You want to post on social media every week without logging into five apps every morning. You’ve narrowed it down to Buffer or Hootsuite, two of the oldest names in social media scheduling. They’re priced for very different businesses, though.
Buffer charges per social channel, and its Essentials plan costs $5 a month per channel on annual billing, with a free plan for up to 3 channels. Hootsuite charges per user, and its Standard plan starts at $99 per user a month on annual billing, with a 14-day free trial and no free plan.
We read both official pricing pages, plan comparisons and help docs in November 2026, then picked a winner in each area that matters to a small business.
Here’s how they compare, and which one to pick.
Quick answer
- Choose Buffer if: you’re a solo owner or small team that mainly needs to plan, schedule and publish posts, with AI help, on a tight budget.
- Choose Hootsuite if: you have a dedicated social media person or team that also needs one inbox for messages, social listening and competitor reports.
- Our pick for most small businesses: Buffer. It does the core job well, has a useful free plan, and a 5-person team can use it for about a tenth of Hootsuite’s price.
- Cheapest option: Buffer’s free plan covers 3 channels with the AI Assistant included, and paid channels start at $5 a month.
Buffer vs Hootsuite at a Glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Solo owners and small teams that want simple, affordable scheduling | Yes (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel) | $5/mo per channel (Essentials, billed annually) |
| Hootsuite | Social media teams that need an inbox, listening and reports | No (14-day free trial) | $99/mo per user (Standard, billed annually) |
| Feature | Buffer | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| Price for a 5-person team, 5 channels | $50/mo on Team (unlimited users) | $495/mo on Standard (5 seats) |
| Price for 1 person, 3 channels | $15/mo on Essentials (or $0 on Free) | $99/mo on Standard |
| Pricing model | Per social channel | Per user seat |
| Social accounts | Pay for each channel you connect | 10 on Standard; unlimited on Professional and up |
| AI features | AI Assistant on every plan, including Free | Wisdom AI on every plan; forecasting on Professional |
| Inbox and listening | Comment replies; no social listening | Unified inbox plus brand and competitor monitoring |
| Integrations | 25 apps (Canva, Zapier, Google Drive and more) | 100+ apps |
| Free trial | 14 days on Essentials and Team | 14 days on Standard, Professional and Advanced |
| Support | Email on every plan | In-app chat and requests, weekdays, English only |
Prices checked November 2026. Prices use annual billing unless noted. Team prices assume 5 connected channels on Buffer Team ($10 per channel) and 5 user seats on Hootsuite Standard ($99 per seat). Buffer’s monthly billing costs $6 per channel on Essentials and $12 on Team. Hootsuite offers monthly billing too, but does not publish those rates on its plans page, so check at checkout. Hootsuite was also showing a fall sale banner for 50% off the Standard plan when we checked.
Buffer: Overview
Best for: Solo owners and small teams who want an easy scheduler with AI help and pay-per-channel pricing
Buffer is a social media scheduler built for creators and small businesses. You write a post once, adapt it for each network and drop it into a queue that publishes at the times you pick. It supports 12 channels, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky and Google Business Profile.
A 2-person bakery posting to Instagram, Facebook and Google Business Profile could run everything on the free plan, then move to Essentials at $15 a month for 3 channels once it wants unlimited scheduled posts and full analytics.
Key Capabilities
- Queue and calendar: Fill a weekly queue once, then see everything on a visual calendar or board view.
- AI Assistant: Brainstorms ideas, rewrites captions and repurposes posts, with unlimited use on every plan.
- Community inbox: Reply to comments in one place, with AI reply suggestions (5 a week on Free, unlimited on paid plans).
- Analytics: 30 days of insights on Free and 2 years of history plus reports on paid plans.
- AI tool connections: Draft, schedule and analyze posts from Claude or ChatGPT through Buffer’s MCP connection and API.
Pros
- Very easy to learn
- Pay only for the channels you use
- Free plan includes the AI Assistant
- Unlimited team members on the Team plan
Cons
- No social listening or competitor tracking
- Inbox handles comments, not a full message inbox
- Approval workflows need the Team plan
- Support is by email only
Plans & Pricing
- Free: $0/month. Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, 1 user, AI Assistant, 30-day insights.
- Essentials: $5/month per channel (billed annually; $6 monthly). Unlimited scheduled posts, 1 user, advanced analytics, 14-day free trial.
- Team: $10/month per channel (billed annually; $12 monthly). Unlimited team members, approval workflows, access levels, branded reports, 14-day free trial.
- Volume discount: The per-channel rate drops once you pass 10 channels (for example, $4 per channel for 11 to 25 channels on monthly billing).
Hootsuite: Overview
Best for: Businesses with a dedicated social media person or team that needs scheduling, an inbox, listening and reports in one place
Hootsuite is one of the original social media management platforms, and it says more than 25 million people have used it over 18 years. Beyond scheduling, it gives you a shared inbox for messages and comments, social listening, competitor benchmarking and detailed reports. Every plan includes Wisdom, its AI assistant.
A restaurant group with 4 locations could have one marketing manager schedule posts for every branch, answer DMs from a single inbox and track what people say about the brand, all on the Standard plan at $99 a month for 1 seat.
Key Capabilities
- Wisdom AI: Drafts posts, generates images, recommends what to post and analyzes performance on every plan.
- Unified inbox: Reply to private messages and comments from all your accounts in one place, with automated replies on Professional.
- Social listening: Monitor your brand and competitors on Standard, with 30-day Quick Search and 90-day trend forecasting on Professional.
- Competitor benchmarking: Compare your results with up to 5 competitors on Standard and up to 20 on Professional.
- Bulk scheduling: Upload many posts at once on paid plans (not available during the free trial).
Pros
- Very complete all-in-one platform
- Built-in social listening and competitor reports
- Works with WhatsApp and 100+ apps
- 14-day free trial on every self-serve plan
Cons
- Expensive for solo owners and small teams
- Priced per user, so every seat adds $99 or more
- No free plan
- Trial limits daily posts and blocks bulk scheduling
Plans & Pricing
- Free trial: 14 days on Standard, Professional and Advanced, with a daily posting limit of 10 to 20 posts per organization.
- Standard: $99/month per user (billed annually; monthly rate shown at checkout). 10 social accounts, unlimited scheduling, AI, inbox, brand monitoring.
- Professional: $199/month per user (billed annually). Unlimited social accounts, automated inbox replies, custom reports, 90-day trend forecasting.
- Advanced: $399/month per user (billed annually). Adds content approvals, message routing and team performance reports.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing (contact sales). Advanced analytics, advanced listening, SSO and compliance tools.
Pricing: Buffer vs Hootsuite
Buffer is far cheaper for almost every small business. As of November 2026, Buffer Team costs $10 per channel a month on annual billing with unlimited users, while Hootsuite Standard costs $99 per user a month on annual billing for up to 10 social accounts.
- Solo owner, 3 channels: Buffer is free, or $15 a month on Essentials. Hootsuite Standard costs $99.
- 5-person team, 5 channels: Buffer Team costs $50 a month. Hootsuite Standard costs $495 for 5 seats.
- 1 manager, 10 channels: Buffer Essentials costs $50 a month. Hootsuite Standard costs $99, since it covers up to 10 accounts per plan.
- Agency with 30+ channels: Buffer’s per-channel rate drops with volume. Hootsuite needs Professional at $199 per user for unlimited accounts.
The gap shrinks only when one person manages many accounts and needs Hootsuite’s inbox and listening tools. For pure scheduling, Buffer costs a fraction of the price.
Winner: Buffer, because its free plan and $5 per channel pricing fit a small business budget.
Ease of Use
Buffer is the easier tool to pick up. You connect your accounts, write a post, choose a time slot and you’re done, and the interface stays clean because it doesn’t try to do everything. Reviewers on G2 and Capterra often mention how quickly they get comfortable with it.
Hootsuite packs in much more: streams, an inbox, listening, ads, reports and approvals. That’s useful for a social media manager who lives in the tool all day. For an owner who posts a few times a week, it can feel like more dashboard than they need.
Winner: Buffer, because a busy owner can schedule a week of posts on day one without training.
AI Features
Both include AI on every plan. Buffer’s AI Assistant helps you brainstorm ideas, rewrite captions and turn one post into versions for each network, with unlimited use even on the free plan. Buffer also lets you draft and schedule posts from Claude or ChatGPT through its MCP connection.
Hootsuite’s Wisdom AI goes further. It drafts posts, generates images, recommends what to post and analyzes your results, and Hootsuite offers MCP connectors for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini. Professional adds AI trend forecasting up to 90 days ahead and AI-powered smart replies in the inbox.
Winner: Hootsuite, because Wisdom covers images, analysis and forecasting, not just writing help.
Scheduling, Inbox and Listening
For publishing, the two are close. Both offer a content calendar, unlimited scheduled posts on paid plans and first-comment or link tools. Buffer covers 12 channels, including Google Business Profile, Mastodon and Substack, which matters for local shops and newsletter writers. Hootsuite adds WhatsApp and bulk scheduling.
Hootsuite pulls ahead after the post goes live. Its unified inbox handles private messages and comments together, Standard includes brand and competitor monitoring, and higher plans add automated replies and message routing. Buffer’s community inbox is built for replying to comments, and it has no social listening.
Winner: Hootsuite, because its inbox, listening and competitor reports go well beyond scheduling.
Integrations
Hootsuite lists more than 100 integrations, including Canva in the composer, Salesforce on Enterprise, project tools like Asana and monday.com, and AI video tools. If your social media work connects to a CRM or a help desk, that range helps.
Buffer’s integrations page lists 25 apps, covering the essentials for most small businesses: Canva, Bitly, Dropbox, Google Drive, Zapier, n8n, ChatGPT and Claude. Its public API is available on every plan, including Free.
Winner: Hootsuite, because it connects with four times as many apps.
Free Plan, Trial and Support
Buffer has a forever-free plan for up to 3 channels, with 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, the AI Assistant and 30 days of analytics. Hootsuite has no free plan. Its 14-day trial opens up paid features but limits you to 10 to 20 posts a day and blocks bulk scheduling.
Both offer a 14-day trial of paid plans. Buffer provides email support on every plan, including Free. Hootsuite customers get the help center, in-app chat and support requests from Monday to Friday during regional business hours, in English only.
Winner: Buffer, because you can use it free for as long as you like and still get email support.
Which Should You Choose?
- If you run social media yourself on 1 to 3 channels, pick Buffer and start on the free plan.
- If you have a small team that all needs to log in, pick Buffer Team, which includes unlimited users for $10 per channel.
- If you get lots of DMs and need one shared inbox, pick Hootsuite Standard.
- If you want to track what people say about your brand and competitors, pick Hootsuite, since Buffer has no social listening.
- If your budget is under $50 a month, pick Buffer, because Hootsuite’s cheapest seat is $99.
- If you post to Google Business Profile or Substack, pick Buffer, which supports both.
Not Sold on Either?
Metricool, Publer and SocialBee sit between the two on price and add strong analytics or content recycling. Compare them in our guide to the best AI social media scheduler tools.
FAQs
Is Buffer cheaper than Hootsuite?
Yes, by a wide margin for most small businesses. As of November 2026, Buffer Essentials costs $5 per channel a month on annual billing, while Hootsuite Standard costs $99 per user a month on annual billing. Buffer also has a free plan for up to 3 channels.
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
No. Hootsuite offers a 14-day free trial of its Standard, Professional and Advanced plans, but no free plan. The trial limits you to 10 to 20 posts a day and blocks bulk scheduling.
Is Buffer or Hootsuite better for beginners?
Buffer is better for beginners. Its queue and calendar are simple to learn, while Hootsuite’s extra inbox, listening and reporting tools take longer to set up.
Can I switch from Hootsuite to Buffer?
Yes. Neither tool advertises a direct import from the other, so you reconnect your social accounts in Buffer and re-create any scheduled posts. Buffer’s free plan lets you test it with 3 channels before you cancel Hootsuite.
Does Buffer have social listening?
No. Buffer focuses on planning, publishing, comment replies and analytics. If you need to monitor brand mentions and competitors, Hootsuite includes that from its Standard plan.
Which is better for a small business, Buffer or Hootsuite?
Buffer suits most small businesses because it’s cheaper and easier. Hootsuite is the better pick if you have a dedicated social media team that needs an inbox, listening and detailed reports.
Final Thoughts
Start Buffer’s free plan this week and schedule the next 7 days of posts for your 3 main channels. If you find yourself drowning in DMs or wanting competitor reports, run Hootsuite’s 14-day trial on your busiest account before you commit to a $99 seat.
Still comparing tools? See our picks for the best AI social media scheduler tools, or read our guide to the AI tool stack to run a one-person business.