Hootsuite dashboard with OWly holding a trophy

Hootsuite vs. Buffer: Grow fast with the best social media management solution

Social media managers rank Hootsuite number one, but how does it stack up to Buffer? To sum it up: Hootsuite can earn you more wins faster with deeper analytics, a better inbox, and built-in social listening.

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Let’s compare the numbers.

95%

Of users are happy with Hootsuite features, compared to only 83% of Buffer’s.

Source: Trustradius

2,000+

Hootsuite has 2,000 more five-star reviews than Buffer. Our customers love us, and the feeling’s mutual. 🥰

Source: G2

10x

Hootsuite has 10 times as many integrations as Buffer, which makes it much more customizable to your needs.

Source: Hootsuite

Hootsuite comes with more — so you can grow faster.

Better analytics

Hootsuite gives you more stats and customizable reports. Plus, monitor your competitors and track the performance of paid ads.

A better inbox

Manage all your messages and comments in one place. Buffer only lets you reply to Instagram and Facebook comments.

Brand monitoring

Keep an eye on everything people are saying about your brand and stay on top of trends with built-in social listening. Only in Hootsuite.

Better for growth

Hootsuite is designed for growing teams with affordable per-user rates, up to 50 social accounts, and unlimited posts.

Feature	Hootsuite	Buffer

Platforms
Integrations	100+	10+

Scheduling, publishing, and content creation
Unlimited post scheduling	Yes	Depends on the plan
AI hashtag suggestions	Yes	No
Recommended times to publish	Yes	No
Bulk scheduling	Yes	No
Canva in Composer window	Yes	No
Paid ads publishing and scheduling for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X	Yes	No
Post templates for every network	Yes	No
Target audience settings	Yes	No
Content calendar exporting	Yes	No
Social ad publishing and scheduling	Yes	No
Social ad campaign management	Yes	Limited
Boost and auto-boost to turn top organic posts into paid ads	Yes	No
Drag-and-drop content calendar	Yes	Yes
AI caption writer	Yes	Yes
AI caption writer	Yes	Yes
Link shortener	Yes	Yes
Photo and video editor	Yes	Yes
Link in bio tool	Yes	Yes
Link shortening and tracking	Yes	Yes
Vanity URLs to custom-brand and shorten links in posts	Yes	No

Analytics and reporting
Recommended time to publish based on goal	Yes	No
Industry benchmarking	Yes	No
Competitive benchmarking	Yes	No
Social ads analytics and reporting	Yes	No
Social performance score	Yes	No
Performance by goal reports	Yes	No
Report export scheduling	Yes	No
Social ROI analysis	Yes*	No
Inbox team productivity reporting	Yes***	No
Custom metrics	Yes*	No
Web analytics integration (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics)	Yes*	No
Export as .xlsx and PowerPoint	Yes	No
Export as .csv and PDF	Yes	Yes
Post performance reports	Yes	Yes
Internal notes on analytics reports	Yes	Yes
White-label reports with image or logo	Yes	Yes

Messaging and customer service
One inbox for private messages and comments	Yes	No
Team performance metrics	Yes*	No
Custom inbox views	Yes***	No
Message masking to protect sensitive information	Yes	No
Resolve reasons	Yes***	No
CSAT surveys	Yes*	No
Inbox data export	Yes***	No
Cross-channel conversation history	Yes***	No
Salesforce integration	Yes*	No
Sentiment analysis	Yes*	No
Message prioritization	Yes*	No
Business hours	Yes*	No
Message tags and topics	Yes*	No
Auto-resolve conversations	Yes*	No
Agent availability	Yes*	No
Chatbot support	Yes*	No
CRM integrations/API access	Yes*	No
Conversation and contact notes	Yes	No
Generative AI chatbot	Yes*	No
Assign messages to teammates	Yes	No
Agent collision avoidance	Yes	No
Chat with other agents	Yes	No
Skill-based routing	Yes***	No
Auto-responder	Yes*	Yes
Saved and suggested replies	Yes*	Yes

Social listening
Social listening	Yes	No
Quick search	Yes	No
Sentiment analysis	Yes	No
Monitor mentions, topics, and hashtags	Yes	No
Monitor mentions in images and videos	Yes*	No
AI-powered summaries	Yes*	No
AI-powered sentiment analysis	Yes*	No
AI-powered peak detection	Yes*	No
AI-powered smart alerts	Yes*	No
News websites	Yes	No
Blogs	Yes	No
Forums	Yes	No
Review sites	Yes	No

Collaboration
Project management integrations, including Wrike and Monday.com	Yes	No
Assign posts and messages to team members	Yes	No
Export content calendar for stakeholders	Yes	No
Roles and permissions	Yes	Yes
Approval workflows	Yes***	Yes
Give feedback on drafts	Yes	Yes

Employee advocacy
Employee advocacy	Yes*	No

*available with add-on **available with integration ***enterprise only

Last updated Dec.19, 2024

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Hootsuite is the only Buffer alternative worth your consideration

Social media managers consistently rate Hootsuite the best tool for managing their channels. Here’s how we help brands of all sizes crush their goals on social media.

Dazzle your audience with better content creation tools

Fill your content calendar faster than ever thanks to the industry’s best social media AI writer and built-in Canva templates for every network. With OwlyWriter AI, you can write and enhance captions and generate ad copy variations to test what works. Plus, get a steady stream of content ideas and have AI write posts based on the latest trends in your industry.

Never outgrow your social media management tool

Hootsuite is an all-in-one social media management tool that grows with you. Buffer’s most basic plan only lets you link three social media channels (with a fee for each additional channel), while Hootsuite plans start out at 10. And it limits you to 10 scheduled posts, while Hootsuite is always unlimited. Plus, Hootsuite suits teams of all sizes, from one team member to a dozen with no additional fee.

Hoot suite dashboard showing paid ads scheduling and tracking

Manage and improve your paid ad performance

Every Hootsuite plan includes social ads campaign management, meaning you can plan, publish, and optimize your ad campaigns across social media right alongside your organic content from within the Hootsuite dashboard. Buffer does not allow you to schedule, publish, or monitor the performance of your paid ads.

See everything people are saying about your brand

Every Hootsuite plan comes with social listening tools that let you keep an eye on mentions of your brand, industry, and competitors across the web. See the hottest trends in your industry and post about them before they blow up so you know what to post before your competitors.

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Managing content on Hootsuite is easier than Buffer. Hootsuite has a big advantage over Buffer in that the team collaboration in Hootsuite is really effective.

Roshni Gautam

Social Media Executive

See why Hootsuite wins every time

Still weighing your options? Visit our comparison pages to see why Hootsuite is the reigning champ in the battle of social media management tools.

Hootsuite vs. Sprout

Sprout is missing fundamental publishing features, like the ability to post to multiple networks at once and customize posts for each network. It’s also more expensive than Hootsuite.

Hootsuite vs. Sprout Social

Hootsuite vs. Later

Later offers limited social listening features and has much more limited analytics, publishing, and messaging features when compared with Hootsuite.

Hootsuite vs. Later

Hootsuite vs. Loomly

Loomly doesn’t have any AI content creation tools. It also doesn’t offer analytics for core platforms, including TikTok and YouTube.

Hootsuite vs. Loomly

Frequently Asked Questions

Hootsuite is the clear winner in the battle of social media management tools. Hootsuite beats Buffer in content creation, publishing, inbox management, and analytics.

Create stunning posts faster in Hootsuite. Customize Canva templates, add free stock photos, and instantly optimize with a built-in hashtag generator. Plus, speed up caption-writing and hashtags with the help of artificial intelligence.

Those posts are going to get a ton of attention, so you're going to need a powerful tool to manage them. With Hootsuite, you can respond to and manage messages and comments in one easy workflow. Buffer only displays public comments.

To see for yourself why Hootsuite wins, sign up for a free trial right now.

No platform offers analytics that are as comprehensive or easy to use as Hootsuite's. In one glance, you get a clear visualization of what you're doing well and where you can improve.

In Hootsuite, you can track performance on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and TikTok in one tab. Plus, see the best times to post based on your unique audience and goal.

Unlike Buffer, Hootsuite provides reporting on paid and organic posts. It also shows you how you compare to the competition with industry and competitive benchmarking

On the surface, Hootsuite and Buffer seem similar. They're both tools that can help you level up your social media game. But what makes them different?

For one, Hootsuite is more feature-rich than Buffer. It offers more options when publishing, tracking, and enhancing your content. Thanks to Hootsuite's over 100 integrations and world-class add-ons, it's also more customizable than Buffer.

Hootsuite is packed with features that address the challenges of social media managers. One inbox for comments and messages, Canva templates at your fingertips, AI-powered hashtags and captions. It's all about smart tools that save you time and take your message further.

Woman holding laptop with Hoot suite features

Don’t get stuck buffering when you could see results right now with Hootsuite.

See for yourself why Hootsuite is still the best social media management tool. No strings attached.

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