The essentials
- Hootsuite pricing: Standard at $99 per user per month on annual billing (10 social accounts), Professional at $199, Advanced up to $399, checked on 16/10/2026; the French page shows no amount in euros.
- Cheaper for publishing: Metricool Starter from €16 excl. VAT per month (5 brands), Swello Medium at €19 per month on annual billing, Buffer at $5 per channel.
- Same level of management: Agorapulse at $79 per user (annual), with an inbox and replies to Google reviews.
- Manage rather than publish: GreenRed Pilotage at €69 excl. VAT per month links social media to SEO, GEO, Google Ads, the Google listing and ROI, but does not publish automatically and has no inbox.
Hootsuite is one of the best-known social media management tools: scheduling, automatic publishing, unified inbox, statistics and social listening. Its per-user pricing pushes many SMEs and freelancers to look for an alternative. Before comparing, one question decides almost everything: do you need a tool to publish and reply, or a tool to manage, that is, to know what social media brings in compared with the other channels? The distinction is detailed in the article on social media management tools.
Hootsuite: 2026 pricing and what it includes
| Offer | Listed price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $99 per user per month (annual billing) | 10 social accounts, inbox, “Wisdom” AI |
| Professional | $199 per user per month | Unlimited social accounts, AI replies and automations |
| Advanced | up to $399 per user per month | Advanced features for teams |
| Enterprise | On quotation | Demo on request |
Prices checked on 16/10/2026 on hootsuite.com/plans. The French page (hootsuite.com/fr/forfaits) shows no amount in euros in its text; its FAQ states that “paid plans start at $99”. Monthly billing exists, but its amount does not appear on the page. The trial lasts 14 days, with no bank card according to the French FAQ. The Google Business Profile listing is not mentioned on the plans page.
Two consequences for the budget: with two users on Standard, the bill reaches $198 per month; and the real price in euros depends on the exchange rate and VAT. It is a solid tool for a structured social media team, oversized for an SME publishing on three networks.
The seven alternatives and their entry price
| Tool | Main role | Entry level (per month) | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metricool | Publishing, statistics, advertising | Starter: €16 excl. VAT on annual billing, €20 excl. VAT monthly (5 brands); free plan (1 brand, 20 posts per month) | Google listing, Facebook Ads, Google Ads and TikTok Ads connections on all plans |
| Agorapulse | Publishing, inbox, teams | Standard: $79 per user annually, $99 monthly (10 profiles) | Replies to Google reviews from the inbox; 30-day trial with no payment method |
| Swello (French) | Publishing and statistics | Medium: €19 per month on annual billing (€228 excl. VAT per year), 1 user, 5 profiles | Google listing not mentioned; comment and message management announced for late 2026 |
| Buffer | Simple scheduling | Essentials: $5 per channel; free for up to 3 channels | Google listing supported for automatic publishing |
| Later or Iconosquare | Instagram and visual content | Later Starter: $18.75 on annual billing; Iconosquare Starter: from €9 on annual billing | Iconosquare keeps a free plan (2 profiles) |
| Meta Business Suite | Facebook and Instagram only | Free | Meta’s native tool, with no other networks |
| GreenRed | Multichannel marketing management (French) | Pilotage: €69 excl. VAT (€57.50 excl. VAT on annual billing) | Does not publish automatically, no inbox; 14-day trial with no card |
Prices checked on 16/10/2026 on the official pricing pages: metricool.com/pricing, agorapulse.com/fr/tarifs, swello.com/fr/tarifs, buffer.com/pricing, later.com/pricing, iconosquare.com/pricing. Dollar amounts exclude tax and currency conversion.
What each alternative does better, or worse, than Hootsuite
- Metricool: the cheapest alternative with a broad scope. It publishes, measures, and connects to the Google listing and ad accounts, from €16 excl. VAT per month for five brands.
- Agorapulse: the closest functional equivalent (publishing, unified inbox, reports, approval), with built-in replies to Google reviews. Billed per user, like Hootsuite, but from $79.
- Swello: interface and support in French, clear pricing in euros, five profiles for one user. No Google listing on the pricing page, and message management is not yet available.
- Buffer: the simplest and cheapest scheduling for one or two networks. Advanced statistics and reports are reserved for paid plans.
- Later and Iconosquare: designed for Instagram and visual content, with more detailed statistics on that network. Less suited to LinkedIn or the Google listing.
- Meta Business Suite: free and sufficient for a business that only publishes on Facebook and Instagram; see the Meta Business Suite guide.
- GreenRed: it is not a publishing tool. It tracks Facebook, Instagram and TikTok performance (organic and paid) alongside SEO, GEO, Google Ads, the Google Business Profile listing and ROI by channel. Its AI writer writes Facebook, Instagram and Google Business Profile posts, a blog article and a newsletter from a single brief; users copy and publish them themselves.
Publish or manage: which alternative for your profile
| Profile | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A local business, Facebook and Instagram, one person | Meta Business Suite | Free, native, sufficient for two networks |
| SME or freelancer, 3 to 5 networks and the Google listing, small budget | Metricool | Publishing and statistics from €16 excl. VAT per month |
| Team wanting a French-language interface | Swello | €19 per month on annual billing, support in French |
| Team of 3 or more people, approval and inbox | Agorapulse | Same approach as Hootsuite, lower entry price |
| Manager who wants to know what social media brings in compared with the other channels | GreenRed Pilotage, alongside a publishing tool | Social media, SEO, GEO, Ads, Google listing and cost per lead on one screen |
| Agency reporting to its clients | Agorapulse or Metricool for production, GreenRed in white-label for reporting | Producing and reporting are two separate needs |
On price, the comparison is simple: if your need is limited to publishing and reading social statistics, Metricool is cheaper than GreenRed. GreenRed is justified when the question becomes “where to put the next euro and the next hour”: it compares the cost per lead of social media with that of organic search, Google Ads or the Google listing, salaries and agency fees included, and turns the analysis into an action plan and into editorial calendar.
Questions to ask before leaving Hootsuite
- How many users? Hootsuite and Agorapulse charge per person; Metricool, Swello and Buffer work in brands, profiles or channels.
- Is the inbox essential? If you rarely reply, publishing alone costs much less.
- Is the Google listing part of the scope? Metricool, Buffer and Agorapulse manage it; Hootsuite’s plans page does not mention it.
- Do you measure what social media brings in? A publishing tool measures reach and engagement; contacts and sales are read in GA4, see social conversions in GA4 and the SMO KPIs.
- Who writes the content? A publishing tool schedules; you still have to write. That is where a multi-format writer saves the most time.
For a local business, the Google listing and reviews often matter as much as social media: dedicated tools are compared in Guest Suite and its alternatives, and scheduling tools in tools for scheduling your posts.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's social media tracking brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Hootsuite cost in 2026?
On 16/10/2026, the official page lists Standard at $99 per user per month on annual billing (10 social accounts), Professional at $199 and Advanced up to $399; Enterprise is on quotation. The French page shows no amount in euros, and the monthly price without an annual commitment is not displayed.
What is the cheapest alternative to Hootsuite?
Meta Business Suite is free for Facebook and Instagram. For several networks, Buffer starts at $5 per channel and Metricool at €16 excl. VAT per month on annual billing for five brands, Google listing included. Metricool and Buffer also offer a limited free plan.
Is there a French alternative to Hootsuite?
Yes: Swello is a French publishing and statistics tool, at €19 per month on annual billing for one user and five profiles. GreenRed is also French, but it is a management platform: it measures social media alongside the other channels and writes posts, without publishing them automatically.
Does GreenRed replace Hootsuite?
Not for publishing: GreenRed does not publish automatically and has no social inbox. It tracks Facebook, Instagram and TikTok performance, organic and paid, alongside SEO, GEO, Google Ads, the Google listing and ROI by channel, and its AI writer prepares the posts, the article and the newsletter from a brief.
Does Hootsuite offer a free trial?
Yes, a 14-day trial on the Standard, Professional and Advanced plans; the FAQ on the French page specifies that it starts with no bank card. Agorapulse announces 30 days with no payment method, Swello 7 days and GreenRed 14 days with no card.