Buffer vs Hootsuite vs Metricool: video tool costs (2026)

Metricool's pricing page lists an Image and Video Editor inside its planner, so you can cut a clip and schedule it in the same tab. Buffer prices posting by the channel and Hootsuite by the user, so their bills grow with your channel count or your headcount. For a founder or a small team that films short videos and has to answer the comments they bring in, BetterSocials fits best: the AI social media manager edits, schedules to six platforms and answers comments and DMs from one inbox, from $29 a month for four accounts.

Metricool is the cheaper start if all you need is the edit and the calendar.

What one person pays to edit and post video in 2026

Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Metricool and BetterSocials each price by a different unit, so the sticker price only compares once you fix the unit. Every competitor price here is what the vendor's own page listed: Buffer in August 2026, Hootsuite and Sprout Social in October 2026, and Metricool in November 2026.

The units matter more than the numbers. Buffer counts channels, Metricool counts brands, and Hootsuite and Sprout Social count people. BetterSocials counts social accounts, so four Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn accounts sit on Creator.

Sprout Social alternatives with a free video editor

Sprout Social puts its inbox on Standard at $199 per seat a month, billed annually. That's the figure to beat if you came looking for something cheaper that also edits video.

BetterSocials runs a free AI video editor in the browser, separate from the paid plans. It cuts silence and filler words, adds captions and lets you edit from the transcript, and it's capped at 4 minutes. Every paid plan then puts the browser video editor next to scheduling and the inbox.

Metricool has a free plan for one brand and 20 posts a month, with 30 days of analytics. Its planner lists the Image and Video Editor, music for scheduled videos, and Canva, Adobe Express and Google Drive integrations.

If you only need to trim a clip and post it, Metricool is the cheaper place to start. If the comments on that clip are where your buyers show up, BetterSocials is the one that answers them.

Editing and scheduling in one app, step by step

BetterSocials keeps the three jobs on one screen, so a video goes from raw file to live post to answered comment without an export. Here's the order we'd follow.

1. 1Upload the raw video and let the editor cut the silence and filler words in one pass. You edit the transcript, and the video follows.
2. 2Add captions, text, sounds or overlays, then schedule the post to Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, TikTok and LinkedIn from the same place.
3. 3Answer the comments and DMs the video brings in from one inbox, with replies drafted in your voice from your past replies.

On Instagram and Facebook, a keyword in a comment can also send that person a DM with your link. On TikTok, YouTube, Threads and LinkedIn Company Pages, the keyword posts a public reply with the link instead.

Nothing goes out that you haven't approved or written a rule for.

BetterSocials or Metricool when one app has to do both

Metricool costs less to start, and it puts an editor and a calendar in one app just as BetterSocials does. Metricool Starter is listed from $20 a month for up to five brands, or $36 a month for up to ten. Advanced starts at $53 a month for 15 brands and adds team and client management with a post approval system.

The extra money on BetterSocials buys what happens after the post goes out. Its inbox holds comments and DMs from every connected account, AI replies answer both in your voice, and keyword comment-to-DM sends links on Instagram and Facebook.

Pick Metricool if you manage many brands and reply by hand. Pick BetterSocials if one person owns the replies too.

Metricool's video editor and plan prices

Metricool lists its Image and Video Editor in the Planner section of its pricing page, beside the Image and Video Bank, a post library and an option to add music to scheduled videos. The planner also connects to Canva and Adobe Express.

The plan ladder, as Metricool's pricing page showed it:

• Free: 1 brand, 20 posts a month, 30 days of analytics
• Starter: from $20 a month for up to 5 brands, $36 for up to 10
• Advanced: from $53 a month for up to 15 brands, $85 for 25, $159 for 50
• Custom: a custom number of brands, priced by contacting Metricool

Metricool describes the editor on its own page, Metricool's Video Editor, which is the one to read before you commit to a plan.

Buffer's price when you edit somewhere else

Buffer charges $5 per channel a month on annual billing, so four channels cost 4 x $5 = $20 a month. If you cut your videos in Descript, its Hobbyist plan adds $16 a month on annual billing, as Descript's pricing page showed in August 2026. That two-app stack runs 4 x $5 + $16 = $36 a month.

Buffer's inbox covers comments on your posts. Instagram and Facebook DMs stay in the phone app.

That's the trade. Buffer plus an editor costs more than BetterSocials Creator at $29 a month, and the DMs still live somewhere else.

Hootsuite's per-user price for a video team

Hootsuite includes its inbox from Standard at $99 per user a month, billed annually. That price is built for teams where several people log in and answer.

Each extra person on Standard adds another $99 a month. Hootsuite's inbox product doesn't list YouTube, so YouTube there is publishing and analytics only.

For one person, BetterSocials Pro is $49 a month for six accounts. A team that needs several logins moves to BetterSocials Team at $99 a month for 12 accounts and unlimited teammates.

How BetterSocials handles the edit, the post and the reply

BetterSocials is best for creators, local businesses and small teams who want to edit a video, post it and answer the comments and DMs it brings in, all from one app. The editor works from the transcript: it cuts silence and filler words for you, so a talking-head clip is ready without scrubbing a timeline.

Footage per project depends on the plan. Creator takes 4 minutes, Pro takes 60 minutes and Team takes 2 hours. The separate free editor is capped at 4 minutes.

Every plan has a 7-day free trial (card required), unlimited contacts and unlimited keyword automations. AI replies use 1 AI credit each, and Creator includes 1,000 credits a month. When credits run out, the AI pauses and never charges more on its own.

Our assumptions and what we would do

We assumed one person, four social accounts and short videos under 4 minutes, with each competitor on yearly billing, because that's the cheapest rate each of them sells. Change any of those and the order can move.

A founder who runs marketing alone and wants the comments answered should start on BetterSocials Creator. If you post for ten brands and reply by hand, Metricool Starter at $36 a month for ten is the better buy. Teams that need several people in one inbox should price Hootsuite per user against BetterSocials Team before they sign.