Automates social media posting, engagement, and analytics for marketing teams.
Marketer
Social Media Marketing Tools for Social Media Managers
The tools a social media manager relies on, within the marketer role.
Every tool here is hand-reviewed for social media managers, with an honest take on fit and trade-offs.
78 tools· Updated Oct 2026
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6 sub-roles
We compared 11 social media management suites on what a social media manager actually pays for: the starting price, free plan and trial, a shared inbox, social listening, approval workflows and the networks each one can publish to. Every fact comes from the vendor's own pricing and help pages, checked on 2 October 2026. We don't rank them: the right pick depends on how many people and accounts you manage and which networks matter to you.
Social media management tools compared
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan | Free plan | Free trial | Shared inbox | Social listening | Approvals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agorapulse | Standard: $79/user/mo yearly or $99 monthly (10 profiles) | No (ended July 2026) | Up to 30 days | All plans | Add-on | Professional and up |
| Buffer | Essentials: $5 per channel/mo yearly or $6 monthly | Yes: 3 channels, 10 queued posts each | 14 days | Comments only, all plans | No | Team plan |
| Hootsuite | Standard: $99/user/mo billed yearly (10 accounts) | No | 14 days | All plans | From Standard | Advanced and up |
| Later | Starter: $18.75/mo yearly or $25 monthly (1 social set) | Yes (limited posts) | 14 days | Growth and up | Growth and up | Growth and up |
| Loomly | Starter: $49/mo yearly or $65 monthly (12 accounts, 3 users) | Yes: 3 accounts, 5 posts/mo (not offered to everyone) | Yes (length not stated) | Starter and up | Limited (2 per month on Starter) | Starter and up |
| Metricool | Starter: from $20/mo yearly or $25 monthly (up to 5 brands) | Yes: 1 brand, 20 posts/mo | No standard trial | All plans | No | Advanced and up |
| Planable | Basic: $33/workspace/mo yearly or $39 monthly (unlimited users) | No (first 50 posts free) | 50 free posts | Add-on | Add-on | All plans |
| Publer | Professional: $4/mo yearly or $5 monthly for 1 account | Yes: 3 accounts (no X), 10 queued posts each | 7 days | No | No | Business plan |
| SocialPilot | Essentials: $25.50/mo yearly or $30 monthly (7 accounts) | No | 14 days | Standard and up | No | Standard and up |
| Sprout Social | Essentials: $79/seat/mo yearly or $99 monthly (5 profiles) | No | 30 days | Standard and up | Monitoring from Standard; full listening add-on | Professional and up |
| Vista Social | Professional: $950/yr or $99 monthly (15 profiles, 2 users) | Not on pricing page | 14 days | All plans | Own profiles free; wider listening $75/mo | All plans |
From each vendor's pricing page and help center, checked 2 October 2026, in USD. Prices are the regular cheapest paid plan; per-user, per-channel and per-workspace pricing differ, so compare the cost for your own team size. Promotions are left out.
Which networks each tool can publish to
| Tool | X (Twitter) | TikTok | Threads | Bluesky | YouTube | Google Business Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agorapulse | Paid add-on | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Buffer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Shorts only | Yes |
| Hootsuite | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (paid plans) | Yes | Via app integration |
| Later | No | Yes | Yes | No | Shorts | No |
| Loomly | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Metricool | Paid add-on | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Planable | Paid plans | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Publer | Paid plans | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SocialPilot | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sprout Social | Yes | Yes (Business accounts) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vista Social | Paid add-on | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
From the vendors' supported-networks documentation, checked 2 October 2026. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest are supported by all 11 (LinkedIn only on Metricool's paid plans).
All social media manager tools we review
78 tools · filter by pricing, then sort.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest social media management tool?
Of the 11 suites we compared, Publer's Professional plan starts at $4 a month billed yearly for one account, and Buffer's Essentials plan at $5 per channel a month billed yearly. Buffer, Publer and Metricool also have free plans (prices checked 2 October 2026).
Which social media tools have a free plan?
Buffer (3 channels, 10 queued posts each), Publer (3 accounts, no X), Metricool (1 brand, 20 posts a month), Loomly (3 accounts, 5 posts a month, not offered to every user) and Later (limited posts). Agorapulse ended its free plan in July 2026.
Which social media tools include social listening?
Hootsuite includes listening from its Standard plan and Later from Growth. Agorapulse, Sprout Social, Planable and Vista Social sell listening as an add-on, and Loomly includes a small monthly allowance. Buffer, Metricool, Publer and SocialPilot don't offer social listening.
Which social media tools can post to Threads and Bluesky?
All 11 tools we compared can publish to Threads. All except Later and Planable can publish to Bluesky (checked 2 October 2026).
Which tools have content approval workflows?
Planable and Vista Social include approvals on every paid plan. Loomly has them from Starter, SocialPilot from Standard, Later from Growth, Metricool from Advanced, Agorapulse and Sprout Social from Professional, Hootsuite from Advanced, Publer on its Business plan and Buffer on its Team plan.
Sources checked October 2, 2026: Agorapulse pricing, Buffer pricing, Hootsuite plans, Later pricing, Loomly pricing, Metricool pricing, Planable pricing, Publer plans, SocialPilot plans, Sprout Social pricing, Vista Social pricing.