15 Best Social Media Management Tools in 2025

Social media management isn’t just about scheduling posts anymore. The game has changed. Content velocity is up. Audience expectations are higher. And AI is reshaping every touchpoint — from creation to customer care. If your toolset hasn’t evolved, your strategy is already behind. Today, brands need more than just a calendar. They need platforms that can scale creativity, adapt in real time, and deliver personalized experiences at speed — across every channel your audience touches.

According to Salesforce, 84% of customers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business — making personalized, seamless engagement a critical business imperative.

Yet, many businesses still rely on multiple-point solutions to manage their social media efforts, leading to fragmented communication and operational inefficiencies that undermine personalization efforts and slow response times.

In this blog, we've objectively critiqued 15 best social media management tools for 2025. Whether you're publishing your first post or managing multiple accounts, these tools will help you stay organized and efficient, while boosting your social media strategy.

What are social media management tools?

Social media management tools are software platforms that allow individuals or teams to efficiently manage one or multiple social media accounts across various platforms from a single interface.

These tools range from basic apps for scheduling posts to comprehensive platforms that support every aspect of social media operations — including planning, content creation, publishing, engagement moderation, campaign management, advocacy programs, social customer care, crisis response, and reporting on social media performance — all in one place.

Most importantly, a social media management tool can lighten your workload, giving you more time to focus on what truly matters: creating engaging social media content and building meaningful connections with your audience.

Best social media management tools

The best social media management tools simplify the overwhelming tasks of managing multiple accounts, scheduling posts, analyzing performance, responding to messages, and staying on top of trends. They transform this complexity into a streamlined, efficient workflow that saves time and boosts your team’s productivity.

Here's a brief preview of the 15 best social media management tools in 2025.

While this tool list isn't exhaustive, we invested significant time in research and consulted with paying customers to put it together. Their insights have contributed to this compilation of social media management tools, allowing you to choose the software that best aligns with your social media requirements.

15 best social media management tools in 2025

Sprinklr

Sprinklr is an AI-powered social media management platform designed to unify marketing, customer care and consumer intelligence across 30+ digital channels. It helps brands manage publishing at scale, engage with customers in real time, monitor brand conversations globally, and optimize performance with AI-driven insights — all from a single unified platform. Sprinklr was also named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Social Suites, Q4 2024, reinforcing its position as a top choice for enterprises seeking end-to-end social media management.

Best for: Large enterprises with global operations, distributed teams, and a need for scalability, compliance, and cutting-edge AI capabilities.

Key features:

· Unified social media management: Bring together publishing, engagement, listening, analytics and customer care into one connected ecosystem.

· Sprinklr AI+: Use generative AI to create content, optimize post timing, summarize interactions, and streamline approvals.

Learn More: Generative AI in Social Media: Start with 5 Easy Tips

· Advanced social listening: Monitor over 30 social and digital channels, capturing real-time conversations to provide insights into customer sentiment, emerging trends, and potential crises. It utilizes AI to analyze unstructured data, including text and visual content, enabling brands to proactively manage their online presence.

· Editorial Calendar: Get a full view of planned content, filter by campaign or channel, and manage workflows in real time.

· Omnichannel publisher: Schedule and customize content for 30+ channels from a single interface — complete with ad boosting and AI timing recommendations.

· Engagement dashboard: Monitor and respond to mentions, messages and comments across platforms with sentiment analysis, auto-routing and AI compliance checks.

· Comprehensive analytics and reporting: Track performance across paid, owned and earned media with custom metrics and shareable reports for data-driven decisions.

· Digital Asset Manager: Organize, tag and repurpose high-performing content with bulk uploads, version control and team-specific access.

· UGC management: Curate and reshare fan content to boost authenticity, with performance tracking and approval workflows.

· Employee advocacy platform: Empower employees to share compliant, curated content, amplifying brand awareness and attracting talent.

· Social marketing for distributed teams: Empower regional and local teams to run localized, on-brand campaigns using pre-approved assets, while maintaining central visibility, compliance and support for collaboration through live chat, lead routing and campaign subscriptions.

· Persona-based workflows: Customize tool access and dashboards by role, so every user sees only what they need to work faster and smarter.

Pros:

✔ End-to-end platform for social, marketing and care

✔ Built for scale, governance and compliance

✔ AI that actually works — 90%+ accuracy on auto-categorization

✔ Custom workflows and role-based interfaces

✔ Excellent localization support for global teams

✔ Deep reporting and integrations with business tools

Cons:

✖ Comprehensive platform may require onboarding time: With so many features under one roof, new users may need guided onboarding to unlock its full potential. Fortunately, Sprinklr offers robust customer success support and training resources to ease adoption.

✖ Enterprise-level pricing: Sprinklr’s custom pricing reflects its depth and scale, which may be more suitable for mid-to-large organizations with complex needs.

✖ Strategic implementation recommended: To maximize ROI, teams benefit from a thoughtful rollout plan — something Sprinklr actively supports through dedicated implementation services.

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“One of the strongest aspects of Sprinklr Social is its comprehensive, all-in-one platform that combines social listening capabilities with an agent customer management system and publishing tools. The embedded reporting features are also a significant plus, providing valuable insights directly within the platform. Finally, Sprinklr's speed in integrating with new and emerging social media channels is impressive and helps ensure our social media presence stays current.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“Not a direct issue with Sprinklr, but rather due to API limitations imposed by respective platforms (such as Meta), which result in reporting constraints.” Source

Verdict

Sprinklr stands out as a truly enterprise-ready platform that goes beyond social media scheduling. From global publishing and real-time engagement to analytics, customer care, and employee advocacy, it’s a unified hub for digital-first organizations. If your brand juggles scale, speed and security across multiple teams and markets, Sprinklr delivers the control and intelligence you need. That’s why it has been named a leader in The Forrester Wave™: Social Suites, Q4 2024.

Trusted by: Uber, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, the Prada Group and Boston University

Pricing: Custom pricing available. Contact an expert for more information.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite simplifies scheduling, content creation, engagement, analytics, and social listening across 35+ networks, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X. Its intuitive dashboard and AI-powered tools help businesses maintain a consistent online presence while delivering actionable insights.

Best for: Mid-size to large businesses, agencies and marketing teams managing multiple social accounts across platforms.

Key features:

· Unified Social Inbox: Manage comments, DMs and mentions from multiple channels in one view to respond faster and stay organized.

· OwlyWriter AI: Generate post ideas, write captions, and repurpose top-performing content with an AI assistant built directly into the platform.

· Visual planner & content calendar: Plan and schedule posts using a drag-and-drop calendar that gives a clear view of upcoming content across all platforms.

· Canva integration: Create and edit visuals directly within Hootsuite using built-in Canva tools, speeding up creative workflows.

· Analytics & reporting: Track engagement, measure ROI and generate custom reports with insights into campaign performance and audience behavior.

Pros:

✔ Comprehensive platform covering scheduling, engagement, analytics and advertising across 35+ networks

✔ Best-in-class X integration, enabling seamless replies, mentions tracking and competitor monitoring

✔ Robust analytics with industry benchmarking to prove ROI and refine strategies

✔ AI-powered OwlyWriter saves time by generating and optimizing content

✔ Extensive integrations fit seamlessly into enterprise tech stacks

Cons:

✖ Pricing can increase quickly for large teams due to per-seat costs, especially on enterprise plans

✖ Some users find the interface complex, with a learning curve for advanced features

✖ Lacks a centralized media library for asset storage and sharing, which can slow down content workflows

✖ Collaboration features, while improved, may not match the depth of some competitors

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“We love the ability to manage multiple social accounts from a single platform, and the integration of our approval workflow (two sets of eyes) ensures every post is reviewed before publishing. The reporting tools are excellent — especially when combined with tagging, which allows for deeper analysis by country. Hootsuite has become our go-to tool for day-to-day social media management across a complex mix of brands and geographies. It's easy to use, quick to implement, and the responsive customer support is a real bonus.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“Sometimes there are limitations such as not being able to tag profiles on LinkedIn, and there are times when connecting a social account is extremely difficult and hard to figure out why it won't work. This impacts its ease of implementation and makes it difficult to use in some cases.” Source

Verdict

Hootsuite is a powerful, feature-rich platform for brands that need full control over publishing, listening and reporting. While it’s on the pricier side and may require onboarding time, it delivers the performance and integrations to justify the cost — especially for brands active on X or managing large content volumes.

Pricing:

Ø Team: USD 249/month

Ø Professional: USD 99/month

Ø Enterprise: Custom pricing

Bonus Takeaway: Examine our listicle on Hootsuite Alternatives.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social, just like Sprinklr, offers enterprises a unified platform focused on collaboration, customer insight, and actionable analytics. Bringing together publishing, engagement, listening, and reporting in one intuitive dashboard, it empowers teams to build stronger customer relationships and drive business results through social media management.

Best for: Mid-market and enterprise teams that want smarter publishing workflows, detailed analytics and customer-centric engagement.

Key features:

· Smart Inbox: Consolidates messages, comments and mentions from all social channels into a single, filterable stream for efficient engagement.

· Social CRM: Helps build rich customer profiles with context like conversation history, sentiment and past engagement. Ideal for deeper, more personalized interactions.

· Advanced analytics & reports: Pre-built and custom reports cover engagement, content performance, team productivity and even competitor benchmarks.

· ViralPost® & Optimal Send Times: Analyzes 16 weeks of audience data to schedule posts when followers are most active, maximizing reach.

· Link-in-bio solution (SproutLink): Drives traffic and tracks conversions with customizable landing pages for Instagram and other platforms.

Pros:

✔ Intuitive UI and powerful reporting make it easy for non-technical teams to extract insights

✔ Strong CRM-style functionality for tracking audience relationships

✔ Employee Advocacy tools help amplify brand voice through internal teams

✔ AI-powered post timing and hashtag tracking optimize performance

✔ Smart Inbox and task assignments improve team coordination

Cons:

✖ Pricing scales quickly for larger teams or those needing listening/advanced analytics

✖ Calendar functionality lacks drag-and-drop scheduling or post grouping

✖ Some advanced features (like social listening) are gated behind premium plans

✖ Limited Instagram scheduling capabilities compared to competitors

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“Sprout Social has been a fantastic tool for managing our social media planning and reporting. It makes it easy to schedule posts across all our channels, stay organized with a clear calendar view, and collaborate as a team. We especially love the reporting and analytics — the insights are clear, actionable, and make it simple to track performance and share results with stakeholders. We’ve been so happy with Sprout that we’re now exploring their Employee Advocacy module to help our team amplify our brand message. Highly recommend Sprout Social for anyone looking to streamline their social media strategy.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“There's so much data, it's up to the user to make sense of it! The more complicated of an enterprise-wide user system you have, the more complicated your Sprout could be. I would love to see a more built-out approval system, that allows me to give more feedback about the content. Also, I'm sure many would like to be able to import from Canva directly!” Source

Verdict

Sprout Social is a premium choice for enterprises and agencies prioritizing analytics, customer engagement, and team efficiency. Its AI-powered features, social CRM and robust reporting make it ideal for proving business value and scaling social strategies. While pricing and the learning curve may challenge smaller teams, its ability to unify workflows and deliver actionable insights keeps it among the elite in 2025.

Pricing:

Ø Standard: $199 per seat/month

Ø Professional: $299 per seat/month

Ø Advanced: $399 per seat/month

Ø Enterprise: Available on request

Bonus Takeaway: Discover the best Sprout Social Alternatives.

Brandwatch

Brandwatch (formerly Falcon.io) provides a robust platform to elevate your online presence through a balanced approach to content publishing, audience engagement, and deep social listening. Combining campaign orchestration with analytics and brand intelligence, it is ideal for enterprise teams managing high volumes of content and conversations across regions with efficient social media management.

Best for: Medium to large enterprises and agencies needing advanced social listening, customizable workflows and comprehensive analytics to amplify their online presence.

Key features:

· Unified content calendar & approval flows: Streamline multi-channel publishing with collaborative workflows, brand governance, and visibility into campaign timelines across teams.

· Customizable smart inbox: Centralized engagement hub for managing messages, mentions and comments — fully customizable by team, priority or platform.

· Built-in social listening: Track sentiment, trends and competitor activity across 100M+ sources without needing a separate listening tool.

· Analytics dashboards: Visualize KPIs, sentiment trends and campaign performance with modular, customizable dashboards tailored to team-specific goals.

· Meta, TikTok & X (Twitter) partnerships: Official integrations ensure reliable publishing and access to platform-specific capabilities like ad comments and first-party metrics.

Pros:

✔ Strong native social listening engine — ideal for tracking brand mentions, competitor insights and audience sentiment without separate tools

✔ Excellent team collaboration through approval flows and campaign visibility

✔ Highly customizable inbox and analytics for enterprise-grade use cases

✔ Intuitive UI that balances out-of-the-box ease with deep configurability

✔ Reliable publishing integrations with key platforms like Meta and TikTok

Cons:

✖ Some users report publishing glitches, particularly on TikTok and Instagram public content

✖ Lacks cross-posting support across platforms, which can slow down multichannel workflows

✖ Sentiment analysis can be inconsistent and lacks advanced automation

✖ Permissions and user-role configurations can be clunky for complex orgs

✖ Social publishing & engagement capabilities are quite basic compared to more advanced platforms

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“At its heart sits the content calendar, allowing sight of one or multiple teams at once. Ease of publishing is backed up by the 'content pool' where posts and assets can be shared individually or tied together across our network. The analytics give us sufficiently detailed export reporting to pass to management, while within the module we can carry out deep dives into the data itself. Along with this we're able to back up the analytics with the 'lite' version of their social listening tool allowing us to track brand reputation and audience sentiment which we can cross-reference with our content.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“Unfortunately, demographic data is very limited, and sentiment analysis is very inaccurate. Some stories, which were sad in content but not reputationally negative were still flagged as a "negative" sentiment, even though it was negative solely because of the nature of the story and nothing to do with the brand. This makes this aspect of the platform not usable for analysis purposes.” Source

Verdict

Brandwatch stands out for brands that prioritize listening, governance and multi-team collaboration. It’s not the most agile option for lightweight publishing or rapid cross-channel execution, but its strength lies in centralizing brand insights and maintaining control over high-stakes campaigns. If you’re already using separate tools for engagement, publishing and listening, consolidating with Brandwatch may reduce tool sprawl — just be prepared for a bespoke setup and an enterprise pricing model.

Pricing: Available on request

Bonus Takeaway: Check out our deep dive into Brandwatch Alternatives.

Khoros

Khoros delivers a robust, enterprise-grade platform built to help brands streamline publishing, engagement, listening, and analytics across every major channel. Designed for complex, multi-brand environments, it stands out for advanced LinkedIn publishing capabilities, cross-team collaboration, and proactive risk management — making it a go-to for B2B enterprises and global brands navigating high-stakes digital landscapes.

Best for: Enterprises requiring robust governance, cross-functional collaboration and advanced LinkedIn targeting capabilities.

Key features:

· Advanced LinkedIn targeting: Khoros enables precise audience segmentation on LinkedIn using filters like geography, job function, industry, and company size. Saved audience profiles allow for efficient future targeting without reconfiguration.

· Proactive risk management: Set granular permissions and restrictions, create custom approval rules and instantly pause publishing during crises to safeguard your brand.

· Content labeling: Organize and track content performance by labeling posts according to campaigns, products, audiences, or other criteria, facilitating data-driven decisions.

· Social redisplay: Aggregate and showcase user-generated content, such as reviews and testimonials, across various digital touchpoints to enhance engagement.

· Unified calendar and approval workflows: Streamline cross-channel publishing with collaborative workflows, ensuring brand consistency and compliance across teams.

Pros:

✔ Robust LinkedIn integration with advanced audience targeting features

✔ Comprehensive governance tools to manage permissions and reduce brand risk

✔ Effective content labeling system for organized campaign tracking

✔ Ability to showcase user-generated content across digital platforms

✔ Streamlined publishing workflows with unified calendars and approval processes

✔ Strong social care capabilities with advanced response management features

Cons:

✖ User interface can feel unintuitive and dated, leading to a steeper learning curve for new users

✖ Some users report limitations with automation workflows and TikTok comment management

✖ Occasional glitches and less intuitive tagging/queuing features compared to some competitors

✖ Analytics interface may feel outdated and less intuitive compared to competitors

✖ Broader SMM capabilities like campaign planning, creative collaboration, or influencer workflows may feel limited compared to all-in-one platforms

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“By connecting all our social media accounts, we are able to plan easily and in advance our publications and be sure to monitor all comments that are related to our brand.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“Sometimes lags a bit and the over page speed experience can improve.” Source

Verdict

Khoros is purpose-built for enterprises that need to manage high volumes of content, complex approval workflows and multi-channel engagement-especially those with a strong B2B or global focus. Its advanced LinkedIn targeting and employee advocacy tools set it apart for organizations looking to maximize reach and compliance. While the interface could be more intuitive, Khoros delivers on its promise of scale, security and actionable insight, making it a smart investment for brands where social media is mission critical.

Pricing: Available on request

Bonus Takeaway: Explore our roundup of top Khoros alternatives.

⁠Emplifi

Emplifi is an enterprise-grade, AI-powered platform that unifies marketing, commerce, and customer engagement across every digital touchpoint. With scalable workflows, deep analytics, and automation, it empowers global teams to drive engagement, optimize campaigns, and deliver memorable customer experiences no matter how fast trends shift or how widely distributed the team is.

Best for: Large enterprises, global marketing teams and brands focused on influencer and UGC-driven strategies across multiple social platforms.

Key features:

· Emplifi Fuel: Automates marketing and care workflows using VoC data, generative AI and industry-specific KPIs, boosting sales by 50% and saving 39% in time.

· Influencer marketing: Discover, vet and manage campaigns with access to a database of over 30 million influencers, streamlining high-impact collaborations.

· Integrated UGC tools: Source, manage and publish user-generated content to boost authenticity and engagement, with rights management and customizable widgets.

· Community management tools: Monitor, manage and respond to customer interactions from a centralized command center.

· Cross-channel analytics: Measure the performance of organic, paid and influencer content across platforms with detailed social media KPIs.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

✔ Emplifi Fuel brings powerful automation with industry-specific KPIs and AI-driven recommendations

✔ Influencer and UGC capabilities are among the strongest in the market

✔ Centralized community engagement and team workflows improve operational efficiency

✔ Strong alignment with ecommerce and customer service metrics

Cons:

✖ Steep learning curve, especially for new users or teams without dedicated resources

✖ Integration with non-native tools and data systems can be limiting

✖ Some advanced modules (like Emplifi Fuel) are still being rolled out across industries

✖ Analytics interface may feel outdated and less intuitive compared to competitors

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“It is very intuitive and has all the information I need! It's always progressing with new features, and customer service is understanding if there are any issues. It's very easy to collate and export data. Easy to add people to the system and integrate their accounts” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“What I dislike the most is the ability to integrate platforms. From our side the person who set up the company's Instagram account has left the business, so we have yet to be able to set up that channel on our page.” Source

Verdict

Emplifi continues to evolve beyond a traditional social media tool. Its new Fuel module adds a forward-thinking layer of automation and intelligence that’s especially valuable for enterprise brands in fast-moving industries like ecommerce and media. If you’re looking to operationalize customer engagement and drive results at scale, Emplifi is a strong contender — especially for brands with complex content and care needs. Just be prepared for a learning curve and invest in onboarding to unlock its full potential.

Pricing: Available on request

Bonus Takeaway: Dive into our handpicked list of Emplifi Alternatives.

Meltwater

Meltwater is an AI-powered social intelligence suite combining media monitoring, social listening, and engagement tools to help brands manage global digital presence. It enables brands to monitor, publish, engage, and analyze their social media presence across various channels, integrating AI-powered tools for enhanced decision-making.

Best for: Large enterprises, PR agencies and marketing teams seeking an all-in-one solution for media monitoring, social listening and engagement analytics.

Key features:

· Meltwater Engage: Centralizes scheduling, publishing and engagement with AI-recommended posting times and customizable workflows.

· Unified content calendar: Schedule, publish and manage content across all major social channels (including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and emerging platforms) from a single, intuitive calendar.

· AI-powered social listening: Monitor millions of conversations in real time, analyze sentiment, and surface trends, keywords and brand mentions across networks, blogs, forums and news sites.

· Centralized engagement & community management: Unified inbox funnels all comments, DMs and mentions into one place, making it easy to respond, assign and manage conversations efficiently — complete with message filtering and workflow automation.

· Content library & collaboration: Store, organize and share digital assets; assign permissions and automate approval workflows for seamless team collaboration and brand consistency.

Pros:

✔ Comprehensive integration of media monitoring and social media management tools

✔ AI-driven insights enhance the effectiveness of social listening and content strategy

✔ Scalable solutions tailored to various organizational sizes and needs

Cons:

✖ Some users report a steep learning curve due to the platform's extensive features

✖ Instances of scheduling glitches and challenges with connecting social profiles have been noted

✖ Customer support experiences vary, with some users citing delays and unresponsiveness

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“Meltwater is a great tool that I primarily use for social listening and tracking media mentions. Meltwater is very straightforward and easy to use if you have some experience with similar tools. The support team is always available to answer questions, troubleshoot, and deliver excellent experience. Being able to track mentions, schedule social media posts, and develop targeted search terms has been a game-changer.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“The Engage tool has really strong architecture but doesn't make full use of it. Spotty integration of social listening data means some brand mentions aren't able to be funneled to the social media inbox. The publishing tool can be inconsistent with tagging other accounts while composing a post, and we've run into occasional issues with posts not publishing to certain platforms. The problems aren't structural; it just seems like the tool is a little buggy and not working at its full potential. Getting those issues fixed with the engineering team can also be a hassle.” Source

Verdict

Meltwater is a powerhouse for enterprises that need to centralize and scale their social media management, engagement, and analytics. Its AI-powered listening and unified workflows make it easier to spot trends, respond to customers, and prove ROI — all from one platform. While there’s a learning curve and some integration quirks, Meltwater’s depth and flexibility make it a strong choice for brands that need to manage complex, global social strategies and want data-driven insights to fuel their growth.

Pricing: Available on request

Bonus Takeaway: Unlock our expert picks for top 8 Meltwater Alternatives.

Buffer

Buffer offers a streamlined, user-friendly platform ideal for teams seeking simplicity and efficiency across channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, YouTube, Pinterest, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, and Google Business Profile. Long favored by small businesses and individual creators, its evolving suite of tools now also attracts enterprises looking for intuitive scheduling, basic analytics, and collaborative workflows—without the steep learning curve or high cost of more complex solutions.

Best for: Small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and marketing teams seeking a straightforward and affordable solution for managing social media presence.

Key features:

· Buffer AI Assistant: Generates content ideas, repurposes existing posts, and optimizes content for better engagement.

· Smart Alerts: Utilizes machine learning to notify users of posts with questions, negative sentiments or purchase-related comments.

· Start Page: Allows users to create a customizable landing page to showcase their brand and content.

· Ideas Kanban Board: Organize, brainstorm, and track post ideas and drafts within Buffer for more collaborative content planning.

· Simple scheduling: Drag-and-drop calendar for planning and queuing posts across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business Profile and more.

· Link in Bio (Start Page): Create a customizable landing page to drive traffic from social profiles.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

✔ Intuitive and clean user interface, making it accessible for users of all skill levels

✔ Affordable pricing with a generous free tier, suitable for small businesses and individuals

✔ Robust scheduling features, including a visual content calendar and pre-set time slots

✔ AI-powered tools assist in content creation and optimization

✔ Responsive customer support with a reputation for helpfulness

Cons:

✖ Limited social listening and engagement features compared to more comprehensive platforms

✖ Analytics capabilities are basic; advanced metrics require additional tools or integrations

✖ Free plan restricts users to three social accounts and a maximum of 10 scheduled posts per channel

✖ Some users report occasional bugs, such as issues with link unshortening

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“Buffer takes all the stress out of social media management. There's a great draft and approval process along with an easy-to-use asset library. Having multiple platforms in one place but still having the benefit of most of the native apps is well worth the subscription cost.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“If I could change one thing, it would be the interface; it's not always the fastest and has limitations when dealing with large data sets.” Source

Verdict

Buffer is the go-to choice for brands that want to keep social media management simple, affordable and efficient. While it may not offer the depth or compliance features of enterprise giants, its intuitive design, AI-powered content tools and responsive support make it a reliable partner for teams focused on content velocity and collaboration. For enterprises with straightforward needs or those seeking a cost-effective complement to more robust platforms, Buffer delivers clarity and control — without the complexity.

Pricing:

Ø Essentials: $5/month/channel

Ø Team: $10/month/channel

Dash Social

Dash Social (formerly Dash Hudson) is a visual-first platform built for brands that prioritize high-impact creative, especially on visually driven channels like Instagram and TikTok. Unlike all-purpose social media tools, Dash focuses on content that performs not just posts that publish. Its AI-powered insights and creative benchmarking help teams predict which visuals will succeed before they go live.

Best for: Enterprises in fashion, beauty, retail and CPG that rely heavily on visual storytelling. Ideal for in-house brand teams focused on maximizing ROI from imagery, video and creator partnerships.

Key features:

· Vision AI: Uses predictive analytics to assess which photos and videos are most likely to drive engagement, helping brands optimize content pre-publish.

· Trend intelligence: Monitors mentions, competitor activity and trending audio (especially on TikTok), offering brands a head start on emerging social media trends.

· Advanced analytics & reporting: Provides multi-format (.xls, .csv, .pdf) exports, campaign dashboards and metrics like Creator Earned Media Value and Entertainment Score.

· Boards for visual segmentation: Groups content by performance themes (e.g., color, product, influencer) to identify what creative angles drive results.

· Influencer CRM + UGC tools: Manages creator relationships and content rights and makes it easy to request and reuse user-generated content.

Pros:

✔ Unique AI-powered content prediction that eliminates guesswork from creative planning

✔ Rich visual analytics and trend tracking tailored to Instagram and TikTok performance

✔ Boards feature offers unmatched granularity in analyzing visual content

✔ Integrated influencer CRM and UGC tools streamline creator collaboration

✔ Transparent enterprise pricing — rare in this space — builds early trust with procurement teams

Cons:

✖ No free plan; entry pricing may be steep for smaller teams or startups

✖ Key features like reporting dashboards and inbox automation are locked behind top-tier plans

✖ Limited publishing flexibility (e.g., no monthly calendar drag-and-drop, no AI caption writing assistant)

✖ Designed primarily for brand-side users; may not be ideal for large agencies managing diverse clients

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“Very intuitive platform and beautifully simple design. I especially love the AI Summary feature that lets you condense a huge page worth of info into a paragraph. Super helpful when rushing for a meeting to give top line updates on how the socials are going! Also love the ranking system on the Media Library. Its AI integration predicts what will and will not perform, helping me take guesswork out of my job!” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“The tool seems to focus on detail metrics only for Instagram while other platform like X, Tik Tok or YouTube seem to have limit metrics to review performance.” Source

Verdict

Dash Social is not your average social media management tool — it’s a visual intelligence platform purpose-built for high-impact content. For brands in fashion, beauty and lifestyle, where aesthetics drive revenue, Dash offers a distinct competitive advantage. Its predictive analytics, trend tracking and granular visual performance tools enable smarter, faster creative decisions. That said, the platform’s feature access is highly tiered, and it’s not designed for generalist use or agencies managing multiple client brands. But for in-house teams with a visual-first strategy, Dash Social delivers on what matters most: content that converts.

Pricing:

Ø Grow: $499/month

Ø Engage: $899/month

Ø Advance: $1599/month

Ø Enterprise: $2999/month

Bonus Takeaway: Expand your toolkit with these top Dash Social Alternatives.

SocialPilot

SocialPilot is a user-friendly platform designed for budget-conscious buyers and teams aiming to streamline scheduling, publishing, and analytics across multiple channels. While especially popular with smaller enterprises and agencies, its robust feature set—including bulk publishing, AI-powered content creation, and deep integrations—makes it a practical choice for organizations seeking to simplify their social media workflow without sacrificing essential functionality.

Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses, agencies and social media managers seeking an affordable, intuitive platform to manage high volumes of posts and multiple accounts with minimal fuss.

Key features:

· Connect 50+ accounts: Manage and schedule posts for over 50 social profiles across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, TikTok, and more-all from a single dashboard.

· AI Assistant: Auto-generate captions, hashtags and repurpose content for each platform; translate posts and test copy variations to boost engagement.

· Bulk publishing: Schedule up to 500 posts at once via CSV upload, making it easy to plan campaigns for weeks or months in advance.

· Custom feeds automation: Curate evergreen and trending content from across the web with RSS feed integration, ensuring your channels stay fresh and relevant.

· Browser-friendly integrations: Includes access to Canva, Dropbox and URL shorteners directly within the platform for faster content creation.

Pros:

✔ Extremely cost-effective for teams managing many accounts or high post volumes

✔ Intuitive interface with minimal learning curve, ideal for those new to social media management

✔ Bulk publishing and scheduling save time for agencies and busy teams

✔ Strong external integrations (Canva, Dropbox) enhance content creation workflow

✔ Responsive customer support and generous free trial

Cons:

✖ Analytics are limited for personal profiles (especially on LinkedIn)

✖ AI Assistant’s hashtag suggestions and post hooks may not always suit platform best practices, especially for LinkedIn

✖ No advanced targeting or automation found in higher-end enterprise platforms

✖ No free plan beyond the trial; entry-level pricing may still be a hurdle for solo creators

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“It's super easy to connect our accounts and schedule our posts! It was easy to implement with our team and our users. We are posting to over 75 social accounts weekly so having a tool that is easy to use is extremely helpful.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“One thing that stands out as a downside is the need to constantly upgrade your subscription to access platform-specific features—like tagging or using the collab tool on Instagram. If the platform offers publishing to these networks, it would make sense for those key features to be included in the base subscription. Having to pay extra just to fully utilize tools native to the platforms feels limiting, especially for users managing a high volume of content daily.” Source

Verdict

SocialPilot is a top pick for growing businesses and agencies that need to manage multiple social accounts efficiently and affordably. Its blend of bulk publishing, AI-powered content tools, and seamless integrations deliver real value for teams focused on content velocity and organization. While it may lack the advanced automation and compliance features of enterprise giants, its intuitive design and powerful scheduling capabilities make it a smart, scalable solution for teams that want to do more with less.

Pricing:

Ø Standard: $42.50/month

Ø Premium: $85.00/month

Ø Enterprise: Custom pricing

Sendible

Sendible offers a scalable, agency-friendly platform designed to streamline publishing, collaboration, and reporting for teams managing multiple clients or brands. With robust client onboarding, white-labeling, and approval workflows, it helps agencies and growing businesses keep accounts organized, campaigns on track, and clients happy — all from a single, intuitive dashboard.

Best for: Marketing agencies, consultancies and small-to-midsize teams managing multiple clients.

Key features:

· White-label dashboards: Customizes the interface with agency branding and domain for a professional client experience.

· Priority inbox: Centralizes messages, comments and mentions from multiple platforms, prioritizing key interactions.

· Bulk import & scheduling: Upload and schedule hundreds of posts at once, saving time on large campaigns.

· Secure client onboarding: Keep client accounts separate and secure, with tailored access for team members and clients.

· Automated reporting: Generate custom, automated reports to showcase performance and ROI without manual effort.

Pros:

✔ Designed specifically with agencies in mind

✔ Easy client onboarding and access controls

✔ Strong white-labeling and customization features

✔ Simplifies approval processes and reporting

✔ Supports wide range of platforms including YouTube, Google Business Profile and WordPress

Cons:

✖ Limited advanced analytics (e.g., no deep competitive insights or in-depth TikTok/X metrics)

✖ Lacks some enterprise features like listening, CRM or smart automation

✖ AI assistant is basic compared to competitors like Sprinklr or Sprout

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“I love the ease of use. I tried multiple platforms that were around Sendible's price point and found that Sendible was the most straightforward and easy to use for me. It has the features I need to manage multiple accounts for multiple clients as well as have remote team members who can create posts and submit them for my approval themselves. I have also found their Customer Support to be helpful and responsive. Lastly, implementing Sendible was really easy - I'm thankful for that. I was up and running in less than an hour.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“My biggest complaint would probably be the limit of the number of accounts that can be put into a group. Also, the inability to schedule stories with clickable links, which may just be a complaint for Instagram/Facebook, but it would be a nice feature to add to make scheduling stories easier.” Source

Verdict

Sendible is a smart, budget-conscious choice for agencies that need to manage multiple clients without the chaos. While it won’t replace high-end tools in analytics or automation, it gets the job done with clean workflows, client-ready branding, and excellent usability — making it a solid agency-first platform.

Pricing:

Ø Creator: $25/month

Ø Traction: $76/month

Ø Scale: $170/month

Ø Advanced: $255/month

Ø Enterprise: $638/month

Agorapulse

Agorapulse provides a comprehensive platform built for small to mid-sized businesses and agencies that need smarter scheduling, deeper engagement management, and strong reporting — all without overwhelming complexity.

Best for: Teams looking for a balance between usability and powerful features, especially those that prioritize efficient inbox handling, analytics and client collaboration.

Key features:

· Smart Social Inbox: Consolidates messages, comments, reviews, and ad comments from all connected platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Business Profile) into a single dashboard for efficient response and assignment.

· Custom reporting & analytics: Build custom reports with selected metrics, access up to 24 months of historical data, and export reports as PowerPoint files for easy sharing with stakeholders.

· Publishing & scheduling: Compose, schedule, queue or assign posts across multiple platforms with a simple, three-panel UI. Drag-and-drop calendar and bulk scheduling streamline campaign planning.

· Social listening: Monitor mentions, keywords and hashtags to keep tabs on brand health and industry trends.

· Browser extension: Share content directly from the web to your social channels with a single click.

Pros:

✔ One of the most intuitive inbox systems on the market

✔ Streamlined publishing tools, bulk scheduling and flexible queuing

✔ Powerful custom reports — exportable as PowerPoint

✔ Helpful CRM features like user labels, notes and activity ranking

✔ Smart automation tools like Inbox Assistant for time-saving workflows

Cons:

✖ No unified dashboard view of tasks, alerts or post status

✖ Inbox layout could make better use of space

✖ Settings navigation is a bit clunky

✖ Price is mid-to-high tier and may be steep for very small teams

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“Most helpful about AgoraPulse is in my opinion the publishing and reporting options I as a social media manager have. It is easy to use, all my colleagues got set up in it quickly and we use it every day.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“I do wish some metrics were available, including Facebook story metrics. If it's published directly from Instagram to Facebook, these don't show up in Agorapulse. I also have found some of Instagram's story metrics, specifically the tap back, exit, and swipes, are inaccurate. If these matter to you, it becomes a manual process.” Source

Verdict

Agorapulse stands out for its inbox-first approach and thoughtful publishing workflows — ideal for teams that need to stay responsive, organized and efficient. While not the cheapest option, its time-saving features and customizable reporting justify the cost for brands that value structure and visibility across their social operations.

Pricing:

Ø Standard: $79/user/month

Ø Professional: $119/user/month

Ø Advanced: $149/user/month

Zoho Social

Zoho Social offers a collaborative platform designed to help businesses, agencies, and growing teams streamline publishing, monitor brand activity, and engage audiences. With deep integration into the Zoho ecosystem (including Zoho CRM), AI-powered content generation, and robust collaboration tools, it empowers teams to plan, execute, and measure social strategies effectively.

Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses, agencies, and teams already using Zoho products or those looking for a collaborative, CRM-integrated social media management solution.

Key features:

· Zoho CRM integration: Instantly connect social media activity with CRM data, enabling seamless lead tracking, customer interaction monitoring and campaign attribution.

· AI-powered content creation (Zia): Leverages OpenAI’s ChatGPT to generate creative, platform-specific content, speeding up post creation and ideation.

· SmartQ scheduling: Uses engagement data to recommend and schedule posts at optimal times for maximum reach and interaction.

· Team collaboration: Built-in chat, audio and video calls for real-time feedback and approvals; assign roles and manage permissions for efficient teamwork.

· Custom publishing tools: Schedule reposts, manage Instagram first comments, hashtags, @mentions and short URLs from a single window.

Here are 9 Best Social Media Scheduling Tools for 2025!

Pros:

✔ Seamless CRM and social media integration — ideal for sales-marketing alignment

✔ Zia AI simplifies and speeds up content creation workflows

✔ Excellent collaborative tools with team roles, chat and approval flows

✔ SmartQ helps post when your audience is most active

✔ Strong publishing customization for each platform

Cons:

✖ Steeper learning curve for first-time users, especially outside the Zoho ecosystem

✖ Mobile app lacks the fluidity and depth of the web version

✖ Navigation and UI can feel dated compared to more modern tools

✖ Lower-tier plans limit multi-user functionality, which may hinder growing teams

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“The distinctively simple design of Zoho Social makes it incredibly user-friendly. I can easily track important KPIs thanks to the comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities. Our content calendar is now more organized thanks to the scheduling option, which guarantees regular and timely posts. Furthermore, the strong collaboration features improve teamwork, which makes Zoho Social an invaluable resource for maximizing our social media approach.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“Even while Zoho Social is an effective tool, several of its more sophisticated capabilities have a steep learning curve. Better resources for onboarding would be advantageous. Furthermore, for smaller budgets, the pricing structure might not be as accommodating. In our experience, the overall advantages exceed these small disadvantages, notwithstanding these considerations.” Source

Verdict

Zoho Social is a smart choice for brands already invested in the Zoho suite — or those seeking a social tool that doubles as a content engine and customer insights hub. Its AI integration and CRM sync give it a unique edge in turning engagement into actionable business data. While the interface could use refinement, its depth and connected ecosystem make it well worth exploring.

Pricing:

Ø Standard: $10/user/month

Ø Professional: $30/user/month

Ø Premium: $40/user/month

CoSchedule

CoSchedule is a marketing calendar platform with social publishing baked in. It helps teams align content, campaigns, and social media activity in one shared view. While it’s more focused on scheduling and strategy alignment than day-to-day engagement, CoSchedule stands out for teams that need structured workflows and visibility across all marketing efforts.

Best for: Editorial and content-driven teams, marketers managing multiple campaigns across channels, and businesses looking to streamline planning across blogs, emails, and social.

Key features:

· Unified marketing calendar: Visualize and manage your entire social and content strategy, including blogs, email campaigns, and social posts, from a single, drag-and-drop calendar.

· AI Social Assistant (Mia): Generate on-brand content, campaign ideas and social messages with an AI assistant that learns your brand voice; access a robust AI prompt library for inspiration and efficiency.

· ReQueue: Automatically fills schedule gaps with your top-performing posts, keeping your social feeds active without manual intervention

· Social templates: Create and reuse predefined sharing plans for campaigns, product launches or recurring events, ensuring consistency across all channels.

Pros:

✔ One of the most comprehensive marketing calendars available — ideal for keeping social aligned with larger campaigns

✔ ReQueue keeps social channels active with minimal manual effort

✔ Strong workflow tools for multi-channel collaboration and planning

✔ AI assistant “MIA” can be trained for on-brand content generation

✔ Great for WordPress-based teams with deep integration

Cons:

✖ Steeper price point compared to tools focused solely on social media

✖ Social profile limits (max 10 accounts) can be restrictive for agencies or large brands

✖ UI can be unintuitive for new users; onboarding takes time

✖ Reporting gaps occasionally arise, especially with LinkedIn

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“One of the standout features of the CoSchedule Marketing Suite is the content calendar. This tool allows me to plan and organize my content in one place, making it easy to see what's coming up and ensure that I'm staying on track with my publishing schedule. I also appreciate the ability to collaborate with team members on the calendar, which helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page. The social media scheduler is another feature that I find incredibly useful.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“One potential downside of the suite is that it can be overwhelming at first. With so many features and tools, it can take some time to learn how to use everything effectively. However, once you get the hang of it, the suite can be a powerful asset to your marketing efforts. Additionally, the suite's pricing can be on the higher side, which may not be feasible for small businesses or those with limited budgets.” Source

Verdict

CoSchedule shines when your social strategy is tightly tied to broader marketing efforts. It’s more than just a scheduler; it’s a cross-functional planning hub that brings clarity to complex workflows. For brands that rely heavily on blogs, campaigns and multi-step content production, CoSchedule offers the structure and alignment needed to keep everything running on time. Just be prepared for a steeper learning curve and keep an eye on social account limits if your team is scaling.

Pricing:

Ø Free Calendar: Free usage/user

Ø Social Calendar: $19/user/month

Ø Agency Calendar: $59/user/month

Ø Content Calendar & Marketing Suite: Available on request

Loomly

Loomly offers a collaborative platform designed to help marketing teams plan, create, schedule, and analyze content across a wide range of channels. Its standout feature, the Custom Channel via Zapier, enables posting to virtually any service, making it uniquely flexible for brands with diverse or niche publishing needs. With multiple content calendars, approval workflows, and robust integrations, Loomly supports teams seeking streamlined workflows and creative automation.

Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses, agencies, and marketing teams that need flexible channel management, collaborative scheduling and the ability to automate posting to both mainstream and custom platforms.

Key features:

· Custom Channel via Zapier: Post to nearly any service or platform, including Reddit, email or niche networks, by integrating Loomly with thousands of apps through Zapier.

· Multiple scheduling calendars: Manage separate calendars for different brands, teams or campaigns — each with its own dedicated social profiles and settings

· Direct publishing: Schedule and auto-post content to Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Snapchat, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and more

· Hashtag manager & link shortener: Organize and reuse hashtags, track link performance, and optimize post engagement.

· Analytics & reporting: Access basic post analytics, export reports and track performance across all connected channels

Pros:

✔ Custom Channel feature enables posting to any imaginable platform via Zapier, offering unmatched flexibility

✔ Multiple, independent calendars for granular campaign and brand management

✔ Transparent pricing with nonprofit discounts and no restrictions on supported platforms

Cons:

✖ Pricing jumps significantly between tiers, and adding users or profiles requires upgrading to a higher plan

✖ Not as advanced or polished as some enterprise-focused competitors in analytics or automation

Customer testimonials

💪 Strengths

“I love that I can not only post to multiple platforms at a time but can also edit each draft individually. Additionally, I appreciate having a content calendar on display as it helps me visually see what days I can schedule specific content for. It's also easy to navigate and understand, and the recommended hashtags are helpful.” Source

👎🏻 Weaknesses

“My only disappointment is the lack of detail in the analytics and that you have to invite people to the platform for approvals. I've used systems in the past where you can just create a link for someone to click on and approve/leave comments. You can't just do this which isn't ideal if you're using it as an agency / for multiple businesses.” Source

Verdict

Loomly is a strong contender for teams that need scheduling flexibility, collaborative workflows, and the ability to reach audiences on both mainstream and custom channels. While it may not offer the deepest analytics or automation in the market, its intuitive design, unlimited scheduling and unique Zapier-powered custom posting make it a smart, scalable choice for creative teams and agencies managing diverse social strategies. For organizations prioritizing flexibility and ease of use, Loomly delivers a refreshing, user-friendly approach to social media management.

Pricing: Available on request

Why every brand needs a social media management tool now

A reliable social media management tool can help you:

· Manage campaigns across multiple channels

· Respond quickly to comments and DMs

· Track performance across accounts and platforms

· Stay updated on trends and listen to your audience actively

· Keep a central repository of all social media assets

· Improve customer care through streamlined social interactions

Top must-have features in a social media management platform

When selecting a social media marketing tool, it's easy to get distracted by flashy features that you may never use. However, narrowing down your feature list to focus on what's truly important can make a significant difference for your brand. Prioritizing essential features ensures you get the most value for your investment and avoid paying for extravagant options that don't align with your needs.

Here are the top features you should look for:

1. Multi-platform scheduling: Your social media management tool should have this feature because it allows you to schedule posts across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn in one go.

2. Detailed analytics and reporting: Your social media tool must include social media analytics because it helps you track engagement, audience demographics, and post performance. With these insights, you can make informed decisions to refine your strategy and create more impactful content.

3. Visual content calendar: A content calendar is essential because it helps you plan and organize your posts ahead of time. This feature makes it easy to spot gaps, maintain a consistent schedule, and align campaigns seamlessly.

4. Team collaboration and workflow management: This feature is critical because it enables you to assign tasks, review drafts, and approve posts without delays. It keeps your team aligned and reduces communication bottlenecks.

5. Real-time social listening and monitoring: This feature reveals relevant conversations within your customers, competitors, and industry in general. It enables you to respond to feedback timely manner and capture the voice of the customer.

Over to you: Choose an all-in-one social media management tool

Social media success no longer depends solely on what you do but also on how efficiently you do it. A future-ready tool like Sprinklr Social empowers you to stay ahead of trends, manage complexity with ease and scale your efforts seamlessly. Make 2025 the year you transform your social media strategy with a tool that not only meets your current needs but also grows with your ambitions. The right choice today could define your success tomorrow.