Hootsuite Pricing, August 2026: Plans, Costs & Hidden Fees

Hootsuite’s published prices in 2026 are $99, $199 and $399 per user per month, all billed annually, plus a custom-priced Enterprise tier. That is the short answer.

The longer answer is what those numbers actually cost once you add seats, and what Hootsuite does not print on the pricing page at all: the monthly billing rates, the refund rules, the renewal terms and the discount that can cut the bill by 60% if you qualify.

This guide breaks down every Hootsuite plan and what it includes, the costs that only show up at checkout or at renewal, whether a free plan still exists, what happens when you cancel, and how the total compares with other tools. Every figure here was checked against Hootsuite’s own pricing, help centre and legal pages in August 2026.

• TL;DR: An overview of current Hootsuite pricing vs. NapoleonCat pricing 
• Hootsuite pricing plans in 2026
• Does Hootsuite have a free plan in 2026?
• Hootsuite monthly vs annual billing
• Hootsuite refunds, cancellation and auto-renewal
• Hootsuite nonprofit pricing, and the discount that does not exist
• What Hootsuite actually costs a team
• NapoleonCat – pricing tiers and features
• Feature comparison: Hootsuite vs. NapoleonCat
• Which tool is right for you?
• Hootsuite pricing FAQ

TL;DR: An overview of current Hootsuite pricing vs. NapoleonCat pricing 

If you’re looking for a quick Hootsuite vs. NapoleonCat pricing summary, here are the most important things you should know:

• Hootsuite’s current per-seat model means your bill literally doubles or triples every time you add a teammate
• NapoleonCat’s usage-based plans include multiple users by default, offering a significantly lower entry point for teams
• Both platforms have several plans to choose from: Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise for Hootsuite and Standard, Pro, Expert, and Enterprise for NapoleonCat. The higher up you go, the bigger the difference in price between the two platforms.
• With both platforms, you can save up by paying annually instead of monthly.
• The lowest price with Hootsuite is $99 per user per month, paid annually, with up to 10 social accounts.
• You can get 25% off Hootsuite by skipping the free trial. 
• The lowest price for NapoleonCat starts at $79 a month for 2 users and 5 social media profiles.

Which one’s more suitable obviously depends on your needs and a simple calculation. Here’s a quick table to help with that.

Now let’s get into more detail of each of the plans in both platforms, shall we?

Hootsuite pricing plans in 2026

Hootsuite sells four tiers. Three have public prices, all quoted per user per month on annual billing, and the fourth is quoted by a salesperson.

Standard: $99 per user/month

The entry plan, built around one person managing a modest set of profiles.

• Up to 10 social accounts
• Unlimited scheduling
• AI assistant for captions
• Inbox for incoming interactions
• Competitor benchmarking (5 competitors)

What is missing at this tier: approval workflows, bulk scheduling, deeper reporting and more than 7 days of mention history. The seat count is the thing to watch, because each extra person is another $99 a month with no volume discount. A three-person team pays $297 a month for the cheapest plan Hootsuite sells.

Professional: $199 per user/month

The tier most growing teams actually land on.

• Unlimited social accounts
• Automation for repetitive tasks
• Everything in Standard

The jump from Standard buys unlimited profiles rather than more people. If your problem is a growing team rather than a growing number of profiles, this tier does not solve it.

Advanced: $399 per user/month

This is where the collaboration features live.

• Content approval workflows
• Team collaboration and custom permissions
• Customisable reports and templates
• Bulk scheduling
• Extended mention history and wider benchmarking

At $399 per seat, a team of five on Advanced is just under $24,000 a year before tax. That is the number worth putting in front of whoever signs off the budget.

Enterprise: custom pricing

Hootsuite does not publish an Enterprise price, a minimum seat count or a starting figure, so any specific number you read elsewhere is an estimate rather than a quote. What Hootsuite does publish are the contract terms: a one-year initial term that renews automatically for further one-year periods unless you give written notice at least 60 days before it ends, and 90 days of notice before any price increase.

Enterprise adds social listening, employee advocacy, single sign-on, priority support and the Salesforce integration.

Does Hootsuite have a free plan in 2026?

Not for new users. Hootsuite retired its free plan at the end of March 2023, and the pricing page today lists only the four paid tiers. The way in is a 14-day free trial, which does not ask for a credit card and does not charge you when it ends.

The trial is not the full product. Hootsuite caps trial accounts at roughly 10 to 20 posts a day per organisation depending on the plan, and bulk scheduling is switched off for the duration.

There is one exception. If you are already a paying customer and you cancel, Hootsuite lets you drop into a limited free account rather than deleting everything, capped at two social accounts. You have to remove any profiles above that limit first. It is a way to keep your history, not a plan you can sign up for.

Hootsuite monthly vs annual billing

Hootsuite bills both monthly and annually and says so in its own pricing FAQ. What it does not do is show you the monthly rate. Every price on the plans page carries an asterisk explaining that figures are based on annual billing and exclude tax, and there is no monthly toggle to click.

So the monthly number only appears once you are inside checkout. Treat any monthly figure quoted in a comparison article, including the ones that confidently print $149 or $249, as unverified, because Hootsuite does not publish it.

The practical consequence: the $99 headline is the annual-commitment price. If you want the freedom to leave after a month, you will pay more than $99, and you will not find out how much more until you are entering card details.

Hootsuite refunds, cancellation and auto-renewal

Refund and renewal terms are where this costs people money.

Refunds

Hootsuite’s self-serve terms are blunt: cancel a paid plan and you are not entitled to a refund, and you keep paying for the remainder of the term you committed to. The one exception is Hootsuite ending your service without cause, in which case it refunds the portion you have not received.

In plain terms, an annual plan cancelled in month two is still an annual plan you are paying for.

Auto-renewal

Self-serve plans renew and charge automatically unless you cancel first. Auto-renew is on by default. You switch it off in your account billing settings, which is also where you change between monthly and annual billing.

How to cancel or downgrade

Open your profile, then Account settings, then Manage my plan and Manage my subscription, and change or cancel from there. Paid features stay available until the current billing period ends rather than stopping the moment you cancel. Downgrading works the same way, takes effect at the end of the cycle, and produces no credit for the unused part.

Enterprise contracts are separate. Those need written non-renewal notice at least 60 days before the term ends, so a missed calendar reminder means another year.

Hootsuite nonprofit pricing, and the discount that does not exist

Hootsuite runs a nonprofit programme called HootGiving that takes up to 60% off the standard rates on annual billing:

• Standard: $99 down to $39 per user/month
• Professional: $199 down to $79 per user/month
• Advanced: $399 down to $159 per user/month

You apply through Hootsuite’s giving partner or through TechSoup. It is the single biggest lever on the price and it takes about ten minutes to check whether you qualify.

There is no published student or education discount. Hootsuite markets to universities, but no percentage, tier or eligibility rule appears anywhere on its site, so in education the nonprofit route is the only published discount worth chasing.

What Hootsuite actually costs a team

Every published Hootsuite price is per user, which is where budgets go wrong. The headline looks like a subscription price and behaves like a per-head price.

• 1 person on Standard: $99 a month, $1,188 a year
• 3 people on Standard: $297 a month, $3,564 a year
• 3 people on Professional: $597 a month, $7,164 a year
• 5 people on Advanced: $1,995 a month, $23,940 a year

None of those figures include tax, and none of them assume anyone needs the Enterprise add-ons. If your team is likely to grow, model the price at the headcount you expect in a year rather than the one you have today.

Per-seat cost is also the single most common complaint people raise about Hootsuite on Reddit. When we read 148 Hootsuite reviews on Reddit from the last two years, 37 of them brought up price, per-seat cost or a renewal quote.

NapoleonCat – pricing tiers and features

Let’s take a look at how NapoleonCat’s plans work. The first difference you’ll see is that NapoleonCat uses a usage-based model rather than charging per seat. This means adding a teammate won’t automatically double your monthly bill. (And the lowest plan actually includes two users already).

Also, each of the plans comes with customer support that NapoleonCat’s clients really appreciate for always being responsive. So, unlike many software platforms these days, you don’t have to pay extra to talk to a human about your potential issues with the tool (not that there are many).

And if you look at NapoleonCat’s pricing page, you’ll see that you can tailor each plan based on the number of users and social media platforms.

Each higher plan includes what’s in the lower plan plus new features. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of each pricing tier for you.

Standard Plan 

The Standard plan starts at $89/mo for 2 users and 5 profile slots

What’s included: 

• 2 users and 5 social profiles. Taking it a step further to 5 users and 10 social profiles moves you along the slider on the pricing page.
• Unlimited scheduling
• Team collaboration tools
• Competitor benchmarking (within your social profile number limit)
• Automated reporting tools

Note: Some of the features available in the lowest plan in NapoleonCat are what you’d only get in the Enterprise plan at Hootsuite. 

Pro Plan

The Pro plan starts at $109/mo, and is NapoleonCat’s most popular tier for community managers, as it includes the unified Social Inbox. 

What’s included: 

• Everything you get in the Standard plan
• A full Social Inbox to manage comments and DMs across platforms
• AI Reply Suggestions to draft on-brand replies automatically
• Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok ad comments moderation
• Saved replies
• Email consultations with NapoleonCat experts
• Team performance reports
• Sentiment tagging

Expert Plan

The Expert plan starts at $139 per month for 2 users and 5 profiles.

What’s included: 

• Everything included in the Pro plan
• Auto-moderation for replying to common questions, hiding and deleting offensive comments and spam
• AI‑supported sentiment analysis 
• Advanced search

Compared to Hootsuite, you’re getting some powerful AI-driven tools to protect your brand reputation for a fraction of the price.

Enterprise Plan

Custom pricing starts at $465 per month.

What’s included: 

• API access
• Custom reporting and compliance solutions
• Custom agreements and payment options
• SLA support
• Priority onboarding

This plan is heavily customizable, and you can negotiate what it looks like for you – without hidden add-on fees. And even then, you’ll likely be paying less than a mid-sized team using Hootsuite.

The pay‑as‑you‑grow model

As you’ve probably seen already, the pricing in NapoleonCat progresses in two ways:

• Number of users and social media profiles within a single plan
• Based on features across plans.

This way, you can customize your pricing to fit what you actually need at the moment. Plus, you can upgrade and downgrade any time.

There’s a 14-day free trial for you to test out the features – and you don’t even need a credit card to sign up.

Feature comparison: Hootsuite vs. NapoleonCat

Let me focus on a few key areas for a social media management tool like Hootsuite and NapoleonCat, and how they compare. For the full head-to-head on a page of its own, see our breakdown of the best alternative to Hootsuite. 

Social Inbox & CRM

• NapoleonCat includes a unified Social Inbox and Social CRM across plans, starting from the Pro plan. 
• The Social Inbox works for organic comments, DMs, and ad comments, and also includes Google reviews.
• The Social CRM brings comment history and customizable tags into a coherent user profile.
• Hootsuite’s Standard plan offers a basic inbox and no CRM.
• Advanced inbox and CRM features in Hootsuite are available in the higher tiers.
  

Auto‑moderation & AI Reply

• NapoleonCat offers AI‑based Auto‑moderation (spam/hate removal, sentiment tagging) in Expert and Enterprise plans. 
• The AI Reply is available from the Pro plan and up.
• An AI Assistant that helps you write post captions in the publisher is available in all NapoleonCat plans.
• Hootsuite automation rules are either limited or available only via add‑ons. 
• The AI Reply in Hootsuite is available only in Enterprise plans and at a much higher cost than what it would be using NapoleonCat.
  

Sentiment & competitor benchmarking 

• NapoleonCat includes AI‑supported sentiment tagging that you can also connect to Auto-moderation and monitor via the analytics and reporting features.
• It also offers comprehensive competitor benchmarking, with profile limits based on your selected number of social media slots in your plan.
• Hootsuite offers basic sentiment analysis across plans.
• The competitor benchmarking is limited to 5 profiles in the Standard plan, then jumps to 20 in the Advanced plan.
  

Multi‑language support & training: 

• NapoleonCat provides English and Polish customer support with 1:1 onboarding and training across all plans. 
• Hootsuite provides English-only support, and training is restricted to Enterprise plans.

GDPR & data residency: 

• NapoleonCat is EU‑based and GDPR‑first.
• Hootsuite is Canada‑based with data held outside of the EU.
  

Pricing model: 

• NapoleonCat uses mid‑market, value‑based pricing starting at $89 per account
• The pricing grows depending on the number of users and profiles within a plan and also across plans.
• Hootsuite’s pricing is user-based, with a high cost per user. It also progresses across the three available plans. 
• Both platforms offer customizable Enterprise plans, with Hootsuite starting at much higher rates, though. 

Oh, you wanted a neat table? Here you go:

Hootsuite vs. NapoleonCat feature comparison

Which tool is right for you?

Of course, the quick answer is: it depends. On your needs, team size, social media presence, etc.

But let me give you a little more context to help you make the right decision.

Solo entrepreneurs or freelancers

If you need a few profiles and a single user, Hootsuite’s Standard plan could technically work. Compared to other alternatives for solo business owners, it does feel excessively expensive, though, with some platforms like Buffer even providing free accounts (with some limitations you might still be fine with).

NapoleonCat’s Standard plan will be enough if you only want to use the publishing feature, while the Pro plan provides helpful features for customer engagement for only $89/mo – and you get two user slots by default if you want to work with someone else. It’s definitely a strong option if you’re looking for inbox features in addition to publishing content.

Small teams & agencies

When you add more users, Hootsuite’s per‑seat costs quickly become prohibitive for smaller teams. A team of five would pay $495/month on the Standard plan or $1,245/month on the Advanced plan (both billed annually).

NapoleonCat’s Standard/Pro/Expert plans, on the other hand, allow 2 users by default, and adding additional users or profiles is way less expensive. A 5‑person team on the Pro plan will pay $159/month (on the annual plan), and $209 on the annual Expert plan. The math here is pretty simple.

Essential agency‑focused features like multiple workspaces, real-time user collaboration, analytics, and automated moderation are also included earlier in NapoleonCat’s tiers, so the platform becomes much more affordable than Hootsuite at the same level of advancement.

Enterprise companies

As I already mentioned, both platforms have customizable Enterprise plans.

Hootsuite’s Enterprise plan might be great for companies that need advanced integrations, such as Salesforce, and large-scale social media listening. (Be aware of the possible extra costs, though.)

NapoleonCat’s Enterprise plan starts at $465/mo and offers advanced AI features and API access, with custom agreements and compliance solutions. So it really depends on how advanced you need your social media management be in terms of the entire organization’s marketing strategy.

Let me also remind you that NapoleonCat includes multi‑language support and 1:1 training across plans. And it offers GDPR compliance by default – so, if you’re based in the EU, it might be the smarter choice in terms of compliance.

Choose the tool that fits your social media needs and budget

If you’re choosing between Hootsuite and NapoleonCat for your social media management needs, I hope this article helps shine some light on some of the finer print and the available pricing options.

You can try NapoleonCat for free for 14 days, no questions asked (and no credit card), so testing it before making the jump is a good idea.

Hootsuite pricing FAQ

How much does Hootsuite cost per month?

From $99 per user per month on the Standard plan, billed annually. Professional is $199 and Advanced is $399, also per user per month on annual billing. Enterprise is quoted individually. Monthly billing exists but Hootsuite does not publish those rates.

Is Hootsuite free?

No. The free plan was retired in March 2023. New users get a 14-day trial with no credit card required, and existing paying customers who cancel can drop to a limited free account capped at two social accounts.

Is a credit card required to start a Hootsuite trial?

No. Hootsuite states you do not need a card to start the 14-day trial and that you will not be charged automatically when it ends.

How much is the Hootsuite Professional plan?

$199 per user per month on annual billing. It adds unlimited social accounts and automation on top of Standard, and it is the tier most growing teams end up on.

What is Hootsuite’s starting price?

$99 per user per month, billed annually, for one person and up to 10 social accounts. There is nothing cheaper, because the free plan no longer exists.

Does Hootsuite offer refunds?

No. Its self-serve terms state you are not entitled to a refund on cancellation and that you continue paying for the rest of the term. The exception is Hootsuite ending the service without cause.

Does Hootsuite have a nonprofit discount?

Yes, up to 60% off through its HootGiving programme, bringing Standard to $39, Professional to $79 and Advanced to $159 per user per month on annual billing.

Why is Hootsuite so expensive?

Because the price is per seat and the plans are built for larger organisations. A three-person team on the cheapest plan pays $297 a month before anyone has upgraded for approvals or reporting, and the features small teams often want most, like approval workflows, sit two tiers up.

How do I cancel Hootsuite?

In Account settings, open Manage my plan, then Manage my subscription, and cancel or change the plan there. Access continues until the end of the billing period you have already paid for. Enterprise customers must give written notice at least 60 days before the term renews.

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What do Reddit users say about Hootsuite vs Sprout Social?

Mostly that neither one wins outright. We read every Reddit thread comparing the two from the last 24 months and two things came up repeatedly: 8 of the 18 substantive comments in the single best thread came from vendors rather than users, and Hootsuite can work out more expensive than Sprout once you match the tier that actually carries listening and competitor analysis. The full breakdown, with the per-seat maths for a team, is in Hootsuite vs Sprout Social on Reddit.