Independent head-to-head
Hootsuite vs Zoho Social
Both are on our shortlist, and most people only need one. Here is where each genuinely wins.
Which fits your work better: Hootsuite or Zoho Social?
Hootsuite suits larger organisations and enterprise marketing teams that need approval chains and analytics across many stakeholders — not a small agency roster. Zoho Social suits agencies running enough local-service clients that per-channel pricing elsewhere stops making sense — the Agency tiers price by client, not by channel. Zoho Social is cheaper to start with ($15/month against $99/month), so price alone favours it.
Hootsuite
Social Media Scheduling ToolsThe enterprise-grade scheduler — priced and built for teams, not solo accounts.
Zoho Social
Social Media Scheduling ToolsBuilt for agencies managing many clients from one login.
Decision view
Compare what changes the answer
| Decision factor | Hootsuite$99/mo | Zoho Social$15/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $99/mo | $15/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | None |
| Best for | Larger organisations and enterprise marketing teams that need approval chains and analytics across many stakeholders — not a small agency roster. | Agencies running enough local-service clients that per-channel pricing elsewhere stops making sense — the Agency tiers price by client, not by channel. |
| Not for | Agencies running a handful of local-service clients — the entry price alone is more than Buffer or Zoho Social charge for meaningfully more accounts. | A single brand or solo operator — the free and Standard tiers work, but you're paying for agency infrastructure you'll never touch. |
Shared answers are dimmed so trade-offs stay visible.
Plan comparison
Published plans as recorded on each vendor’s pricing page on its verification date. Limits and add-ons differ between vendors, so compare at your own volume.
Hootsuite
| Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $99 | Billed annually; manage up to 10 social accounts, unlimited scheduled posts |
| Professional | $199 | Billed annually; unlimited social accounts, trend forecasting |
| Advanced | $399 | Billed annually; team content approval, team performance measurement |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom — advanced analytics, custom compliance |
Zoho Social
| Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 brand, 6 channels, 1 user |
| Standard | $15 | 1 brand, 12 channels |
| Professional | $40 | Adds livestream, bulk scheduling, monitoring dashboard |
| Premium | $65 | Adds inbox management, content approvals, CRM/Desk integrations — this figure is less consistently reported than the surrounding tiers |
| Agency | $320 | 10 clients, agency-branded reports, client portal |
| Agency Plus | $460 | 20 clients |
Where Hootsuite wins
- Trend forecasting and listening features go beyond what Buffer or Zoho Social offer
- Team approval workflows are built for genuinely large organisations, not retrofitted
- Long track record means broad third-party integration support
Where Zoho Social wins
- Agency and Agency Plus tiers price by client count, which scales better than per-channel pricing once a roster grows past a handful of accounts
- Client portal and agency-branded reports are a real time-save over building reports by hand
- Native CRM/Desk integration matters if a client is already in the Zoho ecosystem, which local-service businesses using Zoho Books or Zoho CRM often are
Hootsuite or Zoho Social?
Hootsuite suits larger organisations and enterprise marketing teams that need approval chains and analytics across many stakeholders — not a small agency roster. Zoho Social suits agencies running enough local-service clients that per-channel pricing elsewhere stops making sense — the Agency tiers price by client, not by channel. Zoho Social is cheaper to start with ($15/month against $99/month), so price alone favours it.
Larger organisations and enterprise marketing teams that need approval chains and analytics across many stakeholders — not a small agency roster.
Agencies running enough local-service clients that per-channel pricing elsewhere stops making sense — the Agency tiers price by client, not by channel.
What decides it
- Entry price
- Hootsuite starts at $99/month; Zoho Social at $15/month. Compare the plan that matches your real usage, not the entry tier.
- Trial
- Hootsuite offers a 14-day trial; Zoho Social offers a free plan.
- What each gives up
- Hootsuite: entry tier caps at 10 accounts for a price that buys unlimited elsewhere. Zoho Social: tier structure is genuinely more complex than Buffer's — six named plans with overlapping features is a lot to explain to a client.