Hootsuite has been the default social media dashboard for agencies for so long that it is easy to forget it predates most of the creator-focused tools it now competes with. That legacy shows in both its strengths and its weaknesses.
We assessed Hootsuite alongside the rest of our scheduling & publishing reviews, including Metricool, Typefully and Buffer, so the score below is relative to that field.
The strengths are real: if you are managing dozens of client accounts, its approval workflows, team permissions, and bulk scheduling tools are built for exactly that scale in a way lighter creator tools are not. Social listening add-ons also give it reach beyond simple scheduling.
But for an individual creator or small team managing a handful of personal accounts, Hootsuite feels like driving a delivery truck to pick up groceries. The interface is dense with agency-oriented features you will never touch, and the pricing reflects an enterprise buyer, not a solo YouTuber.
The free tier has been squeezed down over the years to the point of being close to unusable for real testing, which pushes casual users toward paid tiers faster than competitors do.
Hootsuite remains a defensible choice for agencies and larger teams, but most individual creators will find a cheaper, friendlier tool does the same job with less overhead.
| PLAN | PRICE | WHAT YOU GET |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | $99 /mo | 1 user, 10 accounts |
| Team | $249 /mo | 3 users, 20 accounts |
| Enterprise | see vendor | custom accounts and permissions |
Agencies and teams managing many brand accounts at once — and anyone who wants Hootsuite to do the heavy lifting in this category.
You are a solo creator managing three or fewer accounts on a tight budget. — if that's a dealbreaker, see every scheduling & publishing tool we've tested.
- Is Hootsuite worth it in 2026?
- The enterprise-grade veteran that still works, but feels increasingly overbuilt for solo creators. We rate it 6.9/10, and it's the strongest pick for agencies and teams managing many brand accounts at once.
- How much does Hootsuite cost?
- Hootsuite lists Professional at $99/mo, Team at $249/mo, Enterprise at see vendor. List prices change often, so confirm with the vendor before you buy.
- What are the downsides of Hootsuite?
- Expensive relative to creator-focused alternatives Interface feels heavier and more corporate Free tier is extremely limited Overkill for a single creator managing a few accounts
- How did BestCreates review Hootsuite?
- Editorially reviewed: Evaluated against our documented editorial framework — features, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — using vendor documentation, pricing pages and published user evidence rather than hands-on testing. The score is relative to the other tools we cover in this category.
Editorially reviewed. Evaluated against our documented editorial framework — features, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — using vendor documentation, pricing pages and published user evidence rather than hands-on testing. Read our review standards.
BestCreates is written and edited by Carlos Gil. Every tool is assessed against the same documented framework — the jobs creators hire it for, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — and each review states in the open how it was assessed.
LAST CHECKED SEP 16, 2026
SIGNED BY CARLOS GIL · FOUNDER & EDITOR, THE BEST NETWORK · OUR DISCLOSURE POLICY