Social media management tools · Comparison
Buffer vs Hootsuite vs Later vs Sendible
4 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Buffer | Hootsuite | Later | Sendible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceScheduling for every major network, priced per channel with unlimited team members on Team, and a free plan to start. | Built-in reachPublishing, a shared inbox, listening and competitor benchmarks for every major network in one seat, backed by audited security. | Worth the priceA visual planner for Instagram, TikTok and six more networks, with approvals and an inbox on a flat plan that costs less than one seat elsewhere. | Worth the priceUnlimited users, client dashboards and an inbox on every plan, priced by workspaces of 6 profiles, for agencies that manage many clients. |
| Overall score | 6.6 | 6.6 | 7.4Best | 5.3 |
| Free option | Free plan | 14-day free trial | Free plan | 14-day free trial |
| Card to start | No card needed | No card needed | Card required | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $5/channel/mo | $99/user/mo | $18.75/mo | $29.75/mo |
| Pricing model | Tiered | Per seat | Flat rate | Flat rate |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per connected channel per month, lower per channel above 10 | Per user per month; each plan has a social account allowance | Flat plan with Social Sets (one profile per network) and users; extra sets and users as add-ons | Flat plan by workspaces of 6 profiles; unlimited users; extra workspaces priced per plan |
| Free option | Free plan: 3 channels, 1 user, 10 scheduled posts per channel; 14-day Team trial, no card | No free plan; 14-day trial, no card (plans page) | Free plan in the help center (1 Social Set, 1 user, 12 posts per profile a month); 14-day trial, card required | No free plan; 14-day trial, no card |
| Reference scenario (3 users, 10 profiles, annual) | $100/mo on Team (10 × $10), computed | $297/mo on Standard (3 × $99), computed | $41.25/mo on Growth ($37.50 + 1 extra user at $3.75), computed | $59.75/mo on Core with 1 extra workspace ($29.75 + $30), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $12 per channel on Team for channels 1–10 ($6 on Essentials) | $149 per user on Standard ($149 / $299 / $499 for the three listed plans) | $50 on Growth ($25 / $50 / $110 for the three listed plans) | $35 on Core ($35 / $99 / $199 / $299 / $750 for the five listed plans) |
| Networks for publishing | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube (Shorts), Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Google Business Profile, Mastodon | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky; Google Business Profile through its app | Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube (Shorts), Pinterest, Threads, Snapchat; not X | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, Google Business Profile, WordPress |
| Approval workflows | Team | Advanced ($399 per user, annual) and Enterprise | Growth and Scale | Plus and up; custom approval workflows from Premium |
| Unified inbox | Community inbox for comments on every plan; no direct messages | Comments and messages on every plan | Social Inbox (beta) on Growth: Instagram and Facebook messages and comments, TikTok comments | Priority Inbox for comments and messages on every plan |
| Social listening | Not offered | Quick Search with 7 days of history on Standard; 30 days from Professional | Scale: mentions, brand health and competitor benchmarking | Not offered on current plans |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Blog post says "SOC 2 compliant", report type not stated; ISO 27001 not stated | SOC 2 Type II audited annually; ISO 27001:2022 | SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001 listed in the trust center (archived copy) | Not stated |
| SAML SSO | Not stated | Enterprise only (priced by sales) | Legacy Enterprise plan only | Not stated; API-based SSO on Enterprise, by application |
| DPA | Published (linked from the legal page) | Published, with an electronic signature option | On request by email, with the reasons | Published; signed and emailed to Sendible |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Buffer is a straightforward publisher priced per channel, with unlimited users, approvals and a free plan. It covers comments but not direct messages, and lists no listening, SSO or certifications. | From its public pages, Hootsuite is a broad suite: ten networks, an inbox, listening and competitor benchmarks on Standard, and an audited security file. Seats are priced per user, and approvals start on Advanced. | From its public pages, Later is the lowest-cost way here to give a small team approvals and an inbox, priced by Social Sets. Its network list leaves out X, Bluesky and Google Business Profile, and listening starts on Scale. | From its public pages, Sendible is an agency-minded tool with unlimited users, an inbox and bulk scheduling on every plan and low workspace-based prices. Its pages state little about certifications, and approvals start on Plus. |
Evidence: Buffer: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Hootsuite: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Later: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Sendible: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Buffer review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Buffer when
- You want unlimited users, approvals and a free plan at $100 a month for 10 channels (Team, annual).
- Pick Hootsuite when
- You need direct messages in one inbox, listening and competitor benchmarks, and audited security documents.
From our Buffer review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Buffer when
- You publish to X, Bluesky or Google Business Profile, or want approvals and bulk upload with any number of users.
- Pick Later when
- You want Instagram and Facebook direct messages in the inbox and a lower scenario price ($41.25 a month on Growth with one extra user, annual).
From our Buffer review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Buffer when
- You want a free plan and approvals on the plan that fits 10 profiles.
- Pick Sendible when
- You want an inbox with direct messages and a lower scenario price ($59.75 a month on Core with one extra workspace, annual).
From our Hootsuite review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Hootsuite when
- You need direct messages in the inbox, listening and competitor benchmarks.
- Pick Buffer when
- You want unlimited users, approvals and a free plan, with 10 channels on Team at $100 a month (annual).
From our Hootsuite review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Hootsuite when
- Your security review asks for SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 from the vendor itself.
- Pick Sendible when
- You want unlimited users on every plan and 12 profiles for $59.75 a month on Core with one extra workspace (annual).
From our Later review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Later when
- You want Instagram and Facebook direct messages in the inbox and the lowest scenario price ($41.25 a month on Growth, annual).
- Pick Buffer when
- You publish to X, Bluesky or Google Business Profile, or want CSV bulk upload, an API and unlimited users.
From our Later review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Later when
- You focus on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest and want approvals on the plan that fits the scenario.
- Pick Sendible when
- You publish to X, Bluesky or Google Business Profile, or want unlimited users and CSV bulk scheduling on every plan.
From our Sendible review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Sendible when
- You want an inbox with direct messages and the lowest price for 10 profiles with unlimited users ($59.75 a month, annual).
- Pick Buffer when
- You want approvals on the plan that fits, a free plan, Pinterest and a documented API.
From our Sendible review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Sendible when
- You publish to X, Bluesky or Google Business Profile, or need unlimited users and CSV bulk scheduling.
- Pick Later when
- You focus on Instagram and TikTok and want approvals on the scenario plan at $41.25 a month (annual).
From our Sendible review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Sendible when
- You manage many clients and want staff and clients to log in without per-seat costs.
- Pick Hootsuite when
- You need listening, competitor benchmarks and SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 from the vendor.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- BufferLowest priceEssentials$5/channel/moBilled yearly ($60 per channel a year) for channels 1–10; $6 month to month; lower above 10 channels; 1 user
- Unlimited scheduled posts (fair use: 5,000 per channel)
- Advanced analytics with CSV, PDF and Markdown export
- First comment scheduling and hashtag manager
- API: 3 keys, 7,500 requests a month
- HootsuiteStandard$99/user/moBilled annually ($1,188 per user a year); $149 month to month; 10 social accounts
- Publishing and bulk scheduling (up to 350 posts by CSV)
- Inbox for comments and messages
- Listening Quick Search (7 days), 5 competitors
- 100 AI credits a month
- LaterStarter$18.75/moBilled yearly; $25 month to month; 1 Social Set (8 profiles), 1 user, no add-ons
- 30 posts per profile a month
- 5 AI credits a month
- Analytics with CSV export
- Link in Bio
- SendibleCore$29.75/moBilled yearly (shown as $30); $35 month to month; 1 workspace, 6 profiles, unlimited users; extra workspace $30 (yearly)
- Bulk scheduler and CSV uploads
- Priority Inbox: monitoring and replying
- Standard reports and client dashboards
- Unlimited AI credits
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Buffer 2026-10-16, Hootsuite 2026-10-16, Later 2026-10-16, Sendible 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- LaterSelf-serve sign-up, card required; the highest score of the 4 self-serve products here (7.4/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- BufferFree plan, no card needed; scored 6.6/10.
- Lowest starter price
- Buffer$5/channel/mo for the Essentials (billed yearly) plan.
- Highest overall score
- Later7.4/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score