The best free Hootsuite alternative is SkedCast: a permanent free plan, then account-based pricing with seats included. Hootsuite lists no free plan, only a free trial of 14 days, and charges $99 to $399 per user a month billed yearly. Buffer, Metricool and Publer also have free plans, each with tighter limits.
Key takeaways
- Hootsuite has no free plan; Standard is $99 per user a month billed yearly, Professional $199 and Advanced $399.
- Unlimited social accounts start on Professional, and team approvals on Advanced.
- SkedCast has a permanent free plan and includes seats in every paid plan; Buffer, Metricool and Publer have free plans too.
On this page
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
No. Hootsuite's plans page lists four paid plans and no free one. Each paid plan has a free trial of 14 days, but trial accounts can publish only 10 to 20 posts a day across the organisation and cannot bulk schedule.
How much does Hootsuite cost?
Standard is $99 per user a month billed yearly and covers up to 10 social accounts; Professional is $199 and removes the account limit; Advanced is $399 and adds team approvals and message routing; Enterprise is quoted. The prices are in US dollars before tax, and every plan is charged per user, so three people on Professional cost $597 a month. The Hootsuite pricing breakdown costs it for 1, 3 and 5 users.
Which free Hootsuite alternatives are there?
SkedCast, Buffer, Metricool and Publer all have a free plan. SkedCast is the strongest of them for a team or an agency: its paid plans price by connected account with seats included, add approvals and bulk import, and cover every major network from one composer. The table shows each free plan and where paid plans start, from the same data as the comparison table.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid plans from | Charged per user? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkedCast | Free — 2 accounts | Free, then $15/mo | No |
| Hootsuite | No | $99/user/mo (annual) | Per seat (high) |
| Buffer | Yes — 3 channels | $5/ch/mo (annual) | Per channel |
| Metricool | Yes — 1 brand | $20/mo (5 brands, annual) | No — per brand tier |
| Publer | Yes — 3 accounts | $5/mo per account | +$/member |
How do you move from Hootsuite to a free plan?
List the posts you have scheduled in Hootsuite in a spreadsheet, connect your accounts in the new tool through each network's own sign-in, import the posts in one upload, and cancel Hootsuite before the next billing date. The Hootsuite migration guide walks through each step.
Methodology
Hootsuite's plans, prices, account limits, approvals and trial limits come from its own plans page; the free plans and entry prices of the other tools come from SkedCast's comparison table, which is checked against each vendor's pricing page.
- Window:
- Read 6 November 2026
Sources
FAQ
- Does Hootsuite have a free tier?
- No. It lists four paid plans, from Standard at $99 per user a month billed yearly, and a free trial of 14 days.
- Which Hootsuite plan includes approvals?
- Advanced, at $399 per user a month billed yearly: it adds content review and approval and message routing. Enterprise adds SSO and advanced listening.
- Is SkedCast cheaper than Hootsuite?
- For most teams, yes. SkedCast starts free, prices paid plans by connected account with seats included, and has approvals from Studio; Hootsuite charges every user from $99 a month.
- What are the free alternatives to Hootsuite?
- SkedCast, Buffer, Metricool and Publer all have free plans. SkedCast's free plan grows into account-based paid plans with seats included; compare each free plan's limits against your own account count.
- Does SkedCast have a free plan?
- Yes. SkedCast has a permanent Free plan as well — 2 connected accounts and up to 3 posts a day, no card and no time limit — and each workspace can additionally take one 7-day Studio trial. Bulk import and the inbox are included on it.