Built for small businesses, not enterprise.
Run one small business? Rheos does the Hootsuite job for £55 a month including VAT: it drafts your posts, you edit and approve, and it schedules them to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X.
TL;DR
- Hootsuite's entry paid plan (Standard) starts from ~$99/month billed annually with no creative AI content generation.
- Rheos Social Media Manager is £55/month inc. VAT with AI that creates text and images on-brand.
- Hootsuite's roots are in enterprise and agency management. Its complexity and price reflect that.
- If you don't need enterprise approval workflows and 20+ accounts, Hootsuite is overkill.
Why small businesses are switching from Hootsuite
A fraction of enterprise pricing
Rheos Social Media Manager is £55/mo inc. VAT vs Hootsuite Standard at ~$99/mo (annual). Rheos also includes AI content creation.
AI content is included, not generic
Hootsuite's OwlyWriter generates captions and repurposes text content, but it can't generate images or video and doesn't learn your brand from your website. Rheos generates full on-brand posts with text and images.
No enterprise approval bloat for solo founders
Hootsuite's UI and plan structure reflect its enterprise and multi-client agency heritage. Rheos is built for one business owner or small team. Fewer clicks to ship.
Flat pricing, no per-seat surcharges
Rheos is £55/mo flat inc. VAT, all-in, with a 10-day free trial and no card needed. Hootsuite retired its free plan in 2023 and its only way to try it is a 30-day trial before paying from ~$99/mo.
Platform coverage at a glance
Rheos publishes to all 4 live platforms on every plan. Here's what Hootsuite covers, and what it doesn't.
Rheos
All 4 platformsHootsuite
4 of 4 supportedHootsuite Standard includes 10 social accounts; Advanced is unlimited. Rheos includes all four live platforms on every tier with no per-account limits.
Plus: only Rheos has this
The first MCP server for social media.
Rheos ships with an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. Draft posts directly from Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code or Cursor. The AI reads your brand context and content calendar, then writes and queues the post in Rheos. Hootsuite doesn't offer this.
Works in Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients, on every Rheos plan. Free to set up.
Learn about the Rheos MCP serverRheos vs Hootsuite: feature by feature
Both tools do scheduling. Here's every other feature side by side.
| Feature | Rheos | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | £55/mo inc. VAT Social Media Manager (10-day free trial, no card needed) | From ~$99/mo Standard · ~$249/user/mo Advanced (annual billing, no free plan) |
| AI content generation | On-brand text and images | OwlyWriter: text only (captions, repurposing); no images, no brand voice |
| Learns your brand | Yes, scrapes website and imports brand context | No |
| Image generation | Yes, built in | No native generation |
| Social accounts included | 4 live platforms, all tiers | 10 accounts on Standard, unlimited on Advanced |
| Analytics depth | Post performance + brand fit score | Deep analytics on Advanced+ (you pay for it) |
| Approval workflows | Simple: you schedule each post or press Post now | Enterprise-grade, designed for agencies |
| Best for | SMEs, founders, small teams | Agencies, enterprises, multi-client setups |
Pricing side by side
| Plan | Rheos | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 10-day free trial of the full plan, no card needed. Then £55/mo inc. VAT | Not available (30-day trial only) |
| Entry paid | £55/mo inc. VAT Social Media Manager | From ~$99/mo Standard (annual, 1 user) |
Pick Rheos if…
- You're a small business or solo founder, not a marketing agency.
- You want AI to create the content, not just schedule it.
- You don't need enterprise approval workflows.
- ~$99/month for a scheduler with no creative AI feels like overkill.
Stick with Hootsuite if…
- You manage 20+ social accounts across multiple clients.
- You need deep approval workflows and role-based access.
- Your team is already trained on Hootsuite and switching is a heavy lift.
Frequently asked questions
How much cheaper is Rheos than Hootsuite?
Rheos Social Media Manager is £55/month inc. VAT vs Hootsuite Standard at ~$99/month (annual billing) — meaningfully cheaper, in GBP with no FX, and Rheos includes AI content generation (text and images) which Hootsuite does not. For a small business that also pays for Canva or a content designer, the real saving is typically £100 to £200/month.
Does Hootsuite have AI content generation?
Hootsuite has OwlyWriter AI which generates captions, repurposes content, and creates post ideas. It's text-only, with no image or video generation, and it doesn't learn your brand voice from your website. Rheos's AI learns your brand and generates full on-brand posts with text and images.
Can Rheos handle multiple brands like Hootsuite?
Each Rheos account runs one business. If you manage many brands at once, Hootsuite is built for that, on custom Enterprise pricing (typically $15,000+/year).
Is Rheos good for agencies?
Rheos is built for a small business running its own social media, with one business per account. An agency managing many clients is better served by a tool built for that, such as Hootsuite.
Will Rheos replace Hootsuite fully for my small business?
If you're on Hootsuite Standard or Advanced for a single business, yes. Rheos covers scheduling, publishing, analytics, and content creation that Hootsuite doesn't do. Most SMEs find Rheos replaces Hootsuite + Canva + their AI tool of choice in one subscription.
Try Rheos.
All four live platforms, AI content generation included, from £55/month flat inc. VAT.