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.
Follow social media scheduling tools and get free monthly updates on what changed
By continuing you'll get index updates and occasional product news from Brandwave. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy
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 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
| Month | Hootsuite | Buffer | Sprout Social | Planoly | Loomly | Later |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 46% | 7.5% | 29.1% | 5.9% | 7.2% | 4.2% |
| Nov 2025 | 50.8% | 6.6% | 26.4% | 5.4% | 6.6% | 4.2% |
| Dec 2025 | 48.8% | 9% | 25.5% | 6.3% | 6.3% | 4.1% |
| Jan 2026 | 52.8% | 9.1% | 22.9% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 3.9% |
| Feb 2026 | 50.7% | 13.2% | 21.5% | 5.3% | 5.3% | 4% |
| Mar 2026 | 47.3% | 13% | 24.4% | 5% | 6% | 4.4% |
| Apr 2026 | 43.6% | 18% | 22.1% | 5.5% | 6.5% | 4.3% |
| May 2026 | 42.2% | 19.1% | 23.9% | 4.8% | 5.7% | 4.3% |
| Jun 2026 | 41% | 20.3% | 23.7% | 4.7% | 5.6% | 4.6% |
| Jul 2026 | 29.5% | 35.8% | 22.5% | 3.8% | 4.4% | 4% |
| Aug 2026 | 32.3% | 28.9% | 24.8% | 5% | 4.9% | 4% |
| Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
This month’s ranking, August 2026
| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | vs prior month | Share change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, moved from 2nd to 1st | 32.3% | 125K | -1.1% | +2.9 pointsmoved from 2nd to 1st | |
| 2, moved from 1st to 2nd | 28.9% | 112K | -27.3% | -6.9 pointsmoved from 1st to 2nd | |
| 3, held 3rd | 24.8% | 95.6K | -0.85% | +2.3 points | |
| 4, moved from 6th to 4th | 5% | 19.4K | +19.4% | +1.2 pointsmoved from 6th to 4th | |
| 5, moved from 4th to 5th | 4.9% | 18.8K | -0.48% | +0.5 pointsmoved from 4th to 5th | |
| 6, moved from 5th to 6th | 4% | 15.6K | -8% | +0.1 pointsmoved from 5th to 6th |
32.3%
moved from 2nd to 1st · 125K estimated branded searches · -1.1% vs prior month · +2.9 points
2.
Buffer28.9%
moved from 1st to 2nd · 112K estimated branded searches · -27.3% vs prior month · -6.9 points
24.8%
held 3rd · 95.6K estimated branded searches · -0.85% vs prior month · +2.3 points
4.
Planoly5%
moved from 6th to 4th · 19.4K estimated branded searches · +19.4% vs prior month · +1.2 points
5.
Loomly4.9%
moved from 4th to 5th · 18.8K estimated branded searches · -0.48% vs prior month · +0.5 points
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

Hootsuite vs Buffer: compare search popularity
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social: compare search popularity

Hootsuite vs Planoly: compare search popularity
Hootsuite vs Loomly: compare search popularity
Buffer vs Sprout Social: compare search popularity

Buffer vs Planoly: compare search popularity
Buffer vs Loomly: compare search popularity
Sprout Social vs Planoly: compare search popularity
Sprout Social vs Loomly: compare search popularity
Planoly vs Loomly: compare search popularity- Compare any of these brands
Which brand is most popular in search among social media scheduling tools worldwide?
6 brands
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.
| Brand | Share of Search | Peak | Low | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46% → 32.3% | 52.8%Jan 2026 | 29.5%Jul 2026 | 1st | |
| 7.5% → 28.9% | 35.8%Jul 2026 | 6.6%Nov 2025 | 3rd → 2nd | |
| 29.1% → 24.8% | 29.1%Oct 2025 | 21.5%Feb 2026 | 2nd → 3rd | |
| 5.9% → 5% | 6.3%Dec 2025 | 3.8%Jul 2026 | 5th → 4th | |
| 7.2% → 4.9% | 7.2%Oct 2025 | 4.4%Jul 2026 | 4th → 5th | |
| 4.2% → 4% | 4.6%Jun 2026 | 3.9%Jan 2026 | 6th |
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?
6 changes

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

In August 2026, Planoly overtook Later to rank 4th among social media scheduling tools worldwide, at 5%.
In August 2026, Sprout Social gained estimated Share of Search among social media scheduling tools worldwide, from 22.5% to 24.8%.

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

Estimated monthly branded searches for Loomly worldwide fell 46.4% over 11 measured months, from 35K to 18.8K in August 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Later worldwide fell 23.7% over 11 measured months, from 20.4K to 15.6K in August 2026.

See your own brand in this picture
Brandwave tracks your branded demand next to your campaigns, spend and outcomes, so you can see what moved your numbers, not just that they moved.