Best Cheap Social Media Management Tools
We have evaluated 40+ providers to determine the best cheap social media management tools in the following list.
Pricing
Vista Social
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Vistasocial shines with its wide range of features and effective pricing for multi-platform management, making it ideal for businesses managing their own accounts and small agencies that manage client accounts.
In top 3 for
Pros
Offers smart publishing to automatically post content from specific sources
Includes social listening to track mentions and analyze conversations about your brand
Cons
Does not support campaign management
Does not support post boosting and other ad management features
No flexibility to add extra profiles except for the enterprise plan
Postly
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Focused on simplicity and efficiency, Postly is a streamlined tool for content scheduling and management, perfect for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs.
In top 3 for
Pros
Unlimited team members
Unlimited scheduled posts
Tagging, Hashtags and Emojis
Schedule Recurring Post
Cons
Does not offer audience analysis
Cannot see or reply to messages across various social channels
Cannot manage reviews
Buffer
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Known for its simplicity and effectiveness, Buffer is a favorite among small businesses and entrepreneurs for streamlined social media scheduling and analytics.
Pros
White-label and custom reports available
Limited support channels
Hookle
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Tailored for small businesses, Hookle simplifies social media management with a streamlined, mobile-first approach, perfect for on-the-go entrepreneurs.
Pros
Tips gives you personalized tips on what to do next, guiding you how to keep your channels active and helping to be effective in social media marketing
With Hookle you can easily manage and post to your Google Business Profile wherever you are
Notifications are a great way to enhance the way you use Hookle. They can also help you keep your social media active and your online presence on Google up to date
Cons
Does not allow to manage user permissions to give different levels of access to different users
Does not support campaign management
Cannot manage inbox and reviews across various social pages
Does not support in-built image editor
- Our ranking considers every plan that providers offer. We evaluate each plan independently and then use a weighted calculation model to determine an overall score for each provider.
Building up your social media presence is easy enough with just one or two accounts, but managing different brands and online personas can get confusing. Social media management tools have since come into the scene with the ability to handle multiple accounts, schedule posts, generate analytics, and so much more for your brand.
But no one wants to pay an arm and a leg for a tool that’s meant to reduce the stress of managing social media platforms in the first place. That’s why some software have begun introducing their suite of tools by offering low entry costs and relatively affordable plans. Throughout our review process, we’ve identified what makes a social media management tool the best in class in terms of affordability so that you can get the most out of your dollar.
What Makes the Cheapest Social Media Management Tool?
Social media management tools come with a variety of features to help you manage your online presence. But with more and more premium services cropping up, it’s likely that these same providers won’t be offering their services for free (at least not without restrictions).
As such, software vendors have created different pricing plans, and even include free plans to better introduce their tools to the potential user. We’ve analyzed each platform based on their overall affordability by scoring the pricing of each plan and merging it together in a score that is just as meaningful for small businesses as for large social media agencies.
To evaluate the prices of the providers and to see which solutions are the cheapest, we have created our pricing score with the following weightings.
As you can see, our score spans two factors. On the one hand, we have the entry price, which refers to the minimum amount due for each provider's rate. Here we evaluate how high the standard price of each plan is compared to the overall landscape. The second factor relates to the price per social media account. This allows us to determine how the providers' rates scale with increasing accounts.
Together, this gives us a score that is indicative of both the scaling of a tool and the barrier to entry. For example, if a provider offers an infinite number of social media accounts at a fixed price, then we can still differentiate through the base price how high the price is compared to other providers with a similar offer. On the other hand, this also allows us to determine whether providers with low entry prices are really still that cheap when viewed in terms of the number of accounts.
Note: We took the monthly price as the baseline for our evaluations. If no monthly pricing is available we used the annual price divided by 12.
If you are interested in the best free plans that some providers offer, make sure to check them out here.
10 Best Cheap Social Media Management Tools
How to Choose an Affordable Social Media Management Tool
There are many different factors you’ll want to consider when picking a social media management tool that is cheap but still allows you to do everything that you need to be doing. We recommend creating a list of priorities regarding features and check our list at the top to see if the top providers include all features that you require to manage your social channels.
A good practise is more furthe make use of the free trials or plans that some providers offer. This gives you the opportunity to get a feeling for each platform and settle with the one you prefer the most. Another good tip is to fully commit to a tool and use annual pricing (if available) instead of monthly pricing to save an additional portion of the cost.
If you are interested in seeing the overall best social media management tools, including the pricing as a weighted criterion, make sure to check them out here. We also offer Comparison Tool to see how each providers differs and a Finder Tool to help you find the best software for your personal needs.
Janie S.
Updated: Oct 25, 2024
I make sure that companies don't forget who they are and what they stand for. Social media marketing is more than posting a vivid picture or video every now and then. Consistency and strategy are the drivers of any successful brand.
FAQ
What’s the average price for a social media management tool?
Averages can be a misleading figure to use when determining the average price for any software tool out there. The price is mostly determined by the features a software offers and the number of users and social media accounts to be managed. A small company with 5 social media accounts and basic requirements can get away with a pricing between $15 to $25 per month while very advanced platforms for enterprise brands can cost up to $250 per month.
Do I need a credit card to apply for a paid social media management tool?
Most online software services, especially ones that run on its own platform, require credit cards to purchase their subscription plans for cotninued use, while a few options also take paypal as core payment method.
Is it easy to cancel a subscription or refund usage on a specific software package?
Yes, most providers make it very simple to cancel a subscription and you can mostly do that any time. Make sure that you check the terms of the providers and that you subscribe to the right plan and format (monthly vs. annual billing).