Free Hootsuite: is it possible? What alternatives are there?

Today Hootsuite is the most popular and effective tool for organizing and managing different social media accounts. There are many users around the world who use it, thus achieving a more orderly and efficient management. And it is not only used by community managers, but also by many private users. It is precisely the latter who most wonder if there is an alternative to Hootsuite for free.

For those of you who are not familiar with Hootsuite yet, we will briefly explain what exactly it does and why it is so interesting. Basically it is a platform designed for a comprehensive management of social networks. Through it, its users can connect all their accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.) and plan the publication of posts and messages in an orderly manner, among other things.

Another very practical aspect of Hootsuite is the Analysis tools that it offers to its users. These are very useful when planning and executing online marketing campaigns (if we are talking about companies or advertising projects), although they are also very practical to know the scope of our publications, the audience we reach and the interactions we receive. .

Hootsuite is a payment software. Its price is relatively if we take into account its functionalities. There is a free version that only allows a maximum of 3 accounts. To be able to administer more there is no choice but to scratch your pocket:

• 3 people and a maximum of 10 profiles (€ 20 per month).
• 5 people and a maximum of 20 profiles (€ 100 per month).
• 5 people and a maximum of 50 profiles (€ 500 per month).

These prices mean for many users a major disadvantage, especially if we talk about private and non-business profiles, which manage enough budget for these and many other tools. That is why there is a lot of interest in knowing if there are options to get Hootsuite for free. Or at least a good substitute.

There are also users who have reported occasional complaints about the Hootsuite service (bad Instagram integration, improved customer service, etc). Others have also complained about the lack of updates. In short, several reasons that have encouraged them to look for another platform that better meets their expectations. Some of them may find one of these alternatives interesting:

Now Press

It is possible that Now Press It is not yet the definitive alternative to Hootsuite, but if its development continues along the same path that it has done until today, it will be in the future. This platform focuses on social media marketing with extensive support for publishing and managing posts.

From its clean and simple interface, all aspects related to this task can be easily controlled: publication scheduling and monitoring, keyword search with term filter, applications and useful tips for creating new publications ... And above all, highly detailed statistical reports . A lot of information at our fingertips, but easy to manage. And with a Spanish version.

We speak of Agora Pulse as an option for the future because today it still has certain gaps. The most important is the small number of networks we can add. For now, only Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which for many users may be more than enough.

AgoraPulse offers its users a free two-week trial period, plenty of time to experiment with all its features. After this period, you have to choose between the Small version (3 social profiles for € 49 per month), Medium (10 profiles for € 99 per month), Large (25 profiles for € 199 per month) and ENterprise (40 profiles for € 299 € per month). So it's not really a free Hootsuite alternative, but almost.

Link: Now Press

buffer

Probably the best known of the free Hootsuite alternatives. This application allows you to publish content on different social networks, connecting our profiles. Its interface is very clean and practical. It offers in sight an agenda in which to plan the publications according to our preferences or needs. For example, posts can be automated for publication on specific days and times.

But the highlight of buffer, which makes it the great alternative and rival of Hootsuite, is its powerful algorithm. Their analysis tools are particularly thorough and comprehensive, providing valuable and detailed information on the scope of our posts on social media. And you already know: information is power.

Also noteworthy is its friendly Photo editor (his name is Pablo), which allows you to optimize photos and other images for your posts on social media. It also has mobile applications for iOS and Android. Of course: there is no Spanish version.

For all this, the free version of Buffer it is a great alternative to Hootsuite. The pro version is also available, which allows you to add up to 8 social media accounts for only 10 euros per month. There are other more expensive versions that can host more profiles and users, although with significantly lower rates than its rival. That is why it has become a competition to take into account.

Link: buffer

Nail

Another free Hootsuite alternative designed in Russia: Nail. This tool offers integration with numerous social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn and others. It has a clean and simple interface, without too many frills.

Among the most important characteristics of Kuku is that of native emoji insert when writing the posts. It seems silly, but that is something in which this tool has been ahead of its rivals. And it is not bad, considering that for many the emojis they are the new universal language. Another noteworthy is the possibility of creating channels. In short, it is about linking the social networks that we use together most frequently, thus streamlining the management process.

Kuku is a free tool, although in this mode its functions are somewhat limited. For example, analysis data is only available in the paid version. But this can also be interesting, since it only amounts to € 10 per month.

Link: Nail

Stacker

Here's another social media management tool that offers interesting features. Stacker allows us to manage our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest accounts. This program has an attractive, orderly and intuitive design. The different accounts are divided into tabs, one click away.

The analysis tool that Stacker includes has a great advantage over those used by the other free Hootsuite alternatives: its simplicity and clarity. And that does not mean that they are data and statistics with less rigor, quite the opposite. It is enough with a simple glance to know the amount of «likes» that our publications receive, the frequency with which our posts are seen and shared, the comments etc. Stacker is recommended especially for individual users, but also for small teams, as well as for small companies or associations.

La free version Stacker allows users to link up to 4 accounts. The truth is that for an average individual user that would be enough, but if we are looking for something more serious and professional, there are interesting options. They are: Amazing Plan (1 user and 12 for € 10 per month), Team (5 users and 25 accounts for € 50 per month), Studio (10 users and 50 accounts for € 1.000 per month) and Agency (25 users and 150 accounts for € 250 per month).

Link: Stacker

socialpilot

socialpilot is a powerful alternative to Hootsuite, although its target audience is more companies than individual users. This platform is especially effective when it comes to optimize content that we publish, since it adapts it to each of the social networks individually. And the networks are many: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr… And also vl.com and ok.ru, the two big Russian social networks. Consequently, SocialPilot users are legion.

To be mainly aimed at professional clients, SocialPilot has a much more complex design than other similar management products for social networks. Only suitable for experts in social media management. Laypeople who dare to dive into this tool will have to spend a lot of time familiarizing themselves with its use and all the possibilities it offers.

The functions it offers are very extensive and again clearly conceived for companies and marketing campaigns: branding, calendar function, browser extensions, publication scheduling and, especially, interesting analysis and customer management tools, among others.

Like other similar platforms, SocialPilot also offers a free version, although with certain limitations. For example, it only allows you to integrate 3 accounts and make 10 publications a day. In this version some of the more interesting functions are not available. To have some of them, the most common, you can buy the Basic version (10 profiles and 50 publications a day for € 5 a month). More complete is the Growth Hacker version (100 profiles and 200 publications a day for € 10 a month). Finally there is the superior version, called Business (20 profiles, 200 different accounts and 500 posts every day, all for € 15 per month).

Link: socialpilot