8 Best Social Media Reporting Tools in 2026 (Free and Paid, Compared)

Quick comparison

The best social media reporting tools

#1

Sprout Social

Best for: Marketing teams that want the deepest social reporting in one suite, with listening as a paid add-on

Visit sproutsocial.com

Starting price$99/seat/month (Essentials, billed monthly; $79/seat/month billed annually)

Free planNo — 30-day free trial

Sprout Social is the reporting heavyweight in this list. Essentials costs $99 per seat a month, or $79 billed annually, and covers five social profiles with profile, post and paid performance reports, optimal send times and a unified calendar. Trellis, Sprout's AI teammate, is included on the entry plan and turns the numbers into plain-language takeaways, which is what most buyers actually want from a report.

The cost to watch is the seat. Every person who logs in pays the full $99, so a three-person team pays $297 a month before any add-on, and social listening costs extra on top of Standard seats. Essentials also skips the Smart Inbox, approvals and chatbots. Buy Sprout Social when reporting depth matters more than the per-seat bill; buy Buffer or Sendible when the team is the expensive part.

What we like

• The strongest reporting in this list: profile, post and paid performance reports come standard on Essentials
• Trellis AI is included on the entry plan and turns report data into plain-language takeaways
• Optimal send times and a unified calendar sit on the same plan as the reports
• A 30-day free trial with no credit card, so the reporting can be tested on real accounts

Watch out for

• Every extra seat costs another $99 a month, so a three-person team pays $297 before add-ons
• Social listening is a paid add-on that needs at least the $199 Standard plan
• Essentials has no Smart Inbox, approvals or chatbots — those wait for higher tiers

#2

Hootsuite

Best for: Larger teams that want scheduling, inbox, listening basics and reporting governed in one system

Visit hootsuite.com

Starting price$99/user/month (Standard, billed annually; $149/user/month billed monthly)

Free planNo — 14-day free trial

Hootsuite is the veteran all-in-one: scheduling, inbox, listening basics and reporting in a single system, sold per user. Standard costs $99 per user a month on annual billing and covers up to 10 social accounts, unlimited scheduled posts, one inbox, AI post and image generation, analytics and a 7-day listening search. Professional at $199 removes the account cap and adds custom reports; Advanced at $399 adds approvals.

Two things need care. First, Hootsuite's $99 figure is the annual rate — the monthly-billed price is $149 a user — and the first year costs $1,188 per user on annual billing. Second, the old Professional plan at $99 no longer exists — Standard is now the entry tier, and guides that still quote Professional at $99 are out of date. Buy Hootsuite when one governed system beats a stack of cheaper tools.

What we like

• One calendar covers scheduling, the inbox and reporting, so nothing is exported between tools
• Standard includes AI post and image generation plus competitor benchmarking on 5 competitors
• Listening basics are included on the entry plan, with a 7-day search window
• The widest network coverage here, including employee advocacy on Enterprise

Watch out for

• No monthly-billed price is published — the $99 figure is the annual-billed rate, paid upfront for the year
• Per-user pricing means a five-person team pays $495 a month on the entry plan
• Approvals, message assignment and custom reports wait for Professional at $199 or Advanced at $399

#3

Buffer

Best for: Solo marketers and small teams that want simple scheduling and clean reports for a few channels

Visit buffer.com

Starting price$6/channel/month (Essentials, billed monthly; $5/channel/month billed annually)

Free planYes — free plan (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel)

Buffer is the simplest and cheapest way into social reporting. The free plan covers three channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel, and Essentials costs $6 a channel a month, or $5 billed annually, with unlimited scheduling, analytics and reports plus the AI Assistant. Three channels cost $18 a month; one channel costs $6. Nothing here is cheaper for a solo marketer with a handful of accounts.

The pricing model is also the limit. Every channel adds $6, so ten channels cost $60 a month, and the per-channel rate only falls once you pass ten channels. Essentials covers one user, so approvals and extra seats need Team at $12 a channel. There is no inbox, no listening and no white-label reporting. Buy Buffer when the channel count is small and the reports need to be simple.

What we like

• The only free plan here that covers three channels with scheduling and basic analytics
• Per-channel pricing stays cheap at low volume: three channels cost $18 a month
• Reports are simple enough to read at a glance, with no setup or training needed
• AI Assistant is included on Essentials for drafting posts and captions

Watch out for

• The bill grows channel by channel — ten channels cost $60 a month on Essentials
• Only one user on Essentials; approvals and unlimited users need Team at $12 a channel
• No inbox, listening or white-label reports at any price in this comparison

#4

Agorapulse

Best for: Mid-size teams that want a shared inbox, scheduling and ROI reporting without enterprise prices

Visit agorapulse.com

Starting price$99/user/month (Standard, billed monthly; $79/user/month billed annually)

Free planYes — free Archie plan (AI-created posts only; classic free plan ended July 6, 2026)

Agorapulse pairs the best-regarded inbox in this list with straightforward reporting. Standard costs $99 per user a month, or $79 billed annually, and includes 10 social profiles, unlimited scheduling, the unified inbox, basic reports and branded report exports, with ROI tracking that ties social activity to website conversions. It covers 11 networks, including Bluesky, Reddit and Google Business Profile.

The catches are the seat price and the data window. Every teammate costs another $99 a month, so a three-person team pays $297, and Standard keeps report data for 6 months only. The classic free plan ended on July 6, 2026; what remains free is the Archie plan, which publishes AI-created posts only. Buy Agorapulse when the inbox matters as much as the reports.

What we like

• The strongest inbox here, with assignments and labels built into the reporting workflow
• Branded report exports are included on Standard, so client reports carry your logo from day one
• ROI tracking connects social activity to website conversions without an add-on
• Covers 11 networks out of the box, including Bluesky, Reddit and Google Business Profile

Watch out for

• Per-user pricing: every teammate costs another $99 a month on Standard
• Report data is kept for 6 months on Standard, against longer windows elsewhere
• The classic free plan ended July 6, 2026 — the remaining free tier only publishes AI-created posts

#5

SocialPilot

Best for: Agencies and small teams managing several accounts that want flat, predictable pricing

Visit socialpilot.co

Starting price$20/month (Essentials, billed monthly; $17/month billed annually)

Free planNo — 14-day free trial

SocialPilot is the flat-price option for agencies: Essentials costs $20 a month, or $17 billed annually, and covers 5 social accounts with scheduling, a calendar, analytics and reports, AI drafting and client management basics. Extra accounts cost $4 a month each, so ten accounts come to $40. There is no per-seat charge and no per-channel charge to calculate.

The limit is the single user on Essentials — a teammate means a higher tier — and white-label reports also wait for a higher tier, so client reports carry SocialPilot branding until you upgrade. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial. Buy SocialPilot when you manage several accounts for several brands and want the bill to stay flat and predictable.

What we like

• Flat $20 a month covers 5 accounts — no per-channel or per-seat maths to track
• Extra accounts cost $4 a month each, so the price grows in small steps
• AI drafting and a content library are included on the entry plan
• Client management features arrive early, which suits freelancers with several brands

Watch out for

• Only 1 user on Essentials, so a teammate means stepping up to a higher tier
• White-label reports wait for a higher tier, so client reports carry SocialPilot branding on Essentials
• No free plan — only a 14-day trial, unlike Buffer's free tier

#6

Sendible

Best for: Agencies that need unlimited users and client-ready reports without paying per seat

Visit sendible.com

Starting price$35/month (Core, billed monthly; $29.75/month billed annually)

Free planNo — 14-day free trial

Sendible removes the seat tax that makes Sprout Social and Hootsuite expensive for teams. Core costs $35 a month, or $29.75 billed annually, and includes one workspace with 6 social profiles, unlimited users, unlimited scheduling, AI credits, an inbox and standard reports. Client Connect lets clients link their accounts without sharing passwords, which is the feature agencies ask for first.

The workspace is the limit to watch: a seventh profile means a second $35 workspace, so an agency with many small clients pays per workspace rather than per seat. Approvals also wait for Plus at $99 a month. Buy Sendible when the team is large, the client list is small, and per-seat pricing is the deal-breaker.

What we like

• Unlimited users on every plan — the whole team and every client login cost nothing extra
• Client Connect lets clients link their accounts without handing over passwords
• Standard reports and bulk scheduling are included on the entry plan
• AI credits come with Core, so drafting help is not an add-on

Watch out for

• Only 6 profiles on Core — a seventh profile means another $35 workspace
• Approvals wait for Plus at $99 a month, so client sign-off is manual on Core
• No free plan, and the per-workspace model punishes agencies with many small clients

#7

DashThis

Best for: Agencies and freelancers that want client-ready dashboards across social, SEO and email in one place

Visit dashthis.com

Starting price$54/month (Individual, billed monthly; $44/month billed annually)

Free planNo — 14-day free trial

DashThis is the only dedicated reporting tool in this list: it does not schedule posts, it turns data into dashboards. Individual costs $54 a month, or $44 billed annually, and covers 3 dashboards and 15 data sources across 30-plus integrations, with white-label reports and unlimited users included. Social, SEO, email and ad data land in one client-ready dashboard, and every plan carries the full feature set.

The tiers are counted in dashboards and sources, not features. A fourth client means the next tier, and AI Insights costs $19 a month extra rather than coming with the plan. Because DashThis does not publish, pair it with a scheduler such as Buffer or Later. Buy DashThis when the report itself is the deliverable and clients expect their logo on it.

What we like

• White-label dashboards are included on every plan, including the $54 entry tier
• Pulls social, SEO, email and ad data into one dashboard, so clients get a single report
• Unlimited users on every plan, so clients can view their own dashboards free
• Every plan includes the full feature set — only dashboard and source counts change

Watch out for

• Only 3 dashboards and 15 sources on Individual — a fourth client means the next tier
• AI Insights is a $19-a-month add-on, not part of the entry plan
• It reports on social data but does not schedule posts, so a scheduler is still needed

#8

Later

Best for: Visual-first brands and creators on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest that plan by the grid

Visit later.com

Starting price$25/month (Starter, billed monthly; $18.75/month billed annually)

Free planYes — free plan (1 social set, 12 posts a month)

Later is built for brands whose content is visual first. Starter costs $25 a month, or $18.75 billed annually, and covers one social set — up to 8 profiles, one per network — with 30 scheduled posts per profile a month, 5 AI credits, Link in Bio pages and 3 months of analytics. The drag-and-drop calendar, media library and Instagram grid preview show how the feed will look before anything is published.

Two limits matter. Later ended X support in 2025, so there is no X scheduling or reporting at all, and Starter keeps only 3 months of analytics history for one user. A second social set or user costs extra on Growth and Scale. Buy Later when Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest are the business and the grid itself is marketing.

What we like

• The best visual planner here: drag-and-drop calendar, media library and Instagram grid preview
• One social set covers up to 8 profiles, so four networks cost the same as one
• Link in Bio pages are included on Starter, with no separate tool needed
• Best Time to Post suggestions are built into the schedule on every paid plan

Watch out for

• X (Twitter) scheduling ended in 2025, so X reporting is not available at all
• Starter caps posts at 30 per profile a month — busy accounts need Growth at $50
• Only 3 months of analytics history on Starter, and only 1 user

The best social media reporting tools turn scattered likes, follows and clicks into a report a client or a boss can actually read. We ranked the eight tools below by fit for the most common buyer — a marketer who needs regular, client-ready reports without hiring an analyst — and every price was verified on November 6, 2026 against the vendor's own pricing page.

How to choose the best social media reporting tools

• Find your pricing unit first. Sprout Social, Hootsuite and Agorapulse charge per seat or user, Buffer charges per channel, Sendible charges per workspace and DashThis charges per dashboard. The unit decides the bill far more than the headline price does.
• Count the profiles you actually report on. Hootsuite Standard stops at 10 accounts, Sprout Social Essentials at 5 profiles, Sendible Core at 6 and SocialPilot Essentials at 7. The cap you hit first is your real starting price.
• Decide who reads the report. If clients read it, white-label matters — and only DashThis and Agorapulse include it on the entry plan. If the report stays internal, any tool here will do.
• Check how far back the data goes. Agorapulse Standard keeps 6 months of report data and Later Starter keeps 3 months of analytics. A year-on-year comparison needs a longer window or a higher tier.
• Separate reporting from listening. Listening — tracking mentions and conversations beyond your own accounts — is an add-on or a higher tier on Sprout Social and Hootsuite, and absent entirely on Buffer, Later and DashThis.

Reporting is one system in your stack, not the whole stack. If the business also needs scheduling depth, our guide to AI social media management tools covers the automation side. And before you publish new pages for the services you sell, run your titles through the free SERP snippet preview tool — it shows exactly how the title and description will look in Google.

Whatever you shortlist, try it with real accounts before you pay. The free plans and trials in this list are long enough to run one genuine reporting cycle — your profiles, your posts, your clients — and that cycle tells you more than any review can. Check two things in the trial: that the report exports cleanly with your branding, and that the numbers match what the networks themselves show. Every tool here except DashThis also schedules posts, so test the reporting and the publishing together.

Social media reporting tools pricing: what you will actually pay

Take a three-person team managing 8 profiles for one brand. On list prices, the monthly bill is $25 on Later Starter, $20 on SocialPilot Essentials, $35 on Sendible Core, $48 on Buffer Essentials, $54 on DashThis Individual, and $297 on Sprout Social Essentials or Agorapulse Standard, and $447 on Hootsuite Standard. Three of those numbers need adjusting before they are real: SocialPilot Essentials covers one user, so two extra seats mean a higher tier; Sendible Core covers 6 profiles, so 8 profiles need a second workspace at $70 a month; and Hootsuite's $99 is the annual-billed rate — monthly billing is $149 a user, so the first year is $1,188 per user paid upfront on annual billing.

Over a year, that is $225 on Later Starter billed annually, $204 on SocialPilot Essentials billed annually, $480 on Buffer Essentials for 8 channels billed annually, $528 on DashThis Individual billed annually, $714 on Sendible Core with two workspaces billed annually, and $2,844 on Sprout Social Essentials or Agorapulse Standard billed annually, and $3,564 on Hootsuite Standard billed annually. The same three people and the same 8 profiles cost $225 a year at the cheap end and $3,564 at the dear end — a $3,339 gap that comes entirely from the pricing unit, not from features.

Three costs sit outside every number above. First, the free trials — 14 days on Hootsuite, SocialPilot, Sendible, DashThis and Later, 30 days on Sprout Social and Agorapulse — end, so budget on the list price. Second, the add-ons: Sprout Social listening needs Standard seats plus the add-on, and DashThis AI Insights costs $19 a month extra. Third, the second brand: a second set of profiles is a second workspace on Sendible, a second dashboard set on DashThis, and more channels on Buffer. If you run social for several clients, the visibility tools differ too — see our guide to the best platform for social media marketing.

Annual billing cuts the bill on most tools here: Sprout Social Essentials drops from $99 to $79 a seat, Agorapulse Standard from $99 to $79 a user, Buffer Essentials from $6 to $5 a channel, Later Starter from $25 to $18.75, and DashThis Individual from $54 to $44. Hootsuite drops from $149 to $99 a user on annual billing. One more cost to check before you commit: a second user is a second full seat on Sprout Social, Hootsuite and Agorapulse, but costs nothing extra on Sendible or DashThis, which include unlimited users.

Know the difference: social media reporting vs social media management

The confusion in this category is between a report and a suite. Social media reporting is the output: scheduled, branded dashboards and exports that show what happened. Social media management is the whole job: scheduling, inbox, listening, approvals and reporting in one system. Every tool in this list except DashThis is a management suite that happens to report; DashThis only reports, and needs a scheduler alongside it.

There is a second, quieter confusion: analytics and reporting are not the same thing. Analytics is the raw data — reach, engagement, clicks, follower growth — and every tool here collects it. Reporting is what you do with it: a packaged document or dashboard, on a schedule, with your branding, that a client or a manager can act on without logging in. A tool can have strong analytics and weak reporting, usually because exports are plain, unbranded or manual.

A third distinction worth knowing is scheduled reporting versus on-demand dashboards. A scheduled report lands in a client's inbox every Monday without anyone remembering to send it; a dashboard waits for someone to open it. DashThis, Sprout Social and Agorapulse schedule reports well, which is why agencies favour them. Buffer and Later report mainly through dashboards and exports, which suits an internal team that checks its own numbers. If a client pays for a monthly report, buy the tool that sends it by itself.

Quick comparison: tool type by need

Mistakes to avoid

• Budgeting on the headline price instead of the pricing unit. The $99 tools are $99 per seat, so a three-person team pays $297. The $6 tool is $6 per channel, so eight channels cost $48. Multiply before you compare.
• Buying on the free plan, then finding the reports cost extra. Agorapulse's classic free plan ended July 6, 2026, and its remaining free tier publishes AI-created posts only. Later's free plan caps at 12 posts a month. If reporting is the job, count the paid plan from day one.
• Ignoring the profile cap that bites first. A tool can be cheap and still be the wrong buy: Sendible Core at $35 is no bargain once a seventh profile forces a second workspace, and Sprout Social Essentials at $99 is no bargain once a sixth profile forces Standard.
• Paying for listening you will not use. Social listening sits behind Sprout Social's Standard plan plus an add-on, and behind Hootsuite's higher tiers. If nobody on the team reads mention alerts, buy the reporting and skip the listening.
• Forgetting the annual commitment. Hootsuite's monthly-billed rate is $149 a user, so the first year costs $1,188 per user on annual billing or $1,788 on monthly billing. Sprout Social and Agorapulse show both rates, but the monthly rate costs about 25% more. Compare tools on the billing period you will actually use.

How we chose

We verified each price on November 6, 2026 against the vendor's own pricing page. Direct fetches of those pages returned empty responses that day, so each price rests on a fresh search-index copy of the vendor's own pricing page, cross-checked against at least two independent October 2026 reads and the November 5 reconciliation; where a price appears only as an annual-billed rate, we say so in the card. This list carries no review ratings because the G2 pages could not be opened on November 6, 2026 and the review counts quoted by third parties conflicted, and we would rather show no rating than a stale or estimated one. No vendor paid for a place in this list, and none of the links here are affiliate links.

What to do next

Start with the free plan or trial of your top pick and run one real reporting cycle through it. Check that the report exports with your branding, the numbers match the networks, and the schedule sends itself without a reminder. If the reports are sorted but new customers are not finding you, our monthly SEO service handles the visibility side — or compare providers in our guide to social media advertising software. Once your tools are in place, find out what's holding your rankings back.

Sources we checked (8)

• Sprout Social pricing — sproutsocial.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
• Hootsuite plans — hootsuite.com/plans (checked November 6, 2026)
• Buffer pricing — buffer.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
• Agorapulse pricing — agorapulse.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
• SocialPilot pricing — socialpilot.co/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
• Sendible pricing — sendible.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
• DashThis pricing — dashthis.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
• Later pricing — later.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)