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September 2026 Edition, expanded tier · The six flagship models on every category, as published . The public index runs on the standard tier; this record is what the Expanded Edition Pack delivers on one category. The category page →
Index › GTM › Marketing › Social media · September 2026 Edition

Social media management

Asked as “social media management platform”, and as “social media scheduling and monitoring tool”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 22 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Standing · first-choice share
32%
Sprout Socialand Oktopost
Contested · Sprout Social 32%
32Oktopost32Sprout Social27Buffer09others

32% of first choices, contested.

ShowinginAll 112 categories in the September 2026 Edition →

The standing

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all six models, for a mid-market B2B software company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince September 2026
01Sprout Social32%20%30endorsed leadernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 32% now.
02Oktopost32%0%11endorsed leadernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 32% now.
03Buffer27%21%19accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 27% now.
04Metricool5%0%12accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 5% now.
05Hootsuite5%36%28criticized challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 5% now.
Show the three products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
08Sprinklr Social0%42%12criticized challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.
07Later0%21%14accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.
06Agorapulse0%0%17accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.

The floor is 12 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one can't be told apart from repeat variation, and both are shown. Each index measures its own floor from its own repeat, over its own categories, so the floor differs from one index to the next. How the floor is measured

Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Head to head
Sprout Social vs OktopostSprout Social vs BufferSprout Social vs Metricool
All ten head-to-head pages: the top five products, each against each
Sprout Social vs HootsuiteOktopost vs BufferOktopost vs MetricoolOktopost vs HootsuiteBuffer vs MetricoolBuffer vs HootsuiteMetricool vs Hootsuite

Recommended versus criticized

Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.

Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative50%
Key
01Sprout Social32%
02Oktopost32%
03Buffer27%
04Metricool5%
05Hootsuite5%
06Agorapulse0%
07Later0%
08Sprinklr Social0%

What they warned about

Three of six models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-6 Astra changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Hootsuite
36%
10 of 28 labels negative · 6 of 6 models · 3 hard negative
“Hootsuite is the one platform where complaints cluster around the *commercial relationship* rather than the product itself.” Claude Opus 5, negative prompt
Buffer
21%
4 of 19 labels negative · 4 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“What I'd skip: ... Buffer/Later (fine scheduling, but too thin on monitoring, approvals, and reporting)” Claude Opus 5, paraphrase prompt
Sprout Social
20%
6 of 30 labels negative · 4 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Sprout Social is the clearest one to avoid: it offers a 30-day trial but no free plan” Claude Opus 5, budget prompt
Sprinklr Social
42%
5 of 12 labels negative · 3 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“What I'd skip: Sprinklr (enterprise pricing and complexity you don't need yet)” Claude Opus 5, paraphrase prompt

What they cite

Six of the six models returned a source list in this edition: six return the pages they cited.

Sites the answers cite

31 of 36 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 6 of 6 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 531 links across 214 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. None of the 36 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category.

sproutsocial.com
vendor site · Sprout Social18 answers · 24 citations · 5 models
hootsuite.com
vendor site · Hootsuite14 answers · 17 citations · 5 models
buffer.com
vendor site · Buffer13 answers · 16 citations · 4 models
zapier.com
vendor site · Zapier11 answers · 11 citations · 4 models
g2.com
9 answers · 15 citations · 4 models
linkedin.com
vendor site · LinkedIn9 answers · 10 citations · 5 models
efficient.app
8 answers · 8 citations · 3 models
sprinklr.com
vendor site · Sprinklr8 answers · 8 citations · 5 models
oktopost.com
vendor site · Oktopost7 answers · 19 citations · 4 models
metricool.com
vendor site · Metricool7 answers · 10 citations · 5 models
agorapulse.com
vendor site · Agorapulse7 answers · 9 citations · 3 models
capterra.com
vendor site · Capterra6 answers · 8 citations · 2 models

Pages the answers cite

The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.

zapier.com/blog/best-social-media-management-tools
9 answers · 3 models
buffer.com/resources/best-social-media-management-tools
8 answers · 3 models
efficient.app/best/social-media-management
8 answers · 3 models
sproutsocial.com/pricing
7 answers · 3 models
agorapulse.com/pricing
5 answers · 2 models
learn.g2.com/best-social-media-management-tools
5 answers · 3 models
sprinklr.com/blog/social-media-management-tools
5 answers · 3 models
guideflow.com/blog/best-social-media-management-tools
4 answers · 3 models
hootsuite.com/hootsuite-vs-sprout-social
4 answers · 2 models
hootsuite.com/plans
4 answers · 2 models

Search against answers

Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best social media management platform”, “social media management platform”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
Company and productsShareOwn site citedName searches, GoogleAI search demand, est.Organic visitsPaid search a month, est.Google ads, last 30 daysBest Google position
Sprout Social sproutsocial.com32%24749,500719932,4731208
Oktopost oktopost.com32%1671,000117,4716
Buffer buffer.com27%20290,50035,151966,25618
Metricool metricool.com5%5140,500158184,69166
Hootsuite hootsuite.com5%22049,5001,036748,222119
Agorapulse agorapulse.com0%763,6003573,9392
SocialPilot socialpilot.co0%586,6004393,623$3,14921
Later later.com0%6374,000108,083549,19335
Sendible sendible.com0%332,4002974,06121
HubSpot parent site
HubSpot Social 0%, HubSpot Marketing Hub 0%		0%991368,0009,776

Google's top ten for the two searches hold 15 sites; 4 of them are among the sites the models cited here (efficient.app, linkedin.com, sproutsocial.com, zapier.com). The first result for “best social media management platform” is zapier.com.

How they answered

Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
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ModelDirect“What is the best social media management platform for a mid-market B2B software company?”Paraphrase“Which social media scheduling and monitoring tool would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B software company?”Comparative“What are the top social media management platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best social media management platform for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating a social media management platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which social media management platforms should I avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Opus 5Oktopost
One alternativeSprout Social
against: Buffer / Later, Hootsuite, Sprinklr SocialSprout SocialChanged
Two alternativesAgorapulse, Oktopost
against: Buffer, Later, Sprinklr SocialBuffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social
Four alternativesAgorapulse, Khoros, Metricool, Sprinklr Social
against: LaterBuffer
Four alternativesMeetEdgar, Metricool, Publer Professional, Zoho Social
against: SocialPilot, Sprout Socialno first choiceagainst: Sprinklr Socialagainst: Hootsuite, Sprout Social
Claude Opus 4.8Oktopost
Two alternativesHootsuite, Sprout Social
against: BufferSprout SocialChanged
Five alternativesAgorapulse, Buffer, Hootsuite, HubSpot Social, Sprinklr Social
no first choice
Six alternativesBuffer, Hootsuite, Later, Sprinklr Social, Sprout Social, Zoho Social
Buffer
Four alternativesMeetEdgar, Metricool, SocialBee, SocialPilot
against: Hootsuiteno first choicenothing named
GPT-6 AstraOktopost
One alternativeSprout Social
Sprout SocialChanged
One alternativeHootsuite
no first choiceBuffer
Two alternativesMeta Business Suite, Metricool
Hootsuite, Sprout Social
Two alternativesAgorapulse, Sprinklr Social
against: Buffer, Hootsuite, Later, Sprout Social
GPT-5.6 SolOktopost
Three alternativesAgorapulse, HubSpot Social, Sprout Social
against: HootsuiteOktopostHeld
Two alternativesHootsuite, Sprout Social
against: Bufferno first choice
Ten alternativesAgorapulse, Buffer, Hootsuite, HubSpot Social, Later, Metricool, Sendible, SocialPilot, Sprout Social, Zoho Social
Buffer
Three alternativesMetricool, Publer Professional, SocialPilot
no first choice
Six alternativesBrandwatch, Emplifi, Hootsuite, Khoros, Sprinklr Social, Sprout Social
against: Hootsuite, Sprinklr Social, Sprout Social
Gemini 3.1 ProOktopost
Three alternativesAgorapulse, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Sprout Social
OktopostHeld
Two alternativesAgorapulse, Sprout Social
Sprout Social
Seven alternativesAgorapulse, Buffer, Hootsuite, Later, Metricool, Planable, Sendible
Buffer, Metricool
Four alternativesLater, PostEverywhere, SocialPilot, Vista Social
against: Hootsuite, Sprout SocialSprout Social
Three alternativesAgorapulse, Hootsuite, Oktopost
against: Sprinklr Socialagainst: Crowdfire, Hootsuite, MeetEdgar, Meta Business Suite, Sprout Social, X
Perplexity Sonar ProSprout Social
Two alternativesAgorapulse, Oktopost
against: HootsuiteSprout SocialHeld
Five alternativesAgorapulse, DemandBird, Hootsuite, HubSpot Social, Ordinal
Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social
Five alternativesAgorapulse, Later, Metricool, Sendible, SocialPilot
Buffer
Three alternativesMetricool, SocialBee, Vista Social
no first choiceagainst: Hootsuite
Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against

The record

One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Thirty-six rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
PromptModelVersion stringTime (UTC)SearchedSourcesLatency
Direct recommendationClaude Opus 5claude-opus-52026-09-09 16:38yes3562 s
Direct recommendationClaude Opus 4.8claude-opus-4-82026-09-09 16:43yes3360 s
Direct recommendationGPT-6 Astragpt-6-astra2026-09-09 18:50yes532 s
Direct recommendationGPT-5.6 Solgpt-5.6-sol2026-09-09 18:52yes543 s
Direct recommendationGemini 3.1 Progemini-3.1-pro-preview2026-09-10 16:59no023 s
Direct recommendationPerplexity Sonar Prosonar-pro2026-09-09 16:44yes207 s
ParaphraseClaude Opus 5claude-opus-52026-09-09 16:47yes2345 s
ParaphraseClaude Opus 4.8claude-opus-4-82026-09-09 16:47no016 s
ParaphraseGPT-6 Astragpt-6-astra2026-09-09 18:54yes630 s
ParaphraseGPT-5.6 Solgpt-5.6-sol2026-09-09 18:55yes537 s
ParaphraseGemini 3.1 Progemini-3.1-pro-preview2026-09-10 17:00no021 s
ParaphrasePerplexity Sonar Prosonar-pro2026-09-09 16:48yes205 s
ComparativeClaude Opus 5claude-opus-52026-09-09 16:56yes3347 s
ComparativeClaude Opus 4.8claude-opus-4-82026-09-09 17:04yes3154 s
ComparativeGPT-6 Astragpt-6-astra2026-09-09 18:57yes939 s
ComparativeGPT-5.6 Solgpt-5.6-sol2026-09-09 18:59yes1054 s
ComparativeGemini 3.1 Progemini-3.1-pro-preview2026-09-10 17:01yes1126 s
ComparativePerplexity Sonar Prosonar-pro2026-09-09 17:05yes199 s
Budget constrainedClaude Opus 5claude-opus-52026-09-09 17:07yes3648 s
Budget constrainedClaude Opus 4.8claude-opus-4-82026-09-09 17:11yes30136 s
Budget constrainedGPT-6 Astragpt-6-astra2026-09-09 19:00yes518 s
Budget constrainedGPT-5.6 Solgpt-5.6-sol2026-09-09 19:01yes435 s
Budget constrainedGemini 3.1 Progemini-3.1-pro-preview2026-09-10 17:02yes927 s
Budget constrainedPerplexity Sonar Prosonar-pro2026-09-09 17:11yes195 s
Scale constrainedClaude Opus 5claude-opus-52026-09-09 17:14yes3583 s
Scale constrainedClaude Opus 4.8claude-opus-4-82026-09-09 17:15no021 s
Scale constrainedGPT-6 Astragpt-6-astra2026-09-09 19:03yes432 s
Scale constrainedGPT-5.6 Solgpt-5.6-sol2026-09-09 19:05yes672 s
Scale constrainedGemini 3.1 Progemini-3.1-pro-preview2026-09-10 17:03no025 s
Scale constrainedPerplexity Sonar Prosonar-pro2026-09-09 17:16yes206 s
Negative framingClaude Opus 5claude-opus-52026-09-09 17:18yes2348 s
Negative framingClaude Opus 4.8claude-opus-4-82026-09-09 17:20yes3355 s
Negative framingGPT-6 Astragpt-6-astra2026-09-09 19:07yes642 s
Negative framingGPT-5.6 Solgpt-5.6-sol2026-09-09 19:09yes752 s
Negative framingGemini 3.1 Progemini-3.1-pro-preview2026-09-10 17:05yes1139 s
Negative framingPerplexity Sonar Prosonar-pro2026-09-09 17:21yes188 s

Normalization in this category

Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.

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Category-scoped readings
HubSpot read as HubSpot Social
Sprinklr read as Sprinklr Social
Unresolved, counted raw
None awaiting human review.
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.

Also in marketing

The other categories of this function, with the leader in each.
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