Hootsuite and Publer sit at opposite ends of the pricing spectrum. Hootsuite is an enterprise platform starting at €149/month per user with social listening, a unified inbox, and advanced team workflows. Publer is a budget-friendly scheduling tool starting at just $5/month with a free plan, 13 platforms, and RSS automations. Whether you choose Hootsuite or Publer comes down to what you actually need — and what you're willing to pay.
On one end, a €149/month enterprise platform. On the other, a $12/month creator tool. The gap between Hootsuite and Publer is wider than most comparisons — and the right choice depends entirely on what you need. In this 2026 comparison, we break down pricing, features, and real user reviews to help you decide. Exploring other tools? See all social media scheduling alternatives.
Hootsuite vs Publer at a Glance
Here's a quick side-by-side overview before we dive deeper:
| Category | Hootsuite | Publer |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | €149/mo per user | $5/mo (1 account) |
| Free Plan | No (30-day trial) | Yes (3 accounts, limited) |
| Platforms Supported | 8+ | 13 |
| Unlimited Scheduling | Yes (all plans) | Yes (all paid plans) |
| AI Tools | OwlyWriter AI | AI Assist (Business only, GPT-4 + DALL-E 3) |
| Bulk Scheduling | Up to 350 posts (Advanced) | Yes (CSV upload) |
| Team Collaboration | Advanced plan (€399/mo/user) | Business plan (~$21/mo for 3 accounts) |
| Approval Workflows | Advanced plan only | Business plan only |
| Social Inbox | Full unified inbox | No |
| Social Listening | Yes (Advanced+) | No |
| Analytics | Standard to Custom reports | Business plan only |
| Competitor Analysis | Yes (5-20 competitors) | Business plan only |
| G2 Rating | 4.3/5 (6,615 reviews) | 4.7/5 (486 reviews) |
| Trustpilot Rating | 1.8/5 (511 reviews) | 4.8/5 (863 reviews) |
| Best For | Enterprises, large agencies | Budget-conscious creators, small businesses |
Hootsuite Overview
Hootsuite is one of the longest-running social media management platforms, founded in 2008. It offers scheduling, a unified social inbox, analytics, social listening, team collaboration, and paid ad management.
Hootsuite supports 8+ platforms: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads.
Key features:
- Unified inbox for messages, comments, and DMs
- OwlyWriter AI for caption and image generation
- Social listening and brand monitoring
- DM assignment and auto-responses
- Bulk scheduling up to 350 posts
- Employee advocacy tools (Amplify)
- Competitor benchmarking (5-20 competitors)
Hootsuite is built for mid-size teams and agencies that need social listening, structured workflows, and broad platform coverage. Read real user reviews of Hootsuite from G2 and Trustpilot.
Publer Overview
Publer is a budget-friendly social media scheduling tool designed for creators, freelancers, and small businesses. It focuses on affordable multi-platform publishing with a generous free plan and one of the widest platform selections available.
Publer supports 13 platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter (paid plans only), LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, YouTube, TikTok, WordPress, Telegram, Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky.
Key features:
- Bulk scheduling via CSV upload
- RSS feed automations
- AI Assist with GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 (Business only, unlimited)
- Canva and VistaCreate integration
- Watermark support
- Auto-scheduling
- Competitor analysis (Business only)
Publer targets budget-conscious users who need wide platform coverage and simple scheduling without paying enterprise prices. Read real user reviews of Publer from G2 and Trustpilot.
Pricing Comparison
This is where the gap becomes staggering. Hootsuite's per-user enterprise pricing vs Publer's per-account model creates one of the largest price differences in the social media tool space.
Hootsuite Pricing
Hootsuite uses per-user pricing in euros. See the full Hootsuite pricing breakdown for details.
| Plan | Price | Accounts | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | €149/mo per user | 10 | Scheduling, basic analytics, 7-day monitoring |
| Advanced | €399/mo per user | 50 | Custom reports, approval workflows, 30-day monitoring, bulk scheduling |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | SSO, unlimited users, dedicated support |
Example costs:
- 1 user on Standard = €149/month
- 3 users on Advanced = €1,197/month
- 5 users on Standard = €745/month
Publer Pricing
Publer uses per-account pricing that scales as you add social profiles. See the full Publer pricing breakdown for details.
| Plan | Price | Accounts | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 3 (no X/Twitter) | 10 pending posts per account, basic scheduling |
| Professional | From $5/mo (+$4/acct) | Scales | Unlimited scheduling, bulk scheduling, auto-scheduling |
| Business | From $10/mo (+$7/acct) | Scales | AI Assist (unlimited), analytics, competitor analysis, team features |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom integrations, dedicated support |
Example costs (3 accounts):
- Professional = ~$12/month
- Business = ~$21/month
Price Verdict
Publer is dramatically cheaper — roughly 7-12x less expensive. A single Hootsuite Standard seat costs €149/month. For that budget, you could run Publer's Business plan for over a year with 3 accounts. Even scaling Publer to 10 accounts on Business (~$70/month) is still less than half the price of one Hootsuite seat.
Publer also offers a genuine free plan with 3 accounts (though without X/Twitter), while Hootsuite only provides a 30-day trial.
The trade-off is real, though. Hootsuite's price includes social listening, a unified inbox, and enterprise-grade tools that Publer simply doesn't offer. See our list of the best social media schedulers for more tools across different price points.
Feature Comparison
Scheduling & Publishing
| Feature | Hootsuite | Publer |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited scheduling | Yes (all plans) | Yes (all paid plans) |
| Free plan scheduling | No free plan | 10 pending posts per account |
| Bulk scheduling | Up to 350 posts (Advanced) | Yes (CSV upload, all paid plans) |
| RSS automations | No | Yes |
| Best time to post | Yes | Yes (auto-scheduling) |
| Content calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-scheduling | No | Yes |
| Draft saving | Yes | Yes |
Winner: Publer — CSV bulk scheduling on all paid plans (not locked behind a €399/month tier), RSS automations for hands-off content, and auto-scheduling. Hootsuite's bulk scheduling is more powerful with up to 350 posts, but it requires the Advanced plan at €399/month per user. For more on streamlining your publishing workflow, see our guide on how to schedule social media posts.
AI Tools
| Feature | Hootsuite | Publer |
|---|---|---|
| AI caption generation | Yes (OwlyWriter AI) | Yes (AI Assist, Business only) |
| AI image generation | No | Yes (DALL-E 3, Business only) |
| AI model | Proprietary | GPT-4 + DALL-E 3 |
| AI usage limits | No limits | Unlimited (Business plan) |
| Available on | All plans | Business plan only (~$21/mo for 3 accts) |
Winner: Publer for capabilities — GPT-4 text plus DALL-E 3 image generation with unlimited usage on the Business plan. Hootsuite includes AI on all plans but lacks image generation. However, Publer locks AI behind the Business plan, so Professional users get no AI tools at all. Explore more options in our roundup of the best AI social media tools.
Analytics & Reporting
| Feature | Hootsuite | Publer |
|---|---|---|
| Basic analytics | All plans | Business plan only |
| Custom reports | Advanced only | No |
| Competitor analysis | Yes (5-20 competitors) | Business plan only |
| Scheduled reports | Advanced only | No |
| Analytics history | Standard | Business plan only |
Winner: Hootsuite — analytics on all plans, competitor benchmarking with 5-20 profiles, custom reports, and scheduled delivery. Publer locks all analytics behind the Business plan, and even then it offers no custom report generation. For a broader look at tracking performance, check out our guide to social media analytics tools.
Team Collaboration
| Feature | Hootsuite | Publer |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple users | All paid plans | Business plan |
| Approval workflows | Advanced plan | Business plan |
| User permissions | Advanced plan | Business plan |
| DM assignment | Yes | No |
| Saved replies | Advanced plan | No |
Winner: Hootsuite for large teams with DM assignment, saved replies, and granular permissions. Publer's Business plan includes basic team features, but at ~$21/month for 3 accounts it's vastly cheaper than Hootsuite's €399/month per user for comparable team tools.
Social Inbox & Engagement
| Feature | Hootsuite | Publer |
|---|---|---|
| Unified inbox | Yes (full) | No |
| Social listening | Yes (Advanced+) | No |
| Brand monitoring | Yes (7-30 day lookback) | No |
| Auto-responses | Advanced plan | No |
| Sentiment analysis | Yes | No |
Winner: Hootsuite — this is the biggest gap between the two tools. Publer has no social inbox, no social listening, and no brand monitoring at any price. If engagement management is important, Hootsuite is the only option here.
Platform Support
| Platform | Hootsuite | Publer |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| X/Twitter | Yes | Paid plans only |
| Yes | Yes | |
| TikTok | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Google Business | No | Yes |
| WordPress | No | Yes |
| Telegram | No | Yes |
| Mastodon | No | Yes |
| Bluesky | No | Yes |
Winner: Publer — 13 platforms vs 8+, including Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram, Mastodon, and Bluesky. Hootsuite lacks all five of these. The caveat is that Publer locks X/Twitter behind paid plans, so free users can't post to X. If Instagram is your priority, see our list of the best Instagram scheduling tools.
What Real Users Say
Hootsuite Reviews
G2: 4.3/5 (6,615 reviews) — Users value the centralized management and scheduling tools. Common complaints include expensive pricing, missing features on lower plans, posting issues, and slow customer support.
Trustpilot: 1.8/5 (511 reviews) — Low rating driven by billing issues, unexpected charges, difficult cancellation, and poor customer support.
Publer Reviews
G2: 4.7/5 (486 reviews) — Users highlight the affordable pricing, wide platform support, and intuitive interface. Publer scores well for ease of use and value for money across the board.
Trustpilot: 4.8/5 (863 reviews) — One of the highest Trustpilot ratings in the social media scheduling space. Users consistently praise responsive customer support, reliable scheduling, and fair pricing.
Review Verdict
Publer wins decisively on user satisfaction across both platforms. It scores higher on G2 (4.7 vs 4.3) and dramatically higher on Trustpilot (4.8 vs 1.8). The Trustpilot gap is the most striking difference in this entire comparison — Publer's 4.8/5 from 863 reviews vs Hootsuite's 1.8/5 from 511 reviews points to a fundamentally different customer experience. Review counts and ratings are as of February 2026 and are updated periodically.
Who Should Use Hootsuite?
If Hootsuite is on your shortlist, you may also want to see our top alternatives to Hootsuite before committing. You can also see how Hootsuite stacks up against Buffer, Sprout Social, Later, Metricool, Agorapulse, and SocialBee. For teams managing multiple clients, our guide to social media management for agencies is worth reviewing alongside this Hootsuite or Publer comparison.
Hootsuite is the better choice if you:
- Are an enterprise or large agency with dedicated social media teams
- Need a unified social inbox with DM assignment and auto-responses
- Require social listening and brand monitoring
- Want competitor benchmarking and custom analytics reports
- Need employee advocacy tools (Amplify)
- Have the budget for €149-€399+/month per user
- Need enterprise compliance features like SSO
Who Should Use Publer?
If Publer sounds right, check out our best alternatives to Publer for other options. You can also see how Publer compares to Buffer, Sprout Social, Later, Metricool, and SocialBee. If you're a solo creator or small business evaluating this Hootsuite vs Publer matchup, our social media management for small business guide can help you prioritize features.
Publer is the better choice if you:
- Are a creator, freelancer, or small business on a tight budget
- Need scheduling across 13 platforms including Bluesky, Mastodon, and WordPress
- Want bulk scheduling via CSV without paying €399/month
- Need RSS automations for hands-off content publishing
- Want AI image generation (DALL-E 3) at an affordable price
- Need a free plan to get started
- Don't need social listening, a social inbox, or enterprise team workflows
Final Verdict
Hootsuite is the better choice if you're an enterprise or large agency that needs a unified social inbox, social listening with sentiment analysis, DM automations, and structured team workflows — and you have the budget for €149-€399+ per user per month.
Publer is the better choice if you're a creator, freelancer, or small business that needs affordable multi-platform scheduling across 13 networks, RSS automations, and AI image generation without enterprise-level pricing.
For most small to mid-size teams, Publer offers far better value with its dramatically lower pricing and wider platform support. If neither tool fully meets your needs, PostPlanify offers team collaboration, approval workflows, and AI tools at a flat $19-99/month with no per-user fees — see how it compares.
The Sweet Spot Between Enterprise and Budget
Hootsuite has the features but charges enterprise prices. Publer has the price but lacks team workflows and approval features. PostPlanify bridges that gap — team collaboration, approval workflows, AI tools, and unlimited scheduling at $19-99/month flat. No per-user fees from Hootsuite. No feature gaps from Publer.
| Feature | Hootsuite | Publer | PostPlanify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | €149/mo/user | $5/mo | $19/mo flat |
| Free Plan | No | Yes (limited) | Free trial |
| Unlimited Scheduling | All plans | All paid plans | All paid plans |
| AI Caption Generation | Yes | Business only | Yes (unlimited) |
| AI Image Generation | No | Business only (DALL-E 3) | Yes |
| Canva Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Drive Import | No | No | Yes |
| Analytics | All plans | Business only | All paid plans |
| Approval Workflows | €399/mo/user | ~$21/mo (Business) | $99/mo (Premium) |
| Unlimited Team Members | Enterprise only | Business plan | $99/mo (Premium) |
| Platforms Supported | 8+ | 13 | 9 |
PostPlanify starts at $19/month for 3 accounts with unlimited scheduling and AI tools included. The Premium plan at $99/month includes unlimited accounts, unlimited team members, approval workflows, and analytics. See all plans on the PostPlanify pricing page.
Find your sweet spot — try PostPlanify free
FAQ
Is Publer cheaper than Hootsuite?
Yes, by a massive margin. Publer starts at $5/month (Professional, 1 account) with a free plan available. Hootsuite starts at €149/month per user with no free plan. Even Publer's Business plan with 3 accounts (~$21/month) costs roughly 7x less than a single Hootsuite Standard seat. The price gap is one of the largest between any two social media scheduling tools.
Does Publer have a free plan?
Yes. Publer's free plan includes 3 social accounts (no X/Twitter), 10 pending posts per account, and basic scheduling features. Hootsuite discontinued its free plan and only offers a 30-day trial. Publer's free tier is a good way to test the platform before upgrading, though you'll need a paid plan to access X/Twitter posting, AI tools, and analytics. For creators just starting out, it's one of the more generous free options in the scheduling space.
Which has better analytics — Hootsuite or Publer?
Hootsuite has significantly better analytics. It includes analytics on all plans, offers competitor benchmarking (5-20 profiles), custom reports, and scheduled report delivery. Publer locks all analytics and competitor analysis behind the Business plan, and even then doesn't offer custom report generation.
Does Publer have a social inbox?
No. Publer does not offer a social inbox, social listening, or brand monitoring at any price tier. This is the single largest feature gap between Publer and Hootsuite. If managing comments, DMs, and mentions from a single dashboard is important to your workflow, Hootsuite is the better choice. Alternatively, consider a tool like PostPlanify that offers engagement features at a lower price point without the enterprise overhead.
Which supports more social media platforms?
Publer supports 13 platforms — significantly more than Hootsuite's 8+. Publer uniquely supports Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram, Mastodon, and Bluesky. However, X/Twitter is only available on Publer's paid plans, not the free tier.
Can I switch from Hootsuite to Publer?
Yes. You can reconnect your social accounts to Publer and start scheduling immediately. The main trade-offs are losing the unified social inbox, social listening, brand monitoring, and enterprise team features. You'll gain wider platform support, RSS automations, CSV bulk scheduling, and significant cost savings.
Is Publer good for teams?
Publer's Business plan includes team collaboration features starting at ~$21/month for 3 accounts — far cheaper than Hootsuite's team features at €399/month per user. However, Publer lacks DM assignment, saved replies, and the granular permissions that large teams need. For small teams on a budget, Publer works well. For larger teams, consider Hootsuite or PostPlanify as alternatives.
Which is easier to use — Hootsuite or Publer?
Publer is generally considered easier to use, reflected in its 4.7/5 G2 rating (vs Hootsuite's 4.3/5) and 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating (vs Hootsuite's 1.8/5). Its simpler interface and focused feature set make onboarding faster. Hootsuite has a steeper learning curve due to its broader enterprise feature set.
Is Hootsuite worth it in 2026?
Hootsuite can be worth it for large enterprises and agencies that actively use its social listening, unified inbox, sentiment analysis, DM automations, and compliance tools. However, at €149-€399+ per user per month, the cost adds up quickly for small and mid-size teams. Many users find that more affordable tools like Publer or PostPlanify cover their core scheduling and collaboration needs at a fraction of the price. Evaluate whether the enterprise features justify the premium before committing.
What is the best alternative to Publer?
The best Publer alternative depends on what you need beyond basic scheduling. If you want team collaboration and approval workflows at a similar price point, PostPlanify starts at $19/month with unlimited scheduling and AI tools. If you need enterprise features like social listening and a unified inbox, Hootsuite or Agorapulse are stronger options — though at significantly higher prices. See our full list of Publer alternatives for more options.
Does Publer offer a free trial?
Yes. Publer offers a 7-day free trial on its paid plans so you can test premium features like unlimited scheduling, AI Assist, and analytics before committing. Publer also has a permanent free plan with 3 social accounts and 10 pending posts per account. Hootsuite offers a longer 30-day trial but has no free plan. If you want to test multiple tools side by side, both Publer and PostPlanify offer free trials to help you compare.
