Hootsuite is hired to do one main job: plan and publish posts across social networks from one place, with an inbox and reports around it. For many teams the scheduler is the part in daily use. Below: the published prices, the realistic replacements, and the procedure for moving without losing the posting calendar.
A scheduler becomes the team's calendar. Approved posts, saved replies and months of reports pile up inside it, and the people who set it up may have left.
The part most teams use is the narrowest part, and that is the part that moves. The inbox, approvals and listening are where the real conversation about leaving is.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Commercial | — | Buffer plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Postiz | Open source | AGPL-3.0 | Postiz repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Mixpost | Open source | MIT | Mixpost repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
| Plan | Price as published | Includes | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite Standard | From $99 per user per month | 10 social accounts, unlimited scheduled posts, one inbox, basic social listening | Hootsuite plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Hootsuite Professional | From $199 per user per month | Unlimited social accounts, automated inbox replies, custom reports | Hootsuite plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Hootsuite Advanced | Range up to $399 per user per month | Adds approval workflows, internal comments, message assignment | Hootsuite plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Hootsuite Enterprise | Custom | Adds single sign-on, custom compliance solutions, advanced listening | Hootsuite plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Buffer Free | $0 | Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user | Buffer plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Buffer Essentials | $5 per month per channel (yearly $60 per channel) | Unlimited scheduled posts per channel, 1 user, advanced analytics | Buffer plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Buffer Team | $10 per month per channel (yearly $120 per channel) | Unlimited users, approval workflows, branded reports | Buffer plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Prices as printed on the vendors' pages on the checked date, excluding tax. Hootsuite's page prints its plan figures as starting points and per user; yearly or monthly billing and promotions can change what you pay at checkout. Buffer's page states different savings figures for yearly billing in two places, so confirm at checkout.
Most small teams use the scheduler and a calendar, and little else. A scheduler is a narrow job and several products do it. Inbox routing, approval flows and listening are different jobs, and if they are in daily use they belong on the list before any price comparison.
Samples are made up and are not Hootsuite's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
What paying a year up front really costs: the premium for monthly, the break-even month and the interest rate the discount works out to.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
In outline:
List the connected networks, the people with logins, the reports someone reads and the posts scheduled for the next thirty days.
Connect one network in the new tool and publish a few real posts through it before moving anything else.
Export what you need from the old tool: reports, saved replies, the content calendar. Re-create the queued posts in the new tool.
Switch the team over on a chosen date, stop scheduling in the old tool, and let the last scheduled posts there go out.
Keep the old account until the last export is checked, then end the plan inside the contract's notice window.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. Hootsuite is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
Paying 905.00 more on day one saves the other eleven monthly bills. The discount is worth that much a year on the cash you hand over early. If your cash earns or costs you less than this, annual wins, as long as you will use the tool all year.
| Months used | Monthly plan | Annual plan | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 95.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 3 | 285.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 6 | 570.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 9 | 855.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 12 | 1,140.00 | 1,000.00 | Annual |
Assumes the monthly plan bills at the start of each month and the annual plan does not refund. Check your order form for both.