Looking for a Hootsuite alternative?
Hootsuite is a capable, mature platform built for marketing teams with a budget to match: an inbox, listening, benchmarking and reporting around the scheduler. If that is not you, the price is usually what sends you looking. Every plan is billed per user, the cheapest starts at $99 a month on annual billing, and approvals need the $399 plan. Here is what you would give up and what you would get.
Who should use which
Stay with Hootsuite if your team works its inbox every day, needs listening or benchmarking, wants SSO and compliance controls, or publishes to a network PostDaily has not shipped yet. Those are real capabilities and we do not have them. PostDaily is the better fit for a solo creator, a freelancer or a small team whose actual problem is getting posts out reliably on a schedule, with a client sign-off, and who would rather not pay per seat for it.
Where Hootsuite is the better choice
Leading with this because it decides the question for a lot of people, and you should not have to dig for it.
It covers far more ground
Every Hootsuite plan includes a unified inbox and bulk scheduling. Professional adds DM automations, AI smart replies, custom reports and trend forecasting; Enterprise adds Talkwalker listening, SSO, compliance tools and employee advocacy. PostDaily does none of that. If your team answers customers from its social tool or monitors conversations about the brand, PostDaily is not a replacement.
Its inbox and LinkedIn reach further
Hootsuite's inbox also takes Google Business Profile and WhatsApp messages, and its LinkedIn publishing is fully approved. PostDaily's LinkedIn works but is still in LinkedIn's review, with lower limits until that is approved. If you post to LinkedIn at volume, that is a real reason to stay.
Bigger bulk imports
Hootsuite's bulk scheduler takes up to 350 posts from one CSV on every plan (not during the trial). PostDaily's takes 100 rows per file, 25 of them with images.
It has a long record and procurement knows it
Hootsuite is a known quantity that procurement departments already approve. PostDaily is new. For some organisations that difference alone settles it, and it is a fair thing to weigh.
Where PostDaily is the better fit
There is a free plan, and seats are not a multiplier
Hootsuite has no free plan: a 14-day trial, then a paid plan. Every plan is priced per user, so a team of three on Standard is 3 × $99 = $297 a month on annual billing. PostDaily has a permanent free plan, and seats are part of each plan rather than a multiplier on it.
Approval without the $399 plan, or a seat for the client
Hootsuite's post approval workflows are on Advanced ($399 per user a month, annual) and Enterprise, and the approver is a member of your Hootsuite organisation. External approvals can only be recorded after the fact, on Enterprise. PostDaily's review link comes with Pro: the client approves or leaves feedback in the browser, with no account and no seat.
No ten-account ceiling at the entry price
Hootsuite's Standard plan connects up to 10 social accounts and prices no add-on for more, so the eleventh means Professional at $199 per user. PostDaily's allowance steps from 3 channels to 10 and 100 by plan, with seats included.
Built around a queue that recovers
Each channel gets its own weekly posting grid and the queue fills from it. Transient errors retry, real failures show the network's own error message, and a broken connection holds the posts queued behind it until you reconnect instead of failing them one by one.
Side by side
Hootsuite figures taken from their own pricing page on . Prices change — check theirs before deciding.
| Hootsuite | PostDaily | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | None; 14-day trial, no card | 1 channel, 5 posts a month |
| Billing model | Per user, per month | Per plan, seats included |
| Entry list price | $99 / user / month, billed annually | See pricing |
| Accounts on the entry plan | 10 on Standard; unlimited from Professional | 3 on Starter, 10 on Pro, 100 on Agency |
| Post approval | Advanced ($399 / user); approver needs a seat | Pro; no-login review link |
| Inbox and listening | Inbox on all plans; full listening on Enterprise | No |
| Networks | 9, incl. LinkedIn; no Mastodon | Bluesky, Mastodon, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube and Pinterest live (LinkedIn in review) |
Common questions
- Is PostDaily cheaper than Hootsuite?
- Yes, substantially. Hootsuite's cheapest plan is $99 per user a month billed annually, for up to 10 accounts, and approvals need Advanced at $399 per user. PostDaily has a free plan and paid plans well below that, with seats included.
- Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
- No. Hootsuite's plans page offers a 14-day trial with no credit card, and it does not charge you automatically when the trial ends. After that a paid plan is needed. PostDaily's free plan is permanent.
- What does Hootsuite do that PostDaily does not?
- A unified inbox with DM automations, listening and competitive benchmarking, custom reports, employee advocacy, SSO and compliance tools on Enterprise, bulk imports of 350 posts, and LinkedIn publishing without review-stage limits. If you need any of those, Hootsuite is the right tool.
- Can I move my scheduled posts across?
- Put your planned posts into PostDaily's CSV columns and upload up to 100 rows at a time; the free bulk CSV checker flags any row the import would reject. Connections have to be re-authorised network by network, which is an OAuth constraint, not a PostDaily one.
Try it before you decide
The free plan is permanent and needs no card, so you can schedule a real post before you move anything.
- No credit card
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- Cancel anytime