May 6, 2025

Hootsuite vs HubSpot: Social Media Management Tools

At Drop Cowboy, we often get asked about the best tools for managing social media campaigns. Two popular options that frequently come up are Hootsuite and HubSpot.

In this post, we’ll compare Hootsuite vs HubSpot, exploring their features, pricing, and target audiences. We’ll help you decide which platform might be the better fit for your business’s social media management needs.

What Is Hootsuite?

Hootsuite stands out as a dedicated social media management platform, designed to streamline the process of managing multiple social networks from a single dashboard.

Comprehensive Social Media Management

Hootsuite supports over 20 social networks (including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube). This wide-ranging support allows businesses to manage their entire social media presence from one central location. Users can schedule posts, monitor mentions, and engage with their audience across all these platforms simultaneously.

Advanced Scheduling and Content Curation

One of Hootsuite’s standout features is its advanced scheduling capabilities. Users can plan and schedule content weeks or even months in advance, ensuring a consistent social media presence. The platform also offers a content curation feature that helps users discover and share relevant content with their audience, saving time on content creation.

Analytics and Reporting

Hootsuite provides detailed analytics and reporting tools that offer insights into social media performance. Users can track metrics such as engagement rates, follower growth, and post reach. These insights help businesses refine their social media strategies and demonstrate ROI to stakeholders.

Pricing Structure

Hootsuite offers a tiered pricing structure to cater to different business sizes and needs. As of April 2025, their plans start at $99 per month for the Professional plan (which includes 10 social profiles and 1 user). The Team plan, priced at $249 per month, offers additional features and supports up to 20 social profiles and 3 users. For larger organizations, Hootsuite offers Business and Enterprise plans with custom pricing.

Target Audience and Use Cases

Hootsuite caters to a wide range of users, from small businesses to large enterprises. It’s particularly well-suited for marketing teams, social media managers, and agencies managing multiple client accounts. The platform’s scalability makes it a good fit for growing businesses that need to manage an increasing number of social profiles.

A small e-commerce business might use Hootsuite to schedule product promotions across multiple platforms, while a large corporation could leverage its team collaboration features for coordinated social media campaigns.

While Hootsuite offers a comprehensive solution for social media management, businesses looking for a more integrated approach to marketing automation (including features like ringless voicemail and SMS marketing) might find platforms like Drop Cowboy more suitable. However, for those focused primarily on social media, Hootsuite remains a strong contender in the market. Now, let’s explore another popular option in the social media management landscape: HubSpot.

What Is HubSpot?

HubSpot stands as more than a social media management tool; it functions as a comprehensive inbound marketing and sales platform. Its strength lies in the integration of social media capabilities with a wide range of marketing functions.

All-in-One Marketing Hub

HubSpot’s Marketing Hub offers tools for email marketing, content management, lead capture, and customer relationship management (CRM). The social media management features integrate seamlessly into this ecosystem, allowing businesses to align their social efforts with broader marketing strategies.

A B2B company using HubSpot can create a LinkedIn post, track engagement, and automatically add engaged users to a nurture campaign within the same platform. This level of integration proves particularly valuable for businesses aiming to create cohesive, multi-channel marketing campaigns.

Advanced Analytics and Reporting

HubSpot’s analytics extend beyond basic social media metrics. The platform provides insights that connect social media performance to overall marketing goals and ROI. Users can track how social media interactions result in website visits, lead generation, and ultimately, sales.

A mid-sized tech company tracked their Twitter campaign’s impact on demo sign-ups using HubSpot. They discovered that tweets with product screenshots led to 30% more demo requests than those without, directly influencing their content strategy.

Pricing Structure

HubSpot’s pricing structure can appear more complex than dedicated social media tools. As of April 2025, HubSpot offers a free plan with basic CRM features, but social media tools only become available in paid plans. The Starter plan begins at $45/month, but comprehensive social media features typically require the Professional plan (starting at $800/month).

While this pricing may seem steep compared to pure social media tools, businesses should consider the value of HubSpot’s integrated approach. Companies using HubSpot often consolidate several marketing tools into one platform, potentially resulting in cost savings and improved efficiency.

Target Audience and Use Cases

HubSpot suits businesses that want to integrate their social media efforts with broader marketing and sales strategies. It enjoys popularity among B2B companies, SaaS businesses, and organizations with complex sales cycles.

For instance, a SaaS company might use HubSpot to manage their social media presence, track leads generated from social campaigns, nurture these leads with targeted email sequences, and pass qualified leads to the sales team – all within the same platform.

However, businesses primarily focused on social media management or those with limited budgets might find HubSpot’s comprehensive approach excessive. In such cases, dedicated social media tools or platforms offering more targeted features might prove more suitable.

Now that we’ve explored both Hootsuite and HubSpot, let’s compare their features head-to-head to help you determine which platform might best suit your business needs.

Hootsuite vs HubSpot: A Comprehensive Comparison of Social Media Management Tools

Social Media Management Capabilities

Hootsuite dominates in dedicated social media management. It supports over 20 social networks, enabling users to control multiple accounts from one dashboard. This extensive coverage benefits businesses with a diverse social media presence.

HubSpot integrates social media management into a broader marketing ecosystem. While it supports fewer platforms, it aligns social media efforts with other marketing activities (such as email campaigns and lead nurturing).

Analytics and Reporting

Hootsuite offers detailed social media-specific analytics. It provides insights into metrics like engagement rates, follower growth, and post reach. These analytics prove particularly useful for businesses that focus primarily on improving their social media performance.

HubSpot adopts a more holistic approach to analytics. Its reporting capabilities extend beyond social media metrics and connect social performance to overall marketing goals and ROI. For example, HubSpot tracks how a LinkedIn post contributes to website traffic, lead generation, and sales conversions.

Integration with Marketing Tools

Hootsuite offers integrations with over 100 third-party apps, enhancing its social media management capabilities. These integrations include tools like Canva (for content creation) and Google Analytics (for web traffic analysis).

HubSpot provides a more comprehensive marketing ecosystem. Its native integrations cover a wide range of marketing functions, including CRM, email marketing, and content management. This integrated approach streamlines the entire marketing stack for businesses.

User Interface and Ease of Use

Hootsuite’s interface focuses on efficient social media management. Its dashboard allows users to view multiple social feeds simultaneously, facilitating easy monitoring and engagement across different platforms. However, users managing numerous accounts may face a steeper learning curve.

HubSpot’s interface, despite its broader feature set, receives praise for its intuitiveness. The platform’s design philosophy guides users through various marketing processes, benefiting teams new to comprehensive marketing software.

Customer Support and Resources

Both platforms offer robust customer support with different approaches. Hootsuite provides email support for all plans, with priority support for higher-tier subscriptions. Their resource center includes webinars, guides, and a certification program focused on social media marketing.

HubSpot stands out for its extensive educational resources. The HubSpot Academy offers free courses and certifications covering various aspects of digital marketing. Their support options include email, chat, and phone assistance, with users giving high marks for responsiveness.

When choosing a social media management tool, it’s important to prioritize features such as content curation, team collaboration, and cross-platform analytics. These factors can significantly impact the effectiveness of your social media strategy and overall marketing efforts.

Final Thoughts

Hootsuite and HubSpot offer distinct advantages for social media management. Hootsuite excels as a dedicated tool with extensive platform support and competitive pricing, ideal for businesses focused on social media marketing. HubSpot provides a comprehensive marketing solution, integrating social media with broader strategies, which benefits companies seeking alignment across marketing efforts.

Your choice between Hootsuite vs HubSpot depends on your specific needs and goals. Consider factors such as budget, team size, and desired level of integration with other marketing activities. While both platforms offer robust features, businesses looking for specialized communication tools might explore alternatives like Drop Cowboy for unique features such as ringless voicemail and SMS marketing.

The right platform will enhance your social media presence and align with your broader marketing objectives. Evaluate your current requirements and future growth plans to make an informed decision. Remember that the most effective tool is one that seamlessly integrates into your existing workflow and supports your long-term marketing strategy.