What is the best free Hootsuite alternative?

Buffer is the only tool on this page with a free plan. It covers 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user. Hootsuite ended its own free plan on March 31, 2023. Agorapulse retired its free plan on July 6, 2026. Flekh has no free plan, but its 14-day Pro trial needs no card.

Who are Hootsuite's main competitors?

Sprout Social and Agorapulse are the main Hootsuite competitors for full suites with inbox and listening. Buffer, SocialPilot, Sendible and Vista Social compete on scheduling and agency work at lower prices. Flekh is not a direct suite rival. It covers video review and client approval before the post.

What are good Hootsuite alternatives for small business?

Buffer is a simple start for a small business. Buffer Essentials costs $5 a channel a month, billed yearly, and a free plan exists. SocialPilot Essentials costs $25.50 a month flat, billed yearly, for 7 accounts. If you make video for clients, Flekh Essential costs $7 a seat a month, billed monthly.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Hootsuite?

Yes. Hootsuite Standard starts at $99 a user a month, billed yearly. Agorapulse Standard costs $79 a user a month, billed yearly. SocialPilot and Vista Social charge a flat price per plan, not per user. Flekh Pro costs $12 a seat a month, billed monthly, and clients never need a seat.

Hootsuite vs Sprout Social: which is better?

Neither is better for every team. Both charge per user or seat and include analytics. Sprout Social has a 30-day trial and an Essentials plan at $79 a seat a month, billed yearly, but Essentials has no inbox. Hootsuite Standard costs $99 a user a month, billed yearly, and includes inbox and listening.

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Hootsuite alternatives

The 7 best Hootsuite alternatives in 2026.

Short answerFlekh is the best fit if your slow part is the work before the post: video review, client approval and tasks. Flekh has no inbox or listening. For a full suite with an inbox, pick Sprout Social or Agorapulse. For low-cost scheduling with a free plan, pick Buffer.

By Shashank, founder of Flekh · Updated Oct 29, 2026 · 9 min read

Try Flekh free for 14 days See all 7

Pick by situation

The best Hootsuite alternative for your job.

Review video, then post

Client approval links and tasks come before scheduling.

Our pickFlekh 02

Brand team, deep reports

Professional adds competitor and paid reports.

Our pickSprout Social 03

Inbox across many networks

Inbox on every plan; publishes to Bluesky and Reddit.

Our pickAgorapulse 04

Need a free plan

Free plan covers 3 channels and 1 user.

Our pickBuffer 05

Agency with client seats

Premium adds client approval and white-label reports.

Our pickSocialPilot

Key takeaways

Hootsuite ended its free plan on March 31, 2023. Buffer is the only tool on this page with a free plan.
Hootsuite charges per user, and approvals start on Advanced. SocialPilot, Sendible and Vista Social charge a flat price per plan.
Flekh has no social inbox and no listening. Pick it only if review and approval before the post slow your team down.

How we chose: tools that do the same job as Hootsuite. We checked each price on the vendor's own page on Oct 28, 2026. Flekh is our product, and we list its weak points too.

Hootsuite alternatives compared

7 Hootsuite alternatives, checked Oct 28, 2026
Tool	Best for	Price from	Free plan	Video review	Publishes to social
Flekh · Our product	Small agencies that make video for clients and post it to social.	Essential $7 a seat a month, billed monthly. Yearly billing saves 40%.	No · 14-day Pro trial, no card	frame-accurate, with drawings	Yes
Sprout Social	Larger brand teams with budget for per-seat pricing and deep reports.	Essentials $79 a seat a month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)	No · 30-day trial, no card	none	Yes
Agorapulse	Social teams that spend much of the day in the inbox, with up to 10 profiles.	Standard $79 a user a month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)	No (retired July 6, 2026) · 30-day trial, no card	none	Yes
Buffer	Solo marketers and small businesses that post to a few channels.	Essentials $5 a channel a month, billed yearly	Yes · 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts a channel, 1 user	none	Yes
SocialPilot	Agencies that manage many client accounts on a fixed monthly budget.	Essentials $25.50 a month flat, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly), 7 accounts, 1 user	No · 14-day trial, no card	none	Yes
Sendible	Agencies with many client brands that want reports under their own brand.	Core $35 a month flat, billed monthly ($30 billed yearly), 6 profiles	No · 14-day trial, no card to start	none	Yes
Vista Social	Agencies and brands that need many networks and review management.	Professional $99 a month flat, billed monthly ($950 a year, billed yearly), 15 profiles, 2 users	No · 14-day trial, no card	none	Yes

FlekhOur product

Review before the post

In short: Video review, client approval links and tasks, then scheduled posting of the approved version only.

Best for	Small agencies that make video for clients and post it to social.
Price from	Essential $7 a seat a month, billed monthly. Yearly billing saves 40%.
Free plan	No · 14-day Pro trial, no card
Video review	frame-accurate, with drawings
Publishes to social	Yes · Instagram, Facebook Pages, YouTube, LinkedIn, X (TikTok, Threads, Pinterest coming)

Pros

One tag links a file, its tasks and its posts. Results filter by tag.
Clients approve from a link, with no account and no seat.
No charge per social channel or social account.
Flekh AI drafts tasks from review comments, and a person sends them.

Cons

No social inbox and no social listening.
TikTok, Threads and Pinterest publishing are not live yet.
Launched in 2026, so public reviews are few.

Choose it ifclients approve videos before each post and their feedback gets lost in email.

Skip it ifyour team spends most of its day on replies to comments and DMs.

Need a social inbox or listening? Flekh does not have it yet. Tell Shashank, the founder, what you need →

Suite for brand teams

In short: Sprout Social is a per-seat suite with publishing, inbox, reports and listening add-ons, plus an AI agent on every plan.

Best for	Larger brand teams with budget for per-seat pricing and deep reports.
Price from	Essentials $79 a seat a month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
Free plan	No · 30-day trial, no card
Video review	none
Publishes to social	Yes · Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Reddit, Snapchat

Pros

Broad network list, including Reddit, Snapchat and Bluesky.
Canva, Dropbox, Google Drive and Slack links on all plans.
Professional and Advanced add competitor and paid reports.

Cons

G2 reviewers often tag it as expensive, and seats add up.
Essentials has no shared inbox and no listening.
Approval workflows start on Professional, $299 a seat a month, billed yearly.

Choose it ifyou want a suite the size of Hootsuite with a longer free trial.

Skip it ifyou are a team of three on a tight budget.

Agorapulse

Inbox-first suite

In short: Agorapulse (from Paris, France) is a per-user tool for publishing, inbox, listening and reports across eleven networks.

Best for	Social teams that spend much of the day in the inbox, with up to 10 profiles.
Price from	Standard $79 a user a month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
Free plan	No (retired July 6, 2026) · 30-day trial, no card
Video review	none
Publishes to social	Yes · Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business, TikTok, Bluesky, Reddit

Pros

Entry plan costs $20 less per user than Hootsuite Standard, both billed yearly.
Publishes to Bluesky, Reddit and Google Business.
Thirty-day trial with no card.

Cons

Every self-serve plan stops at 10 social profiles.
Approval workflows start on Professional, not Standard.
TrustRadius reviewers mention weak reporting and a limited mobile app.

Choose it ifyou want an inbox and listening like Hootsuite at a lower price per user.

Skip it ifyou manage more than 10 social profiles without a custom plan.

Buffer

Simple, per channel

In short: Buffer is a simple scheduler priced per channel, with a free plan, light analytics and a comment inbox.

Best for	Solo marketers and small businesses that post to a few channels.
Price from	Essentials $5 a channel a month, billed yearly
Free plan	Yes · 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts a channel, 1 user
Video review	none
Publishes to social	Yes · Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Google Business Profile, Mastodon

Pros

A real free plan for up to 3 channels.
Low entry price per channel.
API access on all plans, including Free.

Cons

Approval workflows only on the Team plan, and only for internal users.
G2 reviewers report posts that sometimes fail to publish.
Per-channel price adds up when you add many channels.

Choose it ifyou are a small business that needs posting, not a full suite.

Skip it ifyou need listening or approvals from clients outside your team.

SocialPilot

Agency scheduler

In short: SocialPilot is a flat-price scheduler for agencies, with client seats, client approval and white-label reports.

Best for	Agencies that manage many client accounts on a fixed monthly budget.
Price from	Essentials $25.50 a month flat, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly), 7 accounts, 1 user
Free plan	No · 14-day trial, no card
Video review	none
Publishes to social	Yes · Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Threads, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Bluesky

Pros

Flat plan price, not a price per user.
Unlimited client seats on Premium and Ultimate.
Social inbox from the Standard plan.

Cons

Client approval starts on Premium, $85 a month flat, billed yearly.
A Capterra reviewer reports a refused refund on a prepaid yearly plan.
A Capterra reviewer says some posts must be finished in the native app.

Choose it ifyou run an agency and want client approval without per-user fees.

Skip it ifyou need social listening.

Sendible

White label for agencies

In short: Sendible (London, UK) is an agency tool with client dashboards, approvals and white label, priced by workspace with unlimited users.

Best for	Agencies with many client brands that want reports under their own brand.
Price from	Core $35 a month flat, billed monthly ($30 billed yearly), 6 profiles
Free plan	No · 14-day trial, no card to start
Video review	none
Publishes to social	Yes · Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, WordPress

Pros

Unlimited users on every plan.
Client Connect lets clients link profiles without sharing passwords.
White label on Elite and Enterprise.

Cons

G2 reviewers report accounts that disconnect at random.
G2 reviewers say LinkedIn posts do not always publish on time.
Entry price rose from $29 to $35 a month in mid-2026.

Choose it ifyour agency resells social reports under its own brand.

Skip it ifyou post for one brand and do not need client dashboards.

Wide network suite

In short: Vista Social is a flat-price suite with publishing, inbox, review management and client approval links that need no login.

Best for	Agencies and brands that need many networks and review management.
Price from	Professional $99 a month flat, billed monthly ($950 a year, billed yearly), 15 profiles, 2 users
Free plan	No · 14-day trial, no card
Video review	none
Publishes to social	Yes · Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (paid add-on), YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Google Business, Reddit, Snapchat, Tumblr

Pros

Clients approve from a shared link with no account.
Shared links can have a password and an expiry date.
Manages Google, Yelp and Trustpilot reviews as well.

Cons

Prices rose 25 to 34% on September 28, 2026.
X publishing costs an extra $29 a month.
Included users were cut twice in August and September 2026.

Choose it ifyou want a suite like Hootsuite with flat pricing and no-login approvals.

Skip it ifyou need many users on a low plan.

How to switch from Hootsuite to Flekh

Day 1
Start the 14-day Pro trial and invite editors and account managers. No card is needed.
Day 2
Move only video posts that wait for client sign-off. Keep the inbox and listening in Hootsuite.
Day 3
Connect Instagram, Facebook Pages, YouTube, LinkedIn and X in Flekh.
Day 4
Replace approval emails and Hootsuite drafts with one Flekh approval link per client.
Day 5
Schedule the first approved video, then check its results next to the file.

Questions

What is the best free Hootsuite alternative?: Buffer is the only tool on this page with a free plan. It covers 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user. Hootsuite ended its own free plan on March 31, 2023. Agorapulse retired its free plan on July 6, 2026. Flekh has no free plan, but its 14-day Pro trial needs no card.
Who are Hootsuite's main competitors?: Sprout Social and Agorapulse are the main Hootsuite competitors for full suites with inbox and listening. Buffer, SocialPilot, Sendible and Vista Social compete on scheduling and agency work at lower prices. Flekh is not a direct suite rival. It covers video review and client approval before the post.
What are good Hootsuite alternatives for small business?: Buffer is a simple start for a small business. Buffer Essentials costs $5 a channel a month, billed yearly, and a free plan exists. SocialPilot Essentials costs $25.50 a month flat, billed yearly, for 7 accounts. If you make video for clients, Flekh Essential costs $7 a seat a month, billed monthly.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Hootsuite?: Yes. Hootsuite Standard starts at $99 a user a month, billed yearly. Agorapulse Standard costs $79 a user a month, billed yearly. SocialPilot and Vista Social charge a flat price per plan, not per user. Flekh Pro costs $12 a seat a month, billed monthly, and clients never need a seat.
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social: which is better?: Neither is better for every team. Both charge per user or seat and include analytics. Sprout Social has a 30-day trial and an Essentials plan at $79 a seat a month, billed yearly, but Essentials has no inbox. Hootsuite Standard costs $99 a user a month, billed yearly, and includes inbox and listening.

Sources

https://www.hootsuite.com/plans, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.hootsuite.com/bluesky, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://energeticcity.ca/2023/02/24/hootsuite-to-ditch-free-plan-begin-charging-users-for-social-media-tool/, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.g2.com/products/hootsuite/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://sproutsocial.com/integrations/, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://support.sproutsocial.com/hc/en-us/articles/205974715, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.g2.com/products/sprout-social/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.agorapulse.com/pricing/, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://support.agorapulse.com/en/articles/8762514-what-do-i-get-with-the-free-plan-what-are-the-limits, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.trustradius.com/products/agorapulse/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://buffer.com/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://pricingsaas.com/companies/buffer, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.g2.com/products/buffer/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.socialpilot.co/plans, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.capterra.com/p/144332/SocialPilot/reviews/, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.sendible.com/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://pricingsaas.com/companies/sendible, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://pricingsaas.com/companies/sendible/diffs/2026Q2, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://www.g2.com/products/sendible/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://vistasocial.com/pricing/, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://support.vistasocial.com/hc/en-us/articles/18158890067355-Shared-Calendar-Reviewing-content-without-logging-in, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://pricingsaas.com/companies/vistasocial, checked Oct 28, 2026
https://flekh.com/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026

Flekh is our product. Every other fact on this page comes from the vendor's own page or a named source, with the date we checked.