Overview
Zoho Social is a popular social media management tool that allows individuals and businesses to manage their social media presence from a single dashboard. It supports all popular social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Google My Business.
With Zoho Social, users can schedule and publish posts, engage with their audience, track performance, and collaborate with team members. It also includes features for social listening, which allows you to monitor conversations and mentions of your brand on social media and analyze your competitors’ social media strategies.
Zoho Social offers a variety of plans, including a free plan for individual users and a range of paid plans for businesses with more advanced features. The tool is designed to help businesses of all sizes and industries to effectively manage their social media presence and grow their online audience.
What Is Hootsuite Used For?
Hootsuite is a leading social media management platform that lets you connect and manage multiple social media profiles from a centralized place. It is a popular tool that simplifies planning, scheduling, monitoring, and reporting of all your social media content.
Hootsuite is a versatile tool that automates and streamlines all your social media marketing efforts. It simplifies the task of social media management and saves a lot of time that you would otherwise invest in performing monotonous routine tasks.
Hootsuite helps you to create content strategies, schedule your content for posting on multiple platforms, monitor its performance, and offer in-depth analytics to conclude the results of your social media marketing efforts. It even allows users to onboard their clients and team members to work in a collaborative environment.
Hootsuite lets you handle multiple accounts from a centralized place. With it, you can manage Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube accounts all from a single dashboard. The user interface of Hootsuite is a bit complex, but once you get the hang of it, it can be a really powerful tool.
Best Suitable for
Zoho Social
Start with $15
Individual marketers, medium-sized businesses, marketing agencies
Hootsuite
Start with $99
Professionals, Brands, Big Businesses, and Enterprises.
SocialPilot
Start with $30
Marketing Agencies, SMBs, Multi-Location Brands & Professionals
At a Glance
Both Zoho Social and Hootsuite offer almost the same set of features on the surface level. However, if we deeply compare the two, Hootsuite offers a more comprehensive set of features. It offers support for more social media platforms along with advanced scheduling, reporting, and team collaboration features.
Zoho Social, on the other hand, offers more affordable pricing options along with some unique features, such as SmartQ for scheduling and a CRM tool for lead generation. So, in the end, your final choice will depend on your specific needs and budget preferences.
Note: There is no denying the fact that SocialPilot is one of the best alternatives to Hootsuite and Zoho social for its affordability, customer support, and ease of use.
To make this comparison evident, let’s take a look at how users have rated these tools along with SocialPilot.
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Zoho Social |
Hootsuite |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Reviews | 2630 | 4561 | 814 |
| Overall Star Rating | |||
| Ease of Use | |||
| Quality of Support | |||
| Ease of Setup | |||
| Minimum Pricing | $15/Month | $99/Month | $30/Month |
| Number of Social Accounts | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 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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| Best For | Individual marketers, medium-sized businesses, marketing agencies | Professionals, Brands, Big Businesses, and Enterprises. | Marketing Agencies, SMBs, Multi-Location Brands & Professionals |
| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
Quick Comparison
Making a choice between two similar tools used for the same purpose is tricky. However, there are a few differences between these tools that can help you decide better.
Hootsuite is more of a feature-rich platform that offers more robust analytics and reporting. Hootsuite also offers a wider range of social media integrations. Zoho Social, on the other hand, focuses more on collaboration and team management features, with tools for assigning tasks and tracking team performance.
Hootsuite has a little intimidating UI compared to Zoho Social, which can take some time to learn. Zoho Social’s interface is more intuitive and user-friendly, making it a better option for businesses that are new to social media management.
Although Hootsuite has much more to offer, it still lags in offering support for multiple languages. On the contrary, Zoho Social offers support for multiple languages, including German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
If you compare these two tools in terms of customer support, Hootsuite only offers Email, Chat, and Tweet for Support, whereas Zoho Social offers Email support, FAQs, Blog, Webinars, Product Guide, and Forum for its customers.
Overall, both Zoho Social and Hootsuite are powerful social media management tools, but they have different strengths and weaknesses. Hootsuite is a better choice for businesses that need advanced analytics and reporting features, while Zoho Social is a good option for businesses that prioritize collaboration and team management.
Note: Both these tools offer a fair share of advantages, but if you want a tool that stands out in every aspect, SoicalPilot is your pick. SocialPilot is a Hootsuite alternative that offers dedicated support and localization capabilities at a much more affordable price point.
To help you get a clear picture is a direct comparison of Hootsuite vs Zoho Social along with SocialPilot.
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Zoho Social |
Hootsuite |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Can't Miss to Compare | |||
| Minimum Pricing | $15/Month | $99/Month | $30/Month |
| Number of Accounts | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Number of Team Members | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Number of Posts that Can Be Scheduled | 350 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Core Capabilities | |||
| Scheduling & Publishing |
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| Analytics |
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| Inbox |
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| Collaboration |
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| Competitor Tracking |
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| Whitelabel |
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| Localization | German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Support | Email, FAQs, Webinars, Product Guide, Forum | Email, Chat, Tweet for Support | Email, Chat, Social Media, Phone |
| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial | |
Reviews
Positive
- The tool provides the best time to post on the networks so that your large audience can see your post.
- Hootsuite is a social publishing tool that is the most user-friendly for any platform, and it makes you feel as if you are making the post on the platform itself.
- Hootsuite has a content approval workflow through which you can share your post with editors, managers, and clients to get approval for the post.
Negative
- Hootsuite price is on the higher end, making it an unaffordable software for smaller businesses and digital marketing agencies. Many other social media management softwares are available at lower prices.
- Though Hootsuite provides a tagging option so that you can tag content, placing it in a specific category. Content that has already been posted can not be tagged. So, if you forget to tag content before it's published, that campaign's insights will be incorrect.
- The lower plans have limited reporting capabilities, which could greatly impact your ability to effectively monitor and analyze your social media performance.
Positive
- An advantage of using Zoho Social is the ability to monitor comments and engage with users. Using a centralized system to manage social media allows you to stay on top of conversations, respond to feedback, and build relationships with your audience.
- Zoho Social's seamless integrations enable users to edit creatives using tools like Canva. This feature makes it easy to create eye-catching graphics and designs.
- Zoho Social's collaborative features make it easy for team members to work together on social media planning and allow better flexibility and adaptability.
Negative
- Most advanced features and services in Zoho Social are only available to users who pay for a subscription or access a paywall, limiting the functionality and value for free users.
- The lack of a preview feature in Zoho Social can be a drawback for users who value visual consistency and may want to make minor tweaks to social media posts before publishing to ensure optimal appearance and messaging.
- The slight delay in scheduling posts on Zoho Social can be frustrating for users who prioritize efficiency and need to publish content quickly and consistently.
Positive
- You get a social media calendar screen in SocialPilot, which gives a bird-eye view of all the scheduled content as well as create and schedule new content from. You can also change the publishing time and date of any queued posts right from the calendar and reschedule it.
- You can upload and schedule up to 500 posts at once using SocialPilot through its handy bulk import feature. These can be link posts, text, or even image posts to any of the platforms which SocialPilot supports.
- You can prevent delays and ensure that everything gets published according to schedule. As a result, with SocialPilot, your consistency on social networks remains uninterrupted.
Negative
- Although the Bitly integration is convenient, you'd like to see all these features built natively within SocialPilot or have automated workflows that create UTM links for all campaigns and other variables.
- Users can post directly using their Instagram business account, but they will get mobile reminders in case of a personal account. This is a common issue on all social media management platforms since there is no available API for Instagram personal accounts.
- SocialPilot does not have a free version available, leaving users with only a 14-day free trial option to test the app. The free trial can be accessed without the need for a credit card, making it a risk-free opportunity for those who want to explore the features and capabilities of the app before making a purchase.
Pricing
Both Hootsuite and Zoho Social have been fairly priced depending on their features and popularity. Hootsuite offers four pricing plans for its professional, team, business, and enterprise-level customers. On the other hand, Zoho Social offers a total of five plans for its business and agency-level customers.
Hootsuite offers plans starting at $19 per month compared to Zoho Social, which starts at $10 per month. Hootsuite also offers more advanced plans with more features, which may be worth the extra cost for larger businesses.
However, Hootsuite may come across as an expensive option with a monthly charge of $739 for its business pack. Zoho Social nails its pricing game with a price of $338 per month for its agency customers.
Note: Zoho Social charges less than Hootsuite, but it is still more expensive compared to SocialPilot, which charges way less than the two and offers the same level of features.
Follow the table below to learn why SocialPilot is a better alternatives to Zoho Social or Hootsuite.
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Zoho Social |
Hootsuite |
SocialPilot |
|---|---|---|
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Standard
$15/per month
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Professional
$99/per month
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Essentials
$30/per month
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Professional
$40/per month
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Small Team
$249/per month
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Standard
$50/per month
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Premium
$65/per month
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Enterprise
Custom
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Premium
$100/per month
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Agency
$320/per month
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Ultimate
$200/per month
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Agency Plus
$460/per month
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15 Days Free Trial
Credit Card Required
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30 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 |
In-depth Scheduling and Publishing Capabilities Comparison
Scheduling and publishing are fundamental aspects of any social media management tool. In this section, let’s compare the scheduling and publishing capabilities of Zoho Social and Hootsuite.
Both tools offer post customization, personalization, and URL shortening capabilities. However, Zoho Social falls short of not offering post preview capabilities and hashtag suggestions.
If we compare the two in terms of app integrations, Hootsuite takes the leap as it allows more than 40 app integrations which is way more than Zoho Social.
Note: If you need a tool that offers all the scheduling and publishing capabilities, SocialPilot can be your pick. It also allows post-reviews and enables you to integrate a URL shortener for creating custom URLs and tracking their performance.
Here is a side-by-side comparison of Hootsuite vs Zoho Social, along with SocialPilot, to help you make the right choice.
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Zoho Social |
Hootsuite |
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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| 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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| 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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| 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 | |||
| 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 | |
In-depth Analytics Capability Comparison
Insights from social media analytics help you track the performance of your campaigns. It also helps you to come up with an action plan for your future marketing efforts. If we compare Zoho Social and Hootsuite, there isn’t much difference in their analytical capabilities.
Both tools offer powerful analytics for stories, posts, and reels. You can also generate whilelabel reports and download them in PDF format or simply schedule reports with your clients.
Let’s take a look at the comparative chart below to learn about all the analytics capabilities of Hootsuite and Zoho Social, along with SocialPilot.
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Zoho Social |
Hootsuite |
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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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
In-depth Inbox/Listening Capability Comparison
Both Hootsuite or Zoho Social are capable of effectively managing social conversations through their social inbox. Although Hootsuite doesn’t allow you to reply to visitors’ posts, unlike Zoho Social, it does offer a fair share of inbox and listening capabilities.
Follow the comparison table below to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the listening capabilities of Hootsuite and Sprout Social along with SocialPilot.
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Zoho Social |
Hootsuite |
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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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
Collaboration efficiency is a vital aspect of any social media management tool. Collaboration capability is crucial for teams to streamline processes, centralize communication, and work in a collaborative environment to increase efficiency.
If you compare them, both tools allow unlimited client onboarding and offer team workflow capabilities for their respective pricing plans. Herein is a detailed comparison of all their collaboration capabilities.
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Zoho Social |
Hootsuite |
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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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
