Finding the right social media management tool is a critical decision for small businesses and growing brands. A solid social media management tool helps you plan content, manage customer interactions, and track social media performance without consuming your entire workday.
For years, Hootsuite was considered the default industry standard. However, steep price increases have led many small teams and business owners to look for alternatives like Metricool. In our hands-on comparison, we evaluated Metricool vs Hootsuite across pricing models, daily workflow, analytics, and feature availability to help you select the best social media management tool for your budget.
Table of Contents
Quick Verdict: Metricool vs Hootsuite for Small Business
- Choose Metricool if: You are a small business, solopreneur, or small team looking for an affordable, all-in-one platform to schedule posts, track in-depth analytics, run ad campaigns, and monitor competitors without paying enterprise rates.
- Choose Hootsuite if: You are a mid-market or enterprise brand that requires advanced social listening, complex team collaboration permissions, and a deeply customizable enterprise dashboard, and you have the budget to support $99+/month.
Feature & Pricing Comparison
| Feature | Metricool (Starter / Advanced) | Hootsuite (Standard / Professional) |
| Starting Price (Annual) | ~$20/month (5 brands) | ~$99/month (1 user, 10 accounts) |
| Pricing Model | Per-brand packaging | Per-user, per-seat pricing |
| Free Plan / Trial | Permanent free plan + 7-day free trial | 30-day free trial (No free plan) |
| Team Seats | Unlimited team seats on Advanced | Charges strictly per user/seat |
| Social Platforms | FB, IG, LinkedIn, TikTok, GBP, X, YouTube, Pinterest | FB, IG, LinkedIn, TikTok, GBP, X, YouTube, Pinterest |
| Ad Management | Meta, Google Ads, TikTok Ads | Paid ad add-ons on higher tiers |
| Social Listening | Competitor tracking (up to 100 profiles) | Web-wide social listening tools |
1. Pricing & Business Scalability
The fundamental difference between these two platforms lies in their pricing models.
Hootsuite Pricing Structure
Hootsuite has repositioned itself as an enterprise solution. Its baseline plan starts at roughly $99 per month (billed annually) for a single user.
- Per-User Penalties: Adding team members or client reviewers requires upgrading to higher tiers (like the Team plan at ~$249/month).
- No Permanent Free Plan:Hootsuite’s legacy free tier was phased out. It now only provides a standard free trial.
Metricool Pricing Structure
Metricool offers a small-business-friendly model based on “brands” rather than seats.
- Brand-Centric Plans: The Starter tier begins at around $20/month for up to 5 brands.
- Team Collaboration: On Advanced tiers (~$53/month), Metricool providesunlimited social accounts and unlimited team seats, allowing you to invite team members or clients to approve posts without added costs.
- Permanent Free Tier: Includes a free plan for 1 brand (up to 20 scheduled posts per month).
Our Hands-On Verdict:Metricool is better for small business budgets. Hootsuite charges per user seat, whereas using Metricool allows you to scale your team without multiplying your software bill.
2. Scheduling, Workflow, and AI Content Creation
When we evaluated the content creation workflow on both dashboards, both platforms delivered strong scheduling capabilities across platforms like Buffer, Later, and SocialBee.
Hootsuite Workflow
Hootsuite provides a stream-based dashboard that allows users to monitor multiple feeds side-by-side.
- Bulk Scheduling: Supports bulk scheduling for large campaigns.
- AI Tools: Features OwlyWriter AI to help draft captions, generate post ideas, and repurpose top-performing content.
- Calendar View: Provides an interactive calendar view for drag-and-drop content planning.
Metricool Workflow
Metricool is built around visual simplicity and timing accuracy.
- Best Time to Post: The planner overlays heatmaps directly onto the content planning grid, showing exactly when your specific audience is online across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
- Multi-Channel Publishing: Easily schedule posts to Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Meta from one dashboard.
- AI Assistant: Includes an AI caption writer across all tiers (including the free plan) to generate post variations quickly.
3. Analytics, Ad Management, and Social Inbox
Metricool: Unified Data & Ads Tracking
During our testing, Metricool excelled in consolidated reporting:
- In-Depth Analytics: Tracks organic performance alongside paid ad campaigns (Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads) in one place.
- Competitor Benchmarking: Track up to 100 competitor profiles to analyze rival strategies.
- Custom Reports: Export downloadable PDF or PPT reports in seconds.
Hootsuite: Enterprise Monitoring & Inbox
Hootsuite offers deep monitoring tools designed for corporate communications:
- Social Listening:Hootsuite offers advanced features for brand sentiment tracking and keyword monitoring that go beyond basic competitor tracking.
- Unified Social Inbox: Includes an enterprise social media inbox that routes incoming DMs and comments to specific team members.
Our Hands-On Verdict: For standard social media performance tracking, ad tracking, and client reporting, Metricool wins on value. Hootsuite is only necessary if your business requires deep sentiment analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are small businesses switching from Hootsuite to Metricool?
Small businesses are switching primarily due to price. Hootsuite’s starting price of ~$99/month per user is expensive for small teams. Metricool provides similar multi-channel scheduling, key features, and analytics starting at ~$20/month.
Does Metricool support Google Business Profile and TikTok?
Yes. Metricool supports direct scheduling, auto-publishing, and analytics for Google Business Profile, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and X.
Can I manage paid ads inside Metricool?
Yes. Unlike many social media tools that only track organic posts, Metricool allows you to track organic posts and ad campaigns (Google, Meta, TikTok) inside the same dashboard.
Does Hootsuite offer a free plan?
No. Hootsuite discontinued its permanent free plan. It currently offers a free trial on select tiers, whereas Metricool retains a permanent free plan for 1 brand.
Final Recommendation: Metricool vs Hootsuite
- Choose Metricool if you run a small business, agency, or lean marketing team. It delivers 90% of Hootsuite’s scheduling and analytics capabilities—plus integrated ad tracking and competitor benchmarking—for a fraction of the cost.
- Choose Hootsuite only if you are an enterprise team that specifically requires web-wide social listening, advanced team routing in the inbox, and has an enterprise budget to support it.
