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Comparison

Octoque vs Hootsuite: a full suite or a focused scheduler?

Hootsuite is a social media suite: publishing, a shared inbox, listening and ads, priced per user. Octoque is a scheduler with a simpler inbox: it times each platform separately, lets you answer comments, DMs and Google reviews in one place, and includes accounts and seats in the plan.

By Kumar Gaurav, founder of OctoqueUpdated Facts checked

The short version

If your team does deep listening, runs ad campaigns or shares an inbox with routing every day, Hootsuite does that and Octoque doesn’t. Octoque lets you reply to comments, DMs and Google reviews without routing, track up to 10 keywords with Mentions (Studio) and boost a live post as an ad (Creator and Studio). If you mostly publish, Hootsuite costs far more: its Standard plan is $99 per user a month billed yearly, and approvals start at $399 per user. Octoque has approvals from $29 a month for 2 people (Creator), or $99 for 5 people and 25 accounts (Studio), billed monthly.

Choose Hootsuite if…
  • your team works a shared inbox every day, with routing and saved replies
  • you need social listening or competitor benchmarks
  • you publish, boost and report on ads for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X
  • you want WhatsApp messages in the same inbox
  • you want native iOS and Android apps
Choose Octoque if…
  • you mostly publish and reply, with light listening and the odd boosted post at most
  • you want each platform at its own hour, on every plan
  • you want approvals without paying $399 per user
  • you want monthly billing at a published price
  • you want a refund window on every payment, renewals included

Octoque and Hootsuite side by side

Checked 14 October 2026. Hootsuite publishes yearly-billed prices only; Octoque’s are monthly.

Free plan

Hootsuite: No free plan (it ended on 31 March 2023). source

Octoque: Yes, but it doesn’t post for you: plan and schedule for up to 3 accounts and 10 posts a month, and at each post’s time Octoque sends a “Your turn” reminder with the caption and video ready, and you post it yourself. 5 AI caption credits. source

Cheapest paid plan

Hootsuite: Standard $99 per user a month, billed yearly: 10 social accounts, inbox, ads publishing, recommended times. Monthly billing costs more; the monthly price isn’t published. source

Octoque: Starter $15 a month ($12 paid yearly): 3 accounts, unlimited scheduling, 30 X posts, API and MCP. source

How it’s priced

Hootsuite: Per user (seat) per month. Standard caps at 10 accounts; higher plans have unlimited accounts. source

Octoque: Per plan, with accounts included (3, 8 or 25). Extra accounts are $3 a month each. source

Trial

Hootsuite: 14 days, no credit card, no automatic charge at the end. Trials are limited to 10–20 posts a day and no bulk scheduling. source

Octoque: 14 days, no card: auto-posting to up to 3 accounts, 30 posts in total and 10 X posts. If you don’t pick a plan you move to Free (reminders, you post); nothing is deleted. source

Networks

Hootsuite: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest and Bluesky; WhatsApp for messaging. source

Octoque: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Facebook Pages, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Reddit and Google Business Profile. No Snapchat, Mastodon or Telegram. source

Short video (Reels, TikTok, Shorts)

Hootsuite: Reels publish directly for Instagram Business profiles (Creator profiles get a phone notification); vertical videos under 60 seconds publish as Shorts; TikTok scheduling needs a TikTok Business account. source

Octoque: Posts Reels, TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels directly through each platform’s official API. Carousels and Stories on Instagram and Facebook, LinkedIn PDF posts, and threads on X, Threads and Bluesky. source

Best time to post

Hootsuite: Recommended times to publish on every plan, from your audience data or industry benchmarks. source

Octoque: Golden hour on every plan: each platform gets its own time, in your audience’s time zone (up to three regions). On Free it’s the time of your reminder. source

Caption per platform

Hootsuite: Yes: customise the post for each network, on all plans. source

Octoque: One caption everywhere or a different one per platform, a separate YouTube title, a first comment and live character counters. You can edit a live caption on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit and Google, and on X with Premium within an hour. source

Approvals

Hootsuite: Advanced ($399 per user a month, yearly) and Enterprise only. source

Octoque: Six roles and post approvals from Creator ($29/mo, 2 seats); Studio has 5 seats. The free trial includes them. source

API and MCP

Hootsuite: Public REST API, plus MCP servers for publishing, inbox and advocacy listed on the developer site; plan access not stated. source

Octoque: Public API with scoped keys and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants, on every paid plan. source

Phone app

Hootsuite: Yes, iOS and Android apps. source

Octoque: No native app yet. Octoque is a phone-first web app that runs in your phone’s browser. source

Refunds

Hootsuite: No refund when you cancel or downgrade; you pay for the rest of the term. source

Octoque: Full refund within 14 days of any payment, renewals included. Cancel in two taps. source

Hootsuite says monthly billing is available at a higher price but doesn’t publish it, so its prices here are per user a month, billed yearly.

Where Hootsuite is better

  • It’s a whole suite. A shared inbox on every plan, with saved replies, automations from Professional and routing from Advanced. Both have an inbox; Octoque’s has no routing or saved replies, and doesn’t read X.
  • Listening. Quick Search on Standard, longer history and trend forecasts on Professional, and Talkwalker-powered listening on Enterprise.
  • Ads. Publish, boost and report on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X ads. Octoque only boosts a post that’s already live, charged by the platform to your own ad account; it isn’t an ads manager.
  • WhatsApp. Hootsuite handles WhatsApp messages. Octoque doesn’t, though it posts to Reddit and Google Business Profile, which Hootsuite doesn’t list.
  • Phone apps. Native iOS and Android apps for posting and replying. Octoque runs in your phone’s browser.
  • Bigger bulk uploads and benchmarks. Up to 350 posts from a CSV file (Octoque takes 200 rows at a time), and competitor benchmarking on Standard. Octoque has no competitor benchmarks.
  • Track record. Years in the market and thousands of public reviews. Octoque is new.

Where Octoque is better

Priced per plan, not per person

Every Hootsuite user is a seat, from $99 a month billed yearly. Octoque’s plans include the seats: Creator has 2, Studio has 5. A team of three on Octoque Studio pays $99 a month in total.

Approvals on a smaller plan

Hootsuite’s approval workflows are on Advanced ($399 per user a month, billed yearly) and Enterprise. Octoque includes roles and approvals on Creator ($29 a month) and Studio ($99).

Each platform at its own hour

Hootsuite recommends times to publish from your audience data or industry benchmarks. Octoque’s golden hour goes one step further for a single post: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and X each go out at their own time, in your audience’s time zone.

Octoque composer with Each platform at its golden hour selected and TikTok scheduled for 8 PM
One upload, each platform at its own golden hour.

Monthly billing and refunds

Octoque publishes its monthly prices and refunds any payment within 14 days, renewals included. Hootsuite’s terms say you get no refund when you cancel or downgrade; you pay for the rest of the term.

Instagram Creator profiles

Hootsuite publishes Reels directly for Instagram Business profiles; Creator profiles get a phone notification instead. Octoque posts Reels directly to both Business and Creator accounts, through Instagram’s official API.

What you’d pay

Hootsuite only publishes yearly prices, so both columns use yearly billing. USD, before tax, checked 14 October 2026.

A solo creator, 5 accounts

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and X; one person.

Hootsuite Standard
$99 a month, billed yearly (1 user, up to 10 accounts)
Octoque Creator
$24 a month, billed yearly (up to 8 accounts)

Hootsuite Standard also includes Quick Search listening and ads tools. Both include an inbox.

A team of 3 with approvals

Three people, 15 accounts, posts approved before they go out.

Hootsuite Advanced
3 × $399 = $1,197 a month, billed yearly
Octoque Studio
$82 a month, billed yearly (5 seats, 25 accounts)

Advanced also includes inbox routing, listening, ads and internal comments. If your team uses those, compare against what you’d pay for them separately.

Switching from Hootsuite

  1. Check your renewal date
    Hootsuite doesn’t refund on cancelling, so plan the move for the end of your term.
  2. Start the trial
    Sign up for Octoque: 14 days of auto-posting to up to 3 accounts (30 posts), no card. Keep Hootsuite running.
  3. Connect your accounts
    Sign in on each platform’s own page. Connecting to Octoque doesn’t disconnect Hootsuite.
  4. Invite your team
    Add teammates with one of six roles and turn on approvals (Creator and Studio).
  5. Move upcoming posts
    Octoque doesn’t connect to Hootsuite. Upload the next week or two of videos to the Library, add the posts by hand or from a spreadsheet (CSV, up to 200 rows), and delete each one from Hootsuite as you go, so nothing posts twice.
  6. Keep what Octoque doesn’t do
    If you rely on deep listening, a full ads manager, inbox routing or WhatsApp, keep a tool for those, or don’t switch. Octoque’s Mentions (Studio) and Boost (Creator and Studio) cover the light end.
How we compared

We compared Hootsuite’s published plans page, FAQ, help centre and terms with Octoque’s own plans on 14 October 2026. Hootsuite’s monthly-billed prices aren’t published, so we used yearly prices for both. We did not run a long hands-on test of Hootsuite; this compares what each company documents. Corrections to hello@octoque.com.

Questions people ask

Is Octoque cheaper than Hootsuite?

For publishing, yes. Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user a month billed yearly; Octoque Creator is $24 billed yearly for up to 8 accounts and 2 seats. Hootsuite includes listening, ads and a team inbox with routing, which Octoque doesn’t.

Does Hootsuite have a free plan?

No. Hootsuite ended its free plan on 31 March 2023 and offers a 14-day trial with no card. Octoque has a free plan, but it doesn’t post for you: it reminds you to post yourself, for 3 accounts and 10 posts a month. Auto-posting needs the 14-day trial (no card) or a paid plan from $15.

Which has approvals?

Both. Hootsuite’s are on Advanced ($399 per user a month, billed yearly) and Enterprise. Octoque’s are on Creator ($29 a month for 2 seats) and Studio ($99 for 5).

Can Octoque replace Hootsuite’s inbox?

For one creator or a small team, often yes. Octoque puts comments (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky), DMs (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Bluesky, Reddit) and Google review replies in one place, read live from each platform. It has no routing, saved replies, listening or ads, and doesn’t read X comments or DMs. If your team works the inbox like a help desk, Hootsuite or another suite is the better fit.

Do both work with AI assistants?

Yes. Hootsuite lists MCP servers for publishing, inbox and advocacy on its developer site. Octoque has an MCP server and public API on every paid plan. See AI assistants and API.

Keep reading

Hootsuite alternativesEight options with dated prices.Octoque vs Sprout SocialThe other per-seat suite.Octoque for teamsRoles and approvals.All comparisonsEvery scheduler in one table.

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Octoque head to head

Alternatives to

Sources

All links checked on 14 October 2026.

  1. Hootsuite plans
  2. Hootsuite FAQ (networks)
  3. Hootsuite help: create an Instagram reel
  4. Hootsuite developer site (API and MCP)
  5. Hootsuite on the App Store
  6. Hootsuite terms (refunds)

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