Overview
What Is Hootsuite Used For?
Hootsuite is a complete social media marketing tool that integrates scheduling & publishing, content curation, audience insights as well as post-performance data, and so much more.
Since the dawn of social media management, Hootsuite has been a household name. Being one of the first of its kind in the market, it has built itself to be a dynamic tool with an assortment of features any social media marketer, agency, or business would ever need.
When using Hootsuite, the hassle of managing multiple social media accounts, groups, and pages on different platforms is eliminated. Since you can handle it all from one integrated dashboard of Hootsuite, switching to native platforms is hardly required.
Hootsuite also helps manage and monitor social media messages, reviews, and comments in real-time so you can proactively engage with your audience. Streams are a part of Hootsuite’s dashboard, where you can keep track of all your social pages.
What Is Buffer Used For?
Buffer is a multi-purpose social media management tool, empowering solopreneurs and marketing agencies. It helps automate their content scheduling, providing audience insights and content-performance analytics and streamlining the collaborative workflow of social media teams to function smoothly together.
Buffer supports multitudes of social media platforms, meaning you can schedule and publish posts for Facebook, Google Business, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, and Shopify, all from the tool’s dashboard without going to the native platforms. Buffer is one of the first tools to integrate with the brand-new social platform Mastodon.
The tool has four types of subscriptions, one of which is a free plan with limited capabilities. The advanced features are available under paid subscriptions only.
One of the unique capabilities of Buffer is the Start Page builder. It enables you to build a landing page from the tool and share the link on your social media. This page helps you showcase your brand and its offerings to your target audience, which is easier than creating a whole website.
Best Suitable for
Hootsuite
Start with $149
Professional Teams, Small business, Enterprises
Buffer
Start with $60
Freelancer, Small Business, Agency
SocialPilot
Start with $30
SMBs, Agencies, Multi-Location Brands
At a Glance
According to user reviews for both tools, Buffer turns out to be the more liked, with a higher overall rating than Hootsuite.
It is a well-known fact that Hootsuite is a more complicated tool to learn than its alternatives. So Buffer scores much higher when it comes to ease of use. The same goes for the set-up process. For the quality of customer support, Hootsuite is closer to Buffer but still scores lower.
However, if we compare Buffer and Hootsuite and put SocialPilot into the mix, SocialPilot comes out with the best scores. That may be the reason why it is such a well-liked tool by the social media marketing community.
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Hootsuite |
Buffer |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Reviews | 3781 | 962 | 741 |
| Overall Star Rating | |||
| Ease of Use | |||
| Quality of Support | |||
| Ease of Setup | |||
| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
Quick Comparison
After seeing what the users think of these two tools, let us do a quick study of all the critical facts you must know before making your choice.
If we take one look at the prices, Hootsuite is a much more costly tool than Buffer. However, the latter charges users for each social account they connect, which might take a toll on expenses in the long run. Keeping a cap on the costs is possible if you go with an excellent Buffer alternative like SocialPilot. It proves to be a much more economical option.
Hootsuite allows a team of 5, but with Buffer, you can have unlimited team members, which makes it stronger than other Buffer alternatives. Also, they support all the major platforms except Youtube and Whatsapp, which are integrated into Hootsuite but not Buffer.
Note: Despite being at a much lower price point, SocialPilot comes across as an accomplished tool, with multiple avenues available for customer support. Also, considering the international users, the tool is available in various languages, which both Hootsuite and Buffer lack.
Have a look at the features by comparing Hootsuite vs Buffer, along with SocialPilot, to get a clearer view.
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Hootsuite |
Buffer |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Can't Miss to Compare | |||
| Minimum Pricing | $149/Month | $60/Month | $30/Month |
| Number of Accounts | 35 | 10 | 10 |
| Number of Team Members | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Number of Posts that Can Be Scheduled | Unlimited | 2000 | Unlimited |
| Core Capabilities | |||
| Scheduling & Publishing |
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| Analytics |
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| Inbox |
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| Collaboration |
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| Competitor Tracking |
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| Whitelabel |
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| Localization | English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | English & Spanish | German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Support | Email, Chat, Tweet for Support | FAQs, How-To-Guides, Video Tutorials, Social Media Support & Email Support | Email, Chat, Social Media, Phone |
| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial | |
Reviews
Positive
- Hootsuite has an analytics section that allows one to customize how the report looks and has multiple analytical reports for each platform which can be shared with anyone.
- Hootsuite is a social publishing tool that is the most user-friendly for any platform, and it makes you feel as if you are making the post on the platform itself.
- Hootsuite has a feature that helps you import and schedule reports on a weekly and monthly basis. These reports can be customized as well.
Negative
- Hootsuite doesn't provide competitor analysis to keep track of one’s own performance with respect to competitors. This can make it more challenging to gauge one’s standing in the market and make informed decisions for future strategy.
- Though Hootsuite provides a tagging option so that you can tag content, placing it in a specific category. Content that has already been posted can not be tagged. So, if you forget to tag content before it's published, that campaign's insights will be incorrect.
- Sometimes the social profiles get occasionally disconnected from the platform, and it is difficult to reconnect the profiles.
Positive
- Buffer offers valuable insights into the performance and engagement of each individual post, allowing users to optimize their content strategies and measure their success.
- The cost-effective pricing of Buffer makes it accessible to a diverse group of users, regardless of their budget.
- With Buffer, users have the ability to monitor and analyze customer responses from multiple social media platforms in a single, centralized location, facilitating a better understanding of their audience.
Negative
- A feature lacking in Buffer is a quick chat support option, which would be helpful for users seeking immediate assistance with an issue and were unable to find the answer in the help center.
- Buffer currently only supports traditional social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest but does not yet include newly emerging and famous platforms like Parler, Gettr, and MeWe.
- Buffer lacks aesthetic appearance, as its whole interface is very monochromatic. Some basic design changes and perhaps a dash of color is needed to make the user experience better.
Positive
- SocialPilot allows users and clients to collaborate efficiently and save a great deal of time managing social networks.
- You can prevent delays and ensure that everything gets published according to schedule. As a result, with SocialPilot, your consistency on social networks remains uninterrupted.
- SocialPilot offers multiple features at a very affordable price. Different pricing plans make it an excellent choice even for small businesses. And it can upgrade the plans anytime as per requirement.
Negative
- Users can post directly using their Instagram business account, but they will get mobile reminders in case of a personal account. This is a common issue on all social media management platforms since there is no available API for Instagram personal accounts.
- Users have reported that accounts may occasionally become disconnected, resulting in failed scheduled posts. However, it is a simple process to reconnect the account and reschedule the post, as all posts get saved.
- One disadvantage of SocialPilot not offering a social listening feature is that it may not be the best choice for businesses or individuals who require comprehensive social media monitoring and analysis.
Pricing
In this section, we will take a better look at the pricing plans, be it Hootsuite or Buffer, to determine which of them offers more cost-effective social media marketing solutions.
Both tools have four different functional subscription models, but only Buffer has a free plan. For its business plan, Hootsuite costs $739 per month and lets you connect 35 social accounts and schedule unlimited posts. Buffer, on the other hand, with its agency plan coming at only $120 per month, lets you connect only 10 social accounts and publish up to 2000. However, you can add extra accounts at the cost of $6 each.
If we weigh in SocialPilot, which is considered to be a strong Hootsuite alternative, it allows users to connect up to 30 social accounts at just $100, which is just a tiny fraction of what Hootsuite costs for 35 accounts!
Note: Taking a look at SocialPilot’s pricing, it charges a fraction of what Buffer and Hootsuite are while matching them feature for feature. This makes SocialPilot a more cost-effective choice to go with.
Now let’s compare each pricing plan, Hootsuite vs Buffer, along with SocialPilot to get a clearer picture of what is most suitable for you.
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Hootsuite |
Buffer |
SocialPilot |
|---|---|---|
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Professional
$149/per month
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Free
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Professional
$30/per month
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Small Team
$399/per month
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Essential
$6/per channel
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Small Team
$50/per month
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Enterprise
Custom
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Team
$12/per channel
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Agency
$100/per month
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Agency
$120/per channel
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Agency+
$200/per month
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30 Days Free Trial
Credit Card Required
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14 Days Free Trial
No Credit Card Required
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14 Days Free Trial
No Credit Card Required
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| Learn More | Learn More | Start Your free Trial |
In-depth Scheduling and Publishing Capabilities Comparison
Scheduling and publishing are the primary features on which we determine the efficiency of any social media management tool. Hence, we cannot skip comapring each aspect of these features for Buffer and Hootsuite.
Now, both the tools have strong scheduling and publishing capabilities to match each other, but there are some disparities we’ll point out.
However, both tools do not let users schedule Facebook reels and Youtube shorts. Also, neither of them has the feature of first comment scheduling for Facebook and LinkedIn, which users have started to use actively with other tools.
Note: SocialPilot has some commendable content scheduling features which have been found lacking in top players like Hootsuite and Buffer. This includes Facebook Reels and Instagram Shorts scheduling, as well as first comment scheduling along with posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Take a look at all the scheduling and publishing features when we compare Buffer vs Hootsuite, along with SocialPilot, for a clearer picture.
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Hootsuite |
Buffer |
SocialPilot |
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| Smart & Advanced Queueing |
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| Customize Post for Each Platform |
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| Post Preview |
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| Canva Integration |
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| Unsplash Integration |
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| Slack Integration |
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| URL Shortener |
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| Visual Post Support (Image, Video, GIF) |
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| UTM Parameters |
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| Cloud Storage |
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| Hashtag Suggestions |
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| Advance Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Save Draft Posts |
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| AI Assistant |
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| Watermark on Images |
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| Bulk Scheduling |
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| Content Curation |
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| Auto publishing from RSS |
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| Social media calendar |
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| Mobile App |
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| Browser Extension |
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| Advance Facebook Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Reel Scheduling |
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| Support Album Posts |
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| Support Carousel Posts |
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| Alternate Text on Image |
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| Support Facebook First Comment |
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| Audience Targeting |
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| Boost Post Scheduling |
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| Support Mention and Hashtags |
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| Advance Twitter Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Location Tagging |
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| Support Mention and Hashtags |
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| Support Multiple Image Posts |
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| Threads Scheduling |
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| Advance Instagram Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Reel Scheduling |
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| Story Scheduling |
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| Tag Profiles on Images |
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| Location Tagging |
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| Support Instagram First Comment |
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| Instagram Grid |
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| Advance LinkedIn Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Audience Targeting |
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| Support LinkedIn First Comment |
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| Advance YouTube Publishing Capabilities | |||
| #shorts Scheduling |
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| Mention of Other Youtube Accounts |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial | |
In-depth Analytics Capability Comparison
Analytical capabilities are the backbone of any social media management tool. It is essential that we verify this aspect to make a thorough comparison of Buffer and Hootsuite.
It seems like the pair is evenly matched for possessing all the preliminary analytics features. But Buffer is somewhat lagging regarding the reporting aspect of analytics. The ability to email PDF reports or schedule them to be later shared with team members and clients is missing from Buffer’s repertoire.
Following is a comparative chart of the analytics capabilities of Hootsuite vs Buffer, along with SocialPilot.
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Hootsuite |
Buffer |
SocialPilot |
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| Whitelabel Downloadable Report in PDF Format |
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| Email PDF Report to Client |
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| Auto Schedule Report with Team and Client |
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| Custom Report Builder |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
In-depth Inbox/Listening Capability Comparison
Social listening is vital for gauging the opinions of your target audience. Doing so would help you take steps in the right direction to build your brand image.
When you go through specifics, you will see that compared to Hootsuite, Buffer has little to boast about regarding social listening.
Note: It is interesting that with SocialPilot’s social inbox, you can comment on a visitor’s post on your page, but this is not possible with Hootsuite or Buffer.
Understand all about the listening capabilities by comparing Buffer vs Hootsuite, along with SocialPilot.
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Hootsuite |
Buffer |
SocialPilot |
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| Can Reply Message |
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| Can Reply Questions and Reviews |
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| Can Reply on Visitor Posts |
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| Real-Time Social Listening |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
In-depth Social Media Collaboration Capability Comparison
When marketing agencies or businesses use social media management tools, multiple people work on it. Hence the tool needs to enable multiple team members to work together collaboratively. Also, clients should be able to get involved in the flow of social media activities.
Hootsuite and Buffer both have efficient team workflows, so all the members can be onboarded and work in sync together. Account admins can give selective access and assign roles to each member. Content approval makes the back-and-forth communication between the team and clients quick and easy, making publishing content more efficient.
In the Hootsuite vs Buffer table below, you can go through each capability regarding team collaboration, along with SocialPilot.
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Hootsuite |
Buffer |
SocialPilot |
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| Free Unlimited Client Onboarding |
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| Per Post Multi-User Collaboration |
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| Access Management |
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| Content Approval Workflow |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
