The best free Hootsuite alternatives in 2026
Quick answer: Hootsuite has no free plan. It offers a 14 day trial, then starts at $99 a month per user, billed yearly, for 10 social accounts. The free Hootsuite alternatives worth trying in 2026 are Socialync, Buffer and Metricool, plus the platforms' own tools. Socialync is the pick if you post the same video to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and the rest: one upload goes to all 9 platforms, free for 5 posts a month with no card, then $20 a month for 5 accounts with unlimited posts.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socialync | 5 posts a month to 8 platforms, up to 5 accounts, no card (X is on paid plans) | $20 a month for 5 accounts, unlimited posts | Creators posting the same video to every platform |
| Buffer | 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel | $5 per channel a month billed yearly, $6 monthly | A steady queue on two or three channels |
| Metricool | 1 brand, 20 posts a month, no LinkedIn or X | From $20 a month, $16 billed yearly | Analytics and competitor tracking |
| Postiz | No hosted free plan. Free to self host (open source) | $29 a month for 5 channels, $23 billed yearly | Developers who want to run it on their own server |
| Meta Business Suite | Free, Facebook and Instagram only | No paid plan | Brands that only post to Facebook and Instagram |
| Hootsuite | No free plan, 14 day trial | $99 a month per user billed yearly, 10 accounts | Teams that need listening, a shared inbox and approvals |
Hootsuite, Buffer, Metricool and Postiz figures from each company's pricing page, checked October 2026.
Hootsuite and Socialync side by side
Built for teams and agencies
Listening, shared inbox and approvals, priced per user
From $99 a month per user
Billed yearly, 10 social accounts on Standard
Organized by stream and channel
Great for monitoring many feeds at once
No free plan
A 14 day trial, then a paid plan
Clean, intuitive interface
Designed for solo creators and small teams
Free to start, then $20/month for 5 accounts
Unlimited posts, one price for 5 accounts
One upload, every platform
A caption for each platform, posted or scheduled at once
A real free plan
5 posts a month, 8 platforms, no card (X is on paid plans)
See the difference yourself
No learning curve. No complexity. Just simple, powerful posting.
Built for creators who want simplicity
Hootsuite is built for teams monitoring many feeds. Socialync is built to get your content onto every platform fast.
Faster workflow
No endless menus or complicated dashboards. Upload, select platforms, schedule, done.
Creator-friendly pricing
Start free, then paid plans from $20/month for 5 social accounts.
AI-powered features
Paid plans add AI caption generation, content suggestions, video transcription and analytics for every connected account.
Multi-account support
Manage every brand's accounts from one login, with extra accounts from $2 a month.
Everything creators need. Nothing they don't.
All the core features without the enterprise complexity
One-click cross-posting
Publish to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn simultaneously
Visual calendar scheduling
Drag-and-drop scheduling with a clean calendar view
AI caption writer
Generate engaging captions optimized for each platform
Brand accounts
Connect all your accounts
Platform auto-formatting
Content automatically adapted to each platform's specs
Free plan
5 posts a month, no card
Fast setup
Start in 60 seconds
Easy migration
Leave Hootsuite behind
Cancel anytime
No lock-in contracts
Simple, transparent pricing
Start on the free plan. When you outgrow it, one paid plan, no tiers, and you pay for what you connect.
Socialync
Includes 5 social accounts, first seat free
- Unlimited posts
- 12 months scheduling (paid plans)
- All 9 platforms supported
- AI caption assistant
- Video transcript analyzer
- Priority support
- From +$2/mo per extra account, +$10/mo per extra seat
Or stay on the free plan: 5 posts a month, 8 platforms, no credit card (X is on paid plans). A 7-day trial of a paid plan is optional at checkout.
Free Hootsuite alternative FAQ
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
No. Hootsuite's plans page lists no free plan. You get a 14 day free trial with no card, and after that the Standard plan is $99 a month per user, billed yearly, for 10 social accounts. Professional is $199 and Advanced is $399 per user a month.
Is there a free alternative to Hootsuite?
Yes. Socialync has a genuinely free plan: 5 posts every calendar month, 8 platforms, no credit card (X is on paid plans). One publish counts as one post no matter how many platforms it goes to, so 5 posts is up to 40 platform posts a month. Hootsuite has no free plan, and its cheapest plan is $99 a month per user, billed yearly. When you outgrow the free plan, Socialync is $20/month for 5 social accounts with unlimited posts.
What is the best free Hootsuite alternative for creators?
Socialync is built for solo creators and small teams who mostly need fast multi platform publishing. You upload once, write captions per platform on one screen, and publish or schedule to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and Pinterest. If analytics matter more to you than posting, look at Metricool. If you only post to two or three channels, Buffer's free plan covers that.
Which free Hootsuite alternative posts to TikTok?
Socialync, Buffer and Metricool all post to TikTok on their free plans. Socialync also publishes to personal TikTok accounts, and one Socialync post can go to TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and 5 more platforms at the same time, which counts as one of your 5 free posts.
What is the cheapest Hootsuite alternative for 5 accounts?
Socialync is $20 a month for 5 accounts with unlimited posts, or $180 a year. Buffer Essentials for 5 channels is $25 a month billed yearly. Hootsuite Standard is $99 a month per user billed yearly.
How hard is it to switch from Hootsuite to Socialync?
Switching takes a few minutes. Connect each social account with its own login, and your posting workflow carries over immediately. There is no data migration to run because your content lives on the platforms themselves.
How much does Socialync cost compared to Hootsuite?
Socialync starts at $0. The free plan covers 5 posts a month across 8 platforms (X is on paid plans), and paid plans are $20/month for 5 social accounts with unlimited posts. Hootsuite starts at $99 a month per user, billed yearly. For one person over a year, that difference is more than $900.