Hootsuite starts at $99 per user per month and locks approval workflows behind a $249-per-user plan. Zilfu is flat: $19/month for 10 accounts, unlimited teammates and workspaces, approvals and free client reviewers on every plan — including Free.
Three numbers tell most of the story. The rest of this page is the receipts — including where Hootsuite honestly wins.
per month on Hootsuite Advanced. The same workflow on Zilfu Business: $79.
on every Zilfu plan, Free included. Hootsuite locks approvals behind Advanced at $249/user.
on Zilfu Business, any mix of networks. Hootsuite Standard gives 10 — per $99 user.
An honest look at where each Hootsuite alternative wins — with a scoreboard per section. Hootsuite takes channels and engagement; Zilfu takes pricing, teams, and automation.
Pricing reflects published rates as of June 2026. Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user/month and Advanced is $249 per user/month, billed annually; Enterprise is custom. Zilfu uses flat plans: Free (2 accounts), Pro $19/mo (10), Business $79/mo (100), Scale $179/mo (300). Information accurate to the best of our knowledge — verify on each provider's pricing page.
Approval workflows live on Hootsuite Advanced at $249 per user — and every collaborator, including the client who just clicks "approve," needs a full-price seat. Five teammates plus two client reviewers is seven seats. Zilfu charges for none of them.
Set your headcount and accounts. We'll do the per-seat math Hootsuite's pricing page makes you do in your head.
Hootsuite: Standard $99/user/mo (10 accounts) or Advanced $249/user/mo (approvals, unlimited accounts), billed annually. More than 10 accounts or approvals assumes Advanced. Zilfu picks the cheapest flat plan that fits: Free (2 accounts, 20 posts/mo), Pro $19 (10), Business $79 (100), Scale $179 (300) — teammates and reviewers always free.
It's rarely one thing. It's the per-seat math that turns a $99 plan into a four-figure invoice, the approval paywall, and the features that keep sliding up-tier — the same reasons "Hootsuite alternative" searches spiked after the free plan died.
Every Zilfu plan includes unlimited teammates and unlimited workspaces. The price is keyed to connected accounts, not people — so growing your team never grows your bill.
Approval workflows, internal vs. client-visible comments, and approve-only client reviewers you invite by email — all included from the Free plan up. Clients never need a login they pay for.
One client with 3 Facebook Pages, 3 Instagram accounts, a LinkedIn, and a TikTok burns 8 of Hootsuite's 10 Standard slots. Zilfu Business covers 100 accounts in any mix of networks — and Scale covers 300.
Full REST API with tokens, webhooks that fire on publish, schedule, and fail, plus a hosted MCP server for Claude, Cursor, and other AI agents — on every plan, including Free.
The month Hootsuite killed its free plan — existing users got 30 days to upgrade or lose access. It never came back.
Source: widely reported; cited in G2 reviewsHootsuite's Trustpilot score across 540+ reviews. Billing and cancellation complaints — surprise renewals, refused refunds — dominate.
Source: Trustpilot, 2024–2026The trial length — credit card required up front, and it converts automatically to a paid (often annual) subscription unless you cancel first.
Source: hootsuite.com/plans, June 2026You don't need an export, a CSV, or an import wizard. Connect your accounts, set your slots, and schedule your next posts — you're done.
No credit card required. The Free plan stays free forever — no 30-day countdown, no auto-converting trial.
Authorize Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, X, Pinterest, or Facebook through each platform's official OAuth flow.
Check your renewal date first — Hootsuite trials auto-convert and annual plans auto-renew. Cancel from their billing page and keep the confirmation email.
No. Hootsuite killed its free plan in March 2023 and has not brought it back — the cheapest way in is now $99 per user per month, billed annually. Zilfu's Free plan gives you 2 connected accounts and 20 posts per month, with no credit card and no time limit, making it a genuinely free Hootsuite alternative.
As of June 2026, Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user per month and Advanced is $249 per user per month, both billed annually — roughly $1,188 and $2,988 per person per year. Enterprise is custom-priced and commonly reported at $15,000+/year. Zilfu's plans are flat regardless of team size: $19/mo for 10 accounts, $79/mo for 100, $179/mo for 300.
Yes — every additional user costs the full plan price again. There are no bundled team discounts: a second person on Standard is another $99/month, on Advanced another $249/month. Zilfu includes unlimited teammates and unlimited workspaces on every plan, including Free.
Approval workflows are only available on Hootsuite Advanced ($249/user/mo) and Enterprise. On Zilfu, approvals are included on every plan — including Free — along with internal vs. client-visible comments and approve-only client reviewers who never need a paid seat.
Yes. The 30-day trial requires a credit card and auto-converts to a paid — often annual — subscription when it ends, which is a recurring theme in Hootsuite's billing complaints. Zilfu's Free plan needs no card and never converts to anything; you upgrade only when you choose to.
Both tools allow it — neither restricts you to one account per network. The difference is the meter: on Hootsuite Standard each Page or profile counts against a 10-account cap per $99 user, so one multi-page client can nearly exhaust it. On Zilfu each account counts against your plan's pool — 10 on Pro, 100 on Business, 300 on Scale — at one flat price.
Yes, but access requires developer-account approval and practical use is effectively tied to Enterprise plans. Zilfu ships a full REST API with personal access tokens, webhooks, and a hosted MCP server for AI agents on every plan — including Free.
Anything Hootsuite hasn't published yet stays inside Hootsuite until you cancel — you can let those posts go out and switch fresh, or rebuild the queue in Zilfu in a few minutes. Already-published posts keep living on each social platform either way.
Not yet, honestly. Zilfu covers Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, Facebook, and X, with YouTube in development. Hootsuite additionally supports Bluesky, WhatsApp (inbox), Google Business Profile, and Reddit, plus a social inbox and Talkwalker-powered listening Zilfu doesn't have. If those are core to your workflow, Hootsuite may be worth its price — if scheduling, approvals, and reporting are, Zilfu does it for a fraction.
Bring your whole team and every client account, set up approvals in minutes, and pay one flat price. Free forever — no credit card, no 30-day countdown.