What social media tools cost in 2026, from Hootsuite's $99 seat to flat plans
Hootsuite fits teams that buy seats at $99 per user a month. BetterSocials fits one person selling in DMs, from $29 a month for four accounts.
By The Martech Desk staff8 min read
Hootsuite Standard costs $99 per user a month, billed annually, as of October 2026, and YouTube comments sit outside its inbox. Pick Hootsuite if you run a marketing team that buys seats and wants its Professional or Advanced tiers. For one person, BetterSocials, Later, Buffer and Pallyy all cost less. BetterSocials fits when comments and DMs bring in customers, with both in one inbox for $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, for four accounts.
Every price below comes from the vendor's own pricing page, as seen in October 2026, unless a line gives another month.
Pricing first: a seat price against a plan price
Hootsuite charges per seat, which means you pay once for each person who logs in. A flat plan charges one price for the plan, with a cap on social accounts, workspaces or logins instead of a fee per person. This comparison leads with price and saves the features for later sections.
The table shows each tool's annual rate per month as seen in October 2026, with the monthly rate where the vendor shows one.
| Tool | Plan | Price | Priced by | Inbox from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite | Standard | $99 per user | Per user | Standard |
| BetterSocials | Creator | $24, or $29 monthly | Plan with 4 accounts | Every plan |
| Sprout Social | Essentials | $79 per seat, or $99 monthly | Per seat | Standard, $199 per seat |
| Agorapulse | Standard | $79 per user, or $99 monthly | Per user | Standard |
| Vista Social | Professional | $80, or $99 monthly | Plan with 2 users | Professional |
| Later | Starter | $18.75, or $25 monthly | Plan with 1 user | Growth, $37.50 |
| Pallyy | Pro | $20, or $25 monthly | Plan with 1 user | Pro |
| Buffer | Essentials | $5 per channel, or $6 monthly | Per channel | Every plan, comments only |
| Planable | Basic | $33 per workspace, or $39 monthly | Per workspace | Paid add-on |
Hootsuite's plans page quotes the annual rate, and its FAQ says month-to-month billing costs more per user. Professional is $199 and Advanced is $399 per user a month, billed annually. Enterprise is priced on request.
How Hootsuite's seats add up for one, three and five people
Hootsuite's FAQ says its plans are sold per user, and you "purchase additional seats for each team member who needs access." On Standard, one person pays $99 a month, or $1,188 a year. Three people buy three seats at $99 each, just under three hundred dollars a month, and five people pay just under five hundred dollars.
The table below shows what each team plan charges for, at the annual rate per month as seen in October 2026.
| Plan | Price | Charged for | Team members |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite Standard | $99 | Each user | One per seat bought |
| BetterSocials Team | $79 | Whole plan, 12 accounts | Unlimited |
| Sprout Social Standard | $199 | Each seat | One per seat bought |
| Agorapulse Standard | $79 | Each user, 10 profiles | One per user bought |
| Buffer Team | $10 | Each channel | Unlimited |
Buffer Team and BetterSocials Team both include unlimited team members. At 12 accounts, Buffer Team's $10 per channel billed yearly, or $12 monthly, comes to a little over a hundred dollars a month, while BetterSocials Team is $79 a month billed yearly, or $99 monthly. Agorapulse includes 10 social profiles per user, so its three-person price covers 30 profiles.
The cheapest plans for one person, with an inbox and without
Later Starter costs $18.75 a month billed yearly, or $25 monthly, for one user. Later's inbox, called Conversations, starts on Growth at $37.50 a month billed yearly, or $50 monthly. Buffer Essentials at four channels costs 4 x $5 = $20 a month billed yearly, or $24 monthly, per Buffer's pricing page.
Buffer's inbox covers comments only, so Instagram and Facebook DMs stay in the phone app. Pallyy Pro is $20 a month billed yearly, or $25 monthly, with Instagram and Facebook DMs and comments, LinkedIn comments and TikTok comments in its inbox. Pallyy's inbox has no YouTube.
BetterSocials Creator is $24 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly, for four accounts and one login. That's $4 a month more than Buffer at four channels or Pallyy Pro, both on annual billing.
Over Buffer, those $4 buy DMs in the inbox, and over Pallyy they buy YouTube comments. BetterSocials also includes AI replies in your voice and keyword comment-to-DM, where a keyword in a comment sends that person a DM with your link.
Which inbox covers YouTube, TikTok and DMs at each price
BetterSocials puts Instagram comments and DMs, Facebook comments and Messenger DMs, and TikTok comments and DMs in one inbox on every plan. Comments from YouTube, Threads and LinkedIn Company Pages land there too. TikTok DMs are reply-only, at most 10 replies within 48 hours of the person's last message, and BetterSocials doesn't connect X, email inboxes, WhatsApp, Telegram or SMS.
Hootsuite's Standard plan lets you "respond to messages from one inbox," and the inbox reads TikTok comments. It doesn't include YouTube comments. Agorapulse ticks "Manage comments, DMs, and reviews from all networks in one inbox" on all four of its plans, from $79 per user.
Buffer's inbox replies to comments on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and more on every plan, though not to DMs. Later's Conversations cover Instagram and Facebook DMs and comments plus TikTok comments, and Later has no YouTube or LinkedIn conversations. Sprout Social starts its inbox on Standard at $199 per seat a month, billed annually.
What comment-to-DM adds to the bill
ManyChat bills comment-to-DM by active contacts per month. ManyChat Pro is $29 a month billed yearly, or $39 monthly, with 2,500 active contacts, as of September 2026.
Each contact past that costs $0.05 on Pro month to month. On ManyChat Business month to month, 10,000 active contacts cost $99 + 2,500 x $0.025 = $161.50. Meta Business Suite includes a free keyword comment-to-message automation for Instagram and Facebook, set up on desktop and sending a template you write, as of July 2026.
BetterSocials includes keyword comment-to-DM on Instagram and Facebook on every plan, with unlimited contacts and unlimited keywords. On TikTok and YouTube, no tool can turn a comment into a private DM. There, and on Threads and LinkedIn Company Pages, the BetterSocials keyword posts a public reply with your link.
What AI replies cost on each plan
Hootsuite adds automated inbox replies and workflows on Professional, at $199 per user a month, billed annually. BetterSocials includes AI replies to comments and DMs on every plan, metered by AI credits: 1,000 a month on Creator, 2,000 on Pro and 4,000 shared on Team. Each draft or automatic reply uses one credit, and when credits run out the AI pauses instead of charging more.
BetterSocials has three settings, Off, Draft for me and Reply in my voice. Questions wait in Needs reply for your approval unless you turn on Answer questions too, which needs at least one AI rule, a plain sentence you write with your prices, hours or booking link. The settings apply to comments and, in their own section, to Instagram, Facebook and TikTok DMs.
Planable's inbox add-on, $9 a month or $7.5 billed yearly per workspace, also lists AI replies, per Planable's pricing page. ManyChat includes AI from Pro.
Where Hootsuite's per-seat price earns its keep
Hootsuite fits a marketing team that buys seats and wants tiers to grow into. Professional adds automated inbox replies and workflows, Advanced is $399 per user a month billed annually, and Enterprise is priced on request. If your team needs X, email, WhatsApp, Telegram or SMS, BetterSocials doesn't connect them, so it drops off that shortlist.
Where a flat plan like BetterSocials fits
BetterSocials fits one person or a small team whose comments and DMs bring in customers, especially with YouTube in the mix. Creator is $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, for four accounts; Pro is $49, or $39 billed yearly, for six; Team is $99, or $79 billed yearly, for 12 accounts and unlimited teammates. Every plan has a 7-day free trial with a card required and a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first paid charge.
Our read on price: BetterSocials costs a few dollars more than Later Starter, Buffer at four channels or Pallyy Pro for one person, and less than any per-seat plan in our tables once a second person joins. If you mostly schedule posts and answer a few comments by hand, Buffer or Later costs less.
FAQ
Is Hootsuite priced per user or by team size?
Hootsuite is priced per user. Standard is $99, Professional $199 and Advanced $399 per user a month, billed annually, as of October 2026. Three people on Standard pay for three seats, just under three hundred dollars a month, while BetterSocials Team is $79 a month billed yearly, or $99 monthly, for 12 accounts and unlimited teammates.
Is there a social media scheduler cheaper than Hootsuite for one person?
Yes. Later Starter is $18.75 a month billed yearly, Buffer Essentials is $20 a month for four channels billed yearly, and BetterSocials Creator is $24 a month billed yearly for four accounts. Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user a month, billed annually. BetterSocials costs more than Buffer; the difference buys DMs in the inbox, and every BetterSocials plan includes AI replies and keyword comment-to-DM.
Which social media management tools have unlimited users instead of per-seat pricing?
Buffer Team includes unlimited team members at $10 per channel a month billed yearly, or $12 monthly. Sendible includes unlimited users on every plan from $30 a month billed yearly, as of October 2026, and Planable prices per workspace with unlimited users from $33 billed yearly. BetterSocials Team is $79 a month billed yearly for 12 accounts and unlimited teammates.
Does Hootsuite's inbox include YouTube comments?
No. YouTube comments sit outside Hootsuite's inbox, which reads TikTok comments. BetterSocials puts YouTube comments on videos and Shorts in the same inbox as Instagram and Facebook DMs, with AI replies in your voice, from $29 a month for four accounts.
Does ManyChat work with TikTok comments, and what tool does?
ManyChat's TikTok triggers are a message, a link click and a QR code scan, and its TikTok comment trigger is a limited rollout in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Hootsuite, Later and Buffer read TikTok comments in their inboxes. BetterSocials puts TikTok comments in its inbox and answers a keyword with a public reply that carries your link.
How much does Buffer cost per month, and does it include comment management?
Buffer Essentials is $5 per channel a month billed yearly, or $6 monthly, for one user. Team is $10 per channel billed yearly, or $12 monthly, with unlimited team members, and the free plan covers up to three channels. Every plan includes a community inbox for comments on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and more, and that inbox handles comments only.
Can an AI social media manager do the job for a small business?
An AI social media manager is software that does a human social media manager's job while the owner approves the work. BetterSocials posts to six platforms, drafts replies to comments and DMs in your voice and sends your link by DM when someone comments a keyword on Instagram or Facebook. You still record the videos and approve what goes out, from $29 a month for four accounts.