Brand24 vs. Hootsuite: Which Is the Right Choice? (2025 review)

Making sense of social media monitoring tools can feel overwhelming, with Brand24 and Hootsuite standing out as popular options that serve different needs. This detailed comparison draws from extensive platform documentation, pricing data, and verified user experiences to help you choose the right solution.

The analysis covers everything from data sources and core capabilities to pricing structures and user interfaces, focusing on what matters most for real-world applications.

We’ll explore the key differences in how Brand24 and Hootsuite approach social listening, engagement tracking, and analytics. Let’s dive in.

Pricing & Plans

Brand24’s Individual plan starts at $149/month while Hootsuite’s Professional plan begins at $99/month, with both tools offering monthly and annual billing options. Brand24 provides more specialized social listening capabilities across four tiers, while Hootsuite focuses on social media management with three main plans.

Free Trial & Demo Access

Brand24 offers a free trial that includes core monitoring features but lacks real-time updates and advanced AI capabilities. While they don’t provide demos, their trial lets users test all essential functions. Hootsuite provides both a free trial and demo options, though their trial excludes advanced social listening features. Their demo specifically showcases enterprise-level capabilities.

Plan Features & Limitations

Brand24’s plans scale from 3 keywords and 2,000 monthly mentions in the Individual plan to 25 keywords and 100,000 mentions in Enterprise, all with unlimited users in higher tiers. Hootsuite limits users per plan (1 user Professional, 3 users Team) but offers more social accounts (10-50+) and comprehensive social media management tools.

Add-ons & Extra Costs

Brand24 keeps it simple with just an API add-on at $99. Hootsuite offers multiple add-ons including advanced social listening, additional users, social accounts, and enterprise integrations like Salesforce. Costs for Hootsuite’s add-ons aren’t publicly listed and require consultation.

Payment & Billing Flexibility

Brand24 accepts bank transfers, credit cards, and online payment systems. Hootsuite provides more payment options, including major credit cards, PayPal, checks, and wire transfers. Both platforms offer monthly and annual billing cycles.

Refund Policies

Brand24 offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans. Hootsuite maintains a strict no-refund policy, though they may consider refunds on a case-by-case basis through a formal request process.

For businesses prioritizing social listening with unlimited users, Brand24 offers better value, while Hootsuite’s comprehensive social media management tools make it ideal for smaller teams focusing on content scheduling and engagement.

Features

Dashboard Experience

Brand24’s dashboard emphasizes real-time mention tracking with a clean, intuitive layout that prioritizes quick access to social listening data. Hootsuite takes a more comprehensive approach, offering a robust visualization system that displays multiple data streams simultaneously. Both platforms provide customizable widgets, though Brand24’s interface appears more streamlined for social listening specifically.

Alert Configuration

Brand24 offers a streamlined two-step alert creation process focused on keywords and language selection. However, users must navigate to a separate parameters panel for refined keyword management. Hootsuite provides extensive Boolean operators covering content, URLs, social platforms, and demographics, with the added benefit of displaying mention volume estimates before alert activation.

Metrics and Filtering Capabilities

Brand24 tracks essential metrics including sentiment, influence scores, and social engagement, with comprehensive filtering options that include geolocation, author importance, and saved filter configurations. Hootsuite monitors engagement rates, potential reach, and trending scores, offering demographic-specific filters that Brand24 doesn’t include. Both platforms provide sentiment filtering, though Brand24’s 95% accuracy rating edges out Hootsuite’s 90%.

Data Sources and Coverage

Hootsuite, powered by Talkwalker, accesses 150 million data sources across 30+ social networks, including comprehensive coverage of major platforms. Brand24 structures its source access by subscription tier, with basic social media monitoring at the Individual level and advanced sources like podcasts restricted to Enterprise users. Hootsuite offers up to 12 months of historical data, while Brand24 limits historical access to 30 days.

Language Support

Hootsuite demonstrates superior language coverage with support for more than 60 languages. Brand24 covers 24 languages, though both platforms utilize advanced AI and machine learning for language processing. The quality of analysis varies by language in both systems.

Reporting Capabilities

Brand24 provides detailed reports including mention summaries, social reach graphs, and trending hashtags, available in multiple formats including infographics. Hootsuite offers flexible export options in various formats (PNG, PDF, CSV, XLS, PPTX) and features spike email alerts for significant metric changes. Neither platform offers extensive report template customization.

Collaboration and AI Features

Hootsuite leads with robust collaboration tools including Inbox 2.0 and team permissions systems. Brand24’s collaboration features are limited to Slack integration. Both platforms incorporate AI capabilities, with Brand24 focusing on sentiment and emotion analysis, while Hootsuite offers predictive mention forecasting.

Brand24 excels in precise social listening with high-accuracy sentiment analysis, making it ideal for brands focused on reputation management. Hootsuite stands out as a comprehensive social media management platform with extensive historical data access and collaborative features, better suited for larger teams managing multiple aspects of social media presence.

Customer Service

Brand24 Customer Service

Brand24’s help center provides comprehensive coverage with 171 articles spread across 12 major categories, though it’s limited to English and Polish language support. The platform offers responsive email and live chat assistance, complemented by structured training resources including webinars and dedicated product training sessions. Enterprise customers benefit from personalized support through dedicated account managers.

While Brand24’s documentation is thorough, particularly in technical areas like media monitoring and AI features, the bilingual limitation may pose challenges for global users. The standout strength is their live chat support, which provides immediate assistance for urgent issues.

Key Takeaway: Brand24 is best suited for English or Polish-speaking organizations that value immediate support through live chat and comprehensive technical documentation.

Hootsuite Customer Service

Hootsuite maintains an extensive help center available in six languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and German), with support hours tailored to multiple time zones across North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Their support channels include dashboard messaging, email communication in three languages, and ticket submission, while Enterprise clients receive dedicated account representative access.

The platform distinguishes itself with Hootsuite Academy and social media bootcamps, offering more structured learning paths than Brand24. However, the lack of live chat support and restricted support hours might impact urgent issue resolution.

Key Takeaway: Hootsuite is ideal for global enterprises requiring multilingual support and comprehensive training resources, though users needing round-the-clock assistance may face limitations.

Customer testimonials

Brand24 User Reviews

Brand24 maintains strong user satisfaction with a combined rating of 4.64/5 from 490 total reviews across G2 (4.6/5 from 294 reviews) and Capterra (4.7/5 from 196 reviews). Users consistently praise the platform’s ease of use and comprehensive support.

“The software is easy to use, they have decent guides and help docs, and the support is stellar. A very good app for tracking mentions. Lots of filters to hone in on the results that matter.” However, some users point to subscription flexibility as an area for improvement: “I wish there were a ‘pause account’ option. We only use it when a client requires this specific service which is somewhat infrequent, so I wind up cancelling and reopening once or twice per year.”

Hootsuite User Reviews

Hootsuite shows solid performance with a combined rating of 4.29/5 from a substantial base of 8,713 reviews across G2 (4.2/5 from 4,927 reviews) and Capterra (4.4/5 from 3,786 reviews). The platform receives particular recognition for its customer service and evolving feature set.

“The customer service is focused on the success of their clients… We feel confident with our social media success because we feel supported by Hootsuite’s amazing employees every step of the way. Plus, the platform continues to evolve.” Yet some users struggle with specific features: “The social listening tool doesn’t work for a company like us… Our industry is very niche and our brand name is a common name depending on the country, which makes it difficult to filter.”

While Brand24 stands out for its user-friendly interface and efficient mention tracking, Hootsuite’s strength lies in its comprehensive customer support and continuous platform evolution. Both tools face specific challenges – Brand24 with subscription flexibility and Hootsuite with niche industry adaptability – but maintain strong overall user satisfaction.

Hootsuite vs Brand24: Final verdict

Brand24 and Hootsuite each bring distinct advantages to the social listening landscape. Brand24 excels with its intuitive sentiment analysis and competitive pricing structure, making it ideal for small to medium businesses seeking detailed social insights. Hootsuite’s comprehensive social media management capabilities and extensive integration options position it as a robust solution for larger organizations requiring an all-in-one platform.

However, both tools have notable limitations. Brand24’s reporting features can feel basic compared to enterprise alternatives, while Hootsuite’s higher pricing tiers may stretch budgets for smaller teams. Additionally, Brand24’s historical data access is restricted to 12 months, and Hootsuite’s social listening features aren’t as refined as their management tools.

For teams seeking a balanced alternative that addresses these gaps, Mention offers comprehensive social listening with 82% sentiment accuracy and up to 2 years of historical data. Their platform monitors over 1 billion sources in real-time and provides 10+ report types for thorough analysis. Interested users can start a free trial to explore Mention’s capabilities or schedule a demo to see how their features align with specific monitoring needs.