Buffer vs Hootsuite

Two social media tools side by side. Prices are the starting plan a small business would pick, in USD.

Compare	BufferBuffer	HootsuiteHootsuite
In one line	Simple post scheduling with a free plan	Scheduling, listening, and reporting for larger teams
Starting price	Free	From $99/mo
Six-person team	$0/mo	$99/mo
Plans	Free (3 channels); Essentials $5/channel/mo; Team $10/channel/mo (unlimited users)	Standard $99/mo (10 social accounts); Professional $199/mo; Advanced up to $399/mo, billed annually
Pricing model	Free tier	Free trial
Free trial	14 days	14 days
Users	1 on free	1 on Standard
Integrations	Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Pinterest, Threads	All major networks, Canva, 100+ apps
Team size	Just me · 2–10 people	11–50 people · 51–200 people
Available in	US · UK · CA · AU	US · UK · CA · AU
Phone support	None listed	None listed
Live chat	None listed	Plans not stated
Support hours	Not published	Web form: Monday to Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (PST, CST, EST, EET, CET), Monday to Friday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm AEDT
Incidents posted	21 incidents posted on Buffer's status page in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 8 marked major or critical by Buffer. Status page	9 incidents posted on Hootsuite's status page, which covers all Hootsuite products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 0 marked major or critical by Hootsuite. Status page
Capterra score	4.5 / 5 from 1,492 reviews	4.4 / 5 from 3,804 reviews
Trustpilot score	4.2 / 5 from 143 reviews	1.3 / 5 from 556 reviews
Fit: Retail shop	80	55
Fit: Restaurant or café	85	50
Fit: Service business	70	55
Fit: Agency or studio	65	85
Fit: Trades or contractor	55	35
Fit: Online store	80	65
Why people pick it	Cheap per channel Easy	Listening and reporting Team approvals
Where it falls short	Thin analytics No social listening	Expensive for small teams
	Visit Buffer ↗	Visit Hootsuite ↗

Six-person prices are what a team of six would pay on the published plans; "Not listed" means those plans don't cover six. How we calculate prices