Hootsuite vs Later: Which Is Actually Better in 2026?

I’ve decided to redo this whole Hootsuite vs Later comparison because they barely compete in the same lane anymore.

Hootsuite is now this super advanced, everything platform. Some may even call it the grandfather of social media management tools.  But it comes with the major downside of costing $99 per month on its most basic plan.

Whereas Later has always been known for its visual planning capabilities, it’s now moving towards premium tools for managing social media (it recently introduced social listening in its Scale plan).

What’s great about Later is that it is still quite affordable. Its starting price falls at just $18.75/month, which is great for someone who is posting on 8 social accounts for one brand.

So which one should you actually pick? In this guide, I’ll compare both tools in detail. We’ll cover:

• The pricing (and the hidden costs you need to keep an eye out for)
• How easy each tool is to actually use
• Where Hootsuite works great and where it falls flat
• Where Later is perfect, and where it may not be the one
• Whether there’s an alternative option that gives you all that Hootsuite and Later have to offer at a much more affordable price. (You can also sign up for its 14-day free trial without needing a credit card!)

Introducing Hootsuite vs Later

Before we start, I want to give a really quick introduction to both the tools.

What Is Hootsuite?

When you think of Hootsuite, you think of the red owl causing havoc on its socials.  But Hootsuite has been around for so much longer than that.

In fact, it is one of the oldest and most recognized names in social media management, which is why it has now kept up with its reputation and launched advanced features that have become integral for enterprises.

It now offers:

• Scheduling and publishing for over 11 social media networks
• Super detailed analytics, including cross-platform analytics, competitor analysis, in-team analytics reports, and ROI reporting and analysis. Plus, you also get white-label reporting.
• Messaging and customer service, which also allows you to automate message responses, conceal private data within a message, generative AI, smart replies with AI, and customer service surveys (and a whole lot more!)
• Social listening with 13 months of historical data!
• Campaign and ad management, employee advocacy, review management, and compliance integrations.

As of now, Hootsuite supports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads, WhatsApp, Google Business Profile, and Bluesky.

So, it’s safe to say the platform is best for mid-to-large organizations, social media or marketing agencies, and larger enterprises that have the budget for it.

I’ve added this little tutorial video by Hootsuite, so you can see what the tool looks like:

What Is Later?

When you think about Later, you think of bold colors and eye-catching visuals, and that’s exactly what the tool helps you publish.

It now offers:

• Scheduling on eight social networks (including Snapchat!)
• A visual planner with Instagram-centered features like product tagging
• AI caption writer and idea generator
• Individual platform analytics, along with Link in Bio analytics and competitor analytics
• Basic team collaboration
• A unified social inbox for Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok
• A super detailed link in bio tool, with unlimited buttons, Mailchimp connections, email connections, and affiliate links.

Later supports Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Snapchat.

Essentially, it’s best for creators, smaller brands, eCommerce stores, and anyone who wants a basic, visual-centered platform.

Here’s what Later looks like.

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A Side-By-Side Comparison of Hootsuite vs Later

To give you a better idea of how these two compare, I’ve created this table. (I’ve also added Social Champ to give you a better idea about your options!)

Where Hootsuite Excels

If we’re being honest, Hootsuite is a great tool (despite its association with a certain problematic organization). It has a plethora of features that you absolutely need for your socials, but do they justify the price? Let’s take a look.

The Social Listening Is Super Helpful

If you’re managing a brand that people talk about, and I mean really talk about, Hootsuite’s social listening is where your money goes. It monitors brand mentions, industry keywords, competitor activity, and sentiment across the web, news sites, blogs, and social platforms.

You can set up custom streams to track specific keywords, hashtags, competitor handles, and see results in real time!

Plus, you also get sentiment analysis, which tells you whether people are talking positively or negatively about your brand.

For PR teams and large brands, this is absolutely necessary. You can’t manage a crisis you don’t know about, and Hootsuite makes sure you know about it before it blows up.

The Analytics Are Ridiculously Comprehensive

Again, this is what you’re actually paying that ridiculous price for. You get:

• Cross-network performance comparisons
• Team performance metrics (how fast your team responds to messages)
• ROI tracking for paid social campaigns
• Custom report builders with white-label options (so you can create branded reports)
• Competitor benchmarking
• Trend analysis and audience insights

You can also schedule for automated reports to go out to your clients (or your boss), either weekly or monthly.

Team Collaboration Is Well-Thought-Out

For most social media tools, team collaboration seems like an afterthought. Not for Hootsuite, though.

It lets you set up multi-step approval workflows, assign tasks, tag messages for follow-up, and have team conversations directly inside the platform. Plus, it also has collision detection, which means two of your team members will know if they’re catering to the same message.

The best part is that you can also assign a specific level of permission to your team. For instance, if you have a social media manager, they’d only have access to publishing and drafts, while the customer success representative would have access to the social inbox, too.

Not to mention, Hootsuite also lets you hide confidential information within a message with its “message masking” feature. This way, you’d know that your client’s data is extremely secure.

Plus, your team can talk to each other by leaving notes within the platform. You won’t need to bounce between Slack and your SMM tools.

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But Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room (The Price)

Here’s where Hootsuite loses a lot of people. Here’s what it charges you for each plan:

• Standard, which costs $99 and has 1 user. In this plan, you can manage 10 social accounts.
• Advanced , which costs $399 and has 1 user. In this plan, you can manage Unlimited social accounts.
• Enterprise, which is designed for your needs

Now, Hootsuite does not offer a free plan. However, now, it lets you start a free trial without entering your credit card details.

It’s also important to remember that each of these plans is for one user only. So, if you want to add more users or even add more social accounts, you’ll need to purchase add-ons, which can hike up the costs beyond what you’ve budgeted.

Moreover, some of Hootsuite’s popular features, such as employee advocacy, review management, generative AI chatbot, and Talkwalker, are only available in the highest plan.

Featured Article: Hootsuite Pricing: Is It Worth the Cost?

Where Later Works Best

Now, let’s talk about Later.

The Visual Planner Is Honestly Addictive

Later’s drag-and-drop visual calendar is genuinely the best in the business.

If you’re an Instagram-first brand, a photographer, a boutique, or a creator who lives and dies by aesthetics, this is your tool.

You can see exactly how your Instagram grid will look before you post. You can drag posts around, swap them, and plan your visual stories in advance.

If you’re a fashion, food, travel, or lifestyle brand, this is the tool for you.

Link in Bio Is The Most Detailed

Being an Instagram-first tool, Later has checked all the boxes for Instagram. And thus, its link in bio tool is meticulously designed.

It lets you create customizable landing pages that list all your important links, including those of products, blogs, videos, and affiliate links. You can then integrate them directly with your scheduled posts.

When you schedule a post, you can automatically add the corresponding link to your Link in Bio page. This is really useful for creators who monetize through affiliate marketing or product sales.

UGC Collection Is Super Useful

Another one of Later’s top features is its ability to collect user-generated content directly from hashtags and mentions.

You can then request permission to reuse content, download it, and schedule it, all from one place.

Let’s say you’re a skincare brand that has a strong hashtag community, this tool would be super useful for you, as you can avoid hours of manual work.

For Creators, Later also has a dedicated section that provides you with a media kit and campaign details.

The Pricing Is Way More Approachable

Later’s pricing is much more affordable than Hootsuite (as it should be!). Here’s what you get:

• Free, which costs $0 and has 1 user. In this plan, you can manage 8 social accounts.
• Starter, which costs $18.75 and has 1 user. In this plan, you can manage 8 social accounts.
• Growth, which costs $37.50 and has 2 users. In this plan, you can manage 16 social accounts.
• Scale, which costs $82.50 and has 4 users. In this plan, you can manage 48 social accounts.

That being said, Later does restrict you with its “Social Set” limitations. For instance, if you’re a skincare brand, Later will let you connect all your profiles. But if you expand and create more socials for different franchises, you’ll need to upgrade.

But Later Has Some Real Limitations

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Later is not a full social media management suite, and if you need advanced features, you’ll not find them in Later just yet.

The platform does lack premium features like collision detection, better platform coverage, multi-layer approvals, and advanced AI for its social inbox. Plus, its already-limited AI suite also has restricted credits, which you’ll burn through in a week.

If you’re leaning towards Later because of the price, make sure to calculate these hidden costs too:

• Extra social sets: $11.25/month each
• Extra users: $3.75/month each
• Extra AI credits: $3.75/month per 100 credits
• Post overages: If you exceed your monthly post limit, you need to upgrade

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What Is the Best Alternative to Hootsuite vs Later?

Hootsuite and Later are both great at what they do, but they do force you to choose between the price and features. And not to mention, both tools can get super expensive if you need to grow your brand.

That’s why you need to explore your options. One such option is Social Champ. It has features that compete with both Hootsuite and Later.

Features that compete with Hootsuite:

• Social listening
• Competitor analysis
• Advanced analytics with white-label reporting
• Multi-layer approval workflows
• Team collision detection
• Generative AI for social inbox
• AI content creation
• Cross-platform publishing to 12+ networks

Features that compete with Later:

• Visual content calendar
• Link in Bio
• Instagram grid preview
• Hashtag suggestions

Now, you get all that at a price that’s more affordable than both Hootsuite and Later. You also have the option to pay as you go or choose a flat-rate bundle.

Here’s what the pay-as-you-go plans cost:

• Starter, which costs $4 and has 1 user. In this plan, you can manage 1 social account.
• Growth, which costs $8 and has unlimited users. In this plan, you can manage 1 social account.

Here’s what you’ll pay in the flat-rate plans:

• Free, which costs $0 and has 1 user. In this plan, you can manage 3 social accounts.
• Standard, which costs $23 and has 2 users. In this plan, you can manage 6 social accounts. This plan also comes with add-ons for accounts. You can add another account for $5/account
• Professional, which costs $47 and has 5 users. In this plan, you can manage 12 social accounts. This plan also comes with add-ons for accounts.  You can add another account for $4/account and pay $8/user for another user.
• Agency, which costs $119 and has unlimited users. In this plan, you can manage 30 social accounts. This plan also comes with add-ons for accounts. You can add another account for $3/account
• Enterprise, which is Custom and has unlimited users. In this plan, you can manage unlimited social accounts.

Plus, Social Champ also lets you try any of these plans for 14-days, without even having to add your credit card.

Conclusion

Hootsuite vs Later is not really a fair fight; they’re built for completely different users. Hootsuite is built for enterprises with a huge budget and advanced needs. Meanwhile, Later is designed for creators, influencers, and brands that want to showcase art on their socials.

But if you’re like most social media managers (somewhere in between, needing state-of-the-art features at affordable price points), you’ll need an alternative like Social Champ.

Because at the end of the day, the best social media tool for you is one that fits your workflow, your team, and your budget, without making you compromise on the things that actually matter.

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