How Much Does Hootsuite Really Cost?

Want to know the details of Hootsuite pricing and what it really costs you? Read on to get a comprehensive look at the real cost of using Hootsuite and its value for money.

We’ve spent more than 30 hours researching this topic. As a competitor, we need to know the cost and value of Hootsuite plans. In a way, we’re as motivated as you are in determining what Hootsuite’s real cost is.

As a Hootsuite competitor, we could be tempted to arrange the truth so this “pricing investigation” makes us look good and them look bad. But we’ll make you a promise: If Hootsuite is a better value for money for any given scenario, we’ll tell you!

This article is about Hootsuite plan pricing and how much it actually costs based on your specific needs.

You’ve most likely looked at the Hootsuite pricing page, so we won’t repeat what you already know Instead, we’ll reveal pricing information NOT found on the Hootsuite pricing page. “Under the hood” information is much more valuable in your search for the right social media management tool for your business.

TL;DR

Here’s a very high-level summary:

1. How much is Hootsuite? The Hootsuite pricing page shows monthly and annual pricing information. The monthly price is up to 60% or more per month.
2. The Enterprise plan starts at $16,000. That’s for annual plans that must be paid for upfront. If the other two plans don’t fit your needs, you may have to dig deep into your pockets for the features or level of support you want.
3. Many “advanced” features are not available with the Standard plan. Need features such as content approval workflows, campaign reports, or an asset content library? Then you’ll need to sign up for either the Advanced or Enterprise plan.
4. Agencies and large teams might struggle to find value with Hootsuite based on the tool’s high per user cost and the lack of advanced features in some plans. Agencies and businesses that have a large team on their account soon find themselves doubling or tripling their cost to get the users, profiles, or features they need.

1. Huge Difference Between Monthly Cost and Annual Cost

On Hootsuite’s pricing page, you’ll find annual and monthly pricing. Each plan shows the price per user. The default pricing when you visit the page is for an annual commitment, but you can click the toggle to view monthly plan pricing.

Giving a discount on the annual cost of subscription software is common practice. We even do this at Agorapulse. However, you don’t typically see such a big difference between the monthly and annual cost. In this case, Hootsuite charges up to 60% more for a monthly plan, compared to an annual subscription.

To be specific, a monthly subscription for the Standard plan costs 50% more. A monthly subscription for the Advanced plan costs 60% more. That’s a considerable jump between paying annually and paying monthly!

Here are the two prices for the Standard plan:

And here’s the pricing for the Advanced plan:

A total of 90% of Agorapulse users start with a monthly plan. That might mean that 90% of new Hootsuite users go through the unpleasant experience of learning how much Hootsuite will really cost them.

2. The Enterprise Plan: When Things Get Serious (and Above $16,000/Year)

There’s no pricing information on the Enterprise plan on the Hootsuite website. This omission is commonplace among social media management solutions.

Not providing an enterprise price is typically not to trick users but rather to be flexible to prospects’ specific needs. For example, one prospect may need a lot of users but not that many social profiles, or vice versa.

Being able to adapt your pricing structure is beneficial for both parties.

The cost of a Hootsuite Enterprise plan starts at $16,000 for 5+ users with approximately $1,800 per additional user. And the Hootsuite Enterprise is an annual commitment with no monthly payment options.

3. Hootsuite Costs Based on the Features You Need

Now that you know how much each plan will really cost you, let’s look at the important features a social media manager needs and what plan they are included on.

To do that, scroll down the Hootsuite pricing page a little and go to the side-by-side feature comparison section.

Customer support

We know, customer support is not a “feature.” But with social media teams working around the clock (all with varying levels of social media confidence), customers have come to expect fast and efficient customer support provided by helpful support agents.

In the past, Hootsuite has listed available support options in its side-by-side feature comparison. After the tool’s most recent pricing update, however, details about support options no longer appear in this breakdown.

The Enterprise plan mentions “Enterprise customer support” in the main list of features, but the pricing page doesn’t elaborate. The Hootsuite support page makes it even more confusing to understand the options available at each level.

How easy is it to get support on your Hootsuite plan?

The support page indicates that Advanced, Standard, and even Business (which no longer exists) subscribers can use the self-serve help center, send Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter) DMs, access chat support, or submit a request via email.

However, the Hootsuite support team is available only during business hours. With social media teams often working beyond business hours, this is an important consideration to keep in mind.

Also important to note is that the team provides full support in English only. If you need help in French or Spanish, email is your only option.

What’s particularly surprising about Hootsuite’s support options is that even Enterprise customers (remember, those who spend at least $16,000 per year) are stuck using the same support channels as above—if they have a standard Enterprise plan.

Premier Enterprise plan subscribers have one additional option: reach out to their account reps for help. This option implies that Premier Enterprise subscribers may be able to access support from human agents—but Hootsuite doesn’t clarify these details publicly.

Maybe that’s why Hootsuite support is rated so low compared to Agorapulse on G2:

Other advanced features

If you’re an agency, or if you’re managing an active social media presence across many different networks, there are certain features you would really benefit from. Yet many of them don’t come with the Hootsuite entry-level plans.

The features below are only available if you pay at least $16,000 upfront (Enterprise plan):

• ROI reporting and analysis
• Advanced analytics for social attribution
• Scheduled social listening reports
• Salesforce integration
• Advanced social inbox
• Employee advocacy features
• Single sign-on (SSO)
• Dedicated account manager

The features below are only available with an Advanced plan or higher:

• Content approval workflow
• Message approval workflow
• Content (visuals and videos) library
• Ability to tag outgoing posts to create campaign reports
• Automated moderation rules
• Audit log of team responses
• Saved replies

With Agorapulse, none of these features require an annual commitment. Most of these features are available from Agorapulse at a starting price of $199 per month without a need to commit to an annual subscription. (Unless you want to in which case your cost would be $149 per month.)

4. Who Is (and Isn’t) Hootsuite Ideal For?

Hootsuite is a worthwhile option if you’re in the market for a social media management tool.

The question here is not whether you should consider it, but rather what specific needs will remove it from the equation (or make it a bad “value for money” option).

Where Hootsuite pricing plans might not make sense for you

Based on how its pricing plans are built, and what features are available in each plan, Hootsuite might not be a good solution for you if you fall into these categories.

You have a large team

As mentioned earlier, Hootsuite’s per user pricing can add up if you have a large team, especially if you’re on a monthly plan.

So, if your team or agency has multiple people managing social and doing community management, or if your customer support team has agents answering questions on social media, you’re paying the big bucks.

A total of 4 users with a Sprout Social Professional plan would run you $1,296 per month.

Even more affordable (and scalable) is the Agorapulse Advanced plan at $149 per month or $1,788 per year.

You’re an agency

You need to manage all your clients’ social profiles with multiple team members, so all the above applies.

But even if you’re a small agency and could live with up to 5 social profiles (the limit for the Standard plan at $149 per user a month), you’re missing out on key features. Your next option for unlimited social accounts is $399 per user a month.

Most teams need to look at the Enterprise plan for features most agencies need, like:

• Automatic email reports sent to clients every week or every month
• Customizable reports with your own agency name and logo
• Labeling for incoming messages or comments to provide additional information to your clients about what their audience is talking about
• Report on team response time to customers’ questions so you can prove your value to your clients

All these features are available with Agorapulse’s Advanced plan, and its add-ons, saving you a substantial amount of money.

You have a very active social media presence

If you have a very active social media presence, you’ll most likely need the following features:

• Automated moderation rules. When you’re dealing with a high volume of incoming messages, this type of automation is a lifesaver for keeping your inbox and team organized.
• Saved replies. When your team has to provide the same answer, again and again, on different social media accounts, give them the tools to do that while staying sane and avoiding mistakes!
• Collision prevention. Make sure team members aren’t stepping on each other’s toes and duplicating efforts when responding to followers (especially across different social media channels).

Here again, the Agorapulse Advanced plan will require an initial investment of $149 for all these features instead of dealing with the inconvenience of Hootsuite.

You have very basic publishing needs

If you only need one user, have fewer than 10 social profiles to manage, and are only looking to publish content on social media (no need for social media engagement or listening), then Buffer is by far a better option. Buffer can take care of your needs for just $6 per month; the same will cost $99 per user a month with Hootsuite.

If you need to engage and listen across social media networks, Buffer can’t help you. You’ll need to purchase an additional tool.

You demand prompt, friendly, helpful customer support

According to almost 6,000 user reviews on G2, Hootsuite’s support gets the worst rating among the four largest social media management solutions:

It’s worth pointing out that Agorapulse gets the best rating. We take great pride in this rating as we’ve always heavily invested in our support team.

You care about innovation and product vision

Hootsuite gets very poor ratings from its user reviews. With almost 6,000 user reviews, actual users of Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, and Agorapulse think that Hootsuite is not improving its product or driving it in the right direction.

In other words, social media management software users think that Hootsuite software is not as innovative as they would expect it to be and is not headed in the direction they wish it to go.

In a world where social media platforms evolve weekly, you want your social media management software to stay at the forefront of innovation and experience constant improvement. You want the tool to work with for your social media strategy, not against it. Hootsuite’s 7.8 lags far behind the other industry-leading social media management tools.

Get started on saving time and energy on your own social media management! Book a free demo and see how we can help you schedule, track, and measure all your social media efforts.