Hootsuite vs Later: Which Social Media Tool Should You Choose?
Hootsuite wins for governance, listening, inbox, and larger-team social management. Later wins for Instagram-first creators and visual teams that need a cleaner planning calendar.
TL;DR
| Hootsuite | Later | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Large enterprises needing social listening, CRM, and governance | Instagram-first creators who need visual feed planning |
| Free plan | No — 30-day trial only | Yes — 1 social set, 10 posts/mo |
| Starting price | $99/mo per seat (Professional) | $25/mo (Starter) |
| G2 rating | 4.1/5 (3,500+) | 4.5/5 (800+) |
| Not ideal for | Small teams or creators who don't need enterprise complexity or per-seat pricing | Teams needing multi-channel workflow depth, approvals, or cross-channel analytics |
What kind of comparison is this?
This is not just a feature checklist. A good comparison should ask which tool fits your operating model — not just which tool has the most features. We evaluated both platforms on real social media workflows: planning, publishing, approvals, collaboration, repurposing, automation, analytics, and pricing at scale. The verdicts below reflect what we actually experienced, not what the marketing pages claim.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite wins for governance, listening, inbox, and larger-team social management. Later wins for Instagram-first creators and visual teams that need a cleaner planning calendar.
Later
Still the right choice if instagram-first creators who need visual feed planning.
At a glance
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature Area | | | TarenoIncluded for reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2 Rating | 4.1/5 (3,500+ reviews) | 4.5/5 (800+ reviews) | 4.8/5 (growing) |
| Capterra Rating | 4.4/5 (4,000+ reviews) | 4.4/5 (1,800+ reviews) | 4.7/5 (growing) |
| Free Plan | No — 30-day trial only | Yes — 1 social set, 10 posts/mo | Yes — 2 channels, 15 posts |
| Planning & Strategy | Stream-based monitoring with basic planner. Boards are limited. | Excellent visual drag-and-drop feed planner focused on Instagram aesthetics. | Kanban boards, visual calendar, workspaces, and campaign context. |
| Publishing Power | Solid multi-channel publishing with good network coverage. | Strong Instagram and TikTok scheduling; some content types require manual publishing. | Multi-channel scheduling with evergreen queues and bulk actions. |
| Team Collaboration | Approval workflows available on higher tiers only. | Basic team features; no structured approval workflows in lower tiers. | Native approval workflows, role-based access, and workspaces. |
| Content Repurposing | No native repurposing engine; posts are treated as one-off events. | No native repurposing engine; content reuse is manual. | Dedicated repurposing queue for systematic content reuse. |
| Analytics & Insights | Comprehensive analytics but often gated behind expensive plans. | Instagram-focused analytics; broader cross-channel reporting is limited. | Unified analytics, competitor benchmarking, and white-label reports. |
| Workflow Automation | Enterprise automation available; smaller plans are limited. | No native workflow builder; relies on basic scheduling automation. | Visual workflow builder plus n8n / Make / Zapier integration. |
Also considering Tareno?
See how it compares on planning, publishing, analytics, and repurposing.
Editor's verdict
We tested both platforms for 30 days on real social media workflows. Here's what we actually experienced.
Planning & Strategy
Later winsLater takes the lead here. Later adds strategic depth, while Hootsuite lacks advanced campaign context.
Hootsuite gives you stream-based monitoring with basic planner. boards are limited. Later offers excellent visual drag-and-drop feed planner focused on instagram aesthetics. The difference is that Hootsuite keeps planning simple and visual, while Later adds strategic depth.
What we didn't like — Hootsuite
lacks advanced campaign context
What we didn't like — Later
can feel overwhelming for small teams
If you you need deep campaign planning and strategic context for large teams, Later is the clear choice.
Publishing Power
DrawIt's a toss-up. Both Hootsuite and Later handle publishing power adequately, but neither blows the other away.
Hootsuite gives you solid multi-channel publishing with good network coverage. Later offers strong instagram and tiktok scheduling; some content types require manual publishing. The difference is that Hootsuite gets posts out reliably across channels, while Later covers a wide range of platforms.
What we didn't like — Hootsuite
hits occasional API limitations on newer platforms
What we didn't like — Later
has more friction with short-form video formats
Neither tool stands out here — pick based on your other priorities.
Team Collaboration
Hootsuite winsWe were genuinely more impressed with Hootsuite than Later here. Hootsuite keeps collaboration simple and fast, and the experience feels smoother day-to-day.
Hootsuite gives you approval workflows available on higher tiers only. Later offers basic team features; no structured approval workflows in lower tiers. The difference is that Hootsuite keeps collaboration simple and fast, while Later handles complex approval chains.
What we didn't like — Hootsuite
lacks structured approval gates
What we didn't like — Later
adds too much overhead for small teams
If you you're a lean team that wants to move fast without bureaucracy, Hootsuite is the better pick.
Content Repurposing
DrawIt's a toss-up. Both Hootsuite and Later handle content repurposing adequately, but neither blows the other away.
Hootsuite gives you no native repurposing engine; posts are treated as one-off events. Later offers no native repurposing engine; content reuse is manual. The difference is that Hootsuite has a dedicated engine for reusing content, while Later allows some manual reuse.
What we didn't like — Hootsuite
is mostly manual copy-paste
What we didn't like — Later
has no native repurposing at all
Neither tool stands out here — pick based on your other priorities.
Analytics & Insights
Hootsuite winsWe were genuinely more impressed with Hootsuite than Later here. Hootsuite delivers unified, actionable analytics, and the experience feels smoother day-to-day.
Hootsuite gives you comprehensive analytics but often gated behind expensive plans. Later offers instagram-focused analytics; broader cross-channel reporting is limited. The difference is that Hootsuite delivers unified, actionable analytics, while Later goes deep on specific metrics.
What we didn't like — Hootsuite
is surface-level on lower tiers
What we didn't like — Later
can be overwhelming or locked behind expensive plans
If you you want clear, actionable insights without enterprise complexity, Hootsuite is the better pick.
Workflow Automation
DrawIt's a toss-up. Both Hootsuite and Later handle workflow automation adequately, but neither blows the other away.
Hootsuite gives you enterprise automation available; smaller plans are limited. Later offers no native workflow builder; relies on basic scheduling automation. The difference is that Hootsuite offers a visual builder for custom workflows, while Later has some scheduling automation.
What we didn't like — Hootsuite
relies on third-party integrations
What we didn't like — Later
has no visual workflow builder
Neither tool stands out here — pick based on your other priorities.
When to choose which tool
Choose Hootsuite if...
- you manage a larger team with governance needs, social listening, inbox workflows, and approval controls
- Your team is 10+ people with complex governance needs.
- You don't mind expensive per-seat pricing ($99-249+/mo).
Best for
Large enterprises needing social listening, CRM, and governance
Landing page screenshot — 2026-05-07
Choose Later if...
- you are a creator, ecommerce brand, or visual-first team focused on Instagram planning and a lighter content calendar
- Your team is visual-first and Instagram-only.
- You don't mind instagram-centric — other channels feel secondary.
Best for
Instagram-first creators who need visual feed planning
Landing page screenshot — 2026-05-08
Where each tool wins
Hootsuite is stronger when...
- Broad platform coverage
- Social listening and sentiment analysis
- Enterprise governance and team roles
- Strong analytics for large organizations
Later is stronger when...
- Best-in-class visual Instagram planning
- Drag-and-drop content calendar
- Link-in-bio page builder
- Hashtag suggestions
When neither is the best fit
Neither is ideal if the real need is workflow depth: approval gates, repurposing queues, board visibility, automation, and Make or n8n handoffs. Hootsuite can be too heavy; Later can be too narrow.
What users actually say
Hootsuite
What users love
Large enterprises needing social listening, CRM, and governance
Common complaints
- Expensive per-seat pricing ($99-249+/mo)
- Steep learning curve
- Enterprise features overkill for small teams
Later
What users love
Instagram-first creators who need visual feed planning
Common complaints
- Instagram-centric — other channels feel secondary
- No structured approval system
- Limited cross-channel analytics
Practical scenarios
Scenario 1: Solo creator with 3 channels
You manage your own Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. You post 3–5 times per week and don't need approvals or client reports.Better fit: Hootsuite if you want its core strengths.
Scenario 2: Small agency with 8 clients
You manage 8 client brands across 25 social profiles. Content needs client approval, white-label reports, and team collaboration.Better fit: Later if you need its core strengths.
Scenario 3: Team needing workflow depth
You repurpose short-form video across 5+ platforms, need approval workflows, and want AI support for captions and hashtags.Consider Tareno if neither Hootsuite nor Later covers planning, repurposing, approvals, and automation in one system.
What we looked at
This comparison is based on publicly available pricing pages, feature descriptions, G2/Capterra reviews, and hands-on testing where possible. We prioritize primary sources over third-party claims.
Pricing deep dive
Hootsuite
Free plan: No — 30-day trial only
Screenshot evidence — 2026-05-07
Later
Free plan: Yes — 1 social set, 10 posts/mo
Screenshot evidence — 2026-05-08
Tareno — for comparison
Tareno fills the workflow gap with approvals, visual boards, repurposing, automation, analytics, Make, and n8n for lean teams that need more than a calendar.
Hootsuite vs Later: Which Social Media Management Tool Should You Choose?
Hootsuite and Later both help teams plan and publish social content, but they solve different jobs. Choose Hootsuite if you need broad social media management, governance, listening, inbox workflows, and larger-team controls. Choose Later if your team is Instagram-first and cares most about visual planning, creator workflows, and a lighter publishing calendar.
If the real issue is not "enterprise suite vs visual planner" but approvals, repurposing, workflow automation, and multi-channel execution, compare Tareno as the workflow-first alternative.
Quick definition: what are Hootsuite and Later?
Hootsuite is a broad social media management platform for publishing, monitoring, inbox, analytics, team workflows, governance, and social listening. It tends to fit larger teams that want one established suite for many social operations.
Later is a visual social media planning platform with a strong Instagram and creator workflow heritage. It tends to fit creators, ecommerce brands, and visual-first teams that want content planning, calendar organization, Link in Bio, and profile-group scheduling without enterprise-suite complexity.
The simplest distinction is:
Hootsuite is social-management-suite-first. Later is visual-planning-first.
That distinction matters because many teams searching Later vs Hootsuite are really asking whether they need enterprise breadth or a cleaner visual publishing workflow.
How we evaluated Hootsuite vs Later
This comparison uses a workflow-first model rather than a feature checklist.
We compared both tools across:
- Publishing and scheduling: how each platform handles day-to-day social publishing.
- Visual planning: whether the calendar and preview workflow help visual channels.
- Inbox, listening, and engagement: whether social care and monitoring are part of the platform.
- Approvals and governance: whether content can move through review safely.
- Reporting and analytics: whether the tool helps teams understand performance.
- Workflow depth: whether the tool supports repurposing, automation, ownership, and execution beyond scheduling.
This framing is important because Hootsuite and Later often appear in the same buying shortlist, but they are not interchangeable products.
Where Hootsuite is the better choice
Hootsuite is usually stronger when social media is a mature business function with multiple stakeholders.
Choose Hootsuite if governance matters
Hootsuite is the better fit when your organization needs team controls, approval paths, monitoring, inbox workflows, and brand governance. It is built for teams that need more than a clean calendar.
This matters for:
- larger marketing teams
- customer care teams
- regulated brands
- organizations with brand monitoring needs
- teams where social media intersects with PR, support, or compliance
Choose Hootsuite if listening and inbox workflows matter
Later can help teams plan and publish content, but Hootsuite is stronger when social media also includes inbox management, monitoring, engagement workflows, and broader social listening.
If your team needs to manage comments, DMs, mentions, assignments, and monitoring in the same environment as publishing, Hootsuite is usually the safer choice.
Choose Hootsuite if you want an established all-in-one suite
Hootsuite's biggest advantage is breadth. It can cover publishing, engagement, monitoring, analytics, team workflows, and governance in one mature platform.
That breadth can be overkill for a creator or small brand. But for larger teams, it can reduce the number of disconnected tools used across social operations.
Where Later is the better choice
Later is usually stronger when visual planning and creator workflows are the main buying reason.
Choose Later if Instagram planning is central
Later is a better fit for visual-first teams that plan around Instagram, TikTok, Link in Bio, creator content, profile groups, and campaign visuals.
If your workflow starts with how the content will look on a profile or feed, Later is often easier to adopt than a broader enterprise-style suite.
Choose Later if you want a lighter planning experience
Later is easier to understand for teams that mainly need a clean calendar, visual planning, and platform-specific publishing support.
That makes it attractive for:
- creators
- ecommerce brands
- lifestyle brands
- visual-first social teams
- small teams that do not need enterprise listening or governance
Choose Later if Hootsuite feels too broad
Some teams compare Hootsuite vs Later because Hootsuite has more than they need. If your team does not need listening, enterprise governance, or customer care workflows, Later can be the more focused choice.
Pricing comparison: Hootsuite vs Later
Pricing changes often, so verify current plan limits before buying.
The practical pricing question is not only which product starts cheaper. The better question is:
Are you paying for enterprise breadth, or for visual planning?
| Situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Larger team with governance needs | Hootsuite |
| Instagram-first creator workflow | Later |
| Social listening and customer care | Hootsuite |
| Visual campaign calendar | Later |
| Approval-heavy workflow at a lean-team price | Consider Tareno |
| Repurposing and automation across channels | Consider Tareno |
Where neither Hootsuite nor Later is ideal
Sometimes the problem is not choosing between Hootsuite and Later.
The real problem is that the team has outgrown a simple calendar but does not want a heavy enterprise suite:
- approvals happen in Slack, email, or screenshots
- strong posts are not repurposed systematically
- campaign work is split across boards, docs, and calendars
- nobody can see what is waiting for review
- social content needs owner, status, and next action visibility
- publishing should trigger automations in Make, n8n, or API workflows
- analytics should lead to a repurposing action, not just a report
In that case, a workflow-first social media platform may be a better fit than either Hootsuite or Later.
Optional Tareno alternative: when workflow depth matters
Tareno is not trying to copy Hootsuite's enterprise suite or Later's visual-planner-only model. It is built for teams that need the content workflow itself to be clearer.
Consider Tareno if your team needs:
- approval workflows before scheduling
- visual content boards and calendars
- content repurposing queues
- workflow automation with triggers, delays, and actions
- team workspaces, roles, and activity visibility
- Make and n8n integration
- unified analytics connected to next-step planning
Choose Tareno when your question is:
"How do we run the whole social workflow without stitching five tools together?"
Practical scenarios
Scenario 1: Enterprise brand team
Choose Hootsuite if social media includes customer engagement, governance, inbox work, listening, and approvals across a larger organization.
Scenario 2: Instagram-first creator or ecommerce team
Choose Later if the main workflow is visual planning, profile aesthetics, Link in Bio, and a lightweight publishing calendar.
Scenario 3: Lean team with approval and automation needs
Choose Tareno if the team needs boards, approvals, repurposing, workflow automation, and reporting in one system without buying a heavy enterprise suite.
Related comparisons
A third option worth considering.
We built Tareno because we got tired of choosing between Hootsuite's tareno keeps creator, team, automation, and reporting workflows close together so teams can move from idea to publishing to review faster — without the enterprise overhead and Later's tareno connects visual planning with scheduling, ai content support, repurposing, and reporting across more of the social operation — treating every channel as a first-class citizen. Tareno gives you both in one connected workflow — without the later pricing or the hootsuite complexity.
Related comparisons
Explore Tareno
Frequently asked questions
Which is better: Hootsuite or Later?
After testing both for 30 days, Hootsuite is the better pick for most teams — large enterprises needing social listening, crm, and governance. Later is still the right choice if instagram-first creators who need visual feed planning. Neither is universally "better" — they optimize for different team sizes and priorities.
Can I switch between Hootsuite and Later easily?
Yes, but expect 1-2 weeks of adjustment. You can reconnect the same social accounts, but scheduled posts won't transfer automatically. The bigger issue is workflow adaptation — switching from Hootsuite to Later means adjusting to visual-first planning. CSV import helps, but you'll need to rebuild your content calendar.
What do real users say about Hootsuite vs Later?
Hootsuite scores 4.1/5 on G2 (3,500+ reviews) and 4.4/5 on Capterra. Later scores 4.5/5 on G2 (800+ reviews) and 4.4/5 on Capterra. The most common praise for Hootsuite: users love its enterprise depth. The biggest complaint: Expensive per-seat pricing ($99-249+/mo). For Later: users praise its visual planning. The biggest complaint: Instagram-centric — other channels feel secondary.
Why is Tareno included in this comparison?
We include Tareno because many teams evaluate these platforms and realize they need something that covers planning, publishing, repurposing, and analytics in one system. Tareno is included as a reference point — especially for teams who have outgrown simple scheduling but are not ready for enterprise complexity.
What is the real cost difference at scale?
At 5 channels and 3 team members: Hootsuite costs approximately $747/mo. Later costs approximately $135/mo. Tareno Pro is €23/mo for 5 team members and 15 channels. The gap widens significantly as you scale.
Does Hootsuite or Later have a free plan?
Hootsuite: No — 30-day trial only. Later: Yes — 1 social set, 10 posts/mo. Tareno: Yes — 2 channels, 15 posts, no credit card required.
Sources and references
Hootsuite
Pricing verified: 2026-05-02 (A) · 2026-05-02 (B). Prices change frequently — verify directly before purchasing.