How much does Hootsuite cost in 2026?

Standard, 10 social accounts: $99 per seat a month on annual billing; Professional, unlimited accounts: $199 per seat a month on annual billing; Advanced, with approvals and routing: $399 per seat a month on annual billing. Checked October 26, 2026.

Social media management suite

Should you build your own Hootsuite?

Q: Should you build your own Hootsuite?

Switch. Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user a month on annual billing for up to 10 social accounts, or $3,564 over three years for one user. Buffer covers 10 channels for $50 a month, and SocialPilot covers 10 accounts and three users for $34. Building your own scheduler costs about $5,800 over three years and means handling every platform’s API approvals. Hootsuite earns its price when you need social listening, approval flows or a shared inbox.

Q: What is a cheaper alternative to Hootsuite?

Buffer (Essentials: $5 per channel a month billed yearly, so $50 for 10 channels), SocialPilot (Standard: $34/mo billed yearly for 10 accounts and 3 users ($40 monthly)), Postiz (Team: $31/mo billed yearly for 10 channels; free to self-host), Meta Business Suite (Free for Facebook and Instagram). Enough if you only post to Facebook and Instagram, but it doesn’t cover LinkedIn, TikTok or X.

Switch to Buffer. Ten channels cost $50 a month there, against $99 for Hootsuite Standard.

SWITCH

Short answer

Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user a month on annual billing for up to 10 social accounts, or $3,564 over three years for one user. Buffer covers 10 channels for $50 a month, and SocialPilot covers 10 accounts and three users for $34. Building your own scheduler costs about $5,800 over three years and means handling every platform’s API approvals. Hootsuite earns its price when you need social listening, approval flows or a shared inbox.

Buy for 3 years: $3,564
Build and run for 3 years: $5,845
Verdict: SWITCH

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Cheaper options

CheaperBufferEssentials: $5 per channel a month billed yearly, so $50 for 10 channelsA simpler scheduler for about half the price, but there is no social listening and extra team members need the $100 Team plan.CheaperSocialPilotStandard: $34/mo billed yearly for 10 accounts and 3 users ($40 monthly)The cheapest like-for-like swap, so check that it supports every network you post to.Open sourcePostizTeam: $31/mo billed yearly for 10 channels; free to self-hostAn open-source scheduler at about a third of Hootsuite Standard, with a smaller feature set.FreeMeta Business SuiteFree for Facebook and InstagramEnough if you only post to Facebook and Instagram, but it doesn’t cover LinkedIn, TikTok or X.

Hootsuite pricing in 2026

Plan	Billed yearly	Billed monthly
Standard, 10 social accounts Typical	$99/seat/mo	–
Professional, unlimited accounts	$199/seat/mo	–
Advanced, with approvals and routing	$399/seat/mo	–

Paying too much? Standard at $99 is enough for one person managing up to 10 accounts. Professional only adds unlimited accounts, inbox automation and custom reports.

Per user, billed annually. Hootsuite’s plan cards showed euro prices with the same figures, and its FAQ quotes $99, $199 and $399. Monthly billing costs more, but Hootsuite doesn’t publish that rate. Checked October 26, 2026.

Run your own numbers

Defaults are a typical small team at $30/hour. Change anything.

If you buy Hootsuite

Plan

Seats

If you build it

Your time, $ per hour

Hours to build

Upkeep, hours per month

Hosting and services, $ per month

Buy

$3,564

Build

$5,845

Buying is about $2,281 cheaper over 3 years.

3-year totals. Building includes your time, upkeep, running costs and one month of an AI app builder ($25). Change any number to match your situation.

What you’d build

Connect accounts with OAuth for three or four networks
A shared calendar and publishing queue
Draft, review and approve steps for a small team
Basic reach and engagement numbers per post

Our estimate for hosting, a job queue and storage. Platform API fees are extra.

What you’d give up

Social listening and brand monitoring
A unified inbox for comments and messages
Bulk scheduling and AI post drafts
Reports across every account

Risks the price doesn’t show

Platform APIsHigh

Each network needs app approval and changes its rules without warning.

Inbox accessMedium

Comment and message APIs differ per network, and some are restricted.

UpkeepMedium

Every API change lands on you, and posts fail until you fix it.

When the verdict flips

Switch to BUY if you need social listening, approval flows or an inbox shared across a team. That’s where Hootsuite’s higher plans earn their price.

Sources

Hootsuite plans

Build hours are our estimates for one person using an AI app builder. How we score. Spotted a wrong price? Tell us on X @BuildictHQ.

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