Hootsuite vs HubSpot: What’s Best for Social Media Management?

Hootsuite vs HubSpot: A Side-by-Side Comparison Table

Hootsuite vs HubSpot: How to Choose the Best Social Media Management Platform

Here’s a breakdown of the features offered by Hootsuite and HubSpot to help you decide which platform is best for your social media needs:

1. Supported social media platforms
2. Content creation features
3. Social media planning and scheduling
4. Social media analytics
5. Social inbox and engagement tools
6. Team collaboration features
7. User experience and ease of use
8. Integrations
9. Pricing
10. Customer support

1. Supported Social Media Platforms

Hootsuite covers a broad spectrum of social media platforms, (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram,  Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok). It also supports various integrations through third-party apps, making it highly adaptable for businesses looking to reach diverse audiences.

On the other hand, HubSpot sticks to the basics, integrating with essential platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The biggest minus is that it doesn’t support TikTok and Pinterest. 

Moreover, Hootsuite only offers YouTube management for the Enterprise Plan, lacking this integration in the cheaper plans.

2. Content Creation Features

Hootsuite offers a comprehensive suite of content creation tools, including powerful image and video editing features. Users can customize posts for multiple platforms directly from the post editor, allowing them to tailor messages, image sizes, and other elements to fit each platform’s best practices.

Hootsuite supports the addition of alt text to images for improved accessibility and SEO performance. It also allows the customization of video thumbnails, adding hashtags, and tagging other accounts and locations within posts.

Additionally, Hootsuite provides tools to analyze and generate hashtags for posts, saving commonly used hashtags for future use, and ensuring efficient and effective social media strategy management. Integration with Canva within the Hootsuite dashboard enables seamless creation and editing of visuals without the need for external tools.

At the same time, HubSpot includes comprehensive tools for editing blogs and crafting social media posts with options for rich text and multimedia additions.

Users can customize posts for different social media platforms from its post editor, ensuring content is optimized for each audience. HubSpot supports adding alt text to images, enhancing accessibility and SEO. While HubSpot does not provide advanced video thumbnail customization like Hootsuite, it integrates seamlessly with various tools to assist in creating engaging multimedia content.

HubSpot excels in integrating social media metrics with broader marketing data, helping users to analyze and refine their content strategies effectively. Although HubSpot does not specifically highlight advanced hashtag analysis and generation features like Hootsuite, it offers strong CRM and marketing automation tools that support overall campaign management​.

3. Social Media Planning and Scheduling

Hootsuite excels at planning posts across various social media platforms, allowing users to schedule them in advance and even line them up for automatic posting. Hootsuite provides custom recommendations for the best times to post based on historical engagement data.

Users can also bulk schedule posts, saving significant time when managing multiple accounts. Hootsuite supports scheduling the first comment of a post, which is useful for adding hashtags or additional context right after publishing.

Additionally, Hootsuite offers evergreen scheduling, allowing users to set the same post to be automatically reshared multiple times over a set period​.

At the same time, HubSpot also offers robust social media planning and scheduling features. It provides suggestions for the best times to post based on engagement metrics, similar to Hootsuite.

However, HubSpot does not support bulk scheduling in the same streamlined manner as Hootsuite. While HubSpot allows detailed customization of posts for different platforms, it does not support scheduling the first comment directly from the platform.

HubSpot’s strengths lie in integrating social media with broader marketing campaigns and CRM data, providing a holistic view of marketing efforts.

4. Social Media Analytics

Hootsuite provides straightforward analytics for things like reach, engagement rate, impressions, likes, plays, shares, clicks, saves, comments, video views, and much more across your social media accounts – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube.  

For deeper insights such as demographic data—which shows information like age, gender, and location of your audience—and sentiment analysis, which assesses the emotions behind user comments and reactions, you’ll need their premium plans. 

Meanwhile, HubSpot offers standard social media metrics (audience growth, post interactions, clicks, shares, impressions) and integrates these with email marketing metrics, website traffic, and CRM data, providing a comprehensive view of social media’s impact on overall marketing and revenue.

Supported platforms include Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube. Reports include audience analytics, post interactions, clicks, shares, impressions, web sessions from social media, and new contacts generated​.

5. Social Inbox and Engagement Tools

Hootsuite‘s social inbox consolidates messages and comments from various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn into a single interface.

This unified inbox allows users to manage interactions efficiently by automating message routing and integrating chatbots to handle FAQs and common inquiries, reducing response times significantly.

Additionally, Hootsuite enables users to assign conversations to team members and add notes for better collaboration, ensuring everyone stays informed and no messages are overlooked. Advanced features like monitoring keywords and mentions help ensure that important interactions are not missed.

Hootsuite also integrates with CRM systems like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, which allows for seamless synchronization of customer data, providing a comprehensive view of customer interactions across multiple channels

At the same time, HubSpot is integrated with its CRM system, supporting the same platforms as Hootsuite, including Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn. HubSpot goes a step further by offering advanced features such as the ability to assign conversations to specific team members, leave notes, and personalize responses based on detailed customer data from the CRM.

This integration provides a holistic view of customer interactions, encompassing social media, email, and website data. HubSpot also offers comprehensive analytics that measure response times and customer satisfaction, helping businesses optimize their customer service processes.

The platform’s advanced features for managing social media conversations include keyword monitoring, automated responses, and detailed reporting on social media engagement metrics, making it a powerful tool for enhancing customer relationships.

6. Team Collaboration Features

Hootsuite offers robust team collaboration features, including task assignments, content approval workflows, and internal communication within the platform.

Teams can manage permissions, assign roles, and control who edits or publishes content, ensuring smooth collaboration and maintaining quality control. Hootsuite’s tools help track who is doing what and when, preventing tasks from slipping through the cracks and keeping everyone on the same page​​.

At the same time, HubSpot also provides strong collaboration tools, integrating them with its marketing and project management suite. Features include assigning tasks, setting access levels, and a detailed content approval process.

This integration helps teams coordinate social media efforts with other marketing activities, ensuring cohesive strategies across platforms. HubSpot’s tools enhance team efficiency by keeping social media and broader marketing efforts aligned​ .

While Hootsuite excels with its detailed task assignment and approval workflows, making it ideal for managing social media-specific tasks. HubSpot stands out for its integration with broader marketing tools, providing a comprehensive approach for teams looking to align social media with overall marketing strategies.

7. User Experience and Ease of Use

Hootsuite is well-liked for its straightforward interface that’s designed just for managing social media. It’s clear and simple, which makes it easy for new users to get the hang of things quickly.

On the other hand, HubSpot might take a bit more time to learn because it offers a wider range of marketing tools. New users may need some time to familiarize themselves with its many features, especially compared to Hootsuite’s more focused approach.

8. Integrations

Hootsuite integrates with over 100 apps, offering a wide range of tools to enhance social media management. Key integrations include Canva for creating and editing visuals, Google Analytics for tracking website performance, and Bitly for managing and tracking links.

Hootsuite also connects with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics for CRM data synchronization, improving customer relationship management.

Additionally, it supports integrations with Shopify, Slack, Dropbox, and Google My Business, which help streamline various business operations​.

HubSpot, on the other hand, features built-in integrations across its marketing, sales, and service platforms, ensuring smooth data flow and cohesive marketing strategies. Notable integrations include Salesforce for robust CRM capabilities, Google Analytics for website tracking, Mailchimp for email marketing, and Zendesk for customer service management. Canva integration facilitates content creation within HubSpot.

Moreover, HubSpot’s tools are tightly integrated within its own ecosystem, providing a unified platform for managing marketing, sales, and service activities​

For broader social media management, Hootsuite’s diverse integrations are advantageous, whereas HubSpot’s integrated approach is ideal for comprehensive marketing strategies.

9. Pricing

While both Hootsuite and HubSpot offer great social media management tools, their pricing can be pretty high, especially for smaller businesses or those just starting out.

They both have a free plan, but it’s quite limited. Hootsuite’s paid plans start at $149 per month, while HubSpot’s Marketing Hub Professional plan starts at $880 per month.

10. Customer Support

Hootsuite provides customer support through email after filling out their form, with priority support available for higher-tier plans.

This ensures faster response times for managing social media channels smoothly. However, some users report difficulties in locating support contact information, leading to mixed reviews on the ease of accessing help​.

On the other hand, HubSpot offers a variety of customer service options, including email, chat, and phone support. It also features a comprehensive knowledge base with articles, tutorials, and FAQs to help users maximize the platform’s features.

Reviews on G2 generally praise HubSpot’s responsive and helpful support team. For instance, Petrina D., a small business owner, noted, “Always go away with all my answers!” highlighting the effectiveness of HubSpot’s support in resolving issues​.

HubSpot often receives higher praise for its responsiveness and comprehensive assistance options. This makes HubSpot a slightly better choice for users who prioritize excellent customer service.

When to Choose Hootsuite

You should use Hootsuite to manage your social media presence if:

• You manage a lot of social media platforms: Hootsuite supports more platforms than HubSpot, such as TikTok and Weibo, making it easier to post on multiple social channels simultaneously.
• You need advanced scheduling tools: Hootsuite offers bulk scheduling, allowing users to upload a CSV file and schedule hundreds of posts across multiple platforms.
• Simplicity and ease of use are top priorities: Hootsuite’s user-friendly interface is designed for easy social media management, making it great for beginners.
• Budget is a major concern: Hootsuite offers a free plan with limited features, and its paid plans are generally more affordable than HubSpot’s.

When to Choose HubSpot

Your go-to social media management platform should be HubSpot if:

• You need a comprehensive marketing tool: HubSpot helps you do more than just manage social media. You can send marketing emails, cut out repetitive tasks, keep track of customer information, and much more. This means you can manage all your inbound marketing efforts in one place.
• In-depth social media monitoring is a focus: HubSpot offers detailed social media analytics that connects with your other marketing data, so you get the full picture of how your social media is doing.
• Team collaboration across marketing functions is important: HubSpot’s integrated tools facilitate seamless teamwork in handling social media, email campaigns, and content creation.
• Strong customer relationship management (CRM) is a priority: HubSpot links social media interactions with CRM data, improving customer service and relationship management.
• You’re already using HubSpot tools: If you’re already invested in HubSpot’s ecosystem, it’s easier to manage all your tools and data in one place, saving time and effort.

What Is a Good Hootsuite and HubSpot Alternative?

If you’re figuring out which social media tool works best for your strategy and can’t decide between big names like Hootsuite and HubSpot, why not give SocialBee a try?

With premium features and wallet-friendly plans, SocialBee is perfect for entrepreneurs, content creators, agencies, and businesses of all sizes who need a solid all-in-one solution.

Here’s what makes SocialBee a great Hootsuite and HubSpot alternative:

1. AI features
2. Evergreen posting
3. Content categories
4. Hashtag generator & collections
5. Social inbox
6. First-class customer support
7. Pricing

1. AI Features

SocialBee’s AI Post Generator sets itself apart from competitors like HubSpot and Hootsuite by using AI technology to simplify content creation. 

This tool quickly generates engaging captions, creative content ideas, and visuals for your posts, making it a standout choice for those looking to streamline their social media strategy. SocialBee also offers 1000+ unique prompts that guide users in crafting effective social media posts. 

SocialBee’s Social Media Copilot helps you receive optimal platform suggestions, and provides the best times to post based on your brand’s specifics. Users answer questions about their brand, and the tool recommends the most suitable social media platforms, optimal posting times, and strategies tailored to maximize engagement and reach.