Buffer vs Hootsuite Comparison 2026
Both cover social media management and analytics. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Schedule posts across every account at once
Scheduling and monitoring for ten accounts up
At a glance
- Buffer starts cheaper, at $5.
- Only Buffer has a free tier.
Side by side
Buffer | Hootsuite | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $5 | From $99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Some of it | Not stated |
| Their cut | None | None |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Buffer
Schedule posts across every account at once
Buffer queues posts for most networks, suggests times and reports on what landed. The free plan covers three channels, which is enough for a lot of people. It stays out of the way, which is the main thing a scheduler can do.
Our note
Buy it for the calm rather than the features. Per-channel pricing punishes anyone posting everywhere, so count your channels before comparing the headline price with a competitor's flat fee.
Only on this side
- Works with YouTube
- Works with Instagram
- Works with TikTok
- Works with Facebook
- Works with LinkedIn
- Works with Pinterest
- Works with X
- Works with Threads
Hootsuite
Scheduling and monitoring for ten accounts up
Hootsuite schedules posts, answers messages from one inbox and monitors what is being said about a brand and its competitors, which is the combination that keeps it in agencies and marketing teams. The entry plan covers ten social accounts for one person; the tier above lifts that to unlimited and adds inbox automation. Analytics and approval workflows are what the upper plans are actually sold on. It is priced per user per month, so a second person on the account roughly doubles it.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.