Hootsuite Alternatives in 2026: What You Pay Per Seat
Hootsuite bills per user: $149, $299 or $499 a month each on monthly billing, or $99 to $399 billed yearly. If you’re one person or a small team and the bill is why you’re looking, a flat-priced tool with the same core features costs a fraction of it. If you need LinkedIn Company Pages, WhatsApp or enterprise listening, Hootsuite is still the stronger fit.
Full disclosure: our team builds Kadenzo, which is on this list, so treat our opinion with that in mind. We posted the same draft in Hootsuite and Kadenzo and priced every plan from Hootsuite’s own billing data.
The short answer
If the per-seat bill is the problem
Kadenzo
One plan from $19 a month with scheduling, comment-to-DM, an inbox and listening. Approvers don’t need a paid seat.
If you need LinkedIn Pages, WhatsApp or enterprise listening
Stay on Hootsuite
Kadenzo posts to LinkedIn profiles only, has no WhatsApp, and its listening covers the social web rather than news and media.
If you only post to two or three channels
A per-channel scheduler
Tools that bill per channel can cost less than any bundle when the job is posting and nothing else.
The video version
2:48
Per-seat prices
What Hootsuite costs for one, three or five people
Every seat is billed separately. Monthly billing costs about half again as much as the yearly price most comparisons quote.
| Plan, per month | 1 user | 3 users | 5 users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard10 social accounts | $149$99 billed yearly | $447$297 billed yearly | $745$495 billed yearly |
| ProfessionalUnlimited social accounts | $299$199 billed yearly | $897$597 billed yearly | $1,495$995 billed yearly |
| AdvancedUnlimited social accounts | $499$399 billed yearly | $1,497$1,197 billed yearly | $2,495$1,995 billed yearly |
| KadenzoOne plan, no seats | $19–$49whether it’s one person or five$15.83–$40.83 billed yearly, depending on plan | ||
Hootsuite prices from its own billing data and the subscription screen in Hootsuite, October 19, 2026, USD before tax. Kadenzo’s range covers its three plans; one owner login plus free approvers.
The lineup changed in July 2026. Hootsuite added a Professional tier in the middle and moved Advanced from $249 to $399 a month per user on yearly billing. Standard has cost $149 a month on monthly billing since 2023.
How the price moved
Six Hootsuite lineups since 2022, and what each charged
Each figure is monthly billing / yearly billing per month, read from archived copies of the billing data Hootsuite’s plans page loads its prices from. Until late 2024 the entry and team plans were priced per plan, with 1 and 3 users included; since then every tier is billed per seat.
Until mid-2022
Free plan; 30-day trial
Entry
Professional $75 / $49, 1 user
Middle
None
Upper
Team $189 / $129, 3 users
September 2022
Free plan still offered
Entry
Professional $99 / $49
Middle
None
Upper
Team $279 / $179
January 2023 to mid-2024
Free plan ended March 31, 2023
Entry
Professional $149 / $99
Middle
None
Upper
Team $399 / $249
Late 2024 to March 2025
Billed per seat from here on
Entry
Standard $149 / $75
Middle
None
Upper
Advanced $269 / $199
Spring 2025 to June 2026
30-day trial
Entry
Standard $149 / $99
Middle
None
Upper
Advanced $399 / $249
July 2026 to now
14-day trial
Entry
Standard $149 / $99
Middle
Professional $299 / $199
Upper
Advanced $499 / $399
On monthly billing the entry plan has cost $149 a user since January 2023. The upper self-serve tier moved more: on yearly billing it went from $129 in 2022 to $399 today, and on monthly billing from $189 to $499. The features that sat in Advanced at $249, such as DM automations and custom reports, now sit in Professional, and approvals moved up to Advanced.
The trial today
14 days with no card, down from 30 before the July 2026 relaunch. Trial accounts can post 10 to 20 times a day per organization, depending on plan, and bulk scheduling stays off until you pay. In October 2026 a Standard trial was set to renew on yearly billing at $1,188.
What each tier unlocks
The features that cost an upgrade in Hootsuite
Hootsuite has comment-to-DM, approvals and listening. The question is which seat you need to buy to get them.
Scheduling, calendar, best times
Hootsuite Standard
$99–$149 per user
Kadenzo Starter
$19 per account
Instagram comment-to-DM
Hootsuite Professional
$199–$299 per user
Kadenzo Starter
$19, 500 people a month
Post approvals
Hootsuite Advanced
$399–$499 per user
Kadenzo Enterprise
$49, approvers free
Social listening with alerts
Hootsuite Enterprise
Custom quote
Kadenzo Starter
$19, 2 keywords
Hootsuite’s self-serve plans include a basic search of recent posts; listening with alerts, more sources and 13 months of history is part of Enterprise. Kadenzo’s listening covers social networks and feeds you add, not news and broadcast media.
Our test
The same draft, posted to Instagram and X in both
On October 19, 2026 we connected Instagram and X to Hootsuite and wrote the same post in both composers, stopping before Schedule. Day-to-day posting felt similar; the differences were in what each composer offers.
| In the composer | Hootsuite | Kadenzo |
|---|---|---|
| X thread | ||
| Instagram first comment | ||
| Instagram Reel and Story | ||
| Instagram collaborators | ||
| Tag people in the post | ||
| Canva and Adobe Express | ||
| Suggested posting times | ||
| Paid boost from the composer |
Writing the Instagram version
Hootsuite
Kadenzo
Posting to X
Hootsuite
Kadenzo
Honest verdict
Is Hootsuite still right for you?
Pick Hootsuite if
- You publish to LinkedIn Company Pages, WhatsApp Business or Google Business Profile.
- Several people need their own logins with roles and permissions.
- You need listening across news and media with long history and alerts (Hootsuite Enterprise).
- Employee advocacy is part of the job (Hootsuite sells it as Parliament, through its sales team).
- You design posts in Canva or Adobe Express and want them inside the composer.
- Your company already approved Hootsuite and the per-seat cost isn’t your problem.
Pick Kadenzo if
- You pay for one or a few Hootsuite seats and the bill is the reason you’re looking.
- You want comment-to-DM without moving to a higher tier.
- You want brand and competitor mentions from Reddit, X, Bluesky and YouTube in the same tool.
- You post threads to X, Threads or Bluesky, or you post to Mastodon or Telegram.
- Clients or managers approve posts but don’t need a paid seat to do it.
Side by side
Hootsuite vs Kadenzo
Hootsuite details from its plans, billing data, help center and our test; we built the product in the Kadenzo column.
Team bills
Four teams, priced on monthly billing
Each team gets the cheapest Hootsuite plan that has the features it needs, multiplied by its seats, next to the Kadenzo plan that covers the same work.
One person, posting only
A creator or freelancer scheduling to a few networks
Hootsuite
$149
- Standard, monthly
- $99/mo billed yearly
Kadenzo
$19
- Starter, monthly
- $15.83/mo billed yearly
One person who also runs comment-to-DM
The same creator, sending links to people who comment
Hootsuite
$299
- Professional is the first tier with DM automation
- $199/mo billed yearly
Kadenzo
$19
- Starter includes it
- 500 people a month
A team of three
Posting, comment-to-DM and an inbox, three people involved
Hootsuite
$897
- 3 × Professional at $299
- $597/mo billed yearly
Kadenzo
$29
- Professional, one owner login
- $24.17/mo billed yearly
Not like for like: Hootsuite gives each person a seat with roles; Kadenzo has one owner login and free approvers.
An agency that needs approvals
Three people, client sign-off before anything posts
Hootsuite
$1,497
- 3 × Advanced at $499
- $1,197/mo billed yearly
Kadenzo
$49
- Enterprise: approvals, unlimited client profiles
- $40.83/mo billed yearly
What reviewers say
Users like the product; leavers are unhappy about money
The rating depends on where you read it. G2 and Capterra mostly hear from people still using Hootsuite. On Trustpilot, most recent reviews come from people who had a billing problem.
7,439 reviews
about 3,800 reviews
556 reviews, 69% one star
Most-mentioned downsides in G2’s review summary
- Limited features320 mentions
- Expensive317 mentions
- High pricing282 mentions
- Linking issues248 mentions
- Missing features246 mentions
Among the newest Trustpilot reviews, most describe charges after cancelling or renewals people didn’t expect. Reviewers on G2 praise scheduling, ease of use and managing many brands from one calendar.
G2 figures from its review summary (September 2026), Trustpilot read October 19, 2026, Capterra from a search listing.
Other tools by team size
Hootsuite alternatives for one person, a small team or a big one
We haven’t tested these hands-on. Entry prices from each vendor’s pricing page on October 19, 2026. How a tool bills decides what a growing team pays more than its entry price does, so start from how many people will use it.
Just you
On your own, what you pay for is profiles: Buffer’s free plan is 3 channels for 1 user, and Later’s Starter is one set of 8 profiles for 1 user. Hootsuite Standard charges $149 a month for the same one person on monthly billing.
- Buffer$6/channel ($5 yearly)
Simple posting
Per channel · Free tier: 3 channels
- Metricool$25/mo ($20 yearly)
Analytics plus posting
Per brand · Free tier: 1 brand
- Later$18.75/mo yearly
Visual Instagram planning
Per social set · Free tier: Trial only
- Pallyy$25 for 1 set, +$10 per set
Small creator teams
Per social set · Free tier: 1 set
A small team of 2 to 5
Tiers with users included stop the bill multiplying with each hire: Loomly’s Starter includes 3 users and Sendible doesn’t cap users. Three Hootsuite Professional seats come to $897 a month on monthly billing.
- SocialBee$29/mo
Evergreen content categories
Flat tier · Free tier: Trial only
- Sendible$35/mo ($29.75 yearly)
Agencies with client workspaces
Flat tier, users included · Free tier: Trial only
- Loomly$65/mo ($49 yearly)
Approval-led teams
Flat tier, users included · Free tier: Trial only
- Vista Social$99/mo
DM automation included
Flat tier · Free tier: Trial only
Larger teams
When every person needs their own login and role, per-seat tools are built for it. Both of these start at $79 a seat on yearly billing, against $99 for Hootsuite Standard.
- Sprout Social$99/seat ($79 yearly)
Larger teams, deep reporting
Per seat · Free tier: Trial only
- Agorapulse$99/user ($79 yearly)
Inbox-heavy teams
Per user · Free tier: After the trial
Per seat, like Hootsuite
The bill grows with every person on the team. Fine for one user; the gap widens fast after that.
Per channel or brand
Cheap when you post to a handful of profiles; adds up as channels grow.
Flat tiers, users included
A fixed price per tier with several users in it. Closest to how Kadenzo bills.
Hootsuite alternatives: common questions
How much does Hootsuite cost per month in 2026?
Per user: Standard is $149 a month on monthly billing or $99 a month billed yearly, Professional $299 or $199, and Advanced $499 or $399. Enterprise is a custom quote. The plans page shows the yearly figures, so the monthly price is easy to miss.
Does Hootsuite still have a free plan?
No. The free plan ended on March 31, 2023. New accounts get a 14-day trial that needs no card; in October 2026 it was set to renew on yearly billing.
Can I get a refund from Hootsuite?
Hootsuite’s self-serve terms say cancelling or downgrading doesn’t refund fees already paid, and its billing help describes annual payments as non-refundable. Its refund page says it will review requests case by case.
Is there a cheaper Hootsuite alternative with comment-to-DM?
Kadenzo includes Instagram and Facebook comment-to-DM on every plan, from $19 a month. In Hootsuite it starts on Professional at $199 to $299 per user. Vista Social also includes DM automation on its plans, from $99 a month.
Does Kadenzo post to LinkedIn Company Pages?
No. On LinkedIn, Kadenzo can only publish to a personal profile. If Company Pages are part of your plan, Hootsuite or another tool with Page support is the better fit.
Can my whole team use one Kadenzo plan?
Kadenzo has one owner login per plan, plus approvers you invite, who review and approve posts without a subscription. There’s no per-seat billing. If several people each need to post under their own login, a per-seat tool fits that workflow better.
Can I move my scheduled posts from Hootsuite to Kadenzo?
Yes, as text. Export the Hootsuite calendar as a CSV, reshape it into Kadenzo’s bulk-upload columns (content, networks, time), and attach media after the import. Bulk upload is on Professional and up.
Leaving Hootsuite
How to switch without paying twice
The migration is the easy part. Most of the risk sits in the renewal date.
- 1
Export before the renewal date
Hootsuite exports the content calendar as a CSV or PDF on every plan. Analytics exports need Professional or higher, so pull any reports you want while you still can.
- 2
Turn off auto-renew and keep the confirmation
Cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid term, and the terms say fees already paid aren’t refunded. Enterprise contracts ask for written notice 60 days before the term ends.
- 3
Connect your accounts in Kadenzo
Kadenzo connects 11 networks. LinkedIn connects as a personal profile; Company Pages aren’t supported.
- 4
Bring the queue across
Kadenzo’s CSV import covers three things per row: the post text, the networks and the posting time. Media isn’t part of the CSV, so attach images and videos to those posts after the import.
- 5
Rebuild DM automations from templates
Comment-to-DM rules don’t export from Hootsuite. Most rebuild in three fields from a Kadenzo template.
See how publishing to every network works in Kadenzo, how comment-to-DM and social listening fit in the same plan, or compare plans on the pricing page.
Everything a small team needs, one price
Kadenzo schedules to 11 networks, answers comments with DMs and tracks mentions, from $19 a month. Nobody pays for a seat.
