Buffer vs. Sprout Social vs. Zoho Social

Buffer

419 Reviews and Ratings

Sprout Social

632 Reviews and Ratings

Zoho Social

637 Reviews and Ratings

Overview
Product	Rating	Most Used By	Product Summary	Starting Price
Buffer	Score7.6 out of 10	Small Businesses (1-50 employees)	Buffer is a social sharing tool. When browsing content, clicking on the Buffer icon automatically stores the content and schedules posts to social media channels throughout the day.	$6 per month per channel
Sprout Social	Score8.4 out of 10	N/A	Sprout Social provides social media management, marketing, customer care, data and intelligence, and employee advocacy solutions for brands and agencies, including Ticketmaster, Chipotle, Grubhub, Subaru, and Zendesk. Sprout’s platform is used to simplify social publishing, engagement, reviews, analytics and listening for customers. Sprout also provides customer success and technical support, to deliver consistent value to all users. Any organization, regardless of size or industry, receives…	$249 per month per user
Zoho Social	Score9.1 out of 10	N/A	Zoho Social is a comprehensive social media management platform designed for businesses of all sizes and agencies. It is used to schedule and publish posts, manage conversations—including direct messages, comments, and mentions—across multiple platforms, track keywords, competitors, and hashtags, and generate reports from one dashboard. Supported platforms: Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads), Google Business Profile, YouTube, Pinterest, Mastodon, X (formerly Twitter),…	$15 per month

Pricing

Buffer

Sprout Social

Zoho Social

Free: $0
Essentials: $6
per month per channel
Team: $12
per month per channel

Essentials: $79 per seat/per month annual / $99 per seat/per month monthly
Standard: $199 annual / $249 monthly
per user/per month
Professional: $299 annual / $399 monthly
per user/per month
Advanced: $399 annual / $499 monthly
per user/per month
Free Trial: Free
for 30 days

Free: $0
per month per user
Standard: $15
per month per user
Professional: $40
per month per user
Premium: $65
per month 3 users
Agency: $320
per month 5 users
Agency Plus: $460
per month 5 users

Pricing Offerings
Buffer	Sprout Social	Zoho Social
Free Trial
Yes	Yes	Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes	No	Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No	No	No

No setup fee

No setup fee

No setup fee

A discount is offered for annual billing.

—

Add Ons Users at $10 / user / month Brands $10 / brand / month Discount available for annual pricing.

Community Pulse
Key User Insights
	Buffer	Sprout Social	Zoho Social
Considered Multiple Products	Buffer Lauren Rich, aPHR™ Social Media Manager in Social Media at Best sales talent (Staffing & Recruiting, 1-10 employees) Chose Buffer Sprout Social buffers content for accurately then Buffer Incentivized Helpful? Jesse Sumrak Senior Content Marketing Manager in Marketing at Keyhole Content LLC (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees) Chose Buffer I think Sprout Social and Hootsuite provide more comprehensive tools and analytics, but they have more expensive plans that don't cater to businesses of all sizes. Plus, all of that complexity can make it hard to find what you're looking for. That's where Buffer excels. It's … Incentivized Helpful? Luke Paulin Marketing Director in Marketing at Maui Real Estate Advisors LLC (Real Estate, 1-10 employees) Chose Buffer Buffer had the best free version, but Zoho Social had the most social media channels available in the price range. Hootsuite was the tool we first wanted, but the price was considerably more, for tools we are not sure if we need at this time. Incentivized Helpful? Katie Hecox Lead Digital Strategist in Marketing at Reusser Design (Internet, 11-50 employees) Chose Buffer Initially we selected Buffer because it is an effective tool for a low cost, especially compared to Sprout Social. It’s pared down and doesn’t have as many bells and whistles but that is nice when you want to simply accomplish posting. Incentivized Helpful? Maddy Osman SEO Content Strategist and Social Media Marketer in Professional Services at Madeline Osman (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees) Chose Buffer I've always found Hootsuite's user interface to be a bit clunky when compared to Buffer. I find myself troubleshooting issues more often on Hootsuite, as well. I think that you can connect more accounts and add more posts to Hootsuite at a time but have found Buffer's limits to … Incentivized Helpful? Rachel Moenning Freelance Social Media Manager in Social Media at Self-Employed (Media Production, 1-10 employees) Chose Buffer I like Buffer better than Hootsuite or Sprout Social because it's so much easier to use and their customer service is second to none. I love Buffer support and they are constantly improving. I also love the interface the most. It's clean, simple, and easy to use. Hootsuite is … Incentivized Helpful? Kelsi Robertson Social Strategist in Social Media at Firehouse (Utilities, 11-50 employees) Chose Buffer Buffer is a very cost-friendly tool with similar functionality to the tools above (Hootsuite/Sprout Social). While the other tools may offer more functionality or a better user experience, Buffer is by far the most cost-friendly option that still allows for a good and reliable … Incentivized Helpful? Michelle Messenger Garrett Writer/Content Creator/Public Relations Consultant in Marketing at Garrett Public Relations (Public Relations and Communications, 1-10 employees) Chose Buffer I've used Sprout Social for two clients now and find it somewhat difficult to use. I'm sure there are ways to circumvent the issues, but I've even tried talking to/working with customer service and one issue just couldn't be worked out. Buffer is easy. I've maybe had to contact … Incentivized Helpful? Stefanie Cash Digital Marketing Manager in Marketing at Caradonna Adventures (Hospitality, 11-50 employees) Chose Buffer Hootsuite and Sprout Social also allow for multiple account management and easy scheduling of content. However, the functionality of Buffer and the ease of interface make it superior to the rest. Incentivized Helpful? Ben Rubenstein Marketing Manager, HMX in Marketing at Harvard Medical School (Online Media, 501-1000 employees) Chose Buffer I've previously used Sprout Social and while I think that is a more robust product overall (including its reporting/tracking capabilities), the cost is much more manageable with Buffer. As compared to Hootsuite, Buffer has a far more intuitive interface and makes it simpler to … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Buffer Buffer is comparable to those mentioned. Not as great as Hootsuite and Meltwater, but it holds its own and gets the job done. Buffer comes off more like the budget friendly option and lacks some of the overall bells and whistles Hootsuite and Meltwater offers. Buffer is really … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Buffer Buffer keeps it simple. It was great for when I worked at smaller companies and also for when I have done freelance social media work. Put it this way, Buffer is an accessible tool. The functionality is basic and intuitive so anyone can learn to use it. They also have a free … Incentivized Helpful? Allie Cobb Digital Director in Social Media at Mouth Digital + Public Relations (Public Relations & Communications, 11-50 employees) Chose Buffer Buffer is much more affordable than Hootsuite. Another benefit is that Buffer allows more accounts to be loaded onto the platform. Hootsuite charges in tiered levels based on how many accounts you want to load onto the software. This makes it difficult to schedule and post for … Incentivized Helpful? Joe Brown CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) in Marketing at Frank Leta Auto Group (Automotive, 201-500 employees) Chose Buffer They all solve the same problem. Buffer initially started as a way to post content without worrying about the "when". Just add to the queue, and Buffer would post at a specified cadence. Buffer's price point is very reasonable for the services that it offers. They've grown … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Buffer We selected this tool to maintain the activity of publication in social networks at a low cost and good productivity, we consider that it adds to our objectives of brand awareness or discovery, since it allows us to keep our channels active with information and content that we … Incentivized Helpful? Len Gordon Art Relations in Marketing at Art Plugged (Entertainment, 1-10 employees) Chose Buffer I would recommend Buffer for ease of use, social media intergration and costs, also Buffer rarely has any issues or downtime. If they do they warn you well in advance. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Buffer I find it easy for a business to implement this versus a larger tool (Hootsuite). Easy to quickly schedule in content and keep it within the dashboard. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Buffer It comes at a better price and is easier to navigate and learn with. Incentivized Helpful? Adeline Garman BA (Hons) DipM MCIM Marketing and Communications Manager in Marketing at Social Overload (Education Management, 11-50 employees) Chose Buffer I feel that Buffer is very much an entry level product because it lacks some of the additional functionality offered by other tools. In that sense I recommend it only for small companies, or those just starting out with scheduling. In terms of scheduling content it does that … Incentivized Helpful? Robert Andrescik Director of Communications at Northland, A Church Distributed (Religious Institutions, 51-200 employees) Chose Buffer Buffer is way more intuitive than Hootsuite. While it doesn't have the in-depth reporting or social media inbox Sprout Social offers, it makes up for it in simplicity, cost and customer service. Sprout Social is a great tool with equally good customer service, but the cost is … Helpful?	Sprout Social Verified User Chose Sprout Social I didn't select Sprout. Clients selected it. I would recommend Buffer. I also wanted one client to evaluate AgoraPulse. I haven's used Hootsuite enough to know it would stack up. The primary reason the one client selected Sprout was for the approval ability. I definitely feel … Incentivized Helpful? Sylvia Flores Chief Creative Officer + Founder in Marketing at Bad Agency (Marketing and Advertising, 51-200 employees) Chose Sprout Social For my clients who are using Sprout Social over the other available options, it came down to ease of setup and use, the insane quality of customer support, their social reporting, and analysis, influencer identification, social measurement, and engagement, scheduling, and … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Sprout Social I've found that Sprout Social has more capabilities than other social platforms, and goes above and beyond in its functionality and support. I also think that Sprout Social has one of the cleanest, easy to use interfaces of all the social platforms. Hootsuite and TweetDeck, for … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Sprout Social Sprout Social's hashtag trend identification and analysis capabilities, overall real-time analytics, and simple ramp-up were the major draws of the product for our team. By comparison, Hootsuite's column-oriented dashboard is the most customizable and optimal for seeing "the … Incentivized Helpful? Adrienne Hardin Content Specialist-Social Media in Marketing at Grinnell College (Higher Education, 501-1000 employees) Chose Sprout Social We needed something more thorough than the free products we had tested (Hootsuite and TweetDeck), but the more robust products (Falcon) were out of our budget. Sprout hit the sweet spot of having everything we needed at the time for the right price. Incentivized Helpful? Fernando Ramirez Digital Marketing Manager in Marketing at salesEQUITY (Information Technology and Services, 11-50 employees) Chose Sprout Social Well, it depends on what you're looking for. If you want a one-stop shop social media management tool, then it's better than Hootsuite, but Buffer beats Sprout Social's scheduling features. TweetDeck beats Sprout's social listening features. Twitter provides way better Twitter … Incentivized Helpful?	Zoho Lexmilian de Mello Management Consultant at Wisdom Association (Public Relations & Communications, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social Zoho Social is a great social media management tool that allows businesses, and individuals, to manage multiple social media accounts, schedule posts, track analytics, and engage with followers. It competes well with other social media management tools such as Hootsuite, … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social More cost-effective than Sprout Social and easier to use than Hootsuite. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social The Analytics are better in Sprout Social, but that comes at a cost. Incentivized Helpful? Jamie Venerus Founder in Marketing at ENDVR (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social Zoho doesn't offer all of the bells and whistles that you get from Sprout Social but it is a lot cheaper at the same time – I find Sprout to be more intuitive and more comprehensive. I evaluated and considered both tools before going with Zoho, in the end I felt Zoho offered … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social I have used Sprout Social in the past, which is a great product in itself and covers almost every aspect that Zoho Social covers in terms of social media channels. However, Sprout Social is really expensive as a sole product, and also doesn't have integrations with other … Incentivized Helpful? Alinafe Mulenga Digital Marketing Manager in Marketing at Sunbird Hotels and Tourism (Hospitality, 501-1000 employees) Chose Zoho Social It is very hard to fully compare all four. I used trial versions for 3 and a paid one for the last one. What I do acknowledge is the fact that Zoho Social is integrated with an even bigger platform of tools in a away that social media management can be linked back to the … Incentivized Helpful? Jonathan Jackson Software Engineer in Engineering at w3Develops (E-Learning, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social Zoho is the best Incentivized Helpful? Tom Sloan Marketing Manager in Marketing at Bold City Heating and Air (Consumer Services, 11-50 employees) Chose Zoho Social Stacks up well. Good alternative a better price point Incentivized Helpful? Ollie Saunderson Brand Lead in Social Media at AIRDAT Ltd (Airlines/Aviation, 11-50 employees) Chose Zoho Social I've found Zoho Social provides a much wider range of options and some are to a much more detailed level. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social Zoho Social has much more featured in one place. Also have more advanced AI assistance per channel as well as option to schedule comments for each social post which helps a lot. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social We chose Zoho Social because it hit the perfect middle ground for our agency. It had the essential features we needed—strong scheduling, good analytics, and an excellent and secure collaboration portal for our clients—at a price that was much more affordable.The ability to give … Incentivized Helpful? Shreya S Founder and Editor in Chief in Marketing at AYERHS (Apparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social Zoho Social is reliable, affordable, and has everything I need for managing multiple channels and consistent posting. Incentivized Helpful? Mallory Durrick CEO in Marketing at Durrick Designs (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social It is comparable but I think Zoho Social is more affordable for small business. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social Zoho has the exact same feature but it can be better with AI integration and stock image collection. Incentivized Helpful? Fiona Buchanan, MJ Communications Admin in Marketing at Workers' Resrouce Centre (Non-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social I find Buffer's interface more difficult to use and the reports do not have as many features as Zoho Social and are not customizable. I also don't find their engagement tab useful. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social Just was better for my use case than the competition Incentivized Helpful? Ryan Vitus D Costa CEO (Chief Executive Officer) in Marketing at Annalogi (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social Zoho Social is easy to use and provides all analytics compared to other social media tools. Incentivized Helpful? Tiffany Markman Owner in Marketing at Tiffany Markman (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social Cheaper, simpler, more appropriate for my needs and, so far, less glitchy. Incentivized Helpful? James Robinson Wedding Photographer at Self Employed (Photography, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social They offer the same features but Zoho Social is priced way better. Incentivized Helpful? Amawi Wilkerson PR & Marketing Specialist in Marketing at Wi Move Media LLC (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees) Chose Zoho Social One product that wasn't listed here is Plannthat.com That's actually where all of my other clients' brands are located. I like that plan gives you content creation ideas, keeps you on top of trends, and shows you a calendar (weekly and monthly) on what you've posted already, … Incentivized Helpful? Ben Challoner Content Strategist in Marketing at Granite 5 (Marketing & Advertising, 11-50 employees) Chose Zoho Social They have far more tools than just social, so we thought we would try them and if we liked them we could use the rest of their suite too. Turns out we liked them a lot Incentivized Helpful? Kuldeep Rane Senior Manager - Digital Marketing in Marketing at Infinite Uptime (Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees) Chose Zoho Social Zoho easily is a better bet compared to other applications not just in terms of the pricing but also in terms of usability. Most applications charge you separately for managing different social accounts of the company. Zoho gives you access to all your accounts under one … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social We have tried other online social media management platforms such as Hootsuite however Zoho Social is the best platform we've used so far for a number of reasons. We have found it much easier to navigate across the Zoho Social platform and also more useful when it comes to the … Incentivized Helpful? Meredith Sharpe Dean Business Development Manager in Corporate at Marie Sharp's - CIA/Michelin ✨ condiments from 🇧🇿 Belize (Food & Beverages, 51-200 employees) Chose Zoho Social Sprout is very expensive for what it offers, it could be a great product, but it doesn't offer much more than Zoho does and it is actually harder to use. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Zoho Social Highly affordable for a small business compared to some of the bigger guys out there. At our stage of business, we don't necessarily need all the features. Zoho Social does just enough to help us grow and manage what we have with a small team. Incentivized Helpful?
	Would buy again
	91% Would buy again 30 Answers	94% Would buy again 106 Answers	99% Would buy again 370 Answers
	Delivers good value for the price
	93% Delivers good value for the price 28 Answers	94% Delivers good value for the price 93 Answers	99% Delivers good value for the price 343 Answers
	Happy with the feature set
	85% Happy with the feature set 28 Answers	96% Happy with the feature set 108 Answers	98% Happy with the feature set 365 Answers
	Lived up to sales and marketing promises
	96% Lived up to sales and marketing promises 26 Answers	96% Lived up to sales and marketing promises 86 Answers	98% Lived up to sales and marketing promises 327 Answers
	Implementation went as expected
100% Implementation went as expected 29 Answers	96% Implementation went as expected 92 Answers	99% Implementation went as expected 352 Answers

Features

Buffer

Sprout Social

Zoho Social

Comparison of Publishing features of Buffer and Sprout Social and Zoho Social
Feature	Buffer 7.8 77 Ratings 4% below category average	Sprout Social 8.2 145 Ratings 1% above category average	Zoho Social 8.7 519 Ratings 7% above category average
Content planning and scheduling	8.677 Ratings	9.2145 Ratings	9.4517 Ratings
Content optimization	7.370 Ratings	8.2126 Ratings	8.5430 Ratings
Workflow management	7.666 Ratings	8.4126 Ratings	8.755 Ratings
Audience targeting	00 Ratings	7.2110 Ratings	8.4368 Ratings

Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Buffer and Sprout Social and Zoho Social
Feature	Buffer 7.0 70 Ratings 10% below category average	Sprout Social 8.2 146 Ratings 6% above category average	Zoho Social 8.4 416 Ratings 8% above category average
Campaign success analytics	7.070 Ratings	8.6138 Ratings	8.8412 Ratings
Real-time tracking	00 Ratings	8.1134 Ratings	9.047 Ratings
Competitor analysis	00 Ratings	7.8120 Ratings	7.4256 Ratings

Comparison of Account management features of Buffer and Sprout Social and Zoho Social
Feature	Buffer 8.1 72 Ratings 2% above category average	Sprout Social 8.0 138 Ratings 1% above category average	Zoho Social 9.1 456 Ratings 14% above category average
Role-based user permissions & privileges	8.359 Ratings	8.7132 Ratings	9.1361 Ratings
Mobile access	7.968 Ratings	7.3124 Ratings	9.2433 Ratings

Comparison of Listening/monitoring features of Buffer and Sprout Social and Zoho Social
Feature	Buffer - Ratings	Sprout Social 7.2 114 Ratings 6% below category average	Zoho Social 8.8 442 Ratings 14% above category average
Boolean keyword searches	00 Ratings	6.980 Ratings	00 Ratings
Filtering out noise/spam	00 Ratings	7.196 Ratings	00 Ratings
Sentiment analysis	00 Ratings	7.077 Ratings	8.4315 Ratings
Broad channel coverage	00 Ratings	8.090 Ratings	9.1437 Ratings

Comparison of Engagement features of Buffer and Sprout Social and Zoho Social
Feature	Buffer - Ratings	Sprout Social 7.9 132 Ratings 3% below category average	Zoho Social 8.4 423 Ratings 3% above category average
Automated routing and prioritization	00 Ratings	7.687 Ratings	8.0357 Ratings
Customer interaction histories	00 Ratings	8.1116 Ratings	8.3396 Ratings
Bulk actions	00 Ratings	8.1115 Ratings	9.046 Ratings

Comparison of Marketing features of Buffer and Sprout Social and Zoho Social
Feature	Buffer - Ratings	Sprout Social 7.1 96 Ratings 8% below category average	Zoho Social 8.3 370 Ratings 7% above category average
Lead generation	00 Ratings	6.869 Ratings	8.0283 Ratings
Content marketing	00 Ratings	8.192 Ratings	8.5358 Ratings
Paid media management	00 Ratings	6.23 Ratings	00 Ratings
Campaigns and promotions	00 Ratings	7.24 Ratings	00 Ratings

Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Buffer and Sprout Social and Zoho Social
Feature	Buffer - Ratings	Sprout Social 8.4 144 Ratings 1% above category average	Zoho Social 9.2 508 Ratings 10% above category average
Twitter	00 Ratings	8.8126 Ratings	9.2454 Ratings
Facebook	00 Ratings	8.7143 Ratings	9.3495 Ratings
LinkedIn	00 Ratings	8.6130 Ratings	9.3447 Ratings
Google+	00 Ratings	7.846 Ratings	9.0290 Ratings
Instagram	00 Ratings	8.6132 Ratings	9.2426 Ratings
Pinterest	00 Ratings	8.246 Ratings	00 Ratings
YouTube	00 Ratings	8.01 Ratings	00 Ratings

Best Alternatives
	Buffer	Sprout Social	Zoho Social
Small Businesses	Sendible Score7.1 out of 10	Sendible Score7.1 out of 10	Sendible Score7.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies	Emplifi Score8.9 out of 10	Emplifi Score8.9 out of 10	Emplifi Score8.9 out of 10
Enterprises	Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued) Score8.1 out of 10	Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued) Score8.1 out of 10	Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued) Score8.1 out of 10
All Alternatives	View all alternatives	View all alternatives	View all alternatives

User Ratings
	Buffer	Sprout Social	Zoho Social
Likelihood to Recommend	7.5 (97 ratings)	8.4 (203 ratings)	9.2 (523 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew	8.0 (15 ratings)	9.2 (67 ratings)	9.3 (15 ratings)
Usability	8.4 (33 ratings)	8.5 (130 ratings)	9.3 (351 ratings)
Availability	8.2 (2 ratings)	7.7 (8 ratings)	8.2 (2 ratings)
Performance	8.0 (2 ratings)	8.0 (7 ratings)	8.2 (3 ratings)
Support Rating	7.0 (24 ratings)	1.8 (39 ratings)	9.3 (220 ratings)
Online Training	- (0 ratings)	7.3 (3 ratings)	8.2 (1 ratings)
Implementation Rating	8.0 (3 ratings)	1.0 (12 ratings)	8.4 (5 ratings)
Configurability	10.0 (1 ratings)	- (0 ratings)	7.3 (2 ratings)
Ease of integration	- (0 ratings)	8.1 (42 ratings)	3.6 (2 ratings)
Product Scalability	8.6 (2 ratings)	- (0 ratings)	8.2 (3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.1 (1 ratings)	8.2 (2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.1 (1 ratings)	8.2 (2 ratings)

User Testimonials
	Buffer	Sprout Social	Zoho Social
Likelihood to Recommend	Buffer It helps me save hours by devoting only half an hour in a month's worth of posting, in addition to that it is quite simple to use. Buffer for scheduling social posts well in advance, but I have begun using it instead of posting natively on the social apps themselves because it makes it super easy to post the same messages to more than one platform. Mishka Panwar Researcher Read full review	Sprout Social Sprout is typically the first platform that comes to mind when I think of social media content scheduling/platform management/social media management. However, Sprout is very pricey, and I don’t think there’s an obvious standout element that helps differentiate it from other scheduling platforms. For organizations with only a few social media profiles, I’d be more likely to recommend lower-cost or free platforms as opposed to Sprout. I’d probably only recommend Sprout for organizations with dozens or hundreds of social media accounts Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Zoho Zoho Social excels at multi-channel social media management with intuitive scheduling and analytics. The platform integrates seamlessly with CRM, enabling personalized customer engagement. Best suited for small-to-medium businesses managing multiple social accounts. However, advanced AI-driven insights and competitor analysis features could be enhanced. The reporting dashboard is comprehensive but could use more customization options for enterprise teams. Ravish Kumar Senior Data Architect Read full review
Pros	Buffer I can plan and publish content on social channels. Buffer's interface is quite tidy and generates the necessary facilities to save us time in publishing consistent content. It has a special price; it is pretty affordable. It has the possibility of integrating with other tools to improve its functions. Incentivized Luz Ellis Senior SEO Project Manager Read full review	Sprout Social Social Scheduling: Sprout Social makes it easier than any platform I've used to schedule posts with each, and to batch-schedule the same post to run on multiple dates. The scheduling platform is intuitive and easy to understand. Social Reporting: With just a few clicks of the button, you can easily export reports that are easy for both social media experts and complete novices to understand. I like how you can get a report within 60 seconds or so if needed. Customer Service/Help: Whenever I've had a question, both my Sprout Social rep and the Help Center have been extremely easy to contact and quick to reply. Problems are solved very fast and it's made easy to understand. Incentivized Linda Bernstein Social Media Manager Read full review	Zoho Professional precision needed to align our content strategy with specific target groups. The process of ensuring content is consumed by the right audience at the right time is key to our growth. Platform is a vital tool for scaling our mission. Umesh Panchal Founder & CEO Read full review
Cons	Buffer Expensive Analytics: The upgrade you need to access your analytics is quite expensive, and I have come across other tools that provide the same or even more for a lesser priced plan. No Media Library: The one feature I have found on another social media planning tool that I wish Buffer had is a media library. This allows you to upload photos you aren't using right away to have them readily available when you do decide to use them. This is not a feature in Buffer. Incentivized Whitney Knight Marketing Specialist - Writer Read full review	Sprout Social I would like for Personal Instagram Accounts to be able to integrate with Sprout Social's Employee Advocacy platform. You are able to connect personally accounts to Sprout Social itself, which is great, but for employee re-sharing internal stories, this is not possible unless it is with a Business Instagram account. I would like for the left hand tool bar to be more user friendly. There are so many tools and settings that are available, and I would like for it to be simplified in a way that makes it less cluttered. An improvement can be made with the Sprout Social Mobile App. The user friendliness of the app does not allow as much autonomy as the regular webpage. Incentivized Cherlon Seecharran Marketing Operations Analyst Read full review	Zoho I wanted to use the ability to have Zoho queue the posts, but I wanted to choose the start time of the first post for a few days in the future and I did not find an easy way to set that. I wish there were a box with a cheat sheet of the sizes that each social media platform allows for it's video and pictures in the dialogue box for posting so I can be sure to choose appropriate content. I do think it's a bit expensive, especially for my needs, but I like the ease of use. I will continue to do what I can to get this service discounted until I can no longer afford it. Incentivized Amanda Playwythe Owner / operator Read full review
Likelihood to Renew	Buffer I am giving buffer this rating because of a couple issues that it has compared to other platforms. It does not always post to instagram and you will need to go in an manually post. Also, one of the biggest qualms that we have with buffer is the price it costs to have robust analytics Incentivized Frankie Heath Director of Social Marketing Read full review	Sprout Social Sprout Social is the best platform out there for social-media management, and now that I have all my clients using Sprout Social, it would be sort of silly for me to walk away format at this juncture. The only cloud on the horizon would be if Salesforce bought it (as has been rumored) and put it inside its walled garden. Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Zoho Zoho Social is the BEST! I have found the perfect solution to social media marketing! It is extremely affordable and I highly recommend it! Create a post once and post it to 5 or more social media platforms! LOVE IT!! :) ISHVINDER PAL SINGH TEJI Founder Read full review
Usability	Buffer We use Buffer for certain website content that should be shared on social networks, having this tool helps us to do it faster and easier since we can send the publications from the internet browser and the stack of scheduled messages. It is really fast and easy for all team members who share access to the account, so at the same time that we analyze the information that we can share, the message stack is prepared Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Sprout Social Sprout Social is straightforward to use - built for anyone regardless of tech experience to be able to navigate. It integrates pretty seamlessly to the native platforms and brings a lot of things together to make a seamlessly experience for seasoned social media managers. Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Zoho It logs you in directly to the screen you need to use, and our use reason of this software is to share posts on our social media accounts at one place. It also warns you about platform specific issues as you prepare your post. Its integration interfaces are great, easy to use, and have clear and helpful instructions. Murat YAKIN CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Read full review
Reliability and Availability	Buffer Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages Incentivized Len Gordon Art Relations Read full review	Sprout Social Uptime was OK, but given the fact that we are in Europe, there were some specific problems: They tended to take the system down for maintenance during the night in the US, which was during our workday. This was definitely problematic and hard to explain to our clients. Verified User Read full review	Zoho No answers on this topic
Performance	Buffer Buffer performs well on both desktop and mobile platforms. The one area as I have stated before is that it does not always want to automatically push to Instagram and the user will have to go do it manually. Buffer works very well pushing to other platforms. The instagram issue is the only reason buffer does not get a 10 on this section Incentivized Frankie Heath Director of Social Marketing Read full review	Sprout Social It is quick to post, however you have to refresh the page every time you add a new scheduled item. Sarah Zibanejadrad Social Marketing Director Read full review	Zoho No answers on this topic
Support Rating	Buffer It really helped to my business to grow online. I was able to take actions mindfully as the analytics are damn good. Also used for managing clients social media accounts and it proved to be a best resource. Clients were really happy as they got high demand and growth on internet and the secret is Buffer. The user interface is really easy to understand and manage. Support is 24/7 available to help. Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Sprout Social The chat and online resources are great. The managers are too. They go through account reps pretty fast. Also, not a lot of onboarding once a product or service is sold. The ticket request system is terrible, they have too many people switching off roles, they take a long time to get back to you and don't plan on anything being fixed over a weekend - even if you have a problem. Their customer service via tickets is the worst. Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Zoho I rate the customer support as outstanding. The assistance provided by the support team has been consistently prompt, knowledgeable, and attentive to our needs. Whenever we've encountered issues or had questions, they have swiftly addressed them, guiding us through solutions and ensuring a smooth experience. Their dedication to resolving concerns reflects their commitment to customer satisfaction, and I am thoroughly impressed with the level of support we have received. Marko Popovic Marketing Associate Read full review
Online Training	Buffer No answers on this topic	Sprout Social Their training is good, but the promotion of it is even better. I don't need or have the time for training, but I was always happy to know it was there. They did a great job sending updates out and making me aware when there was a new feature that I may want training for. As for the training I never used it, so I can't comment on that Ryan Montano Social Marketing Manager Read full review	Zoho No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating	Buffer We were very satisfied with the implementation of Buffer. We had no issues switching from the platform that we were using over to buffer. Our staff did not even miss a beat when it came to posting content. It was an easy transition and I feel that is something that buffer has really done well. They have an "out of the box" usability platform Incentivized Frankie Heath Director of Social Marketing Read full review	Sprout Social Make sure you do it all the way. Do not break it into phases. Pour yourself a coffee, start it in the morning and you'll be done before you finish that coffee. Valentin Vesa Social Media Manager Read full review	Zoho No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered	Buffer I also used Combin which is easy and free to use. However, Combin only posts when the computer is active and connected to the internet. So, posting while you are not actively using your computer at that moment is not possible, therefore Buffer is much more efficient as you can even post while being on vacation without working. Incentivized Ann Korb Read full review	Sprout Social We started this agency using Later and switched to Iconosqaure because we needed more in-depth reporting. We switched from Iconosquare to Sprout Social because of the continuous scheduling bugs/issues we were having with our account and our terrible experience with their Customer Service team. We are planning to close our Sprout Social account and move to HeyOrca because of cost, ease of use, and the basic scheduling features Sprout Social doesn't offer. Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Zoho Zoho Social is a great social media management tool that allows businesses, and individuals, to manage multiple social media accounts, schedule posts, track analytics, and engage with followers. It competes well with other social media management tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, Agora Pulse, and Hubspot. Zoho Social stands out for its integration capabilities with other Zoho applications and affordability for small to medium-sized businesses. Each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses, and businesses should evaluate them based on their specific needs and goals. The biggest fallacy for Zoho is its restriction on scheduling tools on the free plan who have social and personal needs. I believe this can be circumvented by Zoho periodically making an advertisement to one's feed. Lexmilian de Mello Management Consultant Read full review
Scalability	Buffer Buffer does what it say on tin as they say! you can always count on Buffer. Buffer can be scale to 25 social account with 2,000 scheduled post which is enough for most agencies or businesses Incentivized Len Gordon Art Relations Read full review	Sprout Social No answers on this topic	Zoho No answers on this topic
Return on Investment	Buffer It has saved money by allowing us to automate our social using one person It allows us to connect one channel at a time instead of wasting money on larger account management tools We are making money, because it has already delivered several clients Incentivized Joseph Kahn President and Director of Marketing Read full review	Sprout Social One positive impact has been a huge time saver for our team. Where we once had multiple systems and delays from producing content to approval to publishing, now everything is seamless. Another positive impact is streamlining the onboarding process for new team members. Sprout Social is user-friendly and intuitive, making it easy to study even for someone completely new to social media. One negative impact has been the time it takes to wade through irrelevant social listening posts. The filtering is not effective enough to eliminate the noise. Incentivized Verified User Read full review	Zoho Zoho Social allows me to "see" my messaging planning weeks into the future. I can create themes for a week or month and easily see how it performs. Having all my social accounts in one place saves me time. It is too early for any ROI from Zoho but the amount of content I am putting out has increased by at least 400%. Andrew Maher Co-Founder Read full review
ScreenShots	Buffer Screenshots	Sprout Social Screenshots	Zoho Social Screenshots