Free tools. Today no link on this site earns us money; if that changes, every such link will be labelled. Methodology & terms
TiersovaFree B2B SaaS TCO & CSV Schema Suite
Social Media Management

Hootsuite vs Buffer

Estimate what moving from Hootsuite to Buffer costs over 12 to 36 months, including the one-time switch. Then remap your exported CSV headers.

Reference prices, checked 2 Nov 2026

Why teams look at this switch: Hootsuite per-user plans compared with Buffer per-channel pricing

Cost calculator

Pricing model

Reference price ladder

Reference prices, checked 2 Nov 2026. List prices in USD; converted prices are explained in the assumptions. Prices exclude VAT and other taxes, change over time and differ by region and contract. Confirm on the vendor's page before you decide.

Hootsuite
PlanUp toMonthly billingAnnual billing, per month
Standard (1 user)10$99$99
Professional (1 user)Unlimited$199$199
Buffer
PlanUp toMonthly billingAnnual billing, per month
Buffer Essentials1$6$5
Buffer Essentials2$12$10
Buffer Essentials3$18$15
Buffer Essentials4$24$20
Buffer Essentials5$30$25
Buffer Essentials6$36$30
Buffer Essentials7$42$35
Buffer Essentials8$48$40
Buffer Essentials9$54$45
Buffer Essentials10$60$50
Buffer Essentials11$64$53.33
Buffer Essentials12$68$56.67
Buffer Essentials13$72$60
Buffer Essentials14$76$63.33
Buffer Essentials15$80$66.67
Buffer Essentials16$84$70
Buffer Essentials17$88$73.33
Buffer Essentials18$92$76.67
Buffer Essentials19$96$80
Buffer Essentials20$100$83.33
Buffer Essentials21$104$86.67
Buffer Essentials22$108$90
Buffer Essentials23$112$93.33
Buffer Essentials24$116$96.67
Buffer Essentials25$120$100
Buffer Essentials26$123$102.50
Buffer Essentials27$126$105
Buffer Essentials28$129$107.50
Buffer Essentials29$132$110
Buffer Essentials30$135$112.50
Buffer Essentials31$138$115
Buffer Essentials32$141$117.50
Buffer Essentials33$144$120
Buffer Essentials34$147$122.50
Buffer Essentials35$150$125
Buffer Essentials36$153$127.50
Buffer Essentials37$156$130
Buffer Essentials38$159$132.50
Buffer Essentials39$162$135
Buffer Essentials40$165$137.50
Buffer Essentials41$168$140
Buffer Essentials42$171$142.50
Buffer Essentials43$174$145
Buffer Essentials44$177$147.50
Buffer Essentials45$180$150
Buffer Essentials46$183$152.50
Buffer Essentials47$186$155
Buffer Essentials48$189$157.50
Buffer Essentials49$192$160
Buffer Essentials50$195$162.50

Assumptions

  • Hootsuite for one user, from hootsuite.com/plans (checked 2 Nov 2026): Standard $99 per month (up to 10 social accounts), Professional $199 (unlimited accounts); European visitors see €99 / €199. Hootsuite publishes only annual-billing prices; monthly billing appears only at checkout, so the annual price is used for both billing options. Each extra user adds the same price again.
  • Buffer Essentials (1 user), from buffer.com/pricing (checked 2 Nov 2026): billed monthly, $6 per channel for the first 10 channels, $4 for channels 11–25 and $3 for channels 26–50 (16 channels: $84); yearly billing is 10 × the monthly price per year (two months free), shown per month ($70 at 16 channels). Buffer Team (unlimited users) costs more.

Sources

CSV header mapper

Rename exported Hootsuite column headers to suggested Buffer column names, for reporting or manual data preparation. Not an official Buffer import format. It runs in your browser. Headers are renamed and the values in kept columns stay unchanged; columns that look like passwords or other secrets are removed.

Renamed headers do not make a file import-ready. Check whether and how Buffer accepts such data before importing, and create any custom fields there first.

Hootsuite columnBuffer columnField type
Datescheduled_atSuggested
MessagetextSuggested
LinklinkSuggested
Social NetworkchannelSuggested
Image URLmedia_urlSuggested
Open a .csv file

When moving to Buffer makes sense

  • The comparison above shows a saving at your own volume, after the switching cost.
  • Your team can finish the CSV import and onboarding within the switching budget you entered.
  • You have checked that Buffer's plan covers the integrations and compliance rules you need.

When staying on Hootsuite is the better call

  • The one-time migration, re-integration or retraining cost is larger than 12 to 24 months of savings.
  • You are inside a multi-year Hootsuite contract with early-termination fees.
  • Your workflow relies on add-ons or features Buffer does not support yet.

How the result changes with volume

Twelve-month totals at half, the same and double the volume you entered above, with the other settings you chose (plan, billing, multiplier, switching and extra costs).

Volume (Social Channels (1 user))HootsuiteBuffer12-month difference
50% volume (4)$99/mo$24/mo+$600
Your volume (8)$99/mo$48/mo+$312
200% volume (16)$199/mo$84/mo+$1,080

Questions

How is the total cost of Hootsuite and Buffer compared?

Each side's monthly cost is multiplied by the months in the horizon, and the one-time switching cost is added to Buffer. At the default volume (Social Channels (1 user): 8), the model gives about $99 per month for Hootsuite and $48 per month for Buffer.

How do Hootsuite CSV headers map to Buffer?

The mapper renames Hootsuite columns (Date, Message, Link, Social Network, Image URL) to Buffer columns (scheduled_at, text, link, channel, media_url) in your browser. Custom fields must exist in Buffer before you import.

When should a company stay on Hootsuite?

Stay if the one-time switching, integration or contract-exit cost is larger than the savings over the horizon you care about. The calculator shows that case as a negative result.

Related comparisons