Cheaper Than Zoho Social: Save 60% on Social Media Management in 2025
TL;DR - Quick Answer
10 min readQuick tool comparison. Features, pricing, and what works best for your needs.
Cheaper Than Zoho Social: Better Value in 2025
Zoho Social starts affordable at $15/month, but costs escalate quickly: Professional ($40/month) for basic scheduling, Premium ($65/month) for teams, and $230+/month for agencies. Plus, you're missing AI content generation that modern tools include.
This guide shows where Zoho Social's pricing adds up and how alternatives deliver more value. For full feature analysis, see our Zoho Social review.
Key Takeaways
1. Hidden Scaling: Zoho Social's $15/month starting price jumps to $40-65/month for useful features and $230+/month for agencies managing multiple brands
2. No AI Content: Zoho Social lacks AI content generation that competitors include—you'll create everything manually or pay for external AI tools
3. Zoho Ecosystem Lock-in: Best value if you're already using Zoho CRM and other Zoho products; otherwise, alternatives offer more standalone value
4. Better Value: SocialRails at $29/month includes unlimited AI content + video templates for less than Zoho Social Professional ($40/month)
Create content, post everywhere
Let AI do the work. Ideas, posts, images, carousels. Scheduled in seconds.
Start your free trialQuick Decision Helper
Switch to SocialRails if you:
- Pay $40+/month for Zoho Social Professional
- Don't use other Zoho products
- Need AI content generation
- Want video templates included
- Manage 5+ social accounts
Consider Alternatives if you:
- Only use Zoho Social (no other Zoho products)
- Need AI content creation
- Want modern video features
- Managing multiple brands
Stay with Zoho Social if you:
- Use Zoho CRM and need integration
- Are in the Zoho ecosystem
- Only need 1 brand at $15/month
- Want integrated business tools
Zoho Social Pricing Reality 2025
Standard: $15/month
- 1 brand (9 channels)
- 1 user
- Basic publishing
- Basic analytics
- Reality: Only for single brand, very limited
Professional: $40/month
- 1 brand (9 channels)
- 1 user
- Advanced publishing
- Better analytics
- Zia AI (basic)
- Reality: Most useful solo plan
Premium: $65/month
- 1 brand (9 channels)
- 3 users
- Team collaboration
- Bulk scheduling
- Reality: Entry team plan
Agency: $230/month
- 10 brands
- 5 users
- Client management
- White-label
- Reality: $23/brand minimum
What Zoho Social Lacks
- Limited AI content generation
- No video templates
- Basic automation
- Separate pricing per brand
- Limited platform support
🤔 Quick Knowledge Check
Zoho Social's biggest hidden cost driver is:
Cost Comparison
Annual Savings by Scenario
Solo Creator (1 brand, 5 accounts):
- Zoho Social Professional: $40/month × 12 = $480/year
- SocialRails Creator: $29/month × 12 = $348/year
- You Save: $132/year + get unlimited AI
Small Team (1 brand, 3 users):
- Zoho Social Premium: $65/month × 12 = $780/year
- SocialRails Business: $49/month × 12 = $588/year
- You Save: $192/year + get AI + videos
Agency (5 brands, 5 users):
- Zoho Social Agency: $230/month × 12 = $2,760/year
- SocialRails Agency: $99/month × 12 = $1,188/year
- You Save: $1,572/year + get more features
🤔 Quick Knowledge Check
An agency managing 5 brands saves how much annually by switching from Zoho Social to SocialRails?
Feature Comparison
What You Get by Switching
To SocialRails:
- Unlimited AI Content (Zoho: limited Zia)
- 350+ Video Templates (Zoho: none)
- Auto-Recurring Posts (Zoho: limited)
- More Platforms (Zoho: 7, SocialRails: 9)
- Lower Price ($29 vs $40)
What You Trade Off:
- Zoho CRM integration
- Zoho ecosystem benefits
- Zia AI suggestions
For most non-Zoho users: The switch saves money and adds features.
🤔 Quick Knowledge Check
When does it make sense to stay with Zoho Social despite higher costs?
When NOT to Switch
Stay with Zoho Social if:
- You're deep in the Zoho ecosystem
- Zoho CRM integration is essential
- You need Zoho One bundling
- You only manage 1 brand at $15/month
- Zia suggestions work for your needs
Switching Guide
Week 1: Test Alternative
- Start SocialRails trial
- Connect social accounts
- Test AI content generation
- Compare video templates
Week 2: Migration
- Export scheduled content
- Set up workspaces
- Recreate posting schedule
- Cancel Zoho Social
Migration time: 1-2 hours total
Quick Answers
Is Zoho Social good value? At $15/month for basic use, yes. At $40-230/month, alternatives offer more.
What about Zoho CRM integration? If you need it, stay with Zoho. Otherwise, the integration isn't worth the premium.
Does Zoho Social have AI? Zia provides limited suggestions. No full AI content generation like competitors.
Why is Zoho Social popular? Zoho ecosystem integration. As a standalone tool, it's less competitive.
Bottom Line
Zoho Social at $15/month works for single-brand basic needs.
Zoho Social at $40+/month loses value to alternatives like SocialRails.
SocialRails at $29/month gives you:
- Unlimited AI content generation
- 350+ video templates
- More platform support
- Lower monthly cost
For non-Zoho users, the switch is obvious.
Start Saving Today
Ready to get more features for less money?
Step 1: Start your free trial
Step 2: Connect accounts (10 minutes)
Step 3: Test AI content generation
Step 4: Cancel Zoho Social and save
Create content, post everywhere
Let AI do the work. Ideas, posts, images, carousels. Scheduled in seconds.
Start your free trialRelated
Zoho Social Resources:
- Zoho Social Review 2025
- Zoho Social Pricing
- Zoho Social Alternatives
- Zoho Social vs Buffer
- Zoho Social vs Hootsuite
- Zoho Social vs Later
- Zoho Social vs Loomly
Other Comparisons:
Was this article helpful?
Let us know what you think!