Analytics & reporting

The tool reports how published content performs, such as reach, engagement and clicks, in charts or exportable reports that you can review over time.

On this pageWhat it is

What it is
Why it matters
What to check
Tools with it
Other categories

What it is

Analytics and reporting show what happened after something was published. Typical measures are reach, likes, comments, link clicks and follower growth, usually by post, by channel and by period. Better tools let you compare periods, find the best performing posts and export a report for a client or manager. Many content tools list it, including Buffer, Hootsuite, Later, Metricool, Publer, SocialPilot and Sprout Social.

Why it matters

Without numbers, content planning is guesswork, and it is hard to justify the time spent. Reports show which topics and posting times are worth repeating. They matter when you have a budget to defend or a client to report to. The numbers stay shallow, though: they rarely connect a post to a sale, so website analytics is still needed.

What to check

Check which networks and which measures are included, and how far back the history goes.
Ask whether reports can be exported or sent on a schedule, and whether they can carry your logo.
Test whether you can compare posts and periods without spreadsheets.
Find out whether the figures come directly from the networks or are estimated.

Tools with Analytics & reporting

Metricool
From €16/mo yearly
Schedule social posts, analyse engagement, and manage paid campaigns across multiple platforms in one place.
Organic socialFree plan
Sign up on Metricool
Hootsuite
From $99/mo yearly
Schedules posts, monitors conversations and reports on performance across multiple social media networks.
Organic social
Sign up on Hootsuite
Sprout Social
From $79/mo yearly
Manage publishing, engagement, analytics, and social listening across brands from one dashboard.
Organic social
Sign up on Sprout Social
Later
From $18.75/mo yearly
Schedules and publishes visual content across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more.
Organic socialAffiliate link
Sign up on Later
Publer
From $5/mo
Schedules, publishes and analyses social media content across multiple platforms from one calendar.
Organic socialFree plan
Sign up on Publer
Buffer
From $5/mo yearly
Schedules and publishes social media posts across multiple platforms from one dashboard with team approval workflows.
Organic socialFree plan
Sign up on Buffer
SocialPilot
From €16.15/mo yearly
Schedule, publish and manage social media across multiple channels and analyse performance from one dashboard.
Organic social
Sign up on SocialPilot

In Organic social ranking order; the number is each tool's place. Some of this is collected from public sources and not yet checked by us.

Also in other categories

Tools filed under other categories that have Analytics & reporting.