Hootsuite is the default pick for most teams that want scheduling, inbox and reporting in one place, with Sprout Social close behind for inbox and review work. Buffer is the lowest cost entry point at $5 per channel per month on annual billing, while Later is the lowest cost option for one brand that posts across many networks from one social set. Revealbot is now sold as Birch, and the name change matters when you search for help pages, because revealbot.com now redirects to bir.ch and the pricing page uses the Birch name.
Social advertising software covers two jobs. Some tools plan, publish and measure social content, while other tools build, automate and optimise advertising campaigns on Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn and other networks. Start with your monthly ad spend, the number of accounts you manage, and the number of people who need access, because those numbers decide the price.
On this page
Best social advertising software: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hootsuite | Teams that manage many accounts in one place | $99 per user/month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 2 | Sprout Social | Teams that need a shared inbox and reviews | $79 per seat/month | Free trial (30 days) | Visit |
| 3 | Buffer | Solo creators who want low per-channel cost | $5 per channel/month | Yes | Visit |
| 4 | Later | One brand posting across many networks | $18.75 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 5 | AdEspresso | Small Meta advertisers who want split testing | $49 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 6 | Madgicx | Meta advertisers who want AI automation | $45 per month | Free trial (7 days) | Visit |
| 7 | Birch | Advertisers who want rules across four networks | $49 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 8 | Optmyzr | Agencies that manage many accounts and spend | $209 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 9 | Smartly | Large brands with enterprise creative needs | quote only | No | Visit |
The 9 best best social advertising software tools, in detail
Hootsuite
Best for: Teams that manage many accounts in one place
Hootsuite Standard starts at $99 per user per month on annual billing, so a team of three costs $297 per month before tax. Standard covers up to 10 social accounts, unlimited scheduled posts, one inbox, AI content tools, and brand and competitor monitoring. Professional costs $199 per user per month on annual billing and removes the 10 account cap.
- Hootsuite suits a team that runs many profiles and wants publishing, inbox, listening and reporting in one account.
- The per-user model is the main cost to watch, because every extra seat adds the full monthly rate.
Pros
- Unlimited social accounts on Professional
- AI drafting and trend forecasting on higher plans
- one inbox for messages
Cons
- Standard caps you at 10 social accounts
- Enterprise has no published price
- trial has daily posting limits of 10 to 20 posts per organisation
Sprout Social
Best for: Teams that need a shared inbox and reviews
Sprout Social Essentials starts at $79 per seat per month on annual billing and covers 5 social profiles, optimal send times, profile and post level reporting, and 100 Trellis AI credits per seat each month. Standard costs $199 per seat per month on annual billing and keeps the same 5 profile cap, while adding a shared inbox, collaboration tools, keyword monitoring with 10 brand keywords per group, and review management. Sprout Social suits a team that answers comments and messages together and needs review management in the same place as publishing.
- The 5 profile cap on Essentials and Standard is the main limit, because the higher Standard price buys inbox and review tools rather than more profile
Pros
- Shared inbox from Standard
- review management from Standard
- 100 Trellis AI credits per seat each month on all plans
Cons
- Essentials and Standard both cap you at 5 social profiles
- Premium Analytics and Listening are add-ons with no published price
- no free plan
Buffer
Best for: Solo creators who want low per-channel cost
Buffer charges per channel, not per seat. The Free plan costs $0, covers up to 3 channels, allows 10 scheduled posts per channel, and includes 100 ideas, 1 user, AI Assistant, Insights and a community inbox. Essentials costs $5 per channel per month on annual billing, or $6 on monthly billing, and adds unlimited scheduled posts per channel, advanced analytics, a hashtag manager, first comment scheduling and 3 API keys.
- Buffer suits a solo creator who wants a clear price for each connected account.
- Four channels on Essentials cost $20 per month on annual billing.
- The main limit is the 1 user cap on Essentials, because a second person forces a move to Team.
Pros
- Free plan covers 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel
- Essentials has unlimited scheduled posts per channel
- Team adds unlimited team members
Cons
- Essentials covers 1 user only
- approval workflows need the Team plan
- you pay for every channel, including the 3 that were free, after you upgrade
Later
Best for: One brand posting across many networks
Later charges by social set, and one social set holds one profile from each supported network: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. Starter costs $18.75 per month on annual billing, or $25 on monthly billing, and covers 1 social set, 1 user, 30 scheduled posts per profile each month, and 5 AI credits per month. Later suits a visual brand that posts to Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest and wants one calendar for the whole set.
- Starter is good value when you use 5 to 8 networks.
- The main limits are the 1 user cap, the 30 post cap per profile, and the 3 month analytics history.
Pros
- One social set covers 1 profile on each of 8 networks
- Starter allows 30 posts per profile each month
- visual calendar and Link in Bio on all plans
Cons
- Starter allows 1 user only
- analytics history on Starter covers 3 months only
- Later ended support for X on 28 August 2025
AdEspresso
Best for: Small Meta advertisers who want split testing
AdEspresso Starter costs $49 per month and covers unlimited ad accounts, Facebook and Instagram campaigns, split testing analysis, automatic optimisation, and a spend limit of $1,000 per month. Plus costs $99 per month, removes the spend limit, and adds cross-campaign performance triggers, multi-page bulk creation, campaign approval, up to 15 seats, view-only access for clients, and white label reports. AdEspresso suits a small advertiser who wants a friendlier way to build and split test Facebook and Instagram campaigns.
- The $1,000 spend cap on Starter is the key number, because a month above that cap means a move to Plus at $99 per month.
Pros
- Starter includes split testing and automatic optimisation
- Plus adds campaign approval and up to 15 seats
- Enterprise adds a Facebook marketing consultant
Cons
- Starter caps monthly ad spend at $1,000
- Facebook and Instagram only
- Enterprise starts from $259 per month
Madgicx
Best for: Meta advertisers who want AI automation
Madgicx sells one plan, Pro Complete, and the price follows your monthly Meta ad spend rather than a feature ladder. Under $1,000 of monthly ad spend, the price is $45 per month on monthly billing, or $32 per month on annual billing. The next bands are $99 per month for $1,000 to $2,500, $129 per month for $5,000 to $10,000, and $329 per month for $20,000 to $30,000, all on monthly billing.
- Above $30,000, the price is shown inside the app after signup.
- Madgicx suits a Meta advertiser who wants AI recommendations, automation and creative analytics in one place.
- A strong month can push you into the next band, because the account moves up once spend passes 105 percent of the band ceiling.
Pros
- One plan covers AI automation, audiences and creative analytics
- annual billing drops the entry band to $32 per month
- 7-day trial covers all features
Cons
- Price rises with monthly ad spend, to $329 per month at $20,000 to $30,000
- Tracking Pro costs $49 per month per account as an add-on
- Meta only
Birch
Best for: Advertisers who want rules across four networks
Birch is the current name for Revealbot, which rebranded in 2024, and the pricing page at bir.ch still carries the line Pricing | Birch (formerly Revealbot). Essential costs $49 per month, or $45 per month on annual billing at $540 billed annually, and covers workspaces, post boosting, reports, an activity page, Slack integration and email support, for up to $10,000 of monthly ad spend across connected accounts. Pro costs $99 per month, or $91 per month on annual billing, and adds automated rules and strategies.
- Birch suits an advertiser who knows the rules they want and needs those rules to run across Meta, Google Ads, Snapchat and TikTok.
- Essential does not include automated rules, so the real entry price is Pro at $99 per month.
- An overage fee applies when you pass your plan limit.
Pros
- Automated rules and strategies on Pro
- covers Meta, Google Ads, Snapchat and TikTok
- annual billing gives 12 months for the price of 11
Cons
- Automated rules are Pro only, so Essential at $49 per month does not include them
- price rises when total ad spend passes $10,000 per month
- overage fees apply through Stripe
Optmyzr
Best for: Agencies that manage many accounts and spend
Optmyzr Essentials starts at $209 per month on annual billing, or $299 per month on monthly billing, for up to $25,000 of monthly ad spend and up to 25 accounts. Premium starts at $272 per month on annual billing at the same spend level. Meta and LinkedIn spend counts toward the total.
- Prices rise with spend, and above $500,000 of monthly ad spend, Optmyzr points buyers to Enterprise.
- Optmyzr suits an agency that manages many accounts and wants one place for optimisation, audits, insights, reporting and automation across Google Ads,
- The entry band already assumes $25,000 of monthly ad spend.
Pros
- Essentials covers up to 25 accounts
- Meta and LinkedIn tools sit in the same plan
- Rule Engine automations run daily on Premium
Cons
- Entry price assumes up to $25,000 of monthly ad spend
- Premium costs $272 per month on annual billing at the same spend level
- Enterprise has no published price
Smartly
Best for: Large brands with enterprise creative needs
Smartly publishes no price on its site, and its pricing page returns a 404 that points back to the homepage, so the only way to learn the cost is to contact sales and book a demo. The platform brings together creative production, media buying and cross-channel analytics, with Synapse AI agents for planning and campaign assembly. It is built for large brands with enterprise budgets.
- Smartly suits a large brand that needs creative versioning at scale, cross-channel media buying and analytics in one contract.
- The lack of a published price is a real limit, because you cannot budget the tool without a quote, and you cannot test it on a self-serve trial.
Pros
- Creative, media and intelligence suites in one enterprise platform
- AI agents for planning and campaign assembly
- works across Meta, Google, TikTok, Amazon and other channels
Cons
- No published price and no self-serve plan
- entry needs a demo and a sales conversation
- no free trial is published
How we chose
We chose tools that cover the two jobs in this topic: planning and publishing social content, and building, automating and optimising advertising campaigns on social networks. We did not test any tool hands-on. Prices and plan limits come from official vendor pricing pages opened on 2026-11-12, and each price is cited in Sources. Where a vendor published no price, we wrote quote only, as we did for Smartly.
Pick by monthly ad spend and team size
| Situation | Pick | Why the numbers fit |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly ad spend under $1,000, solo | Buffer or Later | Buffer is $5 per channel per month; Later is $18.75 per month for 1 social set, both on annual billing |
| Monthly ad spend under $1,000, Meta only | AdEspresso Starter | $49 per month, with a $1,000 monthly spend cap that matches this budget |
| Monthly ad spend under $10,000, rules needed | Birch Pro | $99 per month, with automated rules, for up to $10,000 of monthly ad spend |
| Team of 3 or more, many accounts | Hootsuite Standard | $99 per user per month on annual billing, so 3 seats cost $297 per month |
| Agency with up to 25 accounts | Optmyzr Essentials | $209 per month on annual billing, for up to $25,000 of monthly ad spend and up to 25 accounts |
| Large brand, enterprise creative | Smartly | quote only, with a demo and a sales conversation as the entry point |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best social advertising software for most teams?
Hootsuite is the best social advertising software for most teams that want publishing, inbox and reporting in one place, because Standard starts at $99 per user per month on annual billing and covers up to 10 accounts. Sprout Social is better when a shared inbox and review management matter most.
How much does the best social advertising software cost?
Entry prices run from $5 per channel per month on annual billing for Buffer Essentials to $209 per month on annual billing for Optmyzr Essentials, with Hootsuite at $99 per user per month, Sprout Social at $79 per seat per month, Later at $18.75 per month, and AdEspresso, Madgicx and Birch from $45 to $49 per month. Smartly is quote only.
Which is best for a small brand with a small ad budget?
Buffer is best for a small brand that mainly needs scheduling, because the Free plan covers 3 channels and Essentials costs $5 per channel per month on annual billing. Later is best when one brand posts across many networks, because Starter covers 1 social set for $18.75 per month on annual billing.
Which is best for automation rules across networks?
Birch Pro is best for automation rules across networks, because it costs $99 per month for up to $10,000 of monthly ad spend and covers Meta, Google Ads, Snapchat and TikTok. Madgicx is best for Meta only, because its price follows Meta spend from $45 per month.
Is Revealbot still available?
Yes, Revealbot is still available under a new name. Revealbot rebranded to Birch in 2024, and revealbot.com now redirects to bir.ch. The pricing page lists Essential at $49 per month and Pro at $99 per month, both for up to $10,000 of monthly ad spend. Automated rules are Pro only.
Do any of these tools have a free plan?
Buffer has a free plan that covers 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 100 ideas and 1 user. Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Later, AdEspresso, Madgicx, Birch and Optmyzr offer a free trial instead, with terms from 7 days on Madgicx to 30 days on Sprout Social. Smartly has no free plan.
Sources
- https://www.hootsuite.com/
- https://www.hootsuite.com/plans
- https://sproutsocial.com/
- https://sproutsocial.com/pricing
- https://buffer.com/
- https://buffer.com/pricing
- https://later.com/
- https://later.com/pricing/
- https://adespresso.com/
- https://adespresso.com/pricing/
- https://madgicx.com/
- https://madgicx.com/pricing
- https://bir.ch/
- https://bir.ch/pricing
- https://www.optmyzr.com/
- https://www.optmyzr.com/pricing
- https://smartly.io/
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.