Hootsuite pricing: Standard $99/user/mo (annual; 10 social accounts). Free plan: no — 14-day free trial. Rated 4.3/5 on G2 (7,452 reviews). Each figure links to the comparison it was verified in.
Only if you need a per-post approval trail inside the tool, because approvals arrive on Advanced at $399 per user/mo, against $99/user/mo for Standard (annual, 10 social accounts).
Professional at $199 sits in between and lifts you to unlimited social accounts, and every tier is priced per user. Here's the judgment call. Plenty of teams get sign-off by reviewing next week's content calendar in one meeting, which costs nothing and works until post volume grows or a regulator or client wants proof of who approved each post. Once you need that audit trail, pay for it; before then, a weekly review is enough. Start the 14-day free trial on Standard, which already includes an inbox, basic listening and ads, and move up only when the approval trail becomes a requirement rather than a preference.
My read of the verified data on this page, checked against vendor sources on September 19, 2026. Disagree or spot an error? Tell Bill
Every row was recorded on a HelpCompare comparison page. The Source column links to the page it was verified on and the date it was last checked.
| Attribute | Value | Source & date |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Standard $99/user/mo (annual; 10 social accounts) | hootsuite-vs-buffer |
| Free plan | No — 14-day free trial | hootsuite-vs-buffer |
| Plans (annual) | Standard $99, Professional $199, Advanced $399 per user/mo | hootsuite-vs-buffer |
| Social accounts | 10 on Standard; unlimited from Professional | hootsuite-vs-buffer |
| Approvals | Advanced | hootsuite-vs-buffer |
| Included | Inbox, basic listening and ads on all plans | hootsuite-vs-buffer |
Compliance reports, sign-in controls, offline access and the setup details that matter for remote, hybrid and in-office teams. Each value links to the vendor page it came from. Hootsuite’s own security documentation: trustcenter.hootsuite.com. Scope: Hootsuite Social OS (web + mobile). Lumen by Talkwalker listening has its own hosting.
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