later shines when it comes to visual content. With Later, you can adjust images for Instagram, including cropping and resizing them to fit the platform’s layout. You can also customize captions and hashtags for various social networks, ensuring consistency across all platforms.

Editing Posts After Publishing

Editing posts after they’ve been published is an important feature for businesses that want to maintain the relevance and accuracy of their content. Some platforms allow you to easily edit posts, while others provide tools to reschedule or replace posts. Here’s a look at how Hootsuite alternatives handle post-editing:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social allows you to edit posts after they have been published, especially on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. You can update text, add new hashtags, or fix any errors. If you need to make further adjustments, you can also reschedule posts to reappear in the queue.
Sendible: Sendible offers post-editing capabilities for several social networks. However, post-editing is not available on all platforms, such as Instagram, where posts cannot be edited after publishing. For platforms where editing is allowed, Sendible enables you to make changes and update the post as needed.
Agorapulse: With Agorapulse, you can edit posts after they have been published, but only for certain platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. If you need to update a post on Instagram, Agorapulse offers the ability to reschedule or replace the post.
Buffer: Buffer allows editing for posts on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. However, for platforms like Instagram, editing is not possible once the post is live. For those platforms, Buffer provides options to reschedule or delete posts if needed.
SocialBee: SocialBee lets you edit posts even after they are published. If you find a typo or need to update the content, simply edit the post and reschedule it for later. This flexibility ensures that your content is always up-to-date.
Later: Later does not support post-editing for Instagram once a post is live. However, for platforms like Twitter and Facebook, Later allows you to edit captions, images, and hashtags. If changes are needed, you can reschedule the updated post.

Bulk Editing and Scheduling

For businesses that need to post content on multiple platforms and manage a high volume of posts, bulk editing and scheduling are essential features. Here’s how different Hootsuite alternatives handle bulk post management:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social supports bulk scheduling and editing. Users can upload multiple posts, make edits for each platform, and schedule them to post at optimal times. This is particularly useful for agencies or businesses with large content calendars.
Sendible: Sendible also offers bulk post editing and scheduling. You can create multiple posts, customize each one for the relevant platform, and schedule them all at once. This feature helps save time, especially for businesses that need to manage multiple social media accounts.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse allows users to upload and schedule posts in bulk. You can make adjustments to each post, ensuring it is customized for the appropriate platform. This feature is especially useful for teams managing social media for several clients.
Buffer: Buffer allows users to bulk schedule posts, but its bulk editing capabilities are limited. While you can upload posts in bulk, you may need to edit them individually for each platform.
SocialBee: SocialBee provides robust bulk editing and scheduling options. You can upload large batches of posts, make platform-specific adjustments, and schedule them all at once, streamlining the content management process.
Later: Later supports bulk uploading of posts, particularly visual content for Instagram. You can upload multiple images, edit captions, and customize hashtags, then schedule them for future posting.

Conclusion

Post customization and editing are essential features for managing social media content effectively. The best Hootsuite alternatives offer robust tools for customizing posts for different platforms, editing content after it has been published, and managing bulk posts. Whether you need to tweak a post’s caption or schedule content for multiple platforms, tools like Sprout Social, Sendible, and Agorapulse provide the flexibility to optimize your social media strategy. Buffer, SocialBee, and Later also offer useful post customization features, catering to smaller businesses or those with simpler needs.

By selecting a Hootsuite alternative that provides the right post editing and customization tools, you can ensure that your social media content is always on-brand, optimized for engagement, and consistent across all platforms.

AI & Automation Features

In the fast-paced world of social media management, AI and automation are game-changers. These features allow businesses to streamline their processes, saving time and ensuring that content is consistently posted without manual intervention. When looking at Hootsuite alternatives, it’s important to compare the AI and automation capabilities each platform offers to help you decide which one best fits your needs.

AI-Powered Content Scheduling

AI-powered content scheduling is one of the most useful automation features in Hootsuite alternatives. These tools leverage artificial intelligence to determine the best times to post your content based on audience behavior and engagement patterns. Here’s how these platforms utilize AI for scheduling:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social’s AI-powered scheduling feature analyzes past performance data to recommend the optimal posting times. This ensures your content is shared when your audience is most likely to engage, improving reach and interaction rates.
Sendible: Sendible’s AI-driven scheduling tool automatically suggests the best times to post, based on your audience’s activity. The more you use it, the smarter the tool becomes, learning from previous posts to refine its recommendations over time.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse offers smart scheduling features powered by AI, ensuring that your posts are scheduled at peak times. The AI also learns your audience’s preferences, enabling the platform to recommend adjustments for better engagement.
Buffer: Buffer’s automation features include scheduling posts for specific times, although the AI capabilities are more basic compared to others. However, it can still recommend optimal times based on your past posting history.
Later: Later’s AI system provides smart scheduling recommendations based on when similar posts have performed well in the past. This feature ensures your content is posted at times that maximize engagement, even if you’re working with a global audience.

Automated Content Curation

AI also plays a crucial role in content curation, helping social media managers discover relevant content to share with their audience. Many Hootsuite alternatives integrate AI to automatically find and suggest content based on trends, hashtags, and audience preferences.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides AI-driven content curation features that help you find the most relevant content to share with your audience. It tracks industry trends, hashtags, and keywords to recommend content that resonates with your followers.
Sendible: Sendible offers an automated content curation tool that suggests relevant articles, blog posts, and social media content. This is powered by AI, which analyzes trending topics and delivers fresh content tailored to your audience’s interests.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse’s automation includes AI-powered content suggestions. It aggregates trending content and recommends posts to engage your audience. This feature reduces the time spent on manual curation, freeing up more time for strategy development.
Buffer: Buffer’s content curation capabilities are enhanced by AI, offering suggestions based on trending content and your audience’s engagement. The platform curates content that aligns with your brand’s voice and goals.
Later: Later’s AI-powered content suggestion engine recommends content based on user engagement and hashtag popularity. This helps you stay relevant with your audience by ensuring your content is aligned with current trends.

AI-Powered Analytics and Insights

AI isn’t just for scheduling and content curation; it can also be used to analyze social media performance and deliver valuable insights. With AI-powered analytics, businesses can track audience behavior, measure content effectiveness, and refine their social media strategies. Here’s how Hootsuite alternatives use AI to provide actionable insights:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social’s AI-driven analytics offer comprehensive reports that provide insights into your audience’s behavior, engagement patterns, and overall content performance. The AI tool helps uncover trends and recommends adjustments to improve your social media strategies.
Sendible: Sendible’s reporting system uses AI to provide performance metrics that highlight trends, content performance, and audience engagement. This data allows businesses to fine-tune their content strategy and achieve better results.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse’s AI-powered analytics provide deep insights into the effectiveness of your posts and campaigns. The AI identifies patterns in engagement and helps you understand what type of content resonates best with your audience.
Buffer: Buffer provides insights based on your post performance and audience behavior. Although its AI-driven analytics are less sophisticated than other tools, it still offers valuable suggestions for improving content strategy.
Later: Later’s AI analytics focus on Instagram content performance, providing insights into your followers’ behavior and engagement patterns. The platform offers recommendations for improving your social media strategy.

Automation of Engagement

Automating engagement is a powerful feature in Hootsuite alternatives, enabling you to respond to audience interactions in real-time, even when you’re not available. Here’s how some of these platforms leverage AI to automate engagement:

Sprout Social: Sprout Social integrates AI into its Smart Inbox feature, helping you automatically sort and prioritize messages, comments, and mentions. It also includes chatbots for automatic replies, allowing for faster responses to frequently asked questions.
Sendible: Sendible’s AI-powered automation tools can automatically respond to comments, messages, and mentions. It also helps filter incoming engagement, so you can focus on the most important interactions.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse allows users to automate responses to common inquiries and comments using AI. This feature helps improve response times, creating a better experience for your audience.
Buffer: Buffer includes basic automation features, like auto-posting and scheduling, but it does not offer advanced AI automation for engagement like some other platforms. However, it allows users to automate replies and interactions on certain platforms.
Later: Later’s automation tools include the ability to schedule and publish posts automatically. While it doesn’t yet support fully automated engagement, it provides excellent scheduling and posting automation.

Conclusion

AI and automation features are increasingly becoming essential for social media management. The best Hootsuite alternatives incorporate AI to help businesses automate scheduling, content curation, engagement, and analytics. Tools like Sprout Social, Sendible, and Agorapulse offer the most advanced AI capabilities, while Buffer and Later provide useful but more basic automation tools. By leveraging these AI and automation features, businesses can save time, improve engagement, and optimize their social media strategies.

Security & Compliance

When evaluating Hootsuite alternatives, security and compliance should be a top priority. Social media management platforms handle sensitive data, including personal information, login credentials, and business insights, so it’s crucial to ensure that the platform you choose follows industry standards for security and complies with relevant regulations.

Data Security Features

Strong data security is essential for any social media management platform. Hootsuite alternatives typically offer a variety of features designed to protect your data and safeguard your social media accounts.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social offers multiple layers of security to ensure data protection, including encryption protocols for data in transit and at rest. The platform also supports two-factor authentication (2FA), adding an extra layer of protection to user accounts.
Sendible: Sendible prioritizes security with encryption and regular vulnerability testing. The platform also offers granular access controls, allowing you to define which users can access specific data. It also includes 2FA for account security.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse provides robust security measures such as SSL encryption for all data transmission. The platform also supports 2FA and advanced user permissions, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access sensitive account information.
Buffer: Buffer uses secure encryption methods to protect user data. It also offers 2FA for added security, though its security features are generally less comprehensive compared to other platforms.
Later: Later prioritizes the security of user data with encryption and secure authentication methods. It also supports 2FA, ensuring that accounts are protected from unauthorized access.

Compliance with Industry Regulations

In addition to data security, compliance with industry regulations is essential for any Hootsuite alternative. These regulations can vary depending on your location and the platforms you manage, but many tools are designed to ensure compliance with key privacy laws and social media platform terms of service.

GDPR Compliance: Many Hootsuite alternatives, such as Sprout Social and Sendible, are fully GDPR-compliant, ensuring that user data is handled in accordance with European privacy laws. This includes providing users with control over their data, clear consent management, and data portability.
CCPA Compliance: Platforms like Agorapulse and Sprout Social comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which provides users with rights related to their personal data. These platforms allow users to request data deletion and access.
SOC 2 Compliance: Sendible and Agorapulse are SOC 2 Type II compliant, ensuring that their systems are secure, available, and confidential. This compliance is particularly important for businesses that require a high level of trust in their third-party platforms.
HIPAA Compliance: While social media management platforms aren’t typically used for healthcare-related social media management, platforms like Sprout Social offer features that could support HIPAA compliance for companies in the healthcare industry, such as encryption and secure data storage.

User Permissions & Access Control

In addition to overall security measures, the ability to control user access and permissions is a key feature of any social media management platform. This is especially important for teams where different individuals may need access to different functionalities or accounts.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides detailed user permission settings, allowing you to assign roles and permissions based on your team members’ responsibilities. This minimizes the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Sendible: Sendible also offers advanced user permissions, enabling account owners to specify which users have access to particular social profiles, campaigns, and reports. This helps protect sensitive data while giving team members the right level of access.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse provides role-based access control (RBAC), ensuring that each user has the appropriate level of access to social media accounts. Admins can define which users can view or edit posts, analyze reports, or manage specific accounts.
Buffer: Buffer provides basic user permissions, which can be useful for small teams, but it lacks the granular control that other platforms offer. Users can be assigned access to different social profiles, but there are fewer options for restricting access to specific features.
Later: Later offers limited user permissions, allowing team members to have access to social profiles and posts but without granular control over which features they can access.

Risk Management and Auditing

Effective risk management is another crucial aspect of security and compliance. Platforms that offer comprehensive auditing and monitoring tools help ensure that all activities on your social media accounts are traceable and transparent.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides detailed activity logs and audit trails, allowing you to track every change made to social media accounts and posts. This feature helps ensure accountability and minimizes the risk of unauthorized changes.
Sendible: Sendible also offers auditing capabilities, allowing you to track who made specific changes to your account and when. This helps identify potential security risks and maintain accountability within teams.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse’s audit trail feature helps you track all interactions and changes within the platform. It provides a clear record of which team members have engaged with posts and made modifications, helping mitigate risks.
Buffer: Buffer offers limited auditing features, making it less robust in tracking activities within the platform. While you can track post history, it lacks detailed logs for team activity.

Conclusion

Security and compliance are essential factors when choosing a Hootsuite alternative. Platforms like Sprout Social, Sendible, and Agorapulse offer robust security measures, including encryption, multi-factor authentication, and compliance with key industry regulations. They also provide comprehensive user permissions and activity auditing features, ensuring your data and social media accounts remain secure. Whether you’re managing sensitive data or simply want to ensure compliance with privacy laws, these tools are equipped to meet the highest security standards.

Mobile App Functionality

When choosing a Hootsuite alternative, mobile app functionality is an essential factor to consider. The ability to manage social media accounts, schedule posts, and monitor engagement on the go can significantly enhance productivity and flexibility. Many social media management platforms offer robust mobile applications to help users stay connected to their accounts no matter where they are.

Mobile App Features of Popular Hootsuite Alternatives

Sprout Social, Sendible, Agorapulse, Buffer, and Later all offer mobile apps, but the features and user experience vary across these platforms.

Sprout Social: The Sprout Social mobile app is packed with features that mirror the desktop version, providing users with full access to scheduling, analytics, and social media monitoring. Users can easily engage with followers, respond to messages, and track the performance of posts. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices, offering a seamless user experience.
Sendible: The Sendible mobile app offers similar functionalities as the desktop version, including scheduling, responding to messages, and monitoring social media accounts. Sendible’s app is known for its easy-to-use interface and fast performance, making it a great choice for users who need to manage their accounts on the go. It is available on both iOS and Android platforms.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse’s mobile app allows users to manage social media posts, respond to messages, and track performance from anywhere. It includes features like inbox management, team collaboration, and content scheduling, making it a reliable mobile solution for social media managers. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
Buffer: Buffer’s mobile app is a lightweight option for users who want to quickly schedule posts and monitor their social media presence on the go. It’s user-friendly, but lacks some of the more advanced features available on desktop, like detailed analytics. Nonetheless, it provides a quick and easy way to manage posts from mobile devices.
Later: The Later mobile app excels in visual content management, allowing users to plan, schedule, and manage Instagram posts from their phones. It also supports other social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Later’s mobile app is especially useful for businesses and influencers focused on visual content, with features like drag-and-drop scheduling. It is available for both iOS and Android.

Performance & Usability on Mobile

In addition to the features available on the mobile apps, performance and usability are also key considerations. An app that’s slow to load or difficult to navigate can hinder your ability to manage social media efficiently, especially when working under tight deadlines.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social’s app is known for its smooth performance, quick load times, and user-friendly interface. It supports multitasking, so users can switch between different tasks, such as replying to comments, checking analytics, and scheduling posts, without experiencing lag or crashes.
Sendible: Sendible’s mobile app is lightweight and performs well on both iOS and Android devices. The app loads quickly and offers intuitive navigation, making it easy to schedule posts, monitor social media, and interact with followers on the go.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse’s mobile app delivers solid performance, with a responsive interface and fast load times. Whether you’re scheduling posts, responding to messages, or reviewing analytics, the app performs well and doesn’t lag, making it a reliable choice for managing social media from your phone.
Buffer: Buffer’s mobile app is known for its clean, simple interface. While it’s easy to navigate, the app is not as feature-rich as other platforms, which can make it less ideal for users who need advanced functionalities on the go. However, it provides smooth performance for basic scheduling and monitoring.
Later: Later’s mobile app offers an intuitive interface and responsive design, especially for visual content planning. The app is easy to use and performs well, with drag-and-drop functionality for scheduling posts and a streamlined content calendar. The app is ideal for users focusing on visual content like Instagram, but it also supports other platforms.

Mobile App Integration with Other Features

A mobile app should seamlessly integrate with the core features of the platform, ensuring users can perform essential tasks without being restricted to the desktop version.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social’s mobile app integrates fully with its desktop version, allowing users to access features like social listening, engagement, and analytics from their phones. This seamless integration ensures a consistent experience across devices.
Sendible: Sendible’s mobile app integrates well with its web-based platform, making it easy to schedule posts, engage with followers, and track performance from anywhere. The integration allows users to access detailed reports and social inboxes while on the go.
Agorapulse: Agorapulse’s mobile app integrates with key features such as the social inbox, reporting, and team collaboration tools. This ensures that users can efficiently manage social media accounts and respond to comments or messages without missing a beat.
Buffer: Buffer’s mobile app allows users to schedule posts, track performance, and manage accounts across different social platforms. While the app is integrated with the core features of Buffer, it lacks some of the more advanced features that users might need on the desktop version.
Later: Later’s mobile app is particularly strong in content planning and scheduling for visual platforms like Instagram. The app’s integration with the web platform ensures that content can be easily accessed and managed, with both desktop and mobile users able to work together efficiently.

Conclusion

Mobile app functionality is a crucial factor when evaluating Hootsuite alternatives, especially for social media managers who are always on the go. Platforms like Sprout Social, Sendible, and Agorapulse provide robust mobile apps with comprehensive features that mirror the desktop experience, while Buffer and Later offer lighter, more streamlined mobile solutions. The performance, usability, and integration with key features make these mobile apps a powerful tool for social media management, helping users stay productive and efficient, whether they are at their desk or on the move.

Conclusion

When evaluating Hootsuite alternatives, it’s clear that there are several powerful platforms offering unique features to enhance your social media management experience. Whether you’re looking for advanced analytics, seamless scheduling, robust team collaboration, or top-tier mobile app functionality, these alternatives provide a variety of tools that can cater to different business needs and preferences.

While Hootsuite has been a staple in the social media management space, many of the alternatives discussed offer comparable or even superior features, especially in areas like ease of use, pricing, and integrations with other tools. Platforms such as Sprout Social, Sendible, and Agorapulse stand out for their comprehensive features, while options like Buffer and Later offer simpler solutions ideal for smaller teams or those focused on visual content.

Ultimately, the best choice depends on your specific needs — whether it’s deep analytics, ease of use, mobile functionality, or content curation. It’s important to test out a few options through free trials and compare the features that matter most to you before making a final decision.

By choosing the right Hootsuite alternative, you can take your social media management to the next level, streamline your workflow, and improve your social media marketing efforts, all while ensuring your team’s collaboration is seamless and efficient.

10 Best Hootsuite Alternatives to Supercharge Your Social Media Strategy (2025)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Pricing & Free Plans

Paid Plans and Pricing Overview

Free Plans to Consider

Ease of Use

Intuitive Dashboards and Navigation

Features and Functionality

Conclusion

Scheduling & Automation

Scheduling Capabilities

Automation Features

Conclusion

Social Media Platforms Supported

Supported Platforms for Top Hootsuite Alternatives

Considerations for Platform Support

Conclusion

Analytics & Reporting

Analytics Features of Hootsuite Alternatives

Customization of Reports

Conclusion

Social Listening & Engagement

Social Listening Capabilities

Engagement Features

Conclusion

Team Collaboration

Team Collaboration Features in Hootsuite Alternatives

User Permissions & Roles

Task Management & Workflow

Content Curation & Recycling

Content Curation Capabilities

Content Recycling Features

Best Practices for Content Curation & Recycling

Conclusion

Integration & API Support

Integration with Third-Party Tools

API Support

Conclusion

Best for Agencies & Businesses

Key Features for Agencies & Businesses

Best Hootsuite Alternatives for Agencies & Businesses

Best Practices for Agencies & Businesses

Conclusion

Customer Support & Community

Customer Support

Community

Conclusion

Post Customization & Editing

Customizing Posts for Different Platforms

Editing Posts After Publishing

Bulk Editing and Scheduling

Conclusion

AI & Automation Features

AI-Powered Content Scheduling

Automated Content Curation

AI-Powered Analytics and Insights

Automation of Engagement

Conclusion

Security & Compliance

Data Security Features

Compliance with Industry Regulations

User Permissions & Access Control

Risk Management and Auditing

Conclusion

Mobile App Functionality

Mobile App Features of Popular Hootsuite Alternatives

Performance & Usability on Mobile

Mobile App Integration with Other Features

Conclusion

Conclusion

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