What do social media management tools really cost?
Twelve tools for scheduling and managing social posts, priced for one business, two brands, or a small team. Some charge per channel, some per seat, some per brand — so pick your size.
Last checked: 1 Nov 2026 · every price read off the vendor's own page, monthly billing · no affiliate links
The short answer
For one business on five networks: Zoho Social is £12 a month (and has a free plan for one brand), Publer and Metricool are about £15–£17, Later $25. Sprout Social and Agorapulse start at $99.
Two brands, ten accounts: Zoho Social stays at £12 and Metricool at €20; Sprout Social jumps to $399 because its entry plan caps at five profiles.
A team of three with twenty accounts: Metricool €54 (about £45), Publer $76, Zoho Social £62, Later $85. Sprout Social is $1,197, because it charges per seat.
Hootsuite publishes no monthly price to a UK visitor: only annual billing (Standard £89 a month, billed yearly), so it isn't ranked.
Watch the toggle. Most pages open on yearly prices; Vista Social's table labels its yearly-billed $80 as "Monthly price" until you click Monthly ($99); Sprout's monthly prices sit only in its FAQ.
When the cheapest is not the answer
- Analytics and inbox features differ more than scheduling does. Every tool here schedules posts; reporting, a shared inbox and approval workflows are where plans split.
- X (Twitter) often costs extra because of its API charges; this comparison leaves it out.
- Per-seat pricing punishes teams. Sprout Social and Hootsuite charge per user; Sendible, Buffer Team and Loomly charge per plan.
- Prices are before VAT, and dollar and euro prices move with the exchange rate.
Who made this page
An AI agent read each tool's pricing page in a real browser, switched it to monthly billing, and copied the sentence behind every figure; code checked each sentence was really on the page before it could be used. This page replaces an older list of social media marketing tools on this site.
There are no affiliate links on this page. If that changes, each paid link will be marked (Ad), with a plain link beside it, and the order will stay what it is: by price, nothing else.
How the numbers are worked out
monthly cost = the cheapest paid plan for that many users and accounts (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube), billed monthly, before VAT
| Tool | 1 user, 5 accounts | 1 user, 10 accounts | 3 users, 20 accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bufferpriced per channel | £22.39Essentials, 5 channels · $30.00 | £44.78Essentials, 10 channels · $60.00 | £119.41Team, 20 channels · $160.00 |
| Sprout Socialpriced per seat; Essentials caps at 5 profiles | £73.89Essentials, 1 seat · $99.00 | £297.79Professional, 1 seat · $399.00 | £893.36Professional, 3 seats · $1,197.00 |
| Laterpriced by 'social sets' | £18.66Starter (1 social set) · $25.00 | £37.32Growth (2 social sets) · $50.00 | £63.44Growth + 2 extra sets + 1 extra user · $85.00 |
| Metricoolpriced by brands; X costs extra | £16.68Starter, up to 5 brands · €20.00 | £16.68Starter, up to 5 brands · €20.00 | £45.03Advanced, up to 15 brands · €54.00 |
| SocialBeemonthly prices only in the comparison table | £21.64Bootstrap · $29.00 | £36.57Accelerate · $49.00 | £73.89Pro · $99.00 |
| Sendiblepriced by profiles; shown in pounds | £27.00Core (6 profiles) | £75.00Plus (18 profiles) | £150.00Premium (42 profiles) |
| Agorapulsecapped at 10 profiles below Custom | £73.89Standard, 1 user · $99.00 | £73.89Standard, 1 user · $99.00 | no planno published plan (10-profile cap; Custom above) |
| LoomlyStarter allows 12 accounts and 3 users | £48.51Starter (12 accounts, 3 users) · $65.00 | £48.51Starter (12 accounts, 3 users) · $65.00 | £247.78Beyond (60 accounts) · $332.00 |
| Publeranalytics need Business | £14.93Professional, 5 accounts · $20.00 | £26.87Professional, 10 accounts · $36.00 | £56.72Professional, 20 accounts + 2 members · $76.00 |
| Zoho Socialfree plan for 1 brand; Standard from £12 | £12.00Standard (free plan covers 1 brand, 6 channels) | £12.00Standard (1 brand, 14 channels) | £62.00Professional + 1 brand + 2 members |
| eclincherStandard allows 15 profiles | £111.20Standard (1 brand, 15 profiles) · $149.00 | £111.20Standard (1 brand, 15 profiles) · $149.00 | £260.47Professional (5 users, 25 profiles) · $349.00 |
| Vista Socialits table labels the yearly price 'Monthly' | £73.89Professional (15 profiles, 2 users) · $99.00 | £73.89Professional (15 profiles, 2 users) · $99.00 | £148.52Advanced (30 profiles, 3 users) · $199.00 |
Exchange rates. ECB euro reference rates of 30 October 2026: 1 EUR = 0.83380 GBP, 1 EUR = 1.1172 USD, so 1 USD = 0.74633 GBP.
Left out: Crowdfire — no published plans: its pricing page now announces that Crowdfire is becoming a media platform about social media, Web3 and AI; Hootsuite — no monthly price published to a UK visitor (annual billing only).
If you'll recommend one: what each pays you
From each tool's own affiliate page. Loomly publishes no programme. This plays no part in the order.
| Platform | Commission | Cookie |
|---|---|---|
| Buffer | 25% of subscription revenue for the first 12 months | not stated |
| Hootsuite | 20% of the first month's revenue (Standard); more for Advanced | 90 days |
| Sprout Social | revenue share, rate not published | not stated |
| Later | 30% (or higher) per sale | not stated |
| Metricool | 25% of subscriptions up to $100 per user (Tier 1); 50% up to $300 (Tier 2, after 200 paid sign-ups) | never expires days |
| SocialBee | 20% recurring, in perpetuity (+10% on ConciergeBee services) | not stated |
| Sendible | 12% for life; 30% for 12 months after 100+ referrals (Top Affiliates) | not stated |
| Agorapulse | 15% of the first year's contract value | 90 days |
| Publer | up to 70% on new paying customers and up to 30% on recurring payments | not stated |
| Zoho Social | 15% for the first 12 months (Zoho-wide programme) | 90 days |
| Vista Social | 20% of every payment, recurring; referral gets 10% off first year | 60 days |
There are no affiliate links on this page. The research is done by AI agents reading each vendor's own pricing pages. Product names and logos are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify the products compared. No analytics cookies, no tracking scripts, no third-party requests. A personal project, separate from the author's day job.