Buffer vs Hootsuite (2024 Comparison)

Buffer has a simple user interface and easy-to-use tools that make it incredibly quick to adopt. It offers a free version, and its paid plans are affordably priced. Buffer has effective analysis and reporting tools that provide insight into the performance of social posts, and it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make recommendations in order to improve strategy and engagement.

Hootsuite is pricier than Buffer, but it comes with more features. Its analytics tools can create reports based on company goals and can benchmark your company against up to 20 other competitors. Hootsuite is capable of bulk post scheduling and publishing, and its team management tools give administrators greater control over team member access and productivity.

Buffer

4.6

Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Pricing

$0 to $120 per month

Free option

Yes

Maximum total users

Unlimited

$0 to $120 per month

Yes

Unlimited

Editor's Take

Buffer is a simple but effective social media manager that is great for solopreneurs, small businesses and organizations that need scalability. It offers a free plan that comes with scheduling and publishing tools, a landing page builder and an AI assistant—essentially everything you need to get started with social media management. Its paid plans are affordably priced with the Essentials plan starting at just $5 per month (billed annually) per channel.

The Team and Agency plans include unlimited users, making Buffer a great option for scaling businesses. It supports well-known channels such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as well as less popular ones such as Mastodon and Google Business Profiles. Its user interface is clean, and it is easy to use and quick to get started with.

Pros & Cons

• Free plan option and more affordable pricing
• Unlimited users with Team and Agency plans
• Easy to learn, very user-friendly

• Admin controls may be too simple
• Not as feature-rich as competitors
• Scheduled posts have a limit (2,000)

Hootsuite

4.5

Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Pricing

$99 to $249 per month

Free option

No

Maximum total users

Five-plus

$99 to $249 per month

No

Five-plus

Editor's Take

Hootsuite is feature-rich. It can perform in-depth analytics, provide insights based on your campaign goals and even measure your social media growth against your competitors. Its AI and automation are more than simple scheduling and management tools as they can repurpose top posts without creating blatant duplicates or even create celebratory holiday content to keep up with the times.

While its total included user count is only five in the Enterprise plan, it gives administrators granular control over user permissions, team assignments and workflow. Hootsuite is on the expensive side and can be overwhelming for beginners; however, businesses that take the time to harness its potential will be able to manage elaborate marketing campaigns with ease.

Learn more: Read our Hootsuite review.

Pros & Cons

• Advanced user permissions options
• Robust analytics and reporting tools
• Manage conversations through one inbox

• Can be overwhelming/difficult to learn
• Must pay extra per user after five users
• Expensive

Below we compare the various features offered by Hootsuite and Buffer.

-	Buffer	Hootsuite
Starting Price	Free; $5 per month for one channel (billed annually)	$99 per month for 10 channels
Free Trial	14 days	30 days
Unlimited Posts	Yes, with paid plans	Yes
Max Included Users	Unlimited	Five (with the option to add users at per-user pricing)
Social Networks	Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Mastodon, Pinterest, TikTok, Start Page	Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter
AI Tools	Yes	Yes
Analytics, Reporting and Insights	Yes, basic	Yes, advanced
Team Management Tools	Yes, limited	Yes, extensive
Ease of Use	Easy	Challenging
Post Drafting, Scheduling and Publishing System	Yes	Yes
Read Reviews	–	Read Hootsuite Review

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Analytics

Buffer allows users to do fairly basic analysis including tracking engagement metrics such as comments and likes and monitoring the performance of posts across multiple channels. Buffer users will also get machine learning insights that suggest when, what and how often to post to maximize engagement.

Hootsuite has these same basic features and takes them much further, providing deeper data analysis options resulting in more specific insights. For instance, Hootsuite provides performance reports based on your business’s goals using pre-built reporting templates. This feature makes it easy to lay out your intentions and quickly discern the results. You can also compare your efforts with other businesses in the same industry to see where you stand with the competition.

Team Management

Buffer’s Team and Agency plans support unlimited users, and these plans come with tools to make managing those users simple, including workflow approval tools to manage who works on what posts and a custom access and permissions system that controls which channels users have access to.

Users with admin access have full control and access privileges. Full access gives a user the ability to manage post creation, scheduling and editing for specific channels. Approval-required access can do the same things that full access can and is channel limited as well, but it needs approval from an admin.

Hootsuite offers more customization in user access permission options; however, the total user limit is capped at five in the Enterprise plan (unless you pay more per user). Hootsuite can assign team members three levels of access: the organization, team and social account. The organization level has the most access and control over the levels below it. Each of these levels is broken down further into subcategories with varying degrees of access. For instance, the social account level is divided into three categories: advanced, editor and responder. The advanced users have the most access to the social account, with the editor and responder having incrementally fewer permissions than the category above them.

Post Scheduling and Publishing

Buffer provides a straightforward means to schedule and publish posts across social channels through the Buffer Queue. This feature allows users to choose the order and time that posts are published. Once all the time slots are filled for the day, additional posts are put in the queue (hence the name) to be published at the next allotted time.

Hootsuite’s AutoSchedule is more effective at bulk posting as it allows you to upload multiple posts at the same time and schedule when they go live. This system doesn’t allow you to choose the exact order your posts come out, however, but it favors large-scale campaigns over more deliberately timed release schedules.

Buffer offers a fairly robust free version that solopreneurs and beginners can make great use of while Hootsuite does not offer a free version. Meanwhile, the entry-level Essentials plan with Buffer starts at $5 per month per channel, while Hootsuite’s entry-level Professional plan costs $99 per month (billed annually) for 10 channels. Paying for 10 channels through Buffer, however, is about the same price and costs $100 per month (billed annually).

That said, large businesses with deep pockets that are managing complex social media campaigns will get their money’s worth from Hootsuite’s larger catalog of features. Otherwise, Buffer ends up being the better deal for businesses that need a less overwhelming solution.

While many Hootsuite customers think it’s on the expensive side, they praise it for being packed with features. People call out the AI specifically for making posting much easier. The most common complaint is how hard it can be to learn for beginners.

Buffer customers love it for its ease of use, echoing the sentiment that it is simple to navigate and understand. They also enjoy its price points; however, some users are disappointed with the 10-post limit associated with the free plan.

If you’re still unsure about Hootsuite and Buffer, consider these alternatives that we found to be among the best social media management software in 2024.

Zoho Social is a good budget option that comes with a free version, making it perfect for individual creators. SocialPilot is another cost-effective option that is well known for its integrations with TikTok. Sprout Social is a rather expensive social media manager by comparison; however, large businesses with high marketing budgets can benefit from its advanced analytics capabilities and scheduling tools.

-	Free Edition	Max Included Users	Social Networks	Starting Price
Zoho Social	Yes	Five (add users at $10 per month per user)	Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Mastodon	$10 per month, billed annually
SocialPilot	No	Unlimited	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube	$25.50 per month, billed annually
Sprout Social	No	One (add users starting at $199 per month per user in Standard plan)	Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube	$249 per month

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Small to midsized businesses (SMBs) that need a simple, well-rounded social media manager will get more for their money going with Buffer. It may not have the bells and whistles of Hootsuite, but it delivers a reliable experience at a fraction of the cost. Larger businesses that are managing multiple high-profile clients or complex social media campaigns should consider Hootsuite as it offers better team management options and has better overall analytics. Just be aware that these added features come at a much higher cost.

Buffer is best for:

• Users looking for a free but effective social media manager
• SMBs that don’t need robust analytics or team management features
• Businesses looking to save money

Hootsuite is best for:

• Large businesses with complex workflows
• Businesses that manage multiple high-profile clients
• Businesses that have elaborate social marketing strategies