What is the difference between Hootsuite and Publer?

Hootsuite is best for Teams managing multiple social media accounts at scale, while Publer is best for Small businesses wanting multi-platform social scheduling. Hootsuite starts at $99/mo and Publer starts at Free.

Is Hootsuite or Publer cheaper?

Hootsuite starts at $99/mo. Publer starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Hootsuite?

Yes, Publer offers a free tier (Free for 3 accounts).

Hootsuite vs Publer

Hootsuite is social media management platform for scheduling, monitoring, and analytics across networks, while Publer is social media scheduling platform with AI, analytics, and team collaboration. The biggest difference up front: Publer is free, while Hootsuite starts at $99/mo. Hootsuite is built for teams managing multiple social media accounts at scale, whereas Publer targets small businesses wanting multi-platform social scheduling.

At a glance

	Hootsuite	Publer
Best for	Teams managing multiple social media accounts at scale	Small businesses wanting multi-platform social scheduling
Starting price	$99/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	—
AI Assist	—	✓
Analytics	✓	✓
Multi-Platform	—	✓
Scheduling	✓	—
Social Listening	✓	—
Team Collab	✓	—
Watermark	—	✓

Hootsuite

Strengths

Includes Scheduling as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows
Includes Social Listening as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows
Pricing starts at $99/mo, which includes the full social media management feature set
Established product with 18+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $99/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in social media management
Per-user pricing at $99/mo makes it hard to justify for large teams

Try Hootsuite → Full review

Publer

Strengths

Includes Multi-Platform as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows
Includes AI Assist as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows
Free for 3 accounts — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes analytics alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in social media management
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Publer → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Publer is completely free (Free for 3 accounts), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Hootsuite starts at $99/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Hootsuite offers Scheduling, Social Listening and Team Collab that Publer lacks. Publer brings AI Assist, Multi-Platform and Watermark that Hootsuite does not have. Both share Analytics.

Team fit: Hootsuite is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Publer is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Hootsuite's biggest strengths are: includes scheduling as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows. includes social listening as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows. Publer's biggest strengths are: includes multi-platform as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows. includes ai assist as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows.

Watch out for: With Hootsuite, users commonly note that starts at $99/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users. With Publer, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Hootsuite if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams managing multiple social media accounts at scale
You specifically need Scheduling and Social Listening
You care about includes social listening as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Hootsuite is designed for

Choose Publer if...

You need a tool built for small businesses wanting multi-platform social scheduling
Budget is a hard constraint — Publer is free, Hootsuite is not
You specifically need AI Assist and Multi-Platform
You care about includes ai assist as a core feature, purpose-built for social media management workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Publer is designed for