Wanna / Hootsuite alternatives
Hootsuite alternatives for a small local business that posts 3-5 times a week
Written by Wanna AI. Checked on 18 Oct 2026, refreshed every 30 days. Wanna is our product and is in this list, so it sits last and carries a plain minus. The order is alphabetical, not a ranking. We did not test any of these tools; every fact is what the tool's own page says that day, and those pages change. Prices are in US dollars.
Short answer. Three to five posts a week is about 13 to 22 posts a month (52 weeks divided by 12, times 3 and 5). That is a small load, and Hootsuite's entry plan is built around 10 accounts and unlimited scheduling. Of the five outside tools that print a flat monthly entry amount on yearly billing, the monthly amounts run from $14 (Planoly) through $18.75 (Later), $19 (ContentStudio) and $20 (Metricool) to $25.50 (SocialPilot). Buffer charges per channel from $5, and both Buffer and Metricool print a free level. Wanna is not a scheduler.
What Hootsuite itself prints
Hootsuite prints Standard at $99 a month per user, billed annually, which is $1,188 a year for one person. Standard covers up to 10 social accounts, scheduling, AI help to write posts, one inbox and a 14-day trial with no card. Professional is $199 with unlimited accounts, and Advanced is $399 with approval flows. We read no monthly-billing figure. Its page also says trial accounts have daily posting limits.
How we chose
- The vendor schedules posts to social accounts for a small business, and we read its own pricing page on 18 Oct 2026.
- Every row has a minus, ours included, and every price keeps its billing term. A figure we could not read is printed as "not read".
- We left out a seventh tool whose paid amounts did not load on its page, rather than guess them.
The six at a glance
| Tool | Choose this if | Price and limits, read 18 Oct 2026 | Minuses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | You want to pay only for the accounts you use, and one of them may be a Google Business Profile | Free: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, AI Assistant included. Essentials $5 a month per channel, $60 a year per channel, unlimited scheduled posts, 14-day trial. Team $10 per channel | Price grows with every channel: three channels on Essentials come to $15 a month on yearly billing. A monthly-billing figure was not read |
| ContentStudio | You want AI text and image credits bundled with the scheduler | Standard lists $19 on yearly billing ($228 a year) and $29 month to month: 5 social accounts, 1 user, 25,000 AI text credits, 7-day trial, no card. Advanced $49 yearly, $69 month to month: 10 accounts, 2 users | Month to month the entry level costs $10 more than the yearly figure. The trial is 7 days, half of Hootsuite's |
| Later | Instagram, Facebook and TikTok are where your customers are | Starter $18.75 a month on yearly billing: 1 social set of 8 profiles, 1 user, up to 30 posts per profile per month, 5 AI credits a month, 14-day trial. Growth $37.50 | One AI credit writes one caption, so 5 credits cover 5 captions in a month that holds 13 to 22 posts. The 30 posts are counted per profile, so two profiles come to 60 a month in total. Its page lists no Google Business Profile |
| Metricool | You want a free start, or you run more than one business | Free: 1 brand, up to 20 scheduled posts a month. Starter from $20 a month on annual billing, $25 monthly, up to 5 brands | At 5 posts a week (about 22 a month) you pass the free level's 20. Its page says LinkedIn and Twitter are not on the free level |
| Planoly | Your feed is mostly photos and you want to see it laid out before you post | Starter, with the annual switch on, shows a monthly amount of $14 for 1 social set, 1 user, unlimited uploads, 14-day trial. Growth $24: 2 users. A free plan on its mobile app has 10 uploads a month | Starter is one user and one social set. The monthly-billing price was not read. Its page names no Google Business Profile |
| SocialPilot | You want a flat price with AI credits, and Google Business is among its listed networks | Essentials lists $25.50 on yearly billing and $30 month to month: 7 social accounts, 1 user, 500 AI credits, 14-day trial, no card. Extra accounts $4 a month each | The inbox starts at Standard ($42.50 yearly, $50 month to month, 15 accounts, 3 users). Bulk scheduling is listed only from Premium ($85 yearly, $100 month to month) |
| Wanna | You have no one on content and want the next post drafted from your own website | Free: the plan, matches and first drafts, plus 10 credits (one task). Starter $20 a month for 200 credits, about 20 tasks. Growth $49: 5,000 credits. Scale $149 | Not a scheduler: no queue where you pick the hour, and nothing goes out without your OK. Early: 3 companies, 0 paying, 0 things that went outside in the last 7 days (live) |
Which job were you hiring Hootsuite for
If the job is putting a few posts a week on two or three accounts, the question is price per account. Buffer's free level and Metricool's free level cost nothing to try, and the entry amounts above, from $14 to $25.50 per month on yearly billing, cover one person on five to eight accounts. If the job is one inbox for comments and messages, check what each plan includes before you leave: Hootsuite lists an inbox on Standard, SocialPilot lists one from its Standard level, and Buffer lists a community inbox on all its levels.
Wanna is a different job. It reads your site, picks the next task and drafts the post, and each post waits for your OK (how it works, what it will not do). When you connect a social account, it can publish a post you approved. As of 18 Oct 2026 its Trust page counts 0 platforms connected and working, so treat that part as new. To plan what goes out when, see AI content calendar tools; for the wider list, AI social media schedulers.
What this list does not replace
Wanna does not replace Hootsuite or any scheduler here: it has no queue where you pick a time. No tool on this list replaces a person who answers comments and a customer who asks a question. Each network sets its own rules on automated posting, so read them. If Hootsuite already does what you hired it for and you use its unlimited accounts, keep it.
FAQ
What are the best alternatives to Hootsuite for a small business? It depends on the job. Buffer and Metricool print free levels, Planoly, Later, ContentStudio and SocialPilot print yearly-billing entry amounts that run from $14 (Planoly) up to $25.50 (SocialPilot), and Wanna drafts posts for your OK. We do not rank them.
How much does Hootsuite cost? Its own page prints Standard at $99 a month per user billed annually, Professional at $199 and Advanced at $399. We read no monthly-billing figure.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Hootsuite for 3 to 5 posts a week? Every outside tool in the table prints a lower entry amount than Hootsuite Standard. Check the post limit first: Later Starter allows 30 posts per profile a month and Metricool's free level 20.
Is there a free alternative to Hootsuite? Buffer's free level has 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel. Metricool's has 1 brand and 20 scheduled posts a month. Wanna's plan, matches and first drafts are free.
Can AI write my social posts? Buffer, ContentStudio, Later, Metricool, Planoly and SocialPilot list AI help on the pages we read, with different caps. Wanna drafts posts from your site for your OK.
Do I need Hootsuite's 10 accounts for one local business? A salon, clinic or cafe with a Facebook page, an Instagram account and a Google Business Profile is three accounts, well inside the 10 that Standard allows, so you would be paying for room you may not use.
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