In the world of social media scheduling tools, Buffer and Hootsuite are two ringleaders, and with good reason. Both tools are affordable and allow businesses of all sizes to reduce the stress of consistently posting on their social media profiles. But in the battle of Buffer and Hootsuite that took the prize home? Is Hootsuite or Buffer better for your business?
On this page, we’ll talk about Buffer and Hootsuite in 2021 and identify the pros and cons of each.
Read on to learn more or contact us today about our social media management services!
Buffer vs Hootsuite 2021: Which tool is superior?
As a business, it’s natural to want to use the best of the best in terms of tools and services.
Social media is an important part of your company’s branding and offers your business opportunities to showcase your culture, products and team. No matter what social platforms you use, it’s essential to post consistently to optimize engagement.
This is where Buffer and Hootsuite can help.
Every tool is a great option for social media scheduling. But which one wins in a dispute between Buffer and Hootsuite?
Let’s talk a little more about each platform.
Buffer
The purpose of the tool: Buffer allows you to schedule posts for all your social media accounts in advance, so you never have to worry about your social platforms being muted.
Price: $15 – $99/month
Supported networks: Buffer hosts the following networks:
- YouTube
What we love: When you use Buffer for your business, you can be sure your social profiles will never go dry. As long as you provide the content to submit to Buffer, it will provide your followers with the scheduled content in your queue.
You can schedule your content down to the minute, and we like that Buffer’s platform offers a visual calendar that shows you how often and what time of day you post.
Another feature of Buffer is its ultra-intuitive interface – even if you’re new to social media scheduling, you’ll be able to understand and work with Buffer.
We also love that Buffer provides post-performance analytics and that you can download its sister tool, Buffer Analyze, to take an even deeper look into the analytics of your social media profiles.
What we don’t like: As with any vehicle, it’s bound to have a few features we don’t like.
Admittedly, Buffer is more of a social planning tool than a social media management tool. However, it lacks the built-in analytics that Hootsuite has and doesn’t let you see or respond to engagement within the tool.
Hootsuite
The purpose of the tool: Hootsuite allows you to schedule posts for all your social media accounts in advance, while also interacting with the content you post.
Price: $29 – $599/month
Supported networks: Hootsuite hosts the following networks:
- YouTube
What we love: There’s a lot to love about Hootsuite. When talking about Hootsuite vs Buffer it would be fair to say that Hootsuite is more of a social media management tool while Buffer is more of a social media scheduling tool.
However, one of our favorite things about Hootsuite is that it integrates with Google Analytics to give you insights into metrics like social traffic, how each platform is performing, and post-performance.
We also love that you can directly participate in your posts with Hootsuite. The platform displays your engagement posts and lets you respond without ever leaving the tool.
Which brings us to one of our favorite Hootsuite features – the fact that it does so much more than post planning. Essentially, you can manage all your social platforms from one place within the tool.
What we don’t like: As we mentioned, Hootsuite is your all-in-one social media management tool that offers post scheduling, post engagement, social analytics, and more.
The only thing to note is that Hootsuite costs more than Buffer and it is almost necessary to choose the paid version to get access to all its best features.
Is Hootsuite or Buffer better?
“Better Hootsuite or Buffer, especially for business?” There is no clear answer to your question.
When evaluating Buffer and Hootsuite, you should consider your company and your needs to make the right choice.
Here are a few things to consider when deciding between Buffer and Hootsuite:
Here are a few things to consider when deciding between Buffer and Hootsuite:
Your budget
Before choosing between Hootsuite and Buffer for your business, you should consider your budget.
Buffer is definitely cheaper of the two options, but it also comes with fewer features. Hootsuite is more expensive month to month but offers comprehensive social media management features.
The number of social channels you want to manage
Does your company start with a single social media platform or do you have multiple social platforms you want to manage?
For example, Buffer’s Pro and Premium tiers let you manage eight social channels each, while Hootsuite’s Professional and Team tiers let you manage 10 and 20 social profiles, respectively.
Hootsuite is probably the better value if you want to manage all your social profiles in one place.
Number of users
Do you have a one-man social media team that will be the only user of the tool? If yes, while Buffer’s Pro package and Hootsuite’s Professional package provide access to one user, you must select the highest tier of each tool to provide access to five or more users.
Again, Buffer will be the cheaper option when it comes to adding more users at a lower cost.
How often do you want to send
Buffer offers 100, 2000, and 2000 scheduled shipments in its Pro, Premium, and Business plans, respectively, while Hootsuite offers unlimited scheduling at each pricing tier.
Hootsuite is the better choice if you don’t want to worry about exceeding your monthly post quota.
Looking for outreach outside of Buffer and Hootsuite?
Looking for more in-depth social media management that doesn’t require a tool? If so, Flowline Center is here for you.
We know the importance of social media marketing and advertising – it keeps you in touch with your target customer, allows you to sell more products and increases clicks to your website.
