Brandwave

Social media scheduling tools:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Hootsuite was the most searched among social media scheduling tools worldwide, with an estimated 125K branded searches and 32.3% estimated Share of Search within this set. Worldwide · English terms: these are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Hootsuite32.3%
  2. Buffer28.9%
  3. Sprout Social24.8%
  4. Planoly5%
  5. Loomly4.9%
  6. Later4%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare tools for planning, scheduling, and publishing social media posts, measured through worldwide English-language branded search demand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, Planoly, Loomly, Later. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthHootsuiteBufferSprout SocialPlanolyLoomlyLater
Oct 202546%7.5%29.1%5.9%7.2%4.2%
Nov 202550.8%6.6%26.4%5.4%6.6%4.2%
Dec 202548.8%9%25.5%6.3%6.3%4.1%
Jan 202652.8%9.1%22.9%5.7%5.7%3.9%
Feb 202650.7%13.2%21.5%5.3%5.3%4%
Mar 202647.3%13%24.4%5%6%4.4%
Apr 202643.6%18%22.1%5.5%6.5%4.3%
May 202642.2%19.1%23.9%4.8%5.7%4.3%
Jun 202641%20.3%23.7%4.7%5.6%4.6%
Jul 202629.5%35.8%22.5%3.8%4.4%4%
Aug 202632.3%28.9%24.8%5%4.9%4%
Sep 2026——————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Hootsuite

    32.3%

    moved from 2nd to 1st · 125K estimated branded searches · -1.1% vs prior month · +2.9 points

  2. 2.Buffer

    28.9%

    moved from 1st to 2nd · 112K estimated branded searches · -27.3% vs prior month · -6.9 points

  3. held 3rd · 95.6K estimated branded searches · -0.85% vs prior month · +2.3 points

  4. moved from 6th to 4th · 19.4K estimated branded searches · +19.4% vs prior month · +1.2 points

  5. 5.Loomly

    4.9%

    moved from 4th to 5th · 18.8K estimated branded searches · -0.48% vs prior month · +0.5 points

  6. 6.Later

    4%

    moved from 5th to 6th · 15.6K estimated branded searches · -8% vs prior month · +0.1 points

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among social media scheduling tools worldwide?

In August 2026, Hootsuite was the most searched among social media scheduling tools worldwide, with an estimated 125K branded searches and 32.3% estimated Share of Search within this set. Buffer is in 2nd place, 3.4 percentage points behind at 28.9% Share of Search.

Global social media scheduling tools, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Hootsuite46% → 32.3%52.8%Jan 202629.5%Jul 20261st
Buffer7.5% → 28.9%35.8%Jul 20266.6%Nov 20253rd → 2nd
Sprout Social29.1% → 24.8%29.1%Oct 202521.5%Feb 20262nd → 3rd
Planoly5.9% → 5%6.3%Dec 20253.8%Jul 20265th → 4th
Loomly7.2% → 4.9%7.2%Oct 20254.4%Jul 20264th → 5th
Later4.2% → 4%4.6%Jun 20263.9%Jan 20266th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Hootsuite’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide decreased from 46% to 32.3%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Buffer’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide increased from 7.5% to 28.9%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Sprout Social’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide decreased from 29.1% to 24.8%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Planoly’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide decreased from 5.9% to 5%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Loomly’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide decreased from 7.2% to 4.9%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Hootsuite’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide peaked at 52.8% in January 2026 and was lowest at 29.5% in July 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Buffer’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide peaked at 35.8% in July 2026 and was lowest at 6.6% in November 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Sprout Social’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide peaked at 29.1% in October 2025 and was lowest at 21.5% in February 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Planoly’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide peaked at 6.3% in December 2025 and was lowest at 3.8% in July 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Loomly’s estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide peaked at 7.2% in October 2025 and was lowest at 4.4% in July 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Buffer rose from 3rd to 2nd among social media scheduling tools worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Sprout Social fell from 2nd to 3rd among social media scheduling tools worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Planoly rose from 5th to 4th among social media scheduling tools worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Loomly fell from 4th to 5th among social media scheduling tools worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Later held steady: its estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for social media scheduling tools worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Hootsuite overtook Buffer to take the highest estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide, at 32.3%.

  2. In August 2026, Planoly overtook Later to rank 4th among social media scheduling tools worldwide, at 5%.

  3. In August 2026, Sprout Social gained estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide, from 22.5% to 24.8%.

  4. In August 2026, Buffer lost estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide, from 35.8% to 28.9%.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Loomly worldwide fell 46.4% over 11 measured months, from 35K to 18.8K in August 2026.

  6. Estimated monthly branded searches for Later worldwide fell 23.7% over 11 measured months, from 20.4K to 15.6K in August 2026.

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