Hootsuite
An 18-year-old Vancouver company that tried and failed to sell itself for $750 million, then saw its founder return as CEO in 2026 after his successor stepped down.
What is Hootsuite?
Ryan Holmes built Hootsuite out of his Vancouver digital agency Invoke in 2008, originally as a side tool called BrightKit before demand pushed it into its own company a year later. It grew into one of the earliest and best-known social media dashboards, raising a then-record $165 million Series B for a Canadian software company in 2013 and reaching a roughly $1 billion valuation. It never went public. In 2018, Hootsuite reportedly worked with Goldman Sachs to explore a sale at around $750 million, but the process was abandoned when offers came in below that figure, and Holmes stepped down as CEO in 2019 after eleven years running the company. Irina Novoselsky took over in 2023, a period that brought several rounds of layoffs alongside real strategic moves, including the 2024 acquisition of the social analytics firm Talkwalker.
The most recent chapter is still unfolding as of this writing: Novoselsky stepped down as CEO in April 2026 after months of public scrutiny over a Hootsuite contract with a U.S. government department, following protests outside the company's Vancouver offices, and Holmes returned to the CEO role on an interim basis. On the product side, Hootsuite eliminated its long-standing free plan in March 2023 and raised prices across every tier by more than 40%, a shift many long-time small-business users have publicly resented. What remains is a per-user pricing model — unusual in this category, where most competitors bill by contact list size or by connected social channel — plus a growing AI push branded OwlyWriter and, new in 2026, OwlyGPT.
Company and leadership history is drawn from contemporaneous news reporting through April 2026; pricing and feature details reflect Hootsuite's published plans as of 2026.
Key features
Unified dashboard
Scheduling, inbox, analytics, and listening across 9+ platforms from one screen.
OwlyWriter & OwlyGPT
AI caption generation, plus 2026's beta image generation and brand-voice personalization.
Bulk scheduling
Upload up to 350 posts at once via CSV on the Advanced plan and above.
Social listening
Brand and keyword monitoring, with history depth expanding by tier.
Custom reports
Client- or executive-ready analytics templates on the Advanced plan.
150+ integrations
Including Canva, Salesforce, HubSpot, Grammarly, and Google Drive.
Pricing
Standard
- 10 social accounts, basic analytics and inbox
- No CRM or advanced social listening at this tier
- 30-day free trial, credit card required, no permanent free plan
Advanced
- Unlimited social accounts, bulk scheduling up to 350 posts
- Custom reports, saved replies, 30-day social listening history
- Advanced inbox and CRM features Standard doesn't include
Enterprise
- Deeper Salesforce integration and large-scale social listening
- Custom permissions and dedicated support
- Built for large brands managing complex, multi-team social strategies
Every tier bills per user, so the total cost scales with team size rather than list size or channel count. Hootsuite only offers annual billing pricing as the headline rate — month-to-month costs noticeably more per tier — and there's no permanent free plan since it was removed in March 2023.
AI tools, included across plans
Integrations & platforms
Pros, cons & best for
Pros
- One of the deepest integration libraries in the category, over 150 tools
- Unlimited social accounts on Advanced, useful for accounts managing many profiles
- 2024's Talkwalker acquisition meaningfully strengthened social listening depth
Cons
- No free plan since 2023, and Standard alone runs $1,188/year per user
- Per-user pricing makes team growth expensive fast, unlike per-channel competitors
- Recent leadership turnover, including a CEO exit tied to public controversy in 2026
Best for
- Larger teams and agencies managing high account volume who need one dashboard
- Organizations that will genuinely use Advanced's social listening and CRM tools
- Not the pick for a solo creator or small business — the per-user cost adds up fast
Take a look inside
Alternatives
For a genuinely free plan or cheaper per-channel pricing instead:
Our verdict
Hootsuite's dashboard and integration depth still hold up against most of the category — 150+ integrations, genuinely useful bulk scheduling, and listening tools sharpened by the Talkwalker acquisition are real strengths for a team managing a lot of accounts at once. What's harder to ignore in 2026 is the surrounding context: the free plan is gone, the entry price rose sharply in 2023, per-user billing makes team growth expensive in a way per-channel competitors avoid, and the company just went through a CEO exit and a founder's return under public scrutiny. None of that makes the software worse on a technical level, but it's a reasonable thing to factor into a purchasing decision for a tool a business plans to depend on for years. For a large team or agency that will genuinely use Advanced's listening and reporting depth, Hootsuite remains a capable, if expensive, choice. For a small business priced out since the free plan disappeared, a cheaper, more stable-feeling alternative is worth a serious look first.
FAQ
Does Hootsuite still have a free plan?
No — Hootsuite removed its free tier in March 2023. A 30-day free trial is available on paid plans, but it requires a credit card to start.
Why does Hootsuite charge per user instead of per social account?
That's simply how its pricing model is structured — cost scales with how many people on a team need seats, unlike per-channel competitors such as Buffer, where cost scales with connected accounts instead.
Who runs Hootsuite in 2026?
Founder Ryan Holmes returned as interim CEO in April 2026, after Irina Novoselsky stepped down following months of public scrutiny over a company contract with a U.S. government department.
What did the 2024 Talkwalker acquisition add?
Talkwalker is a social analytics and listening firm; folding it into Hootsuite meaningfully deepened the platform's social listening and brand-monitoring capabilities.
Has Hootsuite ever gone public or been sold?
No — it explored a sale at around $750 million in 2018 through Goldman Sachs, but the deal fell through, and it has remained privately held since, without an IPO.
What's the real cost difference between Standard and Advanced?
Standard caps out at 10 social accounts with basic analytics and no CRM; Advanced, at roughly 2.5x the price, adds unlimited accounts, bulk scheduling, custom reports, and deeper social listening.