A good social media management tool is part of any good social media strategy. The market is flooded with many different tools that are all supposed to be better than the others.
But not all social media tools are actually good.
I have spent many hours testing the different social media management tools on the market. In this article, I’d like to introduce you to the 7 best tools on the market right now.
After my extensive research, Social Pilot is my favorite. With Social Pilot, you can manage up to 25 social media accounts with 3 users for a good price.
Zoho Social is good for solopreneurs who are looking for an affordable solution that lets you manage up to 7 social media accounts.
Agorapulse is my choice if you’re looking for a pro solution that allows you to collaborate very well with different people through the platform.
That said, let’s compare the various social media management tools on the market to see what each solution has to offer.
The best social media planning tools in comparison
- SocialPilot – Best tool in comparison
- Zoho Social – Good tool for solopreneurs
- Agorapulse – The all-in-one social media tool
- ContentCal – Perfect for agencies
- Hootsuite – Best Content Calendar
- Buffer – Best entry-level solution
- Sprout Social – Best tool with CRM features
1. SocialPilot
SocialPilot is the best social media management tool in my comparison. No other tool could offer this level of functionality, at a relatively low price. It offers both interesting features for publishing social media posts and helpful collaboration features.
What’s especially interesting about Social Pilot is that you can pre-schedule up to 500 posts. This way, you can ensure that you always publish new content regularly on your social media platforms. You can easily create a CSV file with all your future posts.
To keep you coming up with new ideas for what to post on your social media platforms, SocialPilot offers a feature that lets you curate content from other social media channels.
Social Pilot allows you to work with a whole team on the platform and give the user different permissions. This way, you can ensure that multiple people see the posts before they are published.
The range of functions that SocialPilot offers for the price is only available from competitors in more expensive price packages. To see if Social Pilot is the right social media planner for you, you can use the free trial period.
SocialPilot Prices
Social Pilot offers you 4 different price packages. You also have the possibility to test SocialPilot 14 days for free.
Professional: 24,65 Euro per month (10 social media accounts / 1 user)
Small Team: 40.80 Euro per month (20 social media accounts / 3 users)
Studio: 81,60 Euro per month (30 social media accounts / 6 users)
Agency: 101,15 Euro per month (50 social media accounts / 9 users)
Social Pilot Features
Content Curation Tool – The Curation Tool helps you curate content from other blogs, social media channels and influencers. So that you always have interesting content for your subscribers.
Content Calendar – The Content Calendar helps you keep track of your social media activities. You can filter your calendar by specific social media accounts or activities.
Engagement – The engagement feature helps you never miss a comment and keep track of all your social media activity. You can reply to comments directly from Social Pilot without having to log in to the platforms.
Collaboration – With the collaboration feature you can assign different user rights. So you can define roles like Admin Manager and Content Creator.
Analytics – With Social Pilot’s Analytics feature, you can see which posts are the best received. You can also see when is the best time to publish posts.
SocialPilot advantages
- Fully comprehensive solution – Social Pilot is a solution that offers a wide range of functions.
- Customer support – Customer support is available via chat very quickly for questions.
- Browser extension – The browser extension offers you the possibility to add new content to Social Pilot Content Calendar.
SocialPilot Disadvantages
- Curate Content – The feature to curate content from other websites could be better and easier to resolve.
For whom is SocialPilot the right software?
SocialPilot is a professional social media management tool at a fair price. It is aimed at small businesses or smaller social media agencies.
2. Zoho Social
Zoho Social comes second in the comparison. Not only does it offer you a social media scheduling feature, but also some features to interact with your audience on your social media channels. For scheduling, you can create a publication calendar so that you never forget to publish a post on time.
Also, similar to SocialPilot, you can curate content from other channels. All the communication options, from the various social media platforms, can be seen directly in Zoho Social. This way, you can ensure that no comment or message from your users escapes you.
Zoho Social’s workflow feature lets you send posts to specific people for approval. This allows you to have specific people create posts and then approve them.
Apart from the collaborative features, Zoho Social also offers the ability to measure the success of your social media activities. You can see where and in which contexts your brand was mentioned. You can also measure the success of each post to repeat successful posts in the future.
Zoho Social offers you a free trial period where you can try out the software without any risk.
Zoho Social Prices
Standard: 10 Euro per month (1 user / 7 social media accounts)
Professional: 30 Euro per month (1 user / 8 social media accounts)
Premium: 40 Euro per month (3 users / 9 social media accounts)
Agency: 230 Euro per month (5 users / 90 social media accounts)
Agency Plus: 330 Euro per month (5 users / 180 social media accounts)
Zoho Social Features
zShare Browser Extension – The Zoho Browser Extension offers you an easy way to add interesting content you find on the web to your Zoho Social profile. You can then add this content to your publication calendar.
CRM Integration – Zoho is a platform that also offers a CRM system. So if you use Zoho as your CRM system, you can easily add your social media subscribers as Leas?
Collaboration – Even the standard version of Zoho Social offers you the possibility to collaborate with a team. You can easily communicate with your team directly on the platform and assign roles and permissions to different users.
Analytics – You can create custom reports with Zoho Social and analyze which content has been the most popular with your users.
Zoho Social Advantages
- Integrates with Microsoft Office and G-Suite
- Very easy to use
- Very good Analytics function
Zoho Social Disadvantages
- The possibility to integrate more social media channels e.g. Pinterest
- More possibilities to create posts more easily e.g. templates
For whom is Zoho Social the right solution?
Zoho Social can be used very well with other Zoho solutions to optimize business processes. If you want to combine social media management with CRM, Zoho Social is the solution for you.
3. Agorapulse
Agorapulse is a professional social media management tool that stands out with its beautiful interface and inbox feature. With it, you can have all your different social media activities in one place, like your email inbox.
Whether you’re posting or commenting on your social media channels, you can stay on top of it all with the ability to create a post that will be published across your connected social media channels. This way you can save a lot of time and don’t have to deal with the different requirements of the platforms.
So that you can also determine whether your social media activities were successful, Agorapulse offers you insightful reports. This way, you can analyze which posts worked best on the different platforms. This will give you recommendations on what kind of content you should publish in the future.
You can also find out what reach has come from your business’s paid advertising and organic reach. All of this feature come at a price though. Agorapulse is not cheap. However, it does offer a free version that lets you check out Agorapulse risk-free.
agorapulse prices
Agorapulse offers 3 different price packages. There is also a free 14-day trial period.
Free: Free (3 social media accounts / 1 user)
Pro: 79 Euro per month (10 social media accounts / 2 users)
Premium: 159 Euro per month (20 social media accounts / 4 users)
Enterprise: Price on request (More than 40 social media accounts / More than 8 users)
agorapulse features
Social Media Inbox – Agorapulse offers you an inbox where you have an overview of all your social media activities. So that you miss discussions or comments on your social media channels.
Social Media Monitoring – Agorapulse offers a monitoring function that allows you to analyze where your brand is mentioned on social media. This way you can monitor the awareness and sentiment of your brand.
Collaboration – With agorapulse’s agency feature, you can define roles in your company for agorapulse users. You can also label each post with different labels so that you have an overview of the different posts.
Analytics – The Analytics feature helps you determine which posts were the most successful. You can also rate which teams have published the most and best social media posts,
agorapulse Advantages
- Dashboard – The dashboard provides a good overview of all your social media activities.
- Collaboration – The collaboration feature with the ability to share content.
- UTM Tagging – So you can always determine where exactly your visitors come from.
agorapulse Disadvantages
- Instagram features – Only one image can be published per post
- Twitter Threads – No Twitter threads can be published.
For whom is agorapulse the right software?
Agorapulse is a social media management tool aimed at professional users. It is aimed at small agencies and businesses. The price is not cheap, but you get a powerful social media management tool with all the important features.
4. ContentCal
ContentCal is a social media management platform founded in London in 2014. At first, ContentCal was a social media agency that started to create its own social media management software with its expert knowledge.
ContentCal is a social media management software that helps you organize and schedule your content. It covers the essential areas of publishing, engagement, and analysis. ContentCal is much more than a social media scheduling tool.
It also gives you the ability to organize all your communications directly from the ContentCal platform.
ContentCal Prices
ContentCal offers you 4 different price packages. There is also a free version that you can use.
Essential: $30 per month (1-2 users / 6 social media profiles per calendar)
Advanced: On demand (3-10 users / 10 social media profiles per calendar).
Expert: Price on demand (10+ users / 14 social media profiles per calendar).
ContentCal Features
Asset Management – ContentCal offers you an integrated asset management function so that you always know what you can publish and which contributions have already been published.
Content Calendar – The Content Calendar is where you can schedule your posts to be published on your various social media platforms. You can also share this content calendar with your other team members.
Social Media Campaign – With ContentCal you can schedule different content campaigns for different social media channels.
Analytics – The Analytics features give you the ability to get a visual representation of the results of your campaigns. You can create reports for each of your campaigns and measure their success.
ContentCal Advantages
- Simple User Interface – ContentCal offers a visually appealing user interface that makes it easy to find all the important functions.
- Content Calendar – The Content Calendar of ContentCal offers you the possibility to manage many social media accounts very easily.
- Social Media Content – Via segmentation you can create different content categories. So that you have more variety in your social media campaigns.
ContentCal Disadvantages
- No mobile app available – Unfortunately, there is no ContentCal mobile app. But there is a page adapted for mobile view.
For whom is ContentCal the right solution?
ContentCal’s offering is aimed at social media professionals who wanted to manage many social media accounts. It also gives you the ability to manage social media accounts for clients.
5. Hootsuite
Hootsuite was founded in 2008 and is one of the market leaders in social media management. Today, the company has more than 18 million customers worldwide.
Hootsuite is a platform that specializes in social media management and offers every feature imaginable.
With this central control, you can manage all social media activities and offer your prospects as well as customers a very good social media communication.
Hootsuite Prices
Hootsuite offers the following 4 price packages
Hootsuite Professional: 39 Euro per month (1 user and up to 10 social media accounts)
Hootsuite Team: 109 euros per month (3 users and up to 20 social media accounts),
Hootsuite Business: 669 Euro per month (5 users and up to 35 social media accounts)
Hootsuite Enterprise: Individual on demand
Depending on the size of your business and whether you work a lot with freelancers, you should adjust the size of the package. The packages offer a good gradation so that you can adapt it to the growth of your business.
There is also a limited free version of Hootsuite that you can try out first.
Hootsuite Features
Pre-schedule posts – This is the basic feature that gives you the ability to pre-schedule social media content. You can schedule all of your social media activity 30 days in advance with Hootsuite and fill all major social media platforms.
Analytics – With the Analytics feature, you can measure how successful your posts have been and which posts have achieved engagement with users. This helps you create better posts over time.
Boost – With the Boost function, you can boost the posts that were most successful with additional paid advertising. You can also make the function directly out of Hootsuite and boost posts, for example, on Facebook.
User Access – This feature is only available with the Team package and allows you to give multiple users access to your Hootsuite account. This is especially helpful if you’ve outsourced your social media management to a freelancer.
Export Report – Hootsuite also offers you the option to export the Analytics data. You can then import this data into Excel, for example, and analyze it further.
Hootsuite advantages
- A very good content calendar
- Very comprehensive tools with many functions
- Offers a free version
Hootsuite cons
- Requires some training
- Customer service could respond more quickly
Who is Hootsuite the right solution for?
Hoostuite is a social media management tools is a very good social media management tool that supports all major social media channels.
If you’re looking for a solution that supports both schedulings before posts and good analytics features, then Hootsuite is the solution for you.
6. Buffer
Buffer is a very widely used social media management tool that is used by more than 73,000 customers worldwide. Everyone involved in online marketing knows Buffer, which was launched in 2010.
It provides a comprehensive platform for all popular social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. It also offers a free trial to get started.
Buffer prices
Buffer offers simple pricing with the following price packages:
Buffer Free: free (1 user and up to 3 social media accounts).
Buffer Essential: $5 per month (per social media channel)
Buffer Team: $10 per month (per social media channel)
Buffer Agency: $100 per month (10 social media channels)
Buffer Features
Scheduling and Publishing – Buffer gives you the ability to schedule posts in advance so you can always post at the ideal time.
Team Management – With the Team Management feature, you can give other people access to your Buffer account. You can also control access rights, which is especially handy when working with freelancers.
Browser extension – With the browser extension you can quickly add interesting content to your Buffer account. So you never forget an important article you want to share with your subscribers.
Integration and apps – Buffer integrates with many other apps, such as Zapier or IFTTT. This makes it very easy to create automations that take repetitive work off your plate.
Buffer advantages
- Very good iOS app
- The pre-planning of very many social media posts
- Buffer is intuitive to use
Buffer disadvantages
- The price structure could be better structured
- Difficult to manage social media accounts in different languages
For whom is Buffer the right solution?
The majority of users are very convinced of Buffer. Buffer offers an inexpensive and good solution for small businesses that need fewer features than Hootsuite. In addition, Buffer also offers a free version.
7. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a social media management tool founded in 2000 that helps companies create a social media strategy along the entire customer journey.
The focus of Sprout Social is therefore not only on publishing posts but also on customer service via social media or collaboration with influencers.
Sprout Social Prices
Standard: $99 per month (Unlimited users and up to 5 social media accounts)
Professional: $149 per month (unlimited users and up to 10 social media accounts)
Advanced: $249 per month (unlimited users and up to 10 social media accounts)
Sprout Social Features
Competitive Intelligence – This feature allows you to analyze exactly what content your competitors are publishing and what content is most successful.
Planning and Publishing – Plan, organize and create social media campaigns across multiple platforms. Sprout Social supports all major platforms.
Social CRM – Create leads directly from social media platforms. Prospects who create specific inquiries about products or services can be added directly to the social CRM system.
Customer Care – A special feature of Sprout Social is also that you have the ability to do customer care directly through your social media platforms. You can flag certain requests so that they receive special attention.
Sprout Social Advantages
- Very good analytics functions
- Very good user interface
- Social Media Listening tool
Sprout Social Disadvantages
- The dashboard contains a lot of information
- Does not support some platforms e.g. YouTube, Vimeo. LinkedIn pages
For whom is Sprout Social the right solution?
If you’re looking for a social media management platform that also offers CRM features, Sprout Social is a solution you should check out.
FAQ – Frequently asked questions
Which social media management tool?
The best social media management tool is Social Pilot. It gives you a great feature set and that too at a fair price. You can manage all your social media channels with Social Pilot.
Why social media tools?
A social media tool gives you the opportunity to post content regularly on your social media channels. Nowadays, it is important that you post new content very frequently. In addition, each target group is addressed by a different type of social media platform. To make sure you don’t lose the overview, it’s a good idea to use a social media tool like Social Pilot.
Which program for social media posts?
If you are looking for a tool with a free version, I would recommend Buffer. If you are willing to spend some money on the program, I can recommend Social Pilot.
In summary, the best social media management tools in India for 2022 are:
I hope you were able to find a tool that suits your needs with this comparison. Each tool has a slightly different field of application. The most complete tool is certainly Hootsuite. If you are just starting out, Buffer is a very good tool for beginners.
Social media is an important additional communication channel that you should use. You can stay in touch with your customers via social media, as well as reach out to new customers.