13 Best Social Media Management Tools [Feature Comparison]

All the social media platform algorithms are rewarding the constant flow of new content and unique engaging posts

It’s hard to stay on top of all these social media platforms, keep being relevant, and constantly engage with your audience.

Social media algorithms are very unforgiving of inactivity and lack of engagement

If you can’t keep up, your audience will start to decrease and your brand will become less relevant and harder to notice in that constant social buzz.

We have closely reviewed the best social media management tools that will help you keep on top of it all. 

They help you easily find and curate unique content to share, schedule social media posts across all social channels and manage comments, reviews and messages.

This article will help social media managers to find the best social media management software based on your social media strategies and save time when achieving their goals. 

Our Top Picks for The Best Best Social Media Management Tools for Each Focus Area

Best for content scheduling and automation

Circleboom allows for cross-posting on all of the most popular social media channels. On Instagram, you can also schedule grid and panoramic posts. The Twitter analytics is give quite detailed insights into engagement and demographic data. Combined with the article curation and publishing calendar, it’s a great all-round social media tool. 

Best for content discovery and blog re-distribution

In case your shareable content is mostly text-based, then it’s more important to quickly discover relevant external blog posts and re-distribute them. The content curation feed is perfect for that. Automatically generate Quote Bubbles to visualize the most important bits of your content. The social scheduling and RSS feed make it really powerful. 

Best for social media agencies and large teams

The social listening for hashtags and mentions and the multi-channel review management help social media managers stay on top of all the important conversations. What makes it perfect for marketing agencies is the ability to set up an approval process that includes your clients and the white-labeled custom reports that can be sent directly to your clients. 

How to Choose a Social Media Management Software?

Managing your social media accounts on Facebook’s native Publishing Tool or Facebook’s Creator’s Studio can work well until you have a social presence on more platforms. 

For example, if you’re also on Twitter and LinkedIn and want to manage and schedule content across all these channels, then choosing a social media management tool is a step you need to take. 

It will not only make bulk publishing easy for you, but you can also engage with followers at scale, discover sharable content, track hashtags and keywords and improve by learning from the social media analytics insights

If you’re a social media agency or team, then workflow automation, content collaboration, task management, approval workflows, and white-labeled reporting can really boost your efficiency and results. 

key social media management platform features
Key features for a social media management platform

For all of these aspects and features, consider your social media strategy today, in a year or 3 years from now. Ask your internal teams and gather input as to what’s important to them. Make a list of essential features that you would need from your social media management software.

And most importantly, try them out. All of these social media tools have either a free plan or a free trial. Below, we’ve carefully researched all of the most popular social media management platforms and we’ve looked in depth:

See the detailed reviews for the best social media management tools below.

What are the Best Social Media Management Tools?

Read the full Agorapulse review

Overall rating

4.8/5

4.8

30 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

AgoraPulse is the best social media management platform for social conversations and collaborative inbox

It is our top pick for the best social media management tools because it includes a flexible post scheduler, social inbox, and advanced social media analytics. It’s an all-in-one platform that includes all the tools you’ll ever need for your social media marketing efforts.

The social inbox is one the most sophisticated solutions, because it allows for saved replies, assignments, labeling, reviewing, and approvals. While the paid plans are more on the expensive side, it doubles as a social CRM tool for all of your social media interactions.

agorapulse-inbox
agorapulse social inbox

AgoraPulse features

agorapulse-competitor-analytics
agorapulse competitor analytics

AgoraPulse pricing

Read the full Zoho Social review

Overall rating

4.5/5

4.5

15 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Zoho Social is a part of the Zoho ecosystem, so it integrates seamlessly if you’re already using their CRM software or webinar software. Zoho Social really hones in on the entire brand management part of marketing strategy, not just social media scheduling to publish posts. 

The entire overview of your brand mentions, posts, engagements, and connections is just at your fingertips. The customizable reports give you just the insight you need to make smart decisions on your brand presence and social media lead generation.

Zoho Social is the best social media management tool for you if you’re already using other major platforms from Zoho.

zoho social live social stream
zoho social live social feed

Zoho Social features

zoho social audience summary
Zoho Social audience summary

Zoho Social pricing

Read the full Sprout Social review

Overall rating

4.4/5

4.4

30 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Sprout Social is perhaps the best social media management tool for agencies and large teams. Overall, it is one of the most powerful social media management platforms for social listening and tracking social engagement.

The All-in-one Social Inbox and approval process make it easy to simultaneously manage multiple clients

This makes Sprout Social a really valuable tool for social media agencies and larger teams. Even the most basic pricing plan includes 5 social profiles and different types of analytics tools for internal and external reporting.

sprout social analytics
Sprout Social analytics dashboard

Sprout Social features

sprout social smart inbox
Sprout social smart inbox

Sprout Social pricing

Read the full SocialPilot review

Overall rating

4.2/5

4.2

14 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

SocialPilot as a social media management platform is your best choice if you need to discover and curate a lot of content from external websites or other social media accounts. SocialPilot is a great marketing tool for its content suggestion feature

The flexible scheduling options across multiple social networks and the rich Facebook Ads management features make it a valuable tool with an affordable price tag. Many social media managers regard SocialPilot as one of their most important marketing management tools overall. 

socialpilot calendar week
socialpilot weekly social media calendar view

SocialPilot features

socialpilot curated content
socialpilot curated content feed

SocialPilot pricing

Read the full MissingLettr review

Overall rating

4.1/5

4.1

14 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

MissingLettr is the best social media management tool for content discovery and blog re-distribution

This social media software makes it easy to create social media drip campaigns. It’s more focused on social media marketing campaigns, rather than unrelated one-off posts. It’s best suited for promoting online courses or book releases across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

If you’re running a blog, it makes it very easy to re-distribute your blog posts and discover relevant blog posts from external websites. MissingLettr is the best social management tool if your social media strategy is more text-based, rather than image-based.

missinglettr curate
missinglettr curate for discovering new content

MissingLettr features

missinglettr quote bubble templates
missinglettr quote bubble templates

MissingLettr pricing

Read the full Planable review

Overall rating

4/5

4.0

Free plan with 50 total scheduled posts

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Planable is probably the best social media management tool for content curation and collaboration tool for social media teams. It really helps in-house marketing teams and agencies collaborate and create, approve and publish social media content faster. 

It focuses on the visual aspect of your social media feed and what your social presence looks like as a whole. Although, you can view your posts on a list or visual social media calendar view as well. 

It’s easy to set up and has a cheap price tag. This affordable price tag makes it the best social media management tool for small businesses that are on a tight budget. 

planable social calendar
planable social calendar

Planable features

planable instagram grid view
planable instagram grid view

Planable pricing

Read the full Crowdfire review

Overall rating

3.8/5

3.8

Free plan with up to 10 scheduled posts

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

CrowdFire is a social media marketing tool that helps marketing teams and medium sized businesses with customer engagement across different social media platforms.

It’s one of the best social media management apps where you can track hashtag mentions, and schedule or publish posts across different social platforms.

It’s the best social media scheduler if you’re publishing content on WordPress and Etsy as well. There’s a clear overview of all the scheduled posts on the scheduled content calendar.

crowdfire scheduling calendar
Crowdfire scheduling calendar

CrowdFire features

crowdfire-mobile-app
crowdfire mobile app features

CrowdFire pricing

Read the full CircleBoom review

Overall rating

3.5/5

3.5

14 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Circleboom is the best choice for social media influencers, small businesses, content creators, and digital marketers who need a safe, effective, easy-to-use social media management platform with excellent features. 

Circleboom has a very easy-to-understand dashboard, social media content calendar, scheduling, and automation features, content curation and design options, and Twitter-specific analytics and management tool. Circleboom is the best social media management platform for those who want to manage multiple social media accounts in one place. 

The flexible scheduling and automation features, plus cross-posting options, make Circleboom different from its competitors. Twitter-specific analytics and insights help you level your social media management experience up to the next stage.

circleboom scheduling view
Circleboom scheduling view

Circleboom features

circleboom grid editor
circleboom grid editor

Circleboom pricing

Read the full CircleBoom review

Overall rating

3.5/5

3.5

30 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Hootsuite is one of the most well-known and best social media management tools and for a good reason. The platform connects to all the most popular social media channels (including TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube). 

You don’t need other integrations, as Hootsuite has a built-in URL shortener, image editor, free image library, and Facebook and LinkedIn ads management. This makes it a one-stop shop for all the social media management you’ll ever need.

hootsuite scheduler
Hootsuite scheduler

Hootsuite features

hootsuite image editor
hootsuite image editor

Hootsuite pricing

Read the full Buffer review

Overall rating

3.3/5

3.3

Free plan with up to 10 scheduled posts

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Buffer was one of the first social media scheduling tools and it’s still one of the best social media management tools today. The app was initially launched in 2010 and allowed to schedule Twitter posts. 

Today, Buffer has covered all the prominent social media networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and even Google My Business.

buffer social calendar
buffer social calendar

Buffer features

buffer-shopify
buffer shopify integration

Buffer pricing

Read the full Publer review

Overall rating

3.2/5

3.2

Free plan with up to 10 scheduled posts

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Publer is perhaps the best social media management tool if you’re on a tight budget. It is a lightweight and affordable social media scheduling tool that focuses on scheduling and publishing, not so much on managing comments, messages, reviews, or social listening. 

It has a very attractive free plan, which allows you to schedule posts on the Facebook page, Facebook group, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Google My Business, YouTube, WordPress, and even Telegram. 

However, the analytics feature of this social media management tool is a bit lacking.

publer social calendar
publer social calendar

Publer features

publer photo watermark
publer photo watermark

Publer pricing

Read the full Planly review

Overall rating

3/5

3.0

14 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Planly is a freemium social media management tool and scheduler and the most convenient tool for content creators, social media managers, and influencers. 

With PIanly, it is possible to schedule your social media posts on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile.

planly auto posting
planly auto posting

Planly features

planly scheduling module
planly scheduling module

Planly pricing

Read the full Blog2Social review

Overall rating

2/5

2.0

30 day trial for free

Pros

Cons

Best or unique feature

Blog2Social allows you to post your website content straight from your WordPress dashboard to the most popular social media networks. Choose from many different formats (image, link, text, video), customize your comments, hashtags and handles for each network and reshare your evergreen content.

blog2social publishing from wordpress
blog2social publishing from wordpress

Blog2Social features

blog2social scheduler
blog2social scheduler

Blog2Social pricing

Social Media Management FAQ

What is Social Media Management?

Social media management is the process of managing a business’s social media presence and engagement on social media platforms. This includes publishing relevant content, responding to comments, social monitoring for mentions, and analyzing performance.

The goal of social media management is to build and maintain an engaged audience so that businesses can use their social channels as a marketing tool and execute their marketing strategy. 

These social media management tools will align the social media marketing teams by providing efficient collaboration tools and ultimately save time for everyone.

What is the Best Social Media Management Tool for Small Businesses?

Planable is the best social media management platform for small businesses, because of the content discovery and post scheduling features at an affordable price tag.

This is ideal for small businesses for scheduling, because it helps with content curation and scheduling for the main social media channels, where any small business has presence in. 

Once your team of social media marketers grows and you need multiple accounts, you can always add more users to any plan. 

What is the Best Free Social Media Management Platform?

The best free social media management tool is AgoraPulse. The free version includes 3 social media profiles, 10 posts per month, basic Social Inbox, reporting and even the mobile app. 

This could be a sustainable social media management tool for small businesses and social media managers whose social media presence is modest. They can keep using it for free forever. 

There are other social media software tools like Buffer, Publer, and CrowdFire that also have free plans, and also allow: 

  • up to 3 social media accounts
  • 10 social media posts per month 
  • only 1 user

Another free social media management tool is Planable, which has a different structure for the free version. The Planable free version has no time limit, but there is a post limit to 50 social media posts, which is not resetting. 

However, it includes access to unlimited features, including enterprise-level ones. You can even test out the team collaboration features, as there is no limit to users in the free version. 

Can I Schedule Posts on Facebook and Instagram Without a 3rd Party App?

It is possible to schedule social media posts and stories on Facebook Pages on the Business Page using the Publishing Tools. You can schedule a post for the future or backdate the post with a past date. You can also schedule Instagram posts and stories in the Facebook Creator’s Studio.

You can also schedule Instagram posts on the same Facebook Publishing Tools page. However, the native Facebook Publishing Tool is missing some key features when publishing posts and stories:

If you have an active presence in other social media channels, then it’s definitely recommended to use the best social media management tools listed above. That way you’ll get an aggregated overview of the scheduled posts and detailed social media analytics across all your social channels.

Summary of the Best Social Media Management Tools

To summarize the article on the best social media management tools, then it’s important to ask what are your social media management needs and at which phase you are as a social media manager. 

If you’re just experimenting with tapping into your social media marketing and audience, it’s fine to use Facebook’s native social media tools. 

However, if you’re serious about expanding your reach, truly engaging with your followers, having meaningful conversations with them, and really analyzing your brand’s performance on multiple social media networks, then utilizing the best social media management tools listed above is a must.

The list might seem long, but there are tons of features and pricing to consider. So, if you’re not sure which social media management tool to pick, then here’s a quick summary for you. 

 

Are you looking for a full-fledged social media CRM with approval workflows, sophisticated reporting features, and truly measuring your social media ROI?
Go with AgoraPulse.

 

Are you looking to curate a lot of external content and schedule them as posts, and also manage Facebook and Instagram ads on the same platform?
Go with SocialPilot.

 

Are you more focused on the visual side of how your account looks and feels, scheduling posts and stories with ease, and not so much concerned about reporting features?
Go with Planable.

 

Are you promoting more text-based social media content, and want to automatically generate quote images that pique your audience’s interest?
Go with MissingLettr.

 

Are you on a tight budget and want to cover the most social media channels possible, while not sacrificing the scheduling functionality?
Go with Publer

Erkki Muuga

Erkki Muuga

Erkki has over 10 years of experience as a software product manager and a proven track record in building and growing SaaS products. He has a keen eye for key differentiating factors and spotting truly valuable software features that enable business use cases.

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