Skip to content 
Social media works best as a marketing tool when you post on a steady schedule, read the results, and answer people on time. Doing all three by hand eats into your week, so social marketing tools take over the repeat tasks, from scheduling posts to tracking clicks.
This guide explains what social marketing tools do, compares 15 of them, and shows how to choose. It also helps you decide when software is enough and when expert help saves you time.
What social marketing tools do?
Social marketing tools are software that helps you plan, create, publish, track, and respond on social media platforms. People also call them social media marketing tools. Most combine several jobs, such as scheduling posts, reporting on results, and collecting messages in one inbox.
That mix pays off in four ways:
- You schedule posts in batches instead of one at a time
- Your posting stays steady
- Reports show which posts earn clicks, shares, and follows
- Comments and messages stay in one place
Tools support your strategy, but they do not replace it. They can send a post at 9 a.m., yet they cannot decide what your brand should say.
Social marketing tools at a glance
The table below places all 15 tools side by side, with the job each does best and the free option it offers:
| Tool | Best for | Free option |
| Buffer | Simple scheduling | Free plan, three channels |
| Hootsuite | Full-featured management | 14-day trial |
| Vista Social | Planning and engagement | 14-day trial |
| Sendible | Unlimited users | 14-day trial |
| Later | Planning and link in bio | 14-day trial |
| Sprout Social | Team engagement | 30-day trial |
| Agorapulse | Inbox management | 30-day trial |
| Metricool | Analytics and reporting | Free plan, one brand |
| Brand24 | Social listening | 14-day trial |
| Canva | Designs | Free plan |
| CapCut | Short video | Free to use |
| Bitly | Short links and QR codes | Free plan |
| Linktree | Bio links | Free plan |
| Zapier | Connecting apps | Free plan, 100 tasks per month |
| Mailchimp | Email and social together | Free plan, 250 contacts |
Best scheduling and all-in-one tools
Scheduling tools hold your posts in a calendar and publish them at the times you set. Social media management platforms add an inbox, reports, and team features on top.
Buffer for simple scheduling
Buffer schedules your posts to many networks from one calendar. You pick the day and time for each post, and the tool sends it the moment it is due. Every social account you connect counts as one channel, which is how Buffer builds its plans.
Best for: Owners who run a few channels and want to schedule from one place
Key features
- Unlimited scheduled posts on Essentials
- Analytics and first comment scheduling on Essentials
- Unlimited users and approval workflows on the Team plan
Pros
- You pay only for the channels you connect
- The free plan lets you test the workflow first
Cons
- Cost rises with every channel you add
- The free plan caps scheduled posts at 10 per channel
Pricing: Buffer has a free plan for three channels, and Essentials starts at $5 per channel each month when billed yearly.
Hootsuite for full-featured management
Hootsuite works as a social media management platform that handles publishing, a shared inbox, and monitoring from one dashboard. You can schedule posts, answer comments and messages, and follow mentions of your brand without switching apps. AI features draft posts and images for you.
Best for: Teams that want publishing and replies in one place
Key features
- Publishing from one calendar
- AI post and image generation
- Brand and competitor tracking
Pros
- Scheduling, inbox, and monitoring need only one subscription
- AI tools draft posts and images inside the platform
Cons
- Standard manages up to 10 accounts
- Per-user billing raises the cost as your team grows
Pricing: Hootsuite has paid plans only, and its plans page lists current rates.
Vista Social for planning and engagement
Vista Social combines planning, publishing, engagement, and reporting in one workspace. Scheduling a post, replying to your audience, and reading a performance report all happen in the same place. Listening and review features come with the platform.
Best for: Small teams that want engagement and reviews next to their publishing
Key features
- Professional connects 15 social profiles
- Engagement and reporting tools
- Support for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other major networks
Pros
- Publishing, replies, and reports sit in one workspace
- Listening and review tools come with the platform
Cons
- No free plan to test with
- Small accounts pay the full plan price even with few profiles
Pricing: Professional costs $99 per month, or $950 when billed yearly.
Sendible for unlimited users
Sendible gives every plan unlimited users, so owners, freelancers, and managers can all work in the same accounts. Scheduling, monitoring, and reports sit on top of that access. Plans differ by the number of workspaces and profiles, so you choose one by how many accounts you run.
Best for: Small teams and agencies where several people share the same accounts
Key features
- Core includes six profiles, bulk scheduling, monitoring and replies, and standard reports
- Plus adds assignments and approvals
- Support for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube, and more
Pros
- Unlimited users on every plan
- Bulk scheduling on Core
Cons
- Replies work only on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook Ads
- Assignments and approvals require Plus
Pricing: Sendible has paid plans only, and its pricing page lists current rates.
Later for planning and link in bio
Later organizes your posts on a calendar and publishes them to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other networks. You set the time for each post, and the tool handles the rest. Your account also includes a Link in Bio page.
Best for: Small accounts that want an organized content calendar
Key features
- Starter includes one social set with up to eight profiles
- Best Time to Post suggestions
- Publishing to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other networks
Pros
- Link in Bio comes with the plan
- Best Time to Post removes guesswork from your schedule
Cons
- Starter allows 30 scheduled posts per profile each month
- The social inbox and approvals start at Growth
Pricing: Starter costs $18.75 per month when billed yearly.
Best engagement, listening, and reporting tools
Engagement tools gather comments and messages in one place, and reporting tools show what works. Listening and monitoring are different jobs: monitoring tracks mentions as they happen, while listening reads the sentiment and trends behind them.
Sprout Social for team engagement
Sprout Social pairs publishing with a shared inbox and reporting, so a team can post, respond, and review results together. Each plan is priced per seat, which means the cost follows the size of your team.
Best for: Businesses that answer many comments and messages
Key features
- Essentials covers five profiles with optimal send times and reporting
- Standard adds a consolidated inbox, keyword and location monitoring, and review management
- Higher plans add unlimited profiles
Pros
- Standard brings the inbox, monitoring, and reviews into one plan
- Higher plans remove the profile limit
Cons
- Cost multiplies with each teammate you add
- Inbox and monitoring wait until Standard
Pricing: Sprout Social has no free plan, and Essentials costs $79 per seat each month when billed yearly.
Agorapulse for inbox management
Agorapulse centers its platform on one inbox that collects messages and organic comments from your networks. Your team reads and answers conversations from a single feed instead of opening each network. Publishing and reporting features sit alongside it.
Best for: Teams that spend more time replying than posting
Key features
- Standard includes 10 social profiles
- Unlimited post scheduling and basic reporting
- One inbox for messages and organic comments
Pros
- Unlimited scheduling on Standard
- Replies to comments and messages happen in one feed
Cons
- Per-user pricing raises the cost for larger teams
- The free Archie plan creates new posts only through Archie
Pricing: Agorapulse replaced its free plan with the Archie plan on July 6, 2026, and Standard costs $79 per user each month when billed yearly.
Metricool for analytics and reporting
Metricool collects data from several social networks in one place, which makes it a natural starting point for a social media dashboard. You can compare how your accounts perform and follow competitor profiles. The tool also schedules posts.
Best for: Owners who want clear numbers across several networks
Key features
- Free plan includes one brand, 20 scheduled posts per month, and 30 days of analytics
- Free plan tracks five competitor profiles
- Starter supports up to five brands
Pros
- The free plan covers analytics and scheduling together
- Starter handles several brands from one account
Cons
- The free plan excludes LinkedIn and X
- The free plan keeps only 30 days of analytics
Pricing: Metricool has a free plan, and Starter for up to five brands costs $20 per month when billed yearly, before taxes.
Brand24 for social listening
Brand24 listens for your brand name across social networks, news sites, blogs, and reviews. AI then scores the sentiment of each mention, so you can see whether people speak well or poorly about you.
Best for: Owners who want to know what people say about their brand
Key features
- Mention tracking across social, news, blogs, and reviews
- Individual plan includes three keywords and 2,000 mentions per month
- Pro and higher plans add more keywords and AI features
Pros
- Sentiment scores show the tone behind each mention
- Coverage reaches beyond social networks
Cons
- The Individual plan serves one user
- It does not schedule or publish posts
Pricing: Brand24 has paid plans only, and its pricing page lists current rates.
Best content creation tools
Every post needs an image or a video, and these two tools cover both jobs.
Canva for designs
Canva provides a drag-and-drop editor for building social media graphics. Ready-made templates supply the starting layout, and you add your own text, photos, and colors.
Best for: Owners who design their own graphics
Key features
- Free plan includes 5 GB of storage and one Brand Kit limited to three colors
- Pro adds Brand Kits for colors, fonts, and logos, plus Magic Resize
- Pro adds a Social Content Planner to schedule and publish posts
Pros
- Free templates let you start without paying
- Pro publishes posts straight from the planner
Cons
- The free Brand Kit holds only three colors
- Magic Resize requires Pro
Pricing: Canva has a free plan, and Pro costs $144 per year for one person.
CapCut for short video
CapCut edits short-form video on the web, on desktop, and on mobile. You can record clips on your phone and polish them in the app. The editor offers a free version and a paid Pro subscription.
Best for: Owners who record clips on a phone and want to polish them
Key features
- Editors for web, desktop, and mobile
- Free version plus an optional Pro subscription
Pros
- No cost to start
- Mobile editing fits clips you record on a phone
Cons
- No single Pro price to plan a budget around
Pricing: CapCut is free to use, and Pro prices vary by region and device.
Best link and traffic tools
Social posts should lead somewhere, and these tools shorten links, track clicks, and give your profile bio a single link.
Bitly for short links and click tracking
Bitly shortens long web addresses and tracks the clicks each short link earns. Place one in a post, and the click data shows which network sends visitors to your site. The tool also creates QR codes.
Best for: Owners who want to know which network drives website visits
Key features
- Free plan includes five short links and two QR codes per month
- Core keeps 30 days of click data
- Growth includes a custom domain
Pros
- Click counts show which networks send visitors
- Growth puts your own domain on every short link
Cons
- The free plan stops at five short links per month
- Core keeps only 30 days of click data
Pricing: Bitly has a free plan, and Core starts at $10 per month when billed yearly.
Linktree for your bio link
Linktree turns the single link in your profile bio into a page with many links. Followers choose a website, a store, or a booking page from that page.
Best for: Accounts that send followers to several destinations
Key features
- One link page that leads to many destinations
- Premium includes social media scheduling
- Premium includes unlimited Instagram auto-replies
Pros
- Paid plans remove ads
- Premium adds scheduling and auto-replies beyond the link page
Cons
- Free pages show ads
- The link page adds little if your website already holds all your links
Pricing: Linktree has a free plan, and its pricing page lists paid rates.
Best automation and integration tools
These tools connect your social accounts to the rest of your work, such as email lists and spreadsheets.
Zapier for connecting your apps
Zapier links your apps so that an action in one triggers a task in another. You set up each rule once, which Zapier calls a Zap, and the rule runs on its own afterward.
Best for: Teams whose tools do not connect on their own
Key features
- Free plan includes 100 tasks per month and unlimited Zaps
- Free plan allows two-step Zaps only
- Professional adds multi-step Zaps
Pros
- Connects apps that lack a direct link
- The free plan allows unlimited Zaps
Cons
- The free plan stops at 100 tasks per month
- Multi-step Zaps require Professional
Pricing: Zapier has a free plan, and Professional starts at $19.99 per month when billed yearly.
Mailchimp for email and social together
Mailchimp handles email and social posting from one account, so you can run social media and email marketing side by side. Its social media advertising tools cover paid campaigns on Facebook and Instagram.
Best for: Businesses that already send email and want social alongside
Key features
- Publishing to Facebook, Instagram, and X
- Paid ads on Facebook and Instagram
- Social post scheduling on Standard and Premium
Pros
- Email, posts, and ads sit in one account
- The free plan covers up to 250 contacts
Cons
- The free plan does not schedule social posts
- The free plan caps email sends at 500 per month
Pricing: Mailchimp has a free plan for up to 250 contacts, and its pricing page lists paid rates.
How to choose social marketing tools
Start with your goals, not with features. Write down your top two goals, such as steadier posting or more website visits. Then match tools for social media marketing to those goals.
Before you commit to a tool, run through five checks:
- Confirm the tool supports the networks you use
- Check whether the price is per user, per channel, or per bundle of profiles
- Count how many people need access
- Look at integrations with your email, ads, and spreadsheets
- Use the free trial before you pay
Free trials run 14 days at Hootsuite, Vista Social, Later, Sendible, and Brand24. They run 30 days at Sprout Social and Agorapulse. Free social media management tools, such as Buffer and Metricool, let you test your routine first. Both cap scheduled posts, so read the limits.
When a tool is enough and when to hire help
Software saves time on routine work. It cannot set strategy, write in your brand voice, or hold a real conversation.
Four questions show whether a tool is enough for you:
- Do you have time each week to post, reply, and review results?
- Do you know which goal each post serves?
- Can your team create enough photos and videos?
- Does your budget cover tools, content, and ads?
Software is only one line item in the cost of social media marketing. Your time, content creation, and ad spend count as well. If most answers are no, expert help can fill the gaps. If most are yes, one or two tools may be enough.
Get help with your social media
Social marketing tools make the routine lighter, yet posting, replying, and reporting still take time. If that time is hard to find, you do not have to handle it alone.
The Ocean Wide is a Denver-based digital marketing agency, and social media is part of the work we do for small and medium-sized businesses. Our social marketing services cover the work that software cannot do for you, from the first content plan to the final report.
- Content: creation and curation tailored to your brand and audience
- Strategy: platform-specific plans for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more, with a strong focus on short-form video
- Community: replies, comments, and conversations that build loyalty
- Reporting: analytics that show what works and what to change
- Visuals: photos, videos, and graphics for your posts and website
- Paid ads: campaigns on Facebook, TikTok, and Google with A/B testing and performance tracking
Tell us your goals and your budget, and we will build a plan that fits your time. Call (720) 334-0899 to schedule a free strategy session.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What are social marketing tools?
Social marketing tools are software that helps you plan, create, publish, track, and respond on social media. Common types cover scheduling, design, reporting, engagement, listening, link tracking, and automation.
Are there free social marketing tools?
Yes, several do. Buffer, Metricool, Canva, Bitly, Linktree, Zapier, and Mailchimp offer free plans with limits on channels, posts, links, or contacts. Agorapulse ended its earlier free plan on July 6, 2026 and now offers the Archie plan instead.
Can one tool do everything?
Rarely. Social media management platforms handle scheduling, inboxes, and reports, but you may still need separate tools for design, video, and link tracking, plus a person to set strategy.
Do these tools connect with email and ads?
Some do. Mailchimp links social posting, paid ads on Facebook and Instagram, and email in one account, and Zapier connects apps that lack a direct link. Compare each tool’s integration list before you buy.
Do I need a tool or a social media service?
Tools are enough when you have the time and know your goals. Hire help when you lack time, skills, or content. You can also use both, with software for the routine work and an expert for strategy and content
