Updated November 2026
5 Zoho Social alternatives to compare in 2026
We compared Postocial, Metricool, Publer, Hootsuite and SocialBee with Zoho Social on price, free plans, networks, inbox, approvals, link in bio, API and MCP. Every fact links to an official source.
A card is required to start the 7-day free trial. When the trial ends, we charge your card for the plan you picked, unless you cancel before.
About Zoho Social
What is Zoho Social?
Zoho Social is an affordable social media suite for small and mid-size businesses, especially teams already on Zoho CRM or Desk. Standard costs $15 a month for 1 brand and 1 team member, and a free plan covers 6 channels without scheduling.
- Category: Social media management suite
- Starting price: $15/month. Standard, 1 brand, 1 member; $10 yearly
- Free plan: Yes. 1 brand, 6 channels; no scheduling
- Free trial: 15 days. Then the free plan
- Networks listed: 15
Why people switch
Why people look for Zoho Social alternatives
Most reasons come down to price, plan limits and network coverage. This is what Zoho Social's own pages show, as of November 2026.
- Each brand gets only one account per network
- Standard and Professional are single-user
- The unified inbox, approvals and custom reports require Zoho Social Premium
- No link-in-bio tool is listed, and Zoho MCP's service list does not include Zoho Social
- Its network list does not include Reddit and Tumblr
Alternative 1 of 5
Postocial
Postocial fits Zoho Social users who want approvals and a second team member on the entry plan. Starter costs €19.99 a month for 5 social accounts and 2 team members, with a REST API and an MCP server, and Postocial's Premium and higher plans add the inbox and link in bio, from €29.99, against $65 for Zoho Social Premium. Zoho Social keeps the lower entry price and the Zoho ecosystem.
- 2 team members on Starter; Zoho Social Standard and Professional are single-user
- Approvals on every plan, and the unified inbox on Postocial's Premium and higher plans, from €29.99 a month; Zoho Social starts both on its Premium plan ($65 a month)
- An MCP server on every plan and link-in-bio pages on Postocial's Premium and higher plans; Zoho Social lists no link-in-bio tool, and Zoho MCP's service list does not include it
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Worth knowing
- Zoho Social has a free plan. Postocial does not: its 7-day trial needs a card.
- Zoho Social also lists Snapchat and Arattai, which are not on Postocial's network list.
- Postocial doesn't post to WhatsApp Channels or Status. On Premium and higher plans, it connects your WhatsApp Business number for chats, chatbots and template broadcasts.
- On Postocial, X needs your own X API key and pre-funded X developer credits, and there are no X analytics.
More options
Other Zoho Social alternatives
Numbered for reference, not ranked. Each card says how that tool differs from Zoho Social, using facts from its official pages.
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2. Metricool
Metricool's free plan can schedule up to 20 posts a month for 1 brand, which Zoho Social's free plan cannot. Starter covers up to 5 brands from $25 a month.
Postocial vs Metricool -
3. Publer
Publer starts at $5 a month for 1 account, below Zoho Social Standard, and its free plan holds 10 scheduled posts per account. It publishes to WordPress but has no unified inbox.
Postocial vs Publer -
4. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is the full enterprise suite, with listening, ads and advocacy, priced per user from $99 a month on annual billing. Standard includes 10 social accounts, and there is no free plan.
Postocial vs Hootsuite -
5. SocialBee
SocialBee Bootstrap costs $29 a month and already includes the engagement inbox, which Zoho Social keeps for its Premium plan. It organizes posts into content categories and recycles evergreen content.
Postocial vs SocialBee
At a glance
Zoho Social and its alternatives, side by side
Entry prices, trials and the features teams ask about most. On Postocial, the inbox and link in bio come with Premium and higher plans.
| Feature | Postocial | Zoho Social | Metricool | Publer | Hootsuite | SocialBee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting priceMonthly billing unless noted | €19.99/monthStarter, or €199.90 a year | $15/monthStandard, 1 brand, 1 member; $10 yearly | $25/monthStarter, up to 5 brands; $20 billed yearly | $5/monthProfessional, 1 account; about $4 billed yearly | $99/user/monthStandard, billed yearly | $29/monthBootstrap, 5 profiles, 1 user; $290 a year |
| Free plan | No | Yes1 brand, 6 channels; no scheduling | Yes1 brand, 20 posts a month | Yes3 accounts, no X | No | No |
| Free trial | 7 daysCard required | 15 daysThen the free plan | NoneFree plan instead | 7 daysProfessional; 14 days on Business | 14 daysNo card; 10 to 20 posts a day | 14 daysNo card; full Pro access |
| NetworksPublishing networks each tool lists | 14X with your own X API key | 15 listedOne account per network per brand | 11 listedX add-on; LinkedIn on paid plans | 13 listedX on paid plans; includes WordPress | 11 listedGoogle Business Profile and WhatsApp for the inbox | 10 listedSome others only by mobile reminder |
| Unified inbox | YesOn Premium and higher plans, with WhatsApp, a Telegram bot, SMS, live chat and chatbots | YesFrom Zoho Social Premium | Yes | NoComments handled per post | YesAssignment from Advanced | YesDMs for Facebook Pages and Instagram |
| Post approvals | YesClients approve from a shared link | YesFrom Zoho Social Premium | YesFrom Advanced | YesBusiness plan | YesFrom Advanced | YesFrom Accelerate |
| Link in bio | YesOn Premium and higher plans, with up to 3 custom domains | NoNone listed | YesSeveral pages | YesSeparate Linkie product | Yes | NoNone listed |
| Public API | YesPublishing API and webhooks; Messaging and Link in Bio APIs on Premium and higher plans | Yes | YesFrom Advanced | YesBusiness, eligible customers | YesPlans not stated | Not confirmed |
| MCP server | YesDrafts and schedules posts | Not confirmedNot in Zoho MCP services | YesFree plan included | YesBusiness, eligible customers | YesNeeds the matching Hootsuite products | Not confirmed |
On Postocial, message only people who opted in or wrote to you first, and stop when they ask. Broadcasts go to contacts who opted in and skip anyone who opted out, and on Messenger and Instagram they reach only people who messaged you in the last 24 hours. Meta bills WhatsApp messages to your WhatsApp Business account, and SMS goes through your own Twilio, Plivo or SMS gateway account. Competitor details as of November 2026, from the official pricing, feature and help pages linked here. Plans change often, so check the source before you buy. Sources: Zoho Social: zoho.com/social/pricing.html, zoho.com/social/pricing.md, zoho.com/…/social-pricing-val.json, zoho.com/social/plan-comparison.md, zoho.com/social/api.html, zoho.com/…/introduction.html, zoho.com/mcp/pricing.md; Metricool: metricool.com/pricing, metricool.com/metricool-mcp-claude, metricool.com/premium-vs-free-metricool-plans; Publer: publer.com/plans, publer.com/…/what-are-publers-plans-and-pricing-15…, publer.com/…/professional-vs-business-vs-enterpris…, publer.com/…/how-to-manage-comments-of-published-p…, publer.com/roadmap, publer.com/blog/year-in-review-2025; Hootsuite: hootsuite.com/plans, hootsuite.com/plans/standard, hootsuite.com/…/products, hootsuite.com/integrations/mcp, developer.hootsuite.com; SocialBee: socialbee.com/pricing.
FAQ
Zoho Social alternatives: questions and answers
Is there a free alternative to Zoho Social?
Metricool, Publer and Agorapulse have free plans, as of November 2026. Zoho Social has one too. Postocial has no free plan; every plan starts with a free trial instead. A card is required to start the 7-day free trial. When the trial ends, we charge your card for the plan you picked, unless you cancel before.
Which Zoho Social alternative is closest?
Metricool and Publer are the closest low-cost options with free plans, and Hootsuite is the closest full suite.
How did you choose these Zoho Social alternatives?
We picked Metricool, Publer, Hootsuite and SocialBee because they overlap with Zoho Social, which is an all-in-one suite. Then we compared starting prices, free plans, trials, networks, inbox, approvals, link in bio, API and MCP using official pricing and feature pages, as of November 2026. Postocial comes first because this is the Postocial site; the other tools are not ranked.
Try Postocial as your Zoho Social alternative
Connect your accounts, schedule a real week of posts and see how it compares with Zoho Social. Free for 7 days.
A card is required to start the 7-day free trial. When the trial ends, we charge your card for the plan you picked, unless you cancel before.