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Is There a Free Version of Hootsuite? No, but These 8 Free Hootsuite Alternatives Have Real Free Plans (2027)

Is There a Free Version of Hootsuite in 2027? No, but These Free Social Media Schedulers Are

No, there is no free version of Hootsuite. Hootsuite ended its free plan on 31 March 2023, as BetaKit and The Canadian Press reported at the time, and in October 2026 its plans page still lists only paid plans with a free 14-day trial. If you are a founder or a small team that wants to schedule posts without paying for Hootsuite, you have two options: use Hootsuite's free trial and free tools for a short job, or move to a scheduler that still has a real free plan. We checked every plan below on the tool's official pricing page in October 2026 and say clearly which tools have a free plan and which only offer a trial.
Quick answer: for the closest free replacement, use Buffer (3 channels, 10 queued posts per channel); for free analytics and competitor tracking next to scheduling, use Metricool; for the most channels on a free plan, use Zoho Social (6 channels); and if you only post on Facebook and Instagram, Meta Business Suite is free. Want software you host yourself instead? See our open-source Hootsuite alternatives and open-source Buffer alternatives.
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What You Can Get From Hootsuite for Free in 2027

The Hootsuite plans page (checked October 2026) answers the question in its FAQ: there is no free plan, and you can start a 14-day trial without a credit card. You are not charged automatically when the trial ends. During the trial you can post 10 to 20 times a day per organisation, depending on the plan, and bulk scheduling is switched off. After the trial, Standard costs $99, Professional $199 and Advanced $399 per user per month on annual billing (visitors from Europe see the same figures in euros); Standard covers up to 10 social accounts and the higher plans unlimited accounts. Enterprise is priced on request, and nonprofits can apply for a discount on some plans.
What is still free: Hootsuite's free social media tools, about 40 small web tools such as a caption generator, hashtag generator, bio generator, engagement rate calculator and best-time-to-post calculator. They help you write and plan posts, but they do not publish anything for you. So the honest answer is: Hootsuite is free for 14 days, and its writing tools are free for good. For ongoing scheduling at no cost you need one of the tools below.

Free Hootsuite Alternatives Compared

ToolFree plan (Oct 2026)What the free plan includesMain catchPaid from
BufferYes, no time limit3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, AI Assistant, Start Page1 user, 30 days of insights$5 per channel/month
MetricoolYes, no time limit1 brand, 20 posts a month, 30 days of analytics, 5 competitorsNo LinkedIn or X on the free plan$20/month billed yearly
Zoho SocialYes, after a 15-day trial1 brand, 6 channels, scheduling, calendar, summary reports1 team memberPrice shown by region
PublerYes, no time limit3 accounts, 10 scheduled posts at a time per account, 25 draftsNo X on the free plan$5/month for 1 account
Social ChampYes, free forever3 accounts, 15 scheduled posts per account, 1 userAI tools: 3 uses each$5/month
RobinReachYes (Seed plan)2 profiles, 20 posts a month, 10 AI posts, bio pageNo post analytics$9/month
PlanableFirst 50 posts freePlanning, approvals and publishing for 50 posts50 posts in total, no monthly reset$33 per workspace/month
Meta Business SuiteFreeSchedule posts and stories, insights, one inboxFacebook and Instagram onlyFree (ads cost extra)
HootsuiteNo: 14-day trialFull plan for 14 days, 10-20 posts a dayPaid after the trial$99 per user/month
Sources: each tool's official pricing page or help centre, checked 27 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and change often, so check before you buy.

The Best Free Hootsuite Alternatives in 2027

1. Buffer: the simplest free scheduler

Buffer has the free plan most people mean when they ask for a free Hootsuite. It has no time limit and lets you connect up to 3 channels, with 10 scheduled posts per channel that refill as posts go out. One user, the AI Assistant for writing posts, a Start Page (a link-in-bio page) and insights with 30 days of history are included. Buffer works with Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon and Substack. When you outgrow it, Essentials costs $5 per channel a month ($60 a year) and Team $10 per channel a month.

2. Metricool: free scheduling with analytics and competitor tracking

Metricool is the best free pick if you also bought Hootsuite for its reports. The free plan covers 1 brand, up to 20 scheduled posts a month, 30 days of analytics and 5 competitor profiles, plus 5 AI assistant credits a month. The catch: it connects every network for that brand except LinkedIn and X (Twitter), so B2B founders who live on LinkedIn need another tool or a paid plan. Starter costs from $20 a month on yearly billing ($25 monthly).

3. Zoho Social: the most channels on a free plan

Zoho Social starts with a 15-day trial without a credit card, and then moves your account to a free plan with no end date instead of locking it. The free plan covers 1 brand and 6 channels (one each of X, Instagram, a Facebook page, a LinkedIn company page, a LinkedIn profile and a Google Business Profile) for 1 team member. It includes content scheduling, a publishing calendar and summary reports; the full reports dashboard is on paid plans. Prices depend on your region and currency, so check the price shown for your country. If you are weighing it against Hootsuite, see our Hootsuite vs Zoho Social comparison.

4. Publer: free scheduling with link-in-bio and drafts

Publer has a free plan for up to 3 social accounts, excluding X (Twitter), with up to 10 scheduled posts at a time per account and 25 saved drafts. A slot opens again once a post is published. Paid plans are priced per account: Professional starts at $5 a month for 1 account with unlimited scheduling, and Business at $10, with 20% off on yearly billing. We compare the two tools in Publer vs Hootsuite.

5. Social Champ: now with a free forever plan

Social Champ (now at socialchamp.com) only offered a trial when we first wrote this list, but its pricing page now shows a free plan, and the homepage calls it free forever with no credit card. You get 3 social accounts, 15 scheduled posts per account and 1 user, plus a password-protected shared calendar link and its AI content tools with 3 uses each. Paid plans start at $5 a month (Starter), with Growth at $9 and Standard at $29.
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6. RobinReach: a free plan for posting with AI

RobinReach is built around AI: you can tell ChatGPT, Claude or Codex what to post through its MCP server and RobinReach publishes it. Its free Seed plan covers 1 brand, 2 social profiles, 1 team member and 20 posts a month, with 10 AI-written posts and 5 AI images a month and a free bio page. Analytics on the free plan are limited to live profile totals; post analytics and reports are paid. Sprout costs $9 a month.

7. Planable: 50 free posts for teams that need approvals

Planable is a planning and approval tool for teams and agencies. It has no classic free plan: your first 50 posts are free, with no time limit and no credit card, but the 50 posts are a one-off allowance and do not reset each month. Publishing to X is not included in the free allowance. It is a good way to test client approvals; for ongoing free scheduling, pick Buffer or Zoho Social. Basic costs $33 per workspace a month.

8. Meta Business Suite: free if you only need Facebook and Instagram

Meta Business Suite is Meta's own free tool. Its App Store listing says you can create, schedule and manage posts and stories for your Facebook Page and Instagram account, see insights on posts, stories and ads, and answer messages and comments in one place. It does not cover LinkedIn, TikTok or X. The app is free; ads are paid separately. Many founders combine it with a free Buffer or Publer plan for the other networks.

Trial Only or Not a Scheduler: What Changed Since the 2026 List

The 2026 version of this article listed ten tools. When we checked them again in October 2026, several no longer belong on a list of free tools:
  • Later: no free plan, only a 14-day free trial; the Later pricing page lists Starter at $18.75 a month billed yearly.
  • Vista Social: no free plan, only a 14-day free trial without a credit card; the Vista Social pricing page starts at $99 a month for Professional.
  • Rival IQ: a competitor analytics tool, not a scheduler. The Rival IQ pricing page shows no free plan (a 14-day trial, then from $239 a month), but its free tools still include head-to-head reports for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
  • Google Analytics: free of charge according to Google, but it measures the traffic your posts send to your website; it does not publish posts. Use it next to any scheduler above, with tagged links.
  • Social Champ and Zoho Social moved the other way: the old list said trial only, and both now have free plans.

Which Free Hootsuite Alternative Should You Choose?

  • You want the closest free replacement for Hootsuite scheduling: Buffer.
  • You need free analytics and competitor tracking too: Metricool, as long as you do not need LinkedIn or X.
  • You post on LinkedIn, X and Google Business Profile: Zoho Social, which covers 6 channels on its free plan.
  • You post only on Facebook and Instagram: Meta Business Suite.
  • You want AI to write and publish for you: RobinReach.
  • You need client or team approvals: test Planable with its 50 free posts.
  • You want to own the software and host it yourself: one of the open-source Hootsuite alternatives.
  • You need Hootsuite for one campaign: use its 14-day trial and cancel before it ends.
Ready to pay for a stronger tool? Our lists of Hootsuite alternatives, Hootsuite Insights alternatives and free Buffer alternatives go further, and Buffer vs Hootsuite compares the two best-known schedulers. For a longer list of free tools, see our top 10 free alternatives to Hootsuite.

How Founders Run Social Media on a Free Plan

A free plan is enough when you post a few times a week on two or three networks, which is where most early-stage startups are. Plan a month of posts in one sitting with a social media content calendar, queue them in your free scheduler, and keep a list of evergreen posts to refill the queue when the 10 or 20 free slots run out. Our guide to social media management for startups covers the routine, social media for startups explains which networks to pick first, and our list of social media management tools for startups helps when you are ready to pay.
Free alternatives work for your other tools too: we have checked free Canva Pro alternatives for post images, free PaintShop Pro alternatives for photo editing and open-source Zendesk alternatives for answering the customers your posts bring in. Social posts fade in days, so also turn your best ones into articles with the F/MS AI SEO Tool that people find in Google and AI assistants, and validate your startup idea before you spend money on promotion.
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FAQ About Free Versions of Hootsuite

Is there a free version of Hootsuite in 2027?

No. Hootsuite ended its free plan on 31 March 2023, and when we checked its plans page in October 2026 it offered only paid plans with a free 14-day trial. Its small writing and planning tools, such as the caption and hashtag generators, are still free.

Does the Hootsuite free trial need a credit card?

No. Hootsuite says you can start the 14-day trial without a credit card and that you are not charged automatically when it ends. Trial accounts can post 10 to 20 times a day per organisation, and bulk scheduling is not available.

How much does Hootsuite cost after the trial?

In October 2026 the plans page listed Standard at $99, Professional at $199 and Advanced at $399 per user per month on annual billing. Enterprise is priced on request, and nonprofits can apply for a discount on some plans.

What is the best free alternative to Hootsuite?

Buffer is the closest match for scheduling: a free plan with no time limit for 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel. Metricool is better if you also want free analytics and competitor tracking, and Zoho Social if you need 6 channels including LinkedIn and X.

Which free scheduler includes LinkedIn?

Zoho Social lists both a LinkedIn company page and a LinkedIn profile among the 6 channels on its free plan, and Buffer's pricing page does not limit networks by plan. Metricool's free plan does not include LinkedIn or X.

Which free Hootsuite alternatives support X (Twitter)?

Zoho Social lists X among its 6 free channels, and Buffer's pricing page does not limit networks by plan. Publer's free plan excludes X, Metricool's free plan excludes LinkedIn and X, and Planable's 50 free posts do not include publishing to X.

Is Later free?

No. In October 2026 Later offered a 14-day free trial and no free plan; Starter costs $18.75 a month billed yearly. Vista Social also has only a 14-day trial.

Can I schedule Instagram and Facebook posts for free?

Yes. Meta Business Suite is free and lets you create and schedule posts and stories for your Facebook Page and Instagram account, with insights and one inbox. Buffer, Metricool and Publer also let you schedule Instagram posts on their free plans.

Is there a free self-hosted alternative to Hootsuite?

Yes. Open-source schedulers can be hosted on your own server for free; we compare them in our open-source Hootsuite alternatives list. You pay for the server and your own setup time instead of a subscription.

Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?

You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-10-27 04:50 Top Alternatives