Hootsuite starts at $99/mo and Later at $18.75/mo (billed yearly). Hootsuite is not open source; Later is not open source. Below: the two side by side, then what each costs at 5, 10, 50 accounts, with fanout alongside. Every number is from each vendor's own pricing page.
| Hootsuite | Later | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $99/mo | $18.75/mo (billed yearly) |
| Billing unit | Per user, annual-billing prices | Per social set |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Open source / self-host | No | No |
| Platforms listed | 10: Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Bluesky | 8: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat |
| Telegram | No | No |
| Gated by plan | Unlimited social accounts on Professional ($199/mo) and up (Standard is capped at 10); Inbox reply automation and trend forecasting on Professional and up; Approval workflows and team performance analytics on Advanced ($399/mo) and up | Social inbox and approval workflows on Growth and up; Multi-profile Best Times to Post on Growth and up; Competitive benchmarking and custom analytics on Scale only |
Hootsuite: Per user; prices shown are based on annual billing, as stated on their plans page.
Later: Priced per social set (one profile per supported network), not per account.
| Connected accounts | Hootsuite | Later | fanout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $99 (annual billing) | — | $29 |
| 10 | $99 (annual billing) | — | $39 |
| 50 | $199 (annual billing) | — | $100 |
Cheapest published plan that covers that many accounts, monthly billing unless marked. “—” means that vendor does not price per connected account, so there is no like-for-like number.
| Feature | Hootsuite | Later | fanout |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI version per network | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, every plan Rewrites hook, length and hashtags per network; live character limits |
| Post ideas from news & feeds | Not listed | From the Scale plan Trending topics | Yes, every plan Discover: Google News topics, RSS, Telegram and X, ranked by coverage |
| Drafts in your voice | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, every plan Writing styles: instructions, example posts, words to avoid |
| Best time to post | Not listed | Yes, every plan Instagram; multi-profile on Growth | Yes, every plan Heatmap from your own posts’ engagement, one-click best slot |
| Comments inbox | Yes, every plan “Respond to messages from one inbox” | From the Growth plan | Yes, every plan X, Instagram, YouTube, Threads and Bluesky |
| Analytics | Yes, every plan | Yes, every plan Up to 3 months on Starter | Yes, every plan X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Facebook and Pinterest |
| MCP for Claude & ChatGPT | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, every plan 8 tools: accounts, posts, schedule, analytics, media |
| First comment scheduling | Not listed | Yes, every plan | Not yet |
“Not listed” means we could not find it on their pages, not that it does not exist. Checked October 2026.
Nothing in the data above favours Later over Hootsuite.
Card required, cancel anytime, no charge during the trial.
It depends on the number of accounts. Monthly cost on the cheapest published plan: 5 accounts: Hootsuite $99 (annual billing), Later —, fanout $29; 10 accounts: Hootsuite $99 (annual billing), Later —, fanout $39; 50 accounts: Hootsuite $199 (annual billing), Later —, fanout $100. "—" means that vendor does not price per connected account.
Hootsuite: no free plan is listed. Later: no free plan is listed. Open source: Hootsuite no, Later no.
Hootsuite lists 10 platforms and Later lists 8, per their own pages. Telegram: Hootsuite no, Later no.
fanout is a hosted scheduler for 15 networks, from $29/month for 5 accounts with a 3-day free trial. It is not open source and has no self-hosting, team seats or first-comment scheduling.
Sources: Hootsuite pricing (checked September 2026) and Later pricing (checked September 2026). Tell us if something changed: support@tryfanout.com.
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