How do I know if my social media is working?

Pick the few metrics that match your goal, pull them into one report, and act on what it shows each month. Tools that do it: Metricool, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Sendible, Buffer, SocialBee, Later.

Measure what your posts actually do: guide, DIY and tools

Start here

The guide Social Media Analytics: What It Is and How to Do It Well How it works and how to do it well Read → Do it yourself Social Media Report Template: Free Column Layout for Sheets or Excel Build it in Excel or Google Sheets Read → The tools Social Media Analytics Tools: Match the Tool to the Gap You Have Which apps do it for you, and where each stops Read →

Tools that do it

Each one's way of doing it, and the point where it stops.

Metricool Does it

Keeps unlimited analytics history for each connected profile from Starter and builds PDF or PowerPoint reports; a web tracker and ads reporting for Meta, Google and TikTok sit in the same view. Where it stops: Free keeps 30 days and makes no reports; competitor tracking skips TikTok and LinkedIn.

See Metricool → checked Oct 2026

Sprout Social Does it

Profile and post reports on every plan, then competitor, tag and paid reports with custom branding on Professional; PDFs can go to people without a Sprout account. Where it stops: Recurring PDF deliveries are Advanced only; custom dashboards need the Premium Analytics add-on.

See Sprout Social → checked Oct 2026

Hootsuite Does it

Reports on owned and paid social across eight networks, including posts published outside Hootsuite, with competitor benchmarking and PDF or PPTX exports; Wisdom answers questions about your data. Where it stops: No free plan; scheduled reports to external emails only on Advanced and Enterprise.

See Hootsuite → checked Oct 2026

Sendible Does it

Builds one-click quick reports for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok on every plan; Report Hub makes branded reports with your logo that can be emailed on a schedule. Where it stops: 90 days of stored data as standard; Instagram reports start the day the profile is added.

See Sendible → checked Oct 2026

Buffer Partly

Insights collects results from your connected channels with AI takeaways, and paid plans export them as CSV, Markdown or PDF for your own report. Where it stops: Free keeps 30 days; no custom report builder or audience demographics.

See Buffer → checked Oct 2026

SocialBee Partly

Analytics covers nine networks, including LinkedIn posts made outside SocialBee; Pro exports a PDF report that can carry your company logo. Where it stops: PDF reports go one profile at a time; competitor analysis is Facebook only.

See SocialBee → checked Oct 2026

Later Partly

Shows overview, audience, post, Reels, Stories and hashtag reports for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok; Scale adds a custom dashboard, competitive benchmarking and scheduled report delivery. Where it stops: No analytics for LinkedIn Pages, YouTube Shorts or Snapchat; no white-label reports.

See Later → checked Oct 2026

Every verdict rests on the data in our product reports, never on a fee. How we score →