PostEaseThe short answer
Hootsuite has no free plan; its cheapest plan, Standard, manages up to 10 social accounts from one calendar, after a 14-day free trial that needs no card. People look for an alternative when they want a free plan to start on, more than 10 accounts without moving up a tier, or a tool built for one person or a small team rather than a larger organisation.
The table below compares twenty-one alternatives by how many channels their entry plan allows, read from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown. PostEase, which publishes this comparison, has no channel cap on any plan, the free one included.
Hootsuite’s plans, in its own words
Each plan adds to the one before it. Prices are left out on purpose: they change too often, and differ by billing period and currency, to compare fairly.
| Hootsuite plan | Social accounts | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 10 | Schedule unlimited social posts; respond to messages from one inbox; monitor your brand and competitors |
| Professional | Unlimited | Automate inbox replies and workflows; forecast social trends up to 90 days ahead; build custom performance reports |
| Advanced | Unlimited | Review and approve content with your team; assign and auto-route messages to the right team members; measure team performance and efficiency |
| Enterprise | Unlimited | Advanced analytics and listening; single sign-on (SSO); custom compliance solutions |
Twenty-one Hootsuite alternatives by channel cap
Each figure is the vendor’s cheapest plan and the channel limit it states, in its own words. Prices are left out on purpose: they change too often, and differ by billing period and currency, to compare fairly.
| Tool | Entry plan | Channels on that plan | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostEase | Free | Every channel, no cap | Our own plans |
| Buffer | Free | 3 channels | October 2026 |
| Metricool | Free | 1 brand | October 2026 |
| Sprout Social | Essentials | 5 social profiles | October 2026 |
| SocialBee | Bootstrap | 5 social profiles | October 2026 |
| Loomly | Starter | 12 social accounts | October 2026 |
| Vista Social | Professional | 15 social profiles | October 2026 |
| Agorapulse | Standard | 10 social profiles | October 2026 |
| ContentStudio | Standard | 5 social accounts | October 2026 |
| SocialPilot | Essentials | 5 social media accounts | October 2026 |
| Zoho Social | Free | 6 channels (1 brand) | October 2026 |
| Iconosquare | Free | 2 social profiles | October 2026 |
| MeetEdgar | Eddie | 5 social accounts | October 2026 |
| Statusbrew | Lite | 5 social profiles | October 2026 |
| Kontentino | Starter | 10 social profiles | October 2026 |
| Missinglettr | Solo | 3 social profiles | October 2026 |
| Sendible | Core | 6 social profiles | October 2026 |
| RecurPost | Starter | 2 social accounts | October 2026 |
| eClincher | Standard | 15 profiles (expandable to 20) | October 2026 |
| Onlypult | Start | 5 social accounts | October 2026 |
| Social Champ | Free | 3 social accounts | October 2026 |
| Publer | Free | 3 social accounts (except X) | October 2026 |
Why people leave Hootsuite
Hootsuite is built for teams that manage many accounts, and for them it is a strong choice. The reasons people look elsewhere are mostly about fit:
- No free plan. Every Hootsuite plan is paid after the trial, so there is no way to keep posting lightly for nothing.
- A cap of 10 accounts on Standard. A business on several platforms in two or three regions can reach it quickly.
- More than a solo creator needs. Approval workflows and team reporting are valuable for an agency and unused by one person, who pays for them all the same.
What to compare
Before choosing, check the things that change what you pay and what you do every day:
- Channels: how many the plan you would buy allows, and what the next account costs.
- Platforms: whether the platforms you post to are live for publishing, not only listed.
- Inbox: whether comments and messages from every channel arrive in one place you can reply from.
- Video: whether you can edit and caption short videos in the same tool or need another app.
- Team: whether teammates cost extra, and whether you need approvals at all.
- Leaving: whether you can import your existing calendar, and cancel without contacting anyone.
How PostEase compares, honestly
PostEase has no channel cap on any plan. Free includes every channel, publishing and the inbox; Creator, at $19 a month, adds Studio for video, Ideas, Automations, full Performance and the media kit. YouTube, X, LinkedIn (personal profile), Pinterest, Bluesky, WordPress, and TikTok publishing are live today; Instagram, Facebook, and Threads are pending each platform's own API approval.
If you need Instagram publishing today, check that status first. If you post to the live platforms, or want scheduling, the inbox, video editing and a link-in-bio page in one place without an account cap, PostEase is built for that.
Moving your calendar from Hootsuite
PostEase imports a Hootsuite CSV export directly. The upload guesses the caption, date, platform and media columns, shows each guess for you to confirm, reads both ISO and US date formats, and brings the posts in as drafts, up to 500 rows a file, even before every channel is reconnected.
Questions
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
No. Hootsuite offers a 14-day free trial with no card required, then every plan is paid. Its cheapest plan, Standard, manages up to 10 social accounts.
What is a free alternative to Hootsuite?
Several tools in the table have a free plan, each with its own channel cap. PostEase’s Free plan has no channel cap, with 10 scheduled posts a month.
How many accounts does Hootsuite Standard include?
Up to 10 social accounts, according to Hootsuite’s plans page.
Is Hootsuite worth it for a solo creator?
It can be, if you need its reporting and plan to grow a team. Many solo creators pay for approvals and team features they never use, and a tool with a free plan and no account cap covers what one person does.
Can I import my Hootsuite calendar into PostEase?
Yes. Export your scheduled posts from Hootsuite as a CSV and upload it; PostEase maps the columns for you to confirm and imports up to 500 rows a file as drafts.
Sources
- Buffer, Buffer pricing, October 2026.
- Metricool, Metricool pricing, October 2026.
- Hootsuite, Hootsuite pricing, October 2026.
- Sprout Social, Sprout Social pricing, October 2026.
- SocialBee, SocialBee pricing, October 2026.
- Loomly, Loomly pricing, October 2026.
- Vista Social, Vista Social pricing, October 2026.
- Agorapulse, Agorapulse pricing, October 2026.
- ContentStudio, ContentStudio pricing, October 2026.
- SocialPilot, SocialPilot pricing, October 2026.
- Zoho Social, Zoho Social pricing, October 2026.
- Iconosquare, Iconosquare pricing, October 2026.
- MeetEdgar, MeetEdgar pricing, October 2026.
- Statusbrew, Statusbrew pricing, October 2026.
- Kontentino, Kontentino pricing, October 2026.
- Missinglettr, Missinglettr pricing, October 2026.
- Sendible, Sendible pricing, October 2026.
- RecurPost, RecurPost pricing, October 2026.
- eClincher, eClincher pricing, October 2026.
- Onlypult, Onlypult pricing, October 2026.
- Social Champ, Social Champ pricing, October 2026.
- Publer, Publer pricing, October 2026.