Zoho Social vs Hootsuite: A Detailed Comparison

Zoho Social vs Hootsuite: A Detailed Comparison

Zoho Social vs Hootsuite

Overview

With Zoho Social, users can schedule and publish posts, engage with their audience, track performance, and collaborate with team members. It also includes features for social listening, which allows you to monitor conversations and mentions of your brand on social media and analyze your competitors’ social media strategies.

Zoho Social offers a variety of plans, including a free plan for individual users and a range of paid plans for businesses with more advanced features. The tool is designed to help businesses of all sizes and industries to effectively manage their social media presence and grow their online audience.

Hootsuite is a versatile tool that automates and streamlines all your social media marketing efforts. It simplifies the task of social media management and saves a lot of time that you would otherwise invest in performing monotonous routine tasks.

Hootsuite helps you to create content strategies, schedule your content for posting on multiple platforms, monitor its performance, and offer in-depth analytics to conclude the results of your social media marketing efforts. It even allows users to onboard their clients and team members to work in a collaborative environment.

Hootsuite lets you handle multiple accounts from a centralized place. With it, you can manage Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube accounts all from a single dashboard. The user interface of Hootsuite is a bit complex, but once you get the hang of it, it can be a really powerful tool.

Best Suitable for

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Start with $15

Freelancers, Startup Agencies, Growing Agencies

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

Start with $149

Professional Teams, Small business, Enterprises

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Start with $30

SMBs, Agencies, Multi-Location Brands

At a Glance

Both Zoho Social and Hootsuite offer almost the same set of features on the surface level. However, if we deeply compare the two, Hootsuite offers a more comprehensive set of features. It offers support for more social media platforms along with advanced scheduling, reporting, and team collaboration features.

Zoho Social, on the other hand, offers more affordable pricing options along with some unique features, such as SmartQ for scheduling and a CRM tool for lead generation. So, in the end, your final choice will depend on your specific needs and budget preferences.

Note: There is no denying the fact that SocialPilot is one of the best alternatives to Hootsuite and Zoho social for its affordability, customer support, and ease of use.

To make this comparison evident, let’s take a look at how users have rated these tools along with SocialPilot.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Number of Reviews 2392 3781 741
Overall Star Rating
Ease of Use
Quality of Support
Ease of Setup
Learn More Learn More 14 Days Trial

Quick Comparison

Making a choice between two similar tools used for the same purpose is tricky. However, there are a few differences between these tools that can help you decide better.

Hootsuite is more of a feature-rich platform that offers more robust analytics and reporting. Hootsuite also offers a wider range of social media integrations. Zoho Social, on the other hand, focuses more on collaboration and team management features, with tools for assigning tasks and tracking team performance.

Hootsuite has a little intimidating UI compared to Zoho Social, which can take some time to learn. Zoho Social’s interface is more intuitive and user-friendly, making it a better option for businesses that are new to social media management.

Although Hootsuite has much more to offer, it still lags in offering support for multiple languages. On the contrary, Zoho Social offers support for multiple languages, including German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

If you compare these two tools in terms of customer support, Hootsuite only offers Email, Chat, and Tweet for Support, whereas Zoho Social offers Email support, FAQs, Blog, Webinars, Product Guide, and Forum for its customers.

Overall, both Zoho Social and Hootsuite are powerful social media management tools, but they have different strengths and weaknesses. Hootsuite is a better choice for businesses that need advanced analytics and reporting features, while Zoho Social is a good option for businesses that prioritize collaboration and team management.

Note: Both these tools offer a fair share of advantages, but if you want a tool that stands out in every aspect, SoicalPilot is your pick. SocialPilot is a Hootsuite alternative that offers dedicated support and localization capabilities at a much more affordable price point.

To help you get a clear picture is a direct comparison of Hootsuite vs Zoho Social along with SocialPilot.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Can't Miss to Compare
Minimum Pricing $15/Month $149/Month $30/Month
Number of Accounts 100 35 10
Number of Team Members 5 5 2
Number of Posts that Can Be Scheduled 350 Unlimited Unlimited
Core Capabilities
Scheduling & Publishing check check check
Analytics check check check
Inbox check check check
Collaboration check check check
Competitor Tracking check check check
Whitelabel check check check
Localization German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Support Email, FAQs, Webinars, Product Guide, Forum Email, Chat, Tweet for Support Email, Chat, Social Media, Phone
Learn More Learn More 14 Days Trial

Reviews

Positive

  • With Hootsuite, you can effortlessly manage and schedule posts on multiple social networks in one place, saving your time and increasing your social media productivity.
  • It has a 30-days free trial for marketers who are getting started and also has a Hootsuite academy that provides all resources about social media management.
  • Hootsuite has a content approval workflow through which you can share your post with editors, managers, and clients to get approval for the post.

Negative

  • While Hootsuite does offer Instagram Business functionality, it does have some limitations, such as needing to open the app in order to complete certain actions. This may cause inconvenience for some users.
  • Sometimes the social profiles get occasionally disconnected from the platform, and it is difficult to reconnect the profiles.
  • While using Hootsuite for posting images on Facebook and Instagram, there can be instances where non-square images may get cut off, leading to a loss of visual impact. This is a limitation of Hootsuite is a factor to consider when scheduling your posts.

Positive

  • The feature of brand profiles inside Zoho Social enables you to easily switch between different accounts, keeping your content organized and helping you to better manage each brand's unique presence on social media.
  • Zoho Social's seamless integrations enable users to edit creatives using tools like Canva. This feature makes it easy to create eye-catching graphics and designs.
  • You can quickly review and plan content for multiple social networks using Zoho Social, thanks to its intuitive interface and streamlined workflow.

Negative

  • Most advanced features and services in Zoho Social are only available to users who pay for a subscription or access a paywall, limiting the functionality and value for free users.
  • The lack of a preview feature in Zoho Social can be a drawback for users who value visual consistency and may want to make minor tweaks to social media posts before publishing to ensure optimal appearance and messaging.
  • Zoho Social sometimes faces issues with account linking, which prevents some users from fully utilizing certain features or services.

Positive

  • You can upload and schedule up to 500 posts at once using SocialPilot through its handy bulk import feature. These can be link posts, text, or even image posts to any of the platforms which SocialPilot supports.
  • 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.
  • SocialPilot's tech support is excellent. Whether the user is facing a technical issue or has a general query, the team is quick to respond and help out.

Negative

  • Although the Bitly integration is convenient, you'd like to see all these features built natively within SocialPilot or have automated workflows that create UTM links for all campaigns and other variables.
  • 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.
  • Users have expressed a desire for more information on setting up accounts and configurations for approvals. Some have struggled with this aspect and had to face challenges in figuring it out.

Pricing

Both Hootsuite and Zoho Social have been fairly priced depending on their features and popularity. Hootsuite offers four pricing plans for its professional, team, business, and enterprise-level customers. On the other hand, Zoho Social offers a total of five plans for its business and agency-level customers.

Hootsuite offers plans starting at $19 per month compared to Zoho Social, which starts at $10 per month. Hootsuite also offers more advanced plans with more features, which may be worth the extra cost for larger businesses.

However, Hootsuite may come across as an expensive option with a monthly charge of $739 for its business pack. Zoho Social nails its pricing game with a price of $338 per month for its agency customers.

Note: Zoho Social charges less than Hootsuite, but it is still more expensive compared to SocialPilot, which charges way less than the two and offers the same level of features.

Follow the table below to learn why SocialPilot is a better alternatives to Zoho Social or Hootsuite.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Business - Standard
$15/per month
Professional
$149/per month
Professional
$30/per month
Business - Professional
$40/per month
Small Team
$399/per month
Small Team
$50/per month
Business - Premium
$65/per month
Enterprise
Custom
Agency
$100/per month
Agency
$320/per month
-
Agency+
$200/per month
Agency plus
$460/per month
- -
15 Days Free Trial
Credit Card Required
30 Days Free Trial
Credit Card Required
14 Days Free Trial
No Credit Card Required
Learn More Learn More Start Your free Trial

In-depth Scheduling and Publishing Capabilities Comparison

Scheduling and publishing are fundamental aspects of any social media management tool. In this section, let’s compare the scheduling and publishing capabilities of Zoho Social and Hootsuite.

Both tools offer post customization, personalization, and URL shortening capabilities. However, Zoho Social falls short of not offering post preview capabilities and hashtag suggestions.

If we compare the two in terms of app integrations, Hootsuite takes the leap as it allows more than 40 app integrations which is way more than Zoho Social.

Note: If you need a tool that offers all the scheduling and publishing capabilities, SocialPilot can be your pick. It also allows post-reviews and enables you to integrate a URL shortener for creating custom URLs and tracking their performance.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of Hootsuite vs Zoho Social, along with SocialPilot, to help you make the right choice.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Smart & Advanced Queueing check check check
Customize Post for Each Platform check check check
Post Preview check check check
Canva Integration check check check
Unsplash Integration check check check
Slack Integration check check check
URL Shortener check check check
Visual Post Support (Image, Video, GIF) check check check
UTM Parameters check check check
Cloud Storage check check check
Hashtag Suggestions check check check
Advance Publishing Capabilities
Save Draft Posts check check check
AI Assistant check check check
Watermark on Images check check check
Bulk Scheduling check check check
Content Curation check check check
Auto publishing from RSS check check check
Social media calendar check check check
Mobile App check check check
Browser Extension check check check
Advance Facebook Publishing Capabilities
Reel Scheduling check check check
Support Album Posts check check check
Support Carousel Posts check check check
Alternate Text on Image check check check
Support Facebook First Comment check check check
Audience Targeting check check check
Boost Post Scheduling check check check
Support Mention and Hashtags check check check
Advance Twitter Publishing Capabilities
Location Tagging check check check
Support Mention and Hashtags check check check
Support Multiple Image Posts check check check
Threads Scheduling check check check
Advance Instagram Publishing Capabilities
Reel Scheduling check check check
Story Scheduling check check check
Tag Profiles on Images check check check
Location Tagging check check check
Support Instagram First Comment check check check
Instagram Grid check check check
Advance LinkedIn Publishing Capabilities
Audience Targeting check check check
Support LinkedIn First Comment check check check
Advance YouTube Publishing Capabilities
#shorts Scheduling check check check
Mention of Other Youtube Accounts check check check
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In-depth Analytics Capability Comparison

Insights from social media analytics help you track the performance of your campaigns. It also helps you to come up with an action plan for your future marketing efforts. If we compare Zoho Social and Hootsuite, there isn’t much difference in their analytical capabilities.

Both tools offer powerful analytics for stories, posts, and reels. You can also generate whilelabel reports and download them in PDF format or simply schedule reports with your clients.

Let’s take a look at the comparative chart below to learn about all the analytics capabilities of Hootsuite and Zoho Social, along with SocialPilot.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Whitelabel Downloadable Report in PDF Format check check check
Email PDF Report to Client check check check
Auto Schedule Report with Team and Client check check check
Custom Report Builder check check check
Learn More Learn More 14 Days Trial

In-depth Inbox/Listening Capability Comparison

Both Hootsuite or Zoho Social are capable of effectively managing social conversations through their social inbox. Although Hootsuite doesn’t allow you to reply to visitors’ posts, unlike Zoho Social, it does offer a fair share of inbox and listening capabilities.

Follow the comparison table below to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the listening capabilities of Hootsuite and Sprout Social along with SocialPilot.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Can Reply Message check check check
Can Reply Questions and Reviews check check check
Can Reply on Visitor Posts check check check
Real-Time Social Listening check check check
Learn More Learn More 14 Days Trial

In-depth Social Media Collaboration Capability Comparison

Collaboration efficiency is a vital aspect of any social media management tool. Collaboration capability is crucial for teams to streamline processes, centralize communication, and work in a collaborative environment to increase efficiency.

If you compare them, both tools allow unlimited client onboarding and offer team workflow capabilities for their respective pricing plans. Herein is a detailed comparison of all their collaboration capabilities.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

SocialPilot

Free Unlimited Client Onboarding check check check
Per Post Multi-User Collaboration check check check
Access Management check check check
Content Approval Workflow check check check
Learn More Learn More 14 Days Trial

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better Zoho Social or Hootsuite?

Hootsuite and Zoho Social are both social media management tools that allow you to schedule, publish, analyze, and monitor your social media activities. Hootsuite provides a large library of third-party integrations and extensions.

On the other hand, Zoho Social offers all the basic social media management features. It is part of a larger suite offered by Zoho Corporation designed to seamlessly integrate

with other Zoho applications, which can be an advantage for businesses already using Zoho's other tools.

Is Hootsuite a CRM tool?

Hootsuite is primarily a social media management tool, not a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. While Hootsuite does have some basic CRM-like features, such as the ability to manage customer interactions and track social media conversations, it is not a full-fledged CRM solution.

What is Zoho Social used for?

Zoho Social is an all-in-one social media management which allows you to manage multiple social media accounts in one place, making it easier to monitor and publish content across different platforms. It also allows you to collaboration, allows advanced scheduling and automation and allows integration with other Zoho tools.

What are the limitations of Hootsuite?

The biggest limitation of Hootsuite is that you will need to adopt a paid plan to use most of its features. Another limitation is the high pricing which makes it an unaffordable option for most users.

Is Hootsuite best for social media management?

Hootsuite is one of the most popular tools for social media management but it is not the best one given its pricing plans that are really expensive. There are other good options like SocialPilot that offer all the social media management features like Hootsuite but at fairly less prices.

About the Author

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Jimit Bagadiya

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