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HubSpot Social Alternatives: 6 Tools for 2026

HubSpot social tools are bundled with Marketing Hub and stay basic. Six alternatives compared on publishing depth, approvals and reporting.

Mydrop Editorial TeamMay 19, 20262 min read

Updated: Sep 2, 2026

Woman at packing station surrounded by cardboard boxes holding a clipboard for publishing

HubSpot includes social publishing with Marketing Hub, which makes it the default for teams already inside HubSpot. It is competent and deliberately basic: the social tools exist to support the CRM story, not to compete with publishing platforms.

The question is whether the CRM attribution is worth running your social operation on a secondary feature.

TLDR: Mydrop if you need approvals, multi-brand work and real reporting. Sprout Social if you want a HubSpot integration plus depth. Metricool if you want cheap and better than bundled. Keep HubSpot for attribution either way.

The 6 alternatives at a glance

Tool	Best for	Watch for
Mydrop	Publishing depth and approvals	Attribution stays in HubSpot
Sprout Social	Depth plus CRM integrations	Priced per seat
Metricool	Cheap upgrade on bundled tools	Basic approvals
Buffer	Simple standalone scheduling	Light reporting
Agorapulse	Inbox depth	Per-profile pricing
Hootsuite	Enterprise familiarity	Breadth over depth

Where HubSpot social falls short

Publishing is a supporting feature. Per-platform nuance, preview and bulk work are limited.
No real approval chain for agencies or regulated teams.
Reporting is CRM-shaped. Good at attribution, thin on platform-native metrics.
Tier dependency. Social capability scales with your Marketing Hub tier, not your social needs.

1. Sprout Social: depth with a HubSpot connection

Keeps the CRM story while giving the social team a real platform.

Skip it if seat pricing is a constraint.

2. Metricool: cheap and better

More platform coverage and analytics than bundled tools, at a small cost.

Skip it if approvals matter.

3. Buffer: simple and separate

If the social job is genuinely small, this is the least-effort option.

Skip it if you manage clients or brands.

Mydrop: the social half done properly

Keep HubSpot for what it is good at and stop running social from a side feature:

Nine platforms with per-platform captions and preview, native metrics that survive rather than being flattened, and reports built for the social conversation. Attribution stays in HubSpot through UTMs.

When HubSpot social is enough

One brand, a small team, low posting volume, and a strong need to see social touches on the contact timeline: staying is sensible. Adding a tool means adding a UTM discipline you must actually maintain.

Splitting social from the CRM

Agree a UTM convention before you move anything. This is what preserves attribution.
Keep HubSpot connected for reporting on sessions and contacts.
Move publishing and approvals to the new tool in one go rather than gradually.
Compare one month of CRM-attributed social sessions to confirm nothing broke.

Social is not a CRM feature, and a CRM should not decide your posting workflow. Start free with Mydrop and keep HubSpot for the attribution.

FAQ

Quick answers

1.Is HubSpot good for social media management?

It is competent for a single brand at low volume, and deliberately basic. Publishing exists to support the CRM story rather than to compete with dedicated platforms.

2.What is the best HubSpot social alternative?

Mydrop for publishing depth, approvals and multi-brand work, Sprout Social if you want depth plus a HubSpot integration, Metricool for a cheap upgrade.

3.Will I lose attribution if I publish elsewhere?

Not if you keep a consistent UTM convention. HubSpot still records the sessions and contacts; only the publishing moves.

4.Does HubSpot have social approval workflows?

Not in a form agencies or regulated teams rely on. That is one of the most common reasons for adding a dedicated publishing tool alongside it.

Next step

Stop coordinating around the work

If your team spends more time chasing approvals, assets, and publish details than creating better posts, the problem is probably not your people. It is the workflow around them. Mydrop brings planning, review, scheduling, and performance into one calmer operating system.

Start with Mydrop Talk to the team

About the author

Mydrop Editorial Team

Mydrop

The Mydrop Editorial Team writes the guides, comparisons, and playbooks on this blog. We cover social media planning, publishing, approvals, analytics, and multi-brand workflows, drawing on how teams actually use Mydrop to run their social programs. Every article is researched, edited, and maintained by the team behind the product.

View all articles by Mydrop Editorial Team