Free Social Media Analytics Tools in 2026: What Each One Shows, and What Sprout, Hootsuite and Agorapulse Charge
The free social media analytics tools worth using, what their limits are, and what the paid suites cost per seat as of November 2026. Hermoso reads analytics on every channel with no credits and no seat fee.
The free social media analytics worth using are the platforms' own dashboards, plus a tool that puts them in one place. Hermoso reads your numbers on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Bluesky and Google Business Profile free on every plan, with no seat fee. Iconosquare and Metricool have free plans with short histories. Sprout Social, Hootsuite and Agorapulse start at about $80 to $100 per user per month.
We make Hermoso, so read this with that in mind. Every competitor number below comes from that company's own page, read on November 1, 2026, and prices change, so check the page before you buy.
The options, side by side
| Tool | Free plan | What limits it | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hermoso | Yes, every plan | Reads each platform's own numbers when you ask, rather than keeping its own long archive. X reads use a few credits | Analytics stay free on paid plans too |
| Platform dashboards (Meta Business Suite, YouTube Studio, TikTok Studio) | Yes | One platform at a time | Free |
| Iconosquare | Yes | 2 profiles, 1 user, 1 month of analytics history | From €9 a month billed yearly |
| Metricool | Yes | 1 brand, 30 days of analytics, no LinkedIn or Twitter | From $20 a month billed yearly (read October 31) |
| Agorapulse | 30-day trial | 10 profiles per plan; full reports on the top tier | $79 per user a month billed yearly, $99 monthly |
| Sprout Social | No | Priced per seat; 5 profiles on the lower tiers | $79 per seat a month billed yearly, $99 monthly |
| Hootsuite | 14-day trial | 10 accounts on Standard | From $99 |
Those are the entry prices. Sprout's Standard, Professional and Advanced plans are $199, $299 and $399 per seat a month. Agorapulse's top two tiers are $119 and $149 billed yearly, or $149 and $199 monthly. A team of three on Sprout Professional is $897 a month.
What Hermoso reads, for free
- Instagram: account and post insights, including Story numbers that outlive the 24-hour Story.
- Facebook Pages, Threads, TikTok and YouTube: account and per-post numbers.
- LinkedIn: company Page analytics and personal post numbers.
- Pinterest, Bluesky and Google Business Profile: post and audience numbers.
- Your site and funnel: connect Google Analytics, Search Console, Bing Webmaster, PostHog or Mixpanel and read them in the same place.
- Your paid campaigns: reports across twelve ad platforms.
The part a dashboard can't do is compare posts by what they were. Hermoso records what each post carried, then ranks posts within a channel by hook, subject, format and posting time, so "which hook works on LinkedIn" has an answer. It never adds a LinkedIn impression to a TikTok view, because those aren't the same thing.
X is the one exception on price. Reading X data bills a few credits per call, because X charges per request for its API.
What you give up against a paid suite
- A long stored archive. Sprout, Iconosquare's paid plans and Metricool keep their own history. Hermoso reads what the platform will give it today, plus the readings it has taken on your own posts.
- Scheduled PDF reports and white label. If a client expects a branded PDF on the first of the month, a paid suite still does that better.
- Competitor benchmarks over time. Agorapulse's top tier and Sprout's Professional plan track rivals on a chart. Hermoso can look up a rival's recent posts, and that lookup costs a small amount of credits.
- Sentiment and team performance reports. Sprout and Agorapulse report on how fast your team answers. Hermoso doesn't.
Which to pick
- One or two Instagram accounts, and you only want the numbers: Instagram's own insights, or Iconosquare Free.
- Several channels, and you want answers rather than charts: Hermoso, from its Analytics view or from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor.
- An agency sending branded monthly reports: Agorapulse, Sprout or Metricool's paid plans.
If you are also choosing a scheduler, see the best free social media schedulers.
Start free at app.hermoso.ai, no card.
Questions people ask
What is the best free social media analytics tool?
For one platform, its own dashboard. For several channels in one place, Hermoso reads analytics on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Bluesky and Google Business Profile free on every plan.
Does Iconosquare have a free plan?
Yes. As of November 1, 2026 it allows up to 2 profiles, 1 user, 10 posts per profile a month and 1 month of analytics history.
How much does Sprout Social cost?
As of November 1, 2026: Essentials is $79 per seat a month billed yearly or $99 monthly, then Standard $199, Professional $299 and Advanced $399 per seat a month.
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
No. It offers a 14-day trial, and its page says paid plans start at $99.
Are X analytics free on Hermoso?
No. X charges per API request, so reading X data bills a few credits per call. Every other channel's analytics cost no credits.
Can Hermoso send a scheduled PDF report?
No. You ask for a report when you want one, from your AI assistant or the Studio chat, where each reply uses credits. If you need a branded PDF every month, a paid suite does that better.