Are you confused about Hootsuite vs. Later, and which would be a better fit for your business?
You’re not alone!
We have compared Hootsuite and Later in-depth, looking at features, pricing, collaboration tools, analytics, and platform support. Whether scaling your social media team or considering a switch between tools, you’ll find clear insights to help make the best decision for your needs.
We’ve made your work easier by doing it for you!
This guide thoroughly analyzes both Later and Hootsuite in terms of affordability, user experience, and advanced features. You’ll also find SocialPilot in the comparison mix as a third-party alternative that offers a balance between functionality and cost. If you’re looking for something more scalable than Later, and more affordable than Hootsuite, this guide will help you make a well-informed, data-driven choice.
How We Analyze and Select Social Media Analytics Tools:
To help you confidently choose between Hootsuite and Later, we conducted an in-depth, feature-by-feature analysis based on use cases and current tool capabilities. Our comparison considers critical factors like scheduling functionality, analytics, user experience, collaboration features, pricing models, customer support, and team scalability.
We evaluated each platform from the lens of solo marketers, small business owners, and marketing agencies, keeping in mind what truly matters: value for money, ease of use, platform support, and long-term usability. This guide also includes verified user reviews from G2 to reflect real-world experiences, not just feature checklists.
This comparison is curated by social media marketers to give you actionable insights and an honest perspective so you can make the right decision for your business.
Quick Summary: Hootsuite vs Later
Before we get into minute details, you must understand the more glaring facts about both tools. So, we have aligned all the contenders and compared their high-level statistics about the tools in consideration.
In the table below, we have compared the base pricing, quality of user experience, ideal user base, and key functionalities of Hootsuite and Later, along with SocialPilot.
 Hootsuite |
 Later |
 SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Reviews | 6164 | 309 | 830 |
| Overall Star Rating | |||
| Ease of Use | |||
| Quality of Support | |||
| Ease of Setup | |||
| Minimum Pricing | $99/Month | $16.67/Month | $30/Month |
| Number of Social Accounts | 5 | 9 | 7 |
| Number of Team Members | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Scheduling & Publishing |
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| Analytics |
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| Social Inbox |
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| Collaboration |
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| Whitelabel |
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| Whitelabel |
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| AI Assistant |
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| Best For | Professionals, Brands, Big Businesses, and Enterprises. | Influencers and Small Business | Marketing Agencies, SMBs, Multi-Location Brands & Professionals |
| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
From the above information, we can conclude that Hootsuite is tailored for larger businesses and enterprises, while Later is more affordable and, hence, suited to solo marketers and smaller businesses.
While both tools possess similar capabilities, Hootsuite is equipped to accommodate growing businesses. Later is a perfect fit for smaller organizations that want to establish themselves on multiple social networks while handling limited accounts.
Let’s discuss these tools one by one.
Hootsuite Overview
Hootsuite is a well-known tool to most social media marketers as a complete social media marketing suite. It covers all the major social media platforms and provides a centralized hub for users to monitor and manage their online activities.
While the platform’s highly sophisticated UI/UX hosts a number of features, it can be a bit difficult for new users to grasp. That is why Hootsuite has a steep learning curve and requires considerable support in the initial stages of usage.
Hootsuite is also well-suited for global teams and enterprise brands, offering functionality that supports cross-time-zone publishing, multi-language account management, and complex team hierarchies across regions.
Its advanced content scheduling, analytics, social listening, and team collaboration provide the perfect hub for marketers to manage their online presence.
Arcelie R.
Hootsuite has made it much easier to stay organized with social media. I love how I can schedule posts across multiple platforms in one place, it saves me hours of jumping between apps. The calendar view is super helpful for getting a bird’s eye view of what’s coming up, and the ability to preview posts before they go live gives me peace of mind. It’s especially useful when I’m managing content for different brands or clients. Everything feels centralized and more manageable.
Later Overview
Later is well-known as a user-friendly tool with effective visual content planning capabilities. It is especially popular among U.S.-based influencers, content creators, and small eCommerce businesses, particularly in visual-first industries like fashion, beauty, and lifestyle—where platforms like Instagram and TikTok drive engagement.
At the risk of sounding repetitive, Later scores high on the ease of use and setup scale, and it’s a simple tool to get started with. Although it supports accounts as social sets, it allows users to connect and run seven social profiles with its lowest-tiered plan.
However, Later is seen to lack whitelabel, which is a vital factor for agency usage. This means users can’t provide branded dashboards and reports to their clients which might be a detrimental gap. Maybe this is the reason why its main audience comprises of single users or business entities.
Maria M.
The ease of use is one of the best features. You can easily schedule social media posts and make any necessary edits. We schedule all our posts in advance, and they automatically publish at the designated times. The software allows you to edit posts, schedule them, and even add filters. It’s a comprehensive solution for managing social media.
SocialPilot is a go-to platform for social media teams, SMBs and agency users. This is because of its streamlined design, its advanced scheduling automation features and its pocket-friendly pricing. It does not compromise on social media automation capabilities to be an affordable solution for small businesses, doing both seamlessly.
It is especially favored by agencies due to functionalities like client onboarding, bulk content scheduling and especially, white labeling.
Jessica D.
If you’re managing multiple social media accounts and need an efficient way to schedule content in bulk, SocialPilot is an excellent choice. One of the best aspects of SocialPilot’s bulk scheduling is the flexibility. You can schedule hundreds of posts in advance, ensuring your content calendar stays on track without constant manual input. The visual calendar and queue management features also make it easy to see your upcoming posts at a glance, giving you full control over your publishing strategy.
Overall, if scheduling is a priority for you, SocialPilot delivers a user-friendly and reliable solution. While it might lack some advanced features found in higher-end tools, its affordability and bulk management capabilities make it a top contender for those focused on streamlining their content planning process.
Which Tool Is Best for You? A Quick Decision Checklist
Now that you’ve seen a quick overview of each tool, let’s make your decision even easier.
Use this simple checklist to match your specific business needs with the platform that fits best—before we dive into the detailed, feature-by-feature comparison.
| Your Need | Choose Hootsuite if… | Choose Later if… | Choose SocialPilot if… |
| Managing multiple accounts across various platforms | You need robust cross-platform support and enterprise-level controls | You’re managing a few profiles and don’t need advanced integrations | You want to manage multiple accounts affordably with broad platform support |
| Instagram & TikTok-first strategy | You need basic scheduling for these platforms but not advanced IG tools | You rely heavily on Instagram and TikTok with visual-first planning | You want solid visual support across platforms without being tied to one |
| In-depth analytics & custom reporting | You need detailed, customizable reports and ad metrics (with paid add-ons) | You’re okay with platform-native insights, mostly for Instagram/TikTok | You want downloadable, white-label reports without extra cost |
| Solo use or small team setup | You’re part of a larger org with resources to support the learning curve | You’re a solo creator or freelancer looking for simplicity | You’re a small team or agency that needs collaboration tools at a fair price |
| Budget-conscious decision-making | You have the budget for premium features and enterprise pricing | You want the lowest cost to get started with core functionality | You need full scheduling and collaboration tools at a mid-range price |
| White-labeling & client collaboration | You’re on an enterprise plan with access to client features | You don’t require white-labeling or client-facing dashboards | You want built-in client collaboration and branded reports as standard |
Hootsuite Vs. Later: Head-to-Head Feature Comparison
Scheduling and Publishing
When we talk about scheduling and publishing, they are the key functionalities required from social media tools. We have made a in-depth comparison for Hootsuite vs. Later in regard to see which one is better.
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Hootsuite |
Later |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Smart & Advanced Queueing |
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| Customize Post for Each Platform |
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| Post Preview |
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| Canva Integration |
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| Unsplash Integration |
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| Slack Integration |
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| URL Shortener |
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| Visual Post Support (Image, Video, GIF) |
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| UTM Parameters |
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| Cloud Storage |
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| Hashtag Suggestions |
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| Create Post Extension |
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| WordPress Social Media Plugin |
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| AI-powered Scheduling |
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| Advance Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Save Draft Posts |
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| AI Assistant |
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| Watermark on Images |
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| Bulk Scheduling |
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| Auto publishing from RSS |
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| Social media calendar |
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| Mobile App |
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| Browser Extension |
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| AI Suggested Best Time to Post |
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| Image Editor |
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| Advance Facebook Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Reel Scheduling |
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| Support Album Posts |
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| Support Carousel Posts |
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| Alternate Text on Image |
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| Support Facebook First Comment |
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| Audience Targeting |
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| Boost Post Scheduling |
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| Support Mention and Hashtags |
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| Advance Twitter Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Location Tagging |
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| Support Mention and Hashtags |
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| Support Multiple Image Posts |
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| Threads Scheduling |
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| Advance Instagram Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Reel Scheduling |
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| Story Scheduling |
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| Carousel scheduling |
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| Tag Profiles on Images |
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| Location Tagging |
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| Support Instagram First Comment |
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| Instagram Grid |
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| Advance LinkedIn Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Carousel scheduling |
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| Audience Targeting |
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| Support LinkedIn First Comment |
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| Advance YouTube Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Shorts Scheduling |
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| Mention of Other YouTube Accounts |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial | |
It is seen that Hootsuite and Later bring a lot in terms of scheduling functionalities.
Both of them provide multiple features for content customization such as visual content support, platform-specific customizations, cloud storage for media assets, Canva integration, hashtag suggestions and much more. Hootsuite stands out with audience targeting, boost posting, and RSS feed scheduling which are great assets for garnering engagement.
Although the comparison draws commonalities from both tools, Later’s inclination to support advanced functionalities for only Instagram is clear. While Hootsuite offers broader content management features, it may be better suited for teams that prioritize platform depth and advertising tools.
When compared to these tools, SocialPilot stands out with its advanced yet easy-to-use scheduling and publishing features. It supports all major social platforms equally and allows for bulk scheduling of multiple posts at once.
The platform also integrates the world’s first social media AI Assistant, helping users generate, improve, and optimize post captions in real time, directly within the scheduling workflow using ChatGPT. Combined with a visual content calendar, RSS feed automation, and integrations with tools like Canva and Dropbox, SocialPilot streamlines publishing from end to end.
Verne B.
I can schedule all my client’s posts in one central place. It is very cost-effective, and the API into Meta is seemless. There are no issues like with some of the other tools out there. Access via the Business Manager has no issues, whereas if you used other platforms, they require you to have access to the page as an individual, not a business.
Now, in this section, the analytics capabilities have been kept in the spotlight to compare Hootsuite vs. Later. We have also takes reporting features into consideration.
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Hootsuite |
Later |
SocialPilot |
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| Whitelabel Downloadable Report in PDF Format |
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| Email PDF Report to Client |
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| Auto Schedule Report with Team and Client |
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| Custom Report Builder |
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| Cross-Platform Analytics Dashboard |
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| Post-Level Performance & Top Content Insights |
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| Audience Growth & Engagement Metrics |
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| AI-Powered Performance Insights |
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| Team/Client Tagging in Reports |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
If we compare the data given in the table, it gives us an idea that Hootsuite is ahead in the analytics department than Later. Even if both of them seem to provide detailed social media analytics and engagement metrics, Hootsuite covers more platforms than Later. It also integrates with Google analytics and provides data on paid ads for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
Later, on the other hand, it provides comprehensive analytics data for Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, and X, which is easily understandable. It shows individual post-performance data as well as hashtag recommendations.
However, Hootsuite can present combined analytics for multiple accounts which Later cant do. Along with this, custom report creation, downloadable PDFreport generation is something Hootsuite can boast, which helps brands and businesses to understand their overall social media performance.
The absence of these advanced capabilities makes Later less than ideal for businesses who seek robust reporting from theri social media management tool. However, it must be remembered that advanced analytics require additional charges in Hootsuite.
When we compare the analytics and reporting features of Hootsuite and Later to those of SocialPilot, there are a few aspects that vary. While Hootsuite and SocialPilot both provide robust analytics, Later lacks in that aspect. However, SocialPilot’s pricing is much more affordable and does not require additional charges for analytics, unlike Hootsuite.
Moreover, SocialPilot provides white-labeled analytics, which can be downloaded and scheduled to be sent by email periodically. Later isn’t capable of such advanced reporting tasks.
Jennifer W.
I love being able to schedule multiple posts for multiple accounts and batch content. The analytics are good too. We can have way more accounts vs. some of the other sites out there. I also love that I can set groups and select multiple accounts with one click. There is an option to export reports with your company logo on them to look very professional. Another feature that I absolutely love is the hashtag counter. SocialPilot is the only program I’ve seen that includes this and it’s a game changer!
Now, we come to another set of important features required from social media marketing tools: managing engagement online. We have explored the capabilities of both tools to determine which is better equipped in this regard.
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Hootsuite |
Later |
SocialPilot |
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| Can Reply to Messages |
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| Can Reply Questions and Reviews |
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| Can Reply on Visitor Posts |
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| Reply to Comments and Mentions |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
The results as we can conclude from the data given in the table, is that Hootsuite is slightly more effective in handling communication with an audience on social media. It has a unified social inbox, which enables users to reply to comments, direct messages, and even reviews coming their way.
Compared to this, Later only lets its users respond to comments from Instagram and TikTok, leaving out DM and review management entirely. Furthermore, Later does not have a dedicated space to address communication, which can seriously hamper brands’ reputation management efficacy.
SocialPilot, in comparison to other tools, offers a unified social inbox that supports all major social media platforms. Users can monitor and respond to messages, comments, reviews, and mentions across platforms.
You can organize your inbox the way you work, reply with the right context, search messages instantly, real-time syncing and notifications, resolve queries, handle complaints proactively, and a streamlined interface and permission-based access.
Since we’re addressing the needs to businesses and social media teams, it is important to vet the collaboration and team workflow capabilities. We have explored Later and Hootsuite in this regard to determine which one of them is better capable of handling social media teams.
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Hootsuite |
Later |
SocialPilot |
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| Free Unlimited Client Onboarding |
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| Per Post Multi-User Collaboration |
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| Access Management |
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| Content Approval Workflow |
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| Approval on-the-go |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
We have found that Hootsuite, as well as Later, possess team collaboration capabilities. Although the former is tailored to serve larger teams and enterprise-level organizations, Later too can handle the limited needs of smaller teams.
The ability to invite and integrate clients into the workspace is available under Hootsuite, which Later lacks. However, collaborating on individual content cards is possible only in Later. Also, the content approval workflow is way more granular in Hootsuite as compared to Later.
But a notable fact is that setting up the permissions and controlling access for each and every member makes brings a new level of difficulty to Hootsuite’s collaboration features.
SocialPilot is designed with agencies and small teams in mind, offering essential collaboration features such as client onboarding and approval workflows. It allows users to invite and onboard an unlimited number of clients to their workspace and make them a part of the approval workflow.
Multiple users can work and contribute to creating social media worthy posts and leave comments as feedback, all based on the extent of permission the account admin grants. And these permissions can be controlled to a granular level. Team members can seek approval for posts they create from internal members and clients to ensure multiple layers of review.
This ensures quality content is being published on their social media. This provides a streamlined space for teams to work together without any hassle.
Josh J.
Collaboration is essential for our agency, and SocialPilot’s team collaboration features cater to that need. We can easily manage social media accounts, assign roles and permissions, and collaborate on content creation and scheduling. This streamlined workflow improves coordination among our team members and enhances our overall productivity.
Pricing Comparison
Pricing is the most crucial criteria for marketers to consider while selecting a social media marketing tool. Here, we have compared each pricing plan of Hootsuite and Later to understand which one of them is more affordable while rationing scalability as well.
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Hootsuite |
Later |
SocialPilot |
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Professional
$99/per month
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Starter
$25/per month
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Essentials
$30/per month
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Small Team
$249/per month
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Growth
$45/per month
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Standard
$50/per month
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Enterprise
Custom
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Advanced
$80/per month
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Premium
$100/per month
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| - |
Agency
$200/per month
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Ultimate
$200/per month
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30 Days Free Trial
Credit Card Required
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14 Days Free Trial
Credit Card Required
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14 Days Free Trial
No Credit Card Required
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| Learn More | Learn More | Start Your free Trial |
Hootsuite and Later are tailored for different types of users in terms of pricing, as the data given above demonstrates. Hootsuite’s base price starts from $99 per month for its Professional plan, while the same costs $25 for Later, both supporting a single user. This makes Hootsuite seem like a pretty expensive deal, but its smallest plan allows ten accounts to be connected, while Later supports only seven with no free plan.
Later hosts a free plan which lets users connect up to three social accounts. Hootsuite does not have any such facility for its users except for the free trial period it offers.
Additionally, Later provides a lot of flexibility by having four fixed pricing plans with the option to add more social media accounts and users. Hootsuite does not allow any additional users to be added than the defined limit. Any additional requirements can only be accomodated under the Enterprise plan, which although does not have definite price, is quite expensive.
If we compare the Agency plans for Later with Hootsuite, the former costs $133.33 to support a team of 10. On the other hand, Hootsuite is priced at $249 for a team of a mere three with no scope for adding users to the workspace.
When we see the pricing plans of SocialPilot compared to the other two platforms, it’s clear that it is more suited for smaller businesses and agencies. Its starting plan, the Professional plan, costs $30 per month, and Small Teams is priced at $50, with 14 day free trial.
The Agency plan in SocialPilot costs $100 a month, which is just a fraction of what it costs in Hootsuite and less than the corresponding plan in Later. Its enterprise-level plan starts from $200 a month. All plans support managing up to 7 social media profiles.
Many advanced functionalities restricted to higher prices for Hootsuite and Later are available for SocialPilot users. A social media tool like SocialPilot helps small businesses scale easily while staying within their respective budgets.
Kathleen M.
Everything about SocialPilot makes scheduling your content from articles to post easy. The formatting of your calendar and scheduled activities with mutiple social accounts could not be more clear or intuitive. If you are an entreprenuer, a small to medium business, or just an individual who wants to schedule their content, SocialPilot is a no-brainer and the price point is perfect. I use SocialPilot to manage 8 accounts and once a week I can load everything in and have it work with all of my social channels – integration and implementation could not be easier.
Customer Support
Last but not least, we’ll examine the customer care traits, comparing Hootsuite and Later in that regard. We consider this aspect of a tool as vital as any other when selecting, which many people do. The quality of customer support determines the kind of user experience the platform provides.
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Hootsuite |
Later |
SocialPilot |
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| Live Chat Support |
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| Email Support |
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| Training |
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| Setup Support |
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| Dedicated Account Manager |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
Both Hootsuite and Later cover all the bases of customer support by providing assistance through live chat, email, and help documentation. Even new users are provided with proper support and means for training during the setup process,
However, Later does not assign a dedicated account manager to their users which is available with Hootusite. On the other hand, the response time of the customer support team in Hootsuite has often been prolonged for some users compared to Later.
SocialPilot does a commendable job when it comes to customer support services. It has multiple channels through which it provides assistance to its users, including email, live chat, call, and social media channels. It provides dedicated assistance during the initial setup process to onboard new users with ease.
In comparison to Hootsuite, SocialPilot’s support team responds promptly and effectively, resolving users’ problems in the shortest time possible. Also, SocialPilot offers a wealth of knowledge and tutorial videos that help people familiarize themselves with the platform.
Courtney L.
SocialPilot makes posting on to multiple sites quick and easy. It has a user-friendly interface. The customer support is easy to contact and responsive.
Final Verdict
When considering and comparing Hootsuite and Later, both are proficient social media management tools in their own right. Which platform is better for you depends on your business needs and the features you require. Hootsuite on the one hand comes with some advanced features that are beneficial for brands and businesses but its complicated UI and restrictive pricing make it a difficult tool to get used to and sustain. Although Later is pocket-friendly compared to Hootsuite, has restrictive rules for connecting accounts and favors only Instagram and TikTok for providing advanced features.
SocialPilot on the other hand, is a user-friendly tool that is designed for a wider variety of businesses, from SMBs to agencies and even enterprises. Its flexible pricing structure allows users to customize their subscriptions according to their needs and still utilize all the features required to streamline their social media management.
