Buffer vs Hootsuite

Buffer and Hootsuite both schedule posts to your social channels, but they’re built for different sizes of business. Buffer is a simple, low-cost scheduler priced per channel, with a free plan. Hootsuite is a full social media management platform with a shared inbox, monitoring and reporting, and no free plan.

The price difference, with an example

Take a small store posting to 4 channels (for example Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest):

• Buffer Essentials is $5 per channel per month, so about $20 a month. If you only need 3 channels and a few scheduled posts, Buffer’s Free plan may be enough.
• Hootsuite Standard starts at $99, and covers up to 10 social accounts.

For one small business, Buffer is far cheaper. Hootsuite’s price makes sense when you manage many accounts or clients and need its inbox, monitoring and reports.

AI writing

• Buffer’s AI Assistant is included on every plan. Buffer says it helps you draft new posts, repurpose existing ones, adjust tone, write captions and translate posts. The Free plan has a weekly limit on AI suggestions.
• Hootsuite’s OwlyWriter AI writes captions and post ideas inside Hootsuite.

Either way, check every AI caption for facts, prices and tone before you post. Our guide to creating social media posts for an ecommerce brand with AI has a prompt and a review checklist.

Which one should you choose?

• You run a small business and post to a few channels: start with Buffer’s Free plan, then move to Essentials when you need more channels or posts.
• You manage several brands, clients or many accounts, and need one inbox and reports: Hootsuite is built for that. Use the 14-day trial with your real accounts.
• You’re not sure: run Buffer for a month. If you find yourself missing a shared inbox, monitoring or client reports, trial Hootsuite.

Prices change often, and both vendors show different prices by billing period. Check each pricing page before you buy. To track which posts bring sales, add UTM tags to your links with our free UTM Builder.