Buffer vs Hootsuite
Buffer is a clean scheduler priced per channel, for a small team that posts without asking anyone's permission. Hootsuite is the long-standing suite built around roles, approval chains and audit trails, at a price to match. The question that separates them is simple: does somebody have to approve a post before it goes live?
Niels AbrahamsenAnalyst, Security & Infrastructure
Elena Marchetti
Sebastiaan SmitsVendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose Buffer ifa handful of people run many accounts, nobody needs to sign off on posts, and you want a tool that a new colleague can use on day one.
Choose Hootsuite ifposts must be reviewed before publishing, you need roles and an audit trail that a compliance team will accept, and you are prepared to pay for that structure.
Buffer and Hootsuite side by side
| Buffer | Hootsuite | |
|---|---|---|
| Our social media management rank | #2 of 16 | #12 of 16 |
| Established in | United States | Canada |
| Pricing | Free tier; paid per channel per month, published | Per user per month, published; from $99 on annual billing |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A small team with many channels and no approval process | A team where posts need sign-off before they go out |
| Not for | An agency with clients who must approve every post | One person scheduling a few posts a week |
Both are reviewed in full in our social media management ranking: Buffer and Hootsuite.
Where they differ
Buffer 2 · Hootsuite 1 · open 1- 01
Approval and governance
Hootsuite offers roles, approval chains and audit trails and is the most complete choice in the category when posts need sign-off. Buffer has no real approval workflow, which is exactly why it is a poor fit for an agency whose clients must see every post. If review is part of your process, this round settles the comparison.
Edge: Hootsuite
- 02
What you pay for
Buffer has a free tier and charges per channel, not per user, so a small team running many accounts pays for the accounts and nothing else. Hootsuite is priced by plan and is expensive relative to what most users do with it. Unless you use the governance features, Buffer gives you the scheduling for much less.
Edge: Buffer
- 03
Time to get a colleague productive
Buffer's appeal is that it stays out of the way: scheduling is done cleanly and there is little to learn. Hootsuite's interface carries fifteen years of accumulated features, and onboarding a new team member takes longer than it should. For day-to-day ease the gap is wide and it favours Buffer.
Edge: Buffer
- 04
Breadth of the product
Hootsuite supports more networks than most tools in the category and wraps publishing in team roles, so it covers more situations in one subscription. Buffer deliberately does less: it schedules, and its analytics and listening are thin. Our data does not give a network count for Buffer, but on overall completeness Hootsuite is the broader product.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
Neither is the answer if what you lack is proof of results. Buffer's analytics are thin and Hootsuite's price buys approvals, not insight. Metricool reports paid and organic together with competitor benchmarking at a low price, and Sprout Social produces board-ready reports for a much higher one.
Buffer or Hootsuite: questions
3 answersIs Buffer cheaper than Hootsuite?
For most small teams, yes. Buffer has a free tier and its paid plans are charged per channel per month, while Hootsuite is priced per month by plan and is considered expensive for what a typical user does with it.
Both publish their prices, so you can check the exact figures for your channel count.
Can Buffer replace Hootsuite for a team that needs approvals?
Not comfortably. Buffer has no real approval workflow, whereas Hootsuite provides roles, approval chains and audit trails.
A team whose posts must be signed off, particularly by legal or compliance, will miss that structure, and the saving on the subscription will not make up for it.
Which is easier to learn, Buffer or Hootsuite?
Buffer. It concentrates on scheduling and keeps the interface light. Hootsuite has accumulated fifteen years of features, which makes it capable but slower to pick up, and new team members take longer to onboard.
One person scheduling a few posts a week is not who Hootsuite is built for.