The short answer
Hootsuite is an enterprise social media suite known for its inbox, listening and team workflows. Publer is a low-cost social media scheduler known for flexible per-account pricing, bulk scheduling and recycling.
At 10 channels Publer costs $36 a month against $99 for Hootsuite for 1 user, so Publer is $63 a month cheaper (64% less). Publer lists more networks (13 against 10). On the 15 features we track, Hootsuite has nothing Publer lacks, and Publer alone has browser extension.
Choose Hootsuite if you post to WhatsApp and you want a longer trial (14 days). Choose Publer if you want the lower price for 10 channels ($36 against $99 a month), you post to Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram and Mastodon, you need browser extension and you want a free plan.
Pricing
Hootsuite charges per user, while Publer charges per social account plus per extra member. The per-user tool gets more expensive as your team grows; the other does not in the same way.
Hootsuite: Per user (seat) per month. Monthly and annual billing both exist; annual is cheaper. Publer: Per social account plus per extra member. Yearly billing is 20% off per the help center (the page says 2 months free).
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite Standard | Not listed | $99 |
| Hootsuite Professional | Not listed | $199 |
| Hootsuite Advanced | Not listed | $399 |
| Hootsuite Enterprise | Not listed | Not listed |
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Publer Free | Free | Free |
| Publer Professional | $5 | Not listed |
| Publer Business | $10 | Not listed |
| Publer Enterprise | Not listed | Not listed |
Cost at 5 and 10 channels
The cheapest listed plan that covers the number of channels. Where a price depends on seats, brands or workspaces, the table says so.
| Hootsuite | Publer | Postozo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 channels | Standard plan: $99 per user a month billed yearly. The monthly-billed price is not listed | Professional plan: about $21 a month, estimated from Publer's calculator rates ($5 for the first account, about $4 for each extra), before extra members | Standard plan: $19 a month ($15 billed yearly) |
| 10 channels | Standard plan: $99 per user a month billed yearly. The monthly-billed price is not listed | Professional plan: $36 a month, per Publer's own calculator, before extra members | Team plan: $29 a month ($23 billed yearly) |
At 5 channels Publer costs $21 a month against $99 for Hootsuite for 1 user, so Publer is $78 a month cheaper (79% less) (1 of these is an estimate). At 10 channels Publer costs $36 a month against $99 for Hootsuite for 1 user, so Publer is $63 a month cheaper (64% less).
Cost for a solo user, a small team and an agency
Seats, brands and workspaces change the bill as much as channels do. This table picks the cheapest listed plan of each tool for 3 setups.
| Setup | Hootsuite | Publer | Postozo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Standard: $99 a month billed yearly. Per user, for 1 person | Professional: about $21 a month. Estimate from Publer's calculator rates: about $4 per extra account and $2 per extra member | Standard: $19 a month ($15 billed yearly) |
| Small team | Standard: $297 a month billed yearly. Per user, for 3 people | Professional: about $40 a month. Estimate from Publer's calculator rates: about $4 per extra account and $2 per extra member | Team: $29 a month ($23 billed yearly). Unlimited team members |
| Agency | Professional: $995 a month billed yearly. Per user, for 5 people; Standard covers only 10 accounts | Professional: about $109 a month. Estimate from Publer's calculator rates: about $4 per extra account and $2 per extra member | Pro: $39 a month ($31 billed yearly). Unlimited team members |
For 5 channels and 1 person, Publer is the lowest at $21 a month and Hootsuite the highest at $99. For 10 channels and 3 people, Publer is the lowest at $40 a month and Hootsuite the highest at $297. For 25 channels and 5 people, Publer is the lowest at $109 a month and Hootsuite the highest at $995.
Trials and free plans
Hootsuite: 14-day free trial, no credit card. Trial accounts are limited to 10 to 20 posts per day and cannot bulk schedule. No free plan listed.
Publer: 7-day free trial of Professional, 14-day free trial of Business. Paid features can be tried without a credit card. Free plan: Yes: 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts (no X), 10 scheduled posts per account.
Features
| Feature | Hootsuite | Publer | Postozo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client approval | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social inbox | Yes | Yes | No |
| Analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI writing help | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RSS auto post | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload (CSV) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| White label | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Client reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio page | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Canva integration | Yes | Yes | No |
| Client connect link | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes |
Plan limits on key features
- Client approval. Hootsuite: Content approvals are on the Advanced plan and up. Publer: Approval workflows for team members and external clients.
- Analytics. Hootsuite: included. Publer: Business plan and up.
- Public API. Hootsuite: included. Publer: Business plan and up (API and MCP).
- Client reports. Hootsuite: Custom reports you can schedule and export, Professional and up. Publer: Downloadable analytics reports, Business and up.
- Link in bio page. Hootsuite: Through the OneClick.bio app, free with Hootsuite Enterprise only. Publer: Through Linkie, on every plan including Free.
- Canva integration. Hootsuite: Built into the Composer. Dropbox can be connected too. Publer: Every plan, including Free.
Both list client approval, social inbox, analytics, AI writing help, public API, MCP server, RSS auto post, bulk upload (CSV), mobile app, client reports, link in bio page and canva integration.
Neither confirms white label and client connect link.
Area by area
How Hootsuite and Publer handle each part of the job, in the words of their own pages.
Publishing and scheduling
Hootsuite: Hootsuite posts to 10 networks and adds WhatsApp for inbox messages. Standard covers 10 social accounts; Professional and up have unlimited accounts. Bulk scheduling is not available during the trial.
Publer: Publer posts to 13 networks, including WordPress and Telegram. Bulk scheduling handles up to 500 posts at once, including from a CSV file.
Team and client approval
Hootsuite: Pricing is per user. Content approvals and message routing are on Advanced and up.
Publer: Pricing is per social account plus per extra member. Approval workflows work for team members and outside clients.
Inbox and replies
Hootsuite: A unified inbox is on every plan, and Professional adds automated inbox replies. Brand monitoring and social listening are part of the product.
Publer: You can reply to comments on published posts from inside Publer. We found no unified direct message inbox.
Analytics and reports
Hootsuite: Custom performance reports that you can schedule and export are on Professional and up.
Publer: Analytics and downloadable reports are on Business and up.
AI help
Hootsuite: AI writing help is included.
Publer: AI help is included.
Integrations and apps
Hootsuite: Canva is built into the Composer and Dropbox can be connected. Link in bio comes through the OneClick.bio app, free with Enterprise only. MCP connectors for ChatGPT, Claude and others launched in 2026.
Publer: Link in Bio (through Linkie) and Canva are on every plan, including Free. There is a browser extension and a mobile app. The API and MCP server are on Business and up.
Networks
Hootsuite lists 10 networks and Publer lists 13. They share 9 networks: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky.
| Networks | |
|---|---|
| Only on Hootsuite | |
| Only on Publer | Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram, Mastodon |
| On Postozo but on neither | Reddit, SMS, Discord, Slack, Medium, Tumblr, DEV, Hashnode, Lemmy, Listmonk, Nostr, VK, Farcaster, Dribbble, Twitch, Kick |
Strengths from each side
Hootsuite
- Unified inbox with direct messages, automated replies and message routing.
- Brand monitoring and social listening.
- iOS and Android apps in the app stores.
Publer
- Free plan and a very low entry price for 1 or 2 accounts.
- Link in bio and Canva even on the free plan, plus a browser extension and an app store mobile app.
- Replies to comments on published posts from inside Publer.
Postozo as a 3rd option
Postozo is a social media scheduler with 30 channel types, client review links, team roles, AI writing help, a public API and an MCP server. Plans are flat: $19, $29, $39, $79 a month for 5, 10, 30, 100 channels, with unlimited posts.
- Postozo costs $29 a month ($23 billed yearly) for 10 channels with team members. At 10 channels Postozo costs $23 a month against $99 for Hootsuite for 1 user, so Postozo is $76 a month cheaper (77% less). At 10 channels Postozo costs $23 a month against $36 for Publer, so Postozo is $13 a month cheaper (36% less).
- Postozo supports Reddit, SMS, Discord, Slack, Medium, Tumblr, DEV, Hashnode and 8 more, which neither Hootsuite nor Publer lists.
- Postozo has white label, which neither confirms.
- Postozo has client connect link, which neither confirms.
What you would give up: social inbox (Hootsuite and Publer have it) and canva integration (Hootsuite and Publer have it).
See Postozo vs Hootsuite and Postozo vs Publer for the full head to head pages.
More about each tool
Hootsuite review, Hootsuite alternatives, Publer review, Publer alternatives, Postozo pricing.
Sources
Is Hootsuite or Publer cheaper?
At 5 channels Publer costs $21 a month against $99 for Hootsuite for 1 user, so Publer is $78 a month cheaper (79% less) (1 of these is an estimate). At 10 channels Publer costs $36 a month against $99 for Hootsuite for 1 user, so Publer is $63 a month cheaper (64% less). Prices are the lowest listed per month, with yearly billing where offered, checked on 29 September 2026.
Which has more networks, Hootsuite or Publer?
Hootsuite lists 10 and Publer lists 13. Only Hootsuite: WhatsApp. Only Publer: Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram, Mastodon.
Do Hootsuite and Publer have an API and MCP server?
Hootsuite: API yes, MCP yes. Publer: API yes, MCP yes. Postozo includes both on every plan.
Is there a cheaper option than Hootsuite and Publer?
Postozo is $19 a month for 5 channels and $29 for 10 with a team. It has no social inbox and canva integration, so check those first.
Which is cheaper for a team of 3 with 10 channels, Hootsuite or Publer?
For 10 channels and 3 people, Publer is the lowest at $40 a month and Hootsuite the highest at $297.
Do Hootsuite and Publer have client reports and a link in bio page?
Client reports: Hootsuite yes (Custom reports you can schedule and export, Professional and up), Publer yes (Downloadable analytics reports, Business and up). Link in bio: Hootsuite yes, Publer yes. Postozo includes both on every plan.
Can clients connect their own accounts in Hootsuite or Publer?
Hootsuite: not confirmed. Publer: not confirmed. Postozo has a client connect link on every plan.
Did you test Hootsuite and Publer?
No. This page compares facts from their official pricing and feature pages, checked on 29 September 2026.
Not sure about Hootsuite or Publer?
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