Softwr

Surveys · head to head

Fillout vs Hootsuite

Fillout logo

Fillout

Surveys

Form builder that reads and writes records in Airtable, Notion, HubSpot and Salesforce, with unlimited seats on every plan including the free one

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Hootsuite logo

Hootsuite

Marketing

Save time and grow on social media

From
$99/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fillout has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fillout the Business plan is marketed with unlimited responses but the fair use policy names thresholds of 30,000 submissions a month, 250,000 in total, 500 forms per account and 50 GB of uploads a month, above which the vendor may limit or suspend features, so unlimited means unmetered rather than uncapped.; Hootsuite no free tier available; minimum cost is $99/user/year annually
  • They diverge on capability: Fillout covers Unlimited seats and forms, Hootsuite covers Content scheduling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fillout and Hootsuite actually diverge.

Attributes where Fillout and Hootsuite differ
AttributeFilloutHootsuite
Starting priceFree$99/year
Pricing modelPer month by response countUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb
CategorySurveysMarketing
FoundedUnknown2008

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Fillout

  • Unlimited seats and forms
  • Database read and write
  • Soft response limits
  • Conditional logic and calculations
  • EU hosting
  • REST API and webhooks

Only in Hootsuite

  • Content scheduling
  • Social inbox
  • Content calendar
  • Analytics & reporting
  • Social listening
  • Team collaboration
  • Approval workflows
  • Bulk scheduling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Fillout

  • A team already running on Airtable or Notion that wants forms which update existing records rather than appending new rowsnot Hootsuite
  • An organisation with many occasional form builders, where per-seat pricing elsewhere would cost more than the forms are worthnot Hootsuite
  • Replacing a survey tool, a scheduling tool and a payment link with one form that does all threenot Hootsuite
  • Public forms that must keep collecting through an unexpected traffic spike rather than shutting off at a quotanot Hootsuite

Hootsuite

  • Social media schedulingnot Fillout
  • Community managementnot Fillout
  • Social advertisingnot Fillout
  • Analytics & reportingnot Fillout
  • Team collaborationnot Fillout

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Fillout

  • The Business plan is marketed with unlimited responses but the fair use policy names thresholds of 30,000 submissions a month, 250,000 in total, 500 forms per account and 50 GB of uploads a month, above which the vendor may limit or suspend features, so unlimited means unmetered rather than uncapped.
  • EU data residency begins on the Team plan at 250 USD per month, more than three times the Business price, and is not applied automatically; you must upgrade and then raise a support request to be moved.
  • The Team plan is hidden behind a secondary tab that does not render without interaction, so buyers reading the pricing page see Business at 75 USD as the top self-serve tier and only discover the 250 USD step when they ask for single sign-on or EU hosting.
  • The enterprise marketing page lists hosting in the United States, EU, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, but the security documentation and subprocessor list name only the United States and the EU, so three of those five regions should be confirmed in writing before they are relied on.
  • The vendor is SOC 2 Type 2 but claims neither ISO 27001 nor HIPAA anywhere in its documentation, and it is angel-funded with no disclosed institutional round while the parent company now trades as Zite and ships a separate AI application builder.

Hootsuite

  • No free tier available; minimum cost is $99/user/year annually
  • Monthly billing significantly more expensive than annual (20-30% premium)
  • Advanced data export via SFTP available only to Enterprise tier customers

Pricing, plan by plan

Fillout

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 responses per month
    • Unlimited forms and unlimited seats
    • 20 MB per file upload
  • Starter$15/month
    • 180 USD per year billed annually, a stated 20 percent saving on monthly billing
    • 2,000 responses per month
    • Unlimited forms and seats
  • Pro$40/month
    • 480 USD per year billed annually
    • 5,000 responses per month
    • Branding fully removed at this tier
  • Business$75/month
    • 900 USD per year billed annually
    • Marketed as unlimited responses, subject to a fair use threshold near 30,000 per month
    • 1 GB per file upload

Hootsuite

$99/year

No published plan breakdown. See the Hootsuite review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Fillout if

  • You need unlimited seats and forms.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want database read and write.
Fillout review

Choose Hootsuite if

  • You need content scheduling.
  • You also want social inbox.
Hootsuite review

Questions people ask

Is Fillout or Hootsuite better?
Neither clearly leads. Fillout starts at Free and Hootsuite at $99/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fillout or Hootsuite?
Fillout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fillout and $99/year for Hootsuite.
Does Fillout or Hootsuite run on more platforms?
Fillout runs on Web, API. Hootsuite runs on Web.
Can I use Fillout for free?
Yes. Fillout has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hootsuite starts at $99/year.
What is Fillout best used for?
Fillout is most often used for a team already running on airtable or notion that wants forms which update existing records rather than appending new rows, an organisation with many occasional form builders, where per-seat pricing elsewhere would cost more than the forms are worth, replacing a survey tool, a scheduling tool and a payment link with one form that does all three, public forms that must keep collecting through an unexpected traffic spike rather than shutting off at a quota. Of those, a team already running on airtable or notion that wants forms which update existing records rather than appending new rows and an organisation with many occasional form builders, where per-seat pricing elsewhere would cost more than the forms are worth are not what Hootsuite is typically brought in for.
What can Fillout do that Hootsuite cannot?
Fillout covers Unlimited seats and forms, Database read and write, Soft response limits, Conditional logic and calculations. Hootsuite covers Content scheduling, Social inbox, Content calendar, Analytics & reporting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fillout: Are seats really unlimited?

Yes. The vendor states there are no per-seat charges on any plan, including Free, and forms are unlimited too. Responses per month is the only meter below the Business tier.

Hootsuite: What is Hootsuite's pricing structure?

Hootsuite offers four annual plans: Standard at $99/user/year, Professional at $199/user/year, Advanced at $399/user/year, and Enterprise with custom pricing. Monthly billing is available at 20-30% higher cost.

Source
Fillout: What happens when I exceed my response quota?

Nothing breaks. Forms keep collecting, and you can upgrade, buy bulk submissions or wait for the monthly reset.

Hootsuite: Does Hootsuite offer a free tier?

No. Hootsuite does not offer a free tier or freemium plan. A 30-day trial is available, and skipping the trial provides 25% off annual plans.

Source
Fillout: Can I host respondent data in the EU?

Only from the Team plan at 250 USD per month, and only after contacting support to switch. Note that email and payment subprocessors remain in the United States regardless.

Hootsuite: How many integrations does Hootsuite support?

Hootsuite advertises support for over 100 integrations, claiming more than any other social media management platform.

Source
Fillout: Is the Business plan really unlimited responses?

It is unmetered, not uncapped. The fair use policy names roughly 30,000 submissions a month as the point at which the vendor may intervene, so treat that as the practical ceiling.

Hootsuite: Can users export their data from Hootsuite?

Yes. Hootsuite offers Advanced Analytics data export as CSV files to SFTP folders for Enterprise users, with daily exports and 90-day retention. Standard and Professional plans have more limited export capabilities.

Source
Hootsuite: Does Hootsuite offer API access?

Yes. Hootsuite provides a REST API for building custom applications and integrations, though API capabilities vary by plan level.

Source
Hootsuite: Does Hootsuite offer self-hosted or on-premise deployment?

No. Hootsuite is a cloud-based SaaS platform only. There is no self-hosted or on-premise deployment option available.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Fillout

More on Hootsuite

Keep looking

Other head to heads