If you’re in search of a social media management tool, chances are you’ve encountered SocialPilot. In fact, your team may be already using it!
SocialPilot is a popular platform that offers social media scheduling, analytics, and team collaboration. However, it’s not for everyone.
Perhaps you’re looking for a tool that’s more robust, or maybe you’re on a tighter budget. Whatever your reasons, this article will explore the top five SocialPilot alternatives for agencies and creative teams.
Let’s get to them.
Alternative #1: Gain
Gain, our social media management tool, is a user-friendly SocialPilot alternative packed with robust capabilities specifically designed for marketing teams and agencies. The tool was developed to automate marketing workflows and facilitate the content approval process for agencies, their clients, as well as internal marketing teams.
Gain provides a comprehensive solution for managing social media content across various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile. With Gain, you can effortlessly create, schedule, publish, and recycle your content.
In addition, the tool supports a wide range of file types commonly used by marketing teams. Additionally, Gain seamlessly integrates with Canva, enabling you to send visuals directly to Gain. From Gain, you can share your Canva designs with your clients and stakeholders, whether you need to get them approved or ask for feedback.
One of the standout features of Gain is custom content approval workflows equipped with multiple rounds and approvers. This feature simplifies the process of getting your content approved by automatically moving it from one approver to the next. Whether you need to get your content checked by a marketing manager, your client, or the legal and compliance team, Gain takes care of the entire process without requiring manual intervention.
Key Features
- Best-in-class content approval workflows with role-specific permissions
- Drag-and-drop content calendar
- Smart content recycling for reusing the best-performing social content
- Post mockups so you know exactly what you’re publishing
- Built-in image editor with cropping presets for each social media platform
- Content tags to group different content together
- Automatic scheduling once content has been approved
- Social media engagement metrics to optimize your campaigns
- Workspaces to organize assets by brand, client, team, and more.
Pricing Plans
If you’re new to Gain, you can try it out for free with their free trial. Once you’re ready to upgrade, Gain’s monthly pricing starts at $99. The first 10 users are completely free, which is ideal for agencies. After the initial 10 users, each additional user only costs $10. If you pay for a whole year upfront, you’ll get a 16% discount. Plus, qualified non-profit organizations can enjoy a 50% discount making it super affordable.
It is important to note that Gain’s straightforward pricing plan includes unlimited features, so you won’t need to pay more for extras.
Alternative #2: Buffer
Buffer is a social media management tool that has gained popularity among small businesses. Buffer is a great SocialPilot alternative because of its ease of use and various features. With Buffer, you can schedule posts, collaborate with your team, access analytics, and even edit images with its built-in image editor.
One of the best things about Buffer is that it offers a mobile app that allows you to manage your social media on the go. This is especially useful for small business owners who are always on the move and need to stay connected with their audience.
Key Features
- Easy content planning and publishing
- AI assistant to generate new post ideas, repurpose content, and re-write the copy
- Social media analytics and reporting
- Wide range of social media platforms
- Preset publishing schedule for each social media channel.
Pros and Cons
Buffer is a cost-effective SocialPilot alternative for solopreneurs who want to automate social posts to several networks. But the tool isn’t complete, which is the biggest con. Thus, you might need to supplement it with other tools, especially if you run multiple social media accounts as an agency.
Pricing Plans
Buffer offers a free product version with basic planning and publishing tools, allowing you to connect up to 3 social media channels. If you want to upgrade, they offer three pricing options: Essential ($6 a month for 1 channel), Team ($12 a month for 1 channel), and Agency ($120 a month for 10 channels).
Alternative #3: Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a powerful social media management tool widely used by businesses of all sizes. It is known for its comprehensive features that allow users to manage their social media accounts with ease. With Hootsuite, you can schedule posts, monitor conversations, and analyze your social media performance.
Key Features
- Automated publishing
- Advanced analytics
- Community management system
- Brand monitoring
- Social ads analytics
- OnlyWriterAI to generate social media captions and get content ideas.
Pros and Cons
Hootsuite is a comprehensive tool ideal for large enterprises with sophisticated requirements. However, its biggest cons are the price and complexity, which can result in a steep learning curve. And if you’re a small-to-medium-sized business with less complicated social media requirements, you might not end up using all of Hootsuite’s capabilities.
Pricing Plans
If you’re interested in trying out Hootsuite, they offer a free trial. After that, their pricing starts at $99 per month for a Professional pricing tier (one user) and $739+ for the Business package, making it one of the most expensive social media management solutions.
Alternative #4: Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a powerful social media management tool designed to help businesses of all sizes effectively manage their social media presence. With Sprout Social, you can easily schedule your social media posts, monitor brand mentions, manage customer service, and track your social media analytics.
One of the key features of Sprout Social is its brand monitoring tool. With this tool, you can keep track of what people are saying about your brand on social media and quickly respond to any comments or questions. This can help you build stronger relationships with your customers and improve your overall brand reputation.
Key Features
- Social media scheduling and publishing
- Smart Inbox for social media mentions
- Asset library
- Campaign planner
- CRM integrations
- Mobile app for on-the-go social media management.
Pros and Cons
Just like Hootsuite, Sprout Social is a comprehensive solution. That said, its high price point could discourage price-conscious consumers.
Pricing Plans
The cheapest plan starts at $249 per month with an additional user costing +$199/mo, while their advanced package is $499 per month with each additional user costing +$349/mo. Sprout Social also offers add-ons, such as social listening and premium analytics, that all come at an extra cost, making it an expensive option for agencies looking to scale on a budget.
Alternative #5: Later
If you’re looking for a social media management tool that specializes in visual content, Later might be a great SocialPilot alternative for you. With Later, you can easily manage your Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts all in one place.
Later is ideal if you primarily focus on Instagram presence as most of its heavy-duty features revolve around this specific social media platform.
Key Features
- Easy content scheduling on Instagram primarily
- Supports cross-posting across other platforms
- Instagram feed preview
- Instagram analytics
- Link in bio tool for Instagram
- Hashtag suggestions.
Pros and Cons
Later is an easy-to-use tool for users who prefer a visual content management approach. However, its sole focus on Instagram somewhat limits the tool’s broader applicability.
Pricing Plans
Later offers a free trial like most SaaS social media management tools. Once you’re ready to upgrade, you can choose between Starter ($18 for 1 user), Growth ($40 for 3 users), and Advanced packages ($80 for 6 users).
What is the Best SocialPilot Alternative, According to Users?
Now that we’ve discussed the main features of five alternatives to SocialPilot, let’s see what users think about these tools.
To save you the trouble of searching on Google, we’ve looked at over 5700 reviews on GetApp on June 20th, 2023, a website where actual users review software. This analysis will help you decide which SocialPilot alternative is suitable for you.
According to users, Gain emerges as a compelling choice for marketing teams and agencies seeking an effective solution to meet their needs. With an impressive overall score of 4.8 and high user satisfaction, Gain competes with leading contenders like Buffer and Hootsuite.
One of Gain’s key strengths is its ease of use, receiving a solid rating of 4.5, which puts it on par with top competitors. Additionally, Gain’s exceptional customer support, receiving a score of 5, sets it apart from other tools like Sprout Social and Later.
Gain strikes a balance between affordability and quality, with a rating of 4.5 for value for money, consistently outperforming Sprout Social and Hootsuite in this aspect.
And, can we brag for a second? Gain has recently won a bunch of cool badges, including Top Social Media Marketing Software by Software Advice, Capterra Shortlist for Social Media Marketing Software, and Category Leader for Social Media Marketing Software by GetApp. If this isn’t a testament to the incredible capabilities of our tool, then we’re not sure what is.
The second-best alternative to SocialPilot based on user reviews would be Buffer, with a consistent rating of 4.5 stars across all categories, along with a remarkable 97% of Buffer users recommending the tool to others.
Conclusion
Managing multiple social media accounts can be challenging, but with the right social media management tool, it can be a breeze.
In this article, we’ve introduced you to five popular SocialPilot alternatives for agencies and creative teams, each with unique features and pricing. It’s up to you to determine which SocialPilot alternative best fits your business goals and budget.
Remember, social media management is an ongoing process, so choose a tool that will help you streamline your workflow and save you time and effort in the long run.
Ready to try our top-rated social media management tool? Start a free trial with Gain (no credit card required) to create your social media content, get it approved, and schedule without hassle.
