Swello
Swello is a French SaaS social media management platform that enables freelancers, SMEs, agencies, and large organisations to schedule posts, curate content, and analyse engagement across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky via tiered subscriptions from free to €99/month.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersToulon, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Swello does
Swello (legal entity SocialBuddy SAS) is a French cloud-based social media management SaaS platform founded in Toulon in 2010 by Jonathan Noble (originally as ClockTweets, a Twitter scheduling tool) and rebranded to Swello following a €465,000 seed round in June 2017. Co-founder Thibaud Spieser joined full-time in 2015, and the company now operates with a team of approximately 20 people. The platform connects via native APIs to LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (Twitter), Threads, and Bluesky, and combines three core modules — multi-network post scheduling (including simultaneous and recurring scheduling), content monitoring/curation via 27 thematic RSS collections with email alerts, and analytics with 2-year data retention and PDF/CSV/PNG exports — inside a single dashboard. Proprietary additions include the Quality Coach (an A–E post grading engine), Swello Pixel (a built-in image editor), an AI suite (writing assistant, hashtag generator, alt-tag generator), a customizable link shortener, and a shared library with 400+ editorial calendar themes.
Swello monetises through tiered recurring subscriptions — Starter (free, 1 user/1 profile/40 posts/month), Medium (€19/month annually, €228 HT/year), Large (€59/month annually, €708 HT/year), and Business/Enterprise (€99/month annually, €1,188 HT/year) — with add-on pricing for additional X profiles, users, and social profiles, plus a 50% non-profit discount. GTM is hybrid: a product-led freemium funnel with self-serve signup and 7-day trial on the website, mobile apps (iOS/Android), and standalone Pixel editor, complemented by an enterprise sales motion for government and grands groupes that includes custom pricing, dedicated account managers, white-label exports, and Chorus Pro payment support for public-sector procurement. An affiliate programme pays €16–€56 per referred subscription. Distribution relies on organic SEO, comparison landing pages against Hootsuite/Buffer/Agorapulse, the annual Swello Days conference, a monthly newsletter, and a podcast (NoJetlag).
The company's customer base of 160,000+ communicants (including 600 grands groupes and the French Government as a marquee client since 2021, renewed November 2024) is anchored in French-speaking markets, with an English-language version signalling global ambitions. Hosting is split between SecNumCloud-certified infrastructure (Outscale) and AWS, all in France, supporting GDPR compliance and the data-residency posture valued by public-sector and regulated clients. ARPU is low (annual plans range €228–€1,188) and revenue is not publicly disclosed; the company has raised only €465,000 in disclosed funding and remains privately held with cap-table reshuffling in July 2023 that brought in Pierre Burguy (Strapi CEO).
Swello firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Swello
- Legal name
- SocialBuddy SAS
- Website
- https://swello.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Swello is a French SaaS social media management platform that enables freelancers, SMEs, agencies, and large organisations to schedule posts, curate content, and analyse engagement across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky via tiered subscriptions from free to €99/month.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Swello industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Media Management Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Content Retrieval, Distribution & Reuse Workflows (Interoperability/APIs) (MPAHAGAK)
Keywords
Where Swello is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toulon
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Swello business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Recurring Revenue: Swello generates revenue primarily through tiered subscription plans billed monthly or annually. Annual subscriptions include 2 free months. Additional users and social profiles are available as add-ons. An extra cost of €5 HT/month per X profile applies across all plans. Non-profit organizations receive a 50% discount on annual subscriptions.
- Affiliate Referral Revenue: Swello operates an affiliate program paying €16 HT per Medium subscription sale and €56 HT per Large subscription sale, with a €50 minimum payout threshold. Commission is validated 30 days post-purchase and paid via bank transfer or charity donation (with 10% Swello top-up).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Starter (Free): 1 user, 1 social profile per network, 40 posts/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Medium: 1 user, 5 social profiles — €19/month billed annually (€228 HT/year) |
| Subscription | Annual | Large: 3 users, 10 social profiles — €59/month billed annually (€708 HT/year) |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise: 5 users, 15 social profiles — €99/month billed annually (€1,188 HT/year) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Swello product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Swello is a French-made cloud-based SaaS platform for social media management that allows community managers and communications teams to schedule posts, monitor industry content and brand mentions, and analyze engagement performance across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (Twitter), Threads, and Bluesky from a single web dashboard. The platform bundles proprietary tooling — Quality Coach post grading, AI writing/hashtag/alt-tag generators, Swello Pixel image editor, customizable link shortener, and shared team library — and is sold via tiered subscriptions (Starter free, Medium €19/mo, Large €59/mo, Enterprise €99/mo annually).
Product overview
Swello is an all-in-one French social media management platform offering three integrated modules: Scheduling (post programming, simultaneous/recurring scheduling, team collaboration), Monitoring (content curation with 27 thematic collections, alerts, RSS feeds), and Analysis (KPIs, top/flop posts, exportable reports). The platform connects to LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky via native APIs. Premium features include Swello Pixel (image editor), Quality Coach (AI-powered post optimization), Shared Library (team asset management), Editorial Calendar (with 400+ editorial themes), and Link Shortener. Pricing tiers range from free Starter (1 profile, 40 posts/month) to Business (5 users, 15 profiles). The company also offers non-profit discounts, an affiliate program, and hosts the annual Swello Days conference.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Swello Platform All-in-one French social media management SaaS platform offering post scheduling, content curation/monitoring, analytics, and team collaboration across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky via native API integrations. Sold via tiered subscriptions from free Starter to Enterprise with dedicated account manager.
- Swello Pixel
Quantifiable outcome
- 4.9/5 average rating on Trustpilot
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Swello
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Swello technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
AI capability6 records
Feature10 records
Swello partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- LinkedIncoreSwello is a LinkedIn Marketing Partner, enabling the ability to mention company pages directly from the platform and schedule PDF carousels — features not universally available to all scheduling tools. LinkedIn API integration was added in June 2018.
- InstagramcoreInstagram API integration enables direct post scheduling (photos, carousels, Reels), Stories notifications, and analytics via the Instagram API. API added in February 2021.
- TikTokcoreTikTok API integration enables direct post scheduling on TikTok. API added in March 2025.
- FacebookcoreFacebook API integration enables scheduling and analytics for Facebook pages. API added in February 2017.
- X (Twitter)coreX (Twitter) API integration enables post scheduling, competitive analysis, and engagement tracking. The platform's origins date to October 2010 when ClockTweets (predecessor) launched as a Twitter scheduling tool.
- ThreadscoreThreads API integration enables scheduling and management of Threads posts. API added June 17, 2025.
- BlueskycoreBluesky API integration enables scheduling and management of Bluesky posts. API added July 17, 2025.
- OutscalesupportingOutscale (1 rue Royale, Saint-Cloud, France) provides cloud hosting services for Swello's website and databases. Outscale is a SecNumCloud-certified cloud provider, contributing to Swello's data residency and security commitments.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)supportingAWS provides supplementary cloud infrastructure alongside Outscale for Swello's website and databases.
- UnsplashsupportingUnsplash provides royalty-free HD images accessible directly from Swello's scheduling interface and image editor (Swello Pixel), enabling users to find and add high-quality visuals without leaving the platform.
- GIPHYsupportingGIPHY provides access to GIFs directly within Swello's scheduling tool, complementing the text and image library for visual content creation.
- StripesupportingStripe handles payment processing for credit card transactions (Visa, Amex, Mastercard) on Swello. Stripe is PCI DSS certified and Swello does not store any banking data.
- Plausible AnalyticssupportingPlausible is used for website audience analytics. Unlike traditional cookie-based analytics, Plausible uses methods such as counting unique IP addresses and browser fingerprinting without placing cookies, supporting Swello's privacy-first approach.
- Google (YouTube API)supportingSwello uses Google's YouTube API to retrieve video metadata (title, description, thumbnail) for up to 30 days, used to display video information within the Swello interface. Data is not shared with external clients.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Swello competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Agorapulse: French-founded social media management SaaS offering scheduling, inbox, reporting, and social listening. Closest direct competitor with overlapping SMB/agency target market and similar feature set, explicitly compared on Swello's own landing pages.
- Buffer: Widely adopted social media scheduling and analytics SaaS with freemium model. Directly comparable product-led growth motion and SMB/freelancer target audience, explicitly named in Swello's competitive comparison pages.
- Metricool: Spanish-origin social media management platform serving SMBs and agencies with scheduling, analytics, and reporting. Directly comparable in size, target segment, and Iberian/European market footprint.
- Later: Social media scheduling and visual content planning SaaS with strong Instagram and TikTok focus. Comparable SMB/freelancer positioning and scheduling-first product, explicitly named in Swello's competitive comparison pages.
- Sendible: Social media management platform built primarily for agencies managing multiple clients, with white-label reporting and approval workflows. Comparable in agency-segment targeting and multi-client feature parity with Swello's Large/Business tiers.
- Loomly: Social media management platform emphasizing post ideas, calendar workflows, and team collaboration. Comparable SMB/agency positioning with editorial calendar and approval workflow features overlapping Swello's product.
Broad incumbents
- Hootsuite: Established global incumbent in social media management with broad enterprise focus, scheduling, analytics, and listening across all major networks. Named explicitly in Swello's comparison pages and represents the largest competitor by scale.
- Sprout Social: Public (NASDAQ: SPT) enterprise-focused social media management platform with scheduling, inbox, analytics, and listening. Comparable feature set but positioned upmarket relative to Swello's SMB core.
- Meltwater: Global media intelligence and social listening platform with adjacent social media management capabilities. Explicitly named in Swello's competitive comparisons and represents an enterprise-tier incumbent with broader analytics scope.
- HubSpot: Broad marketing/CRM platform with social media scheduling, publishing, and reporting as part of its Marketing Hub. Comparable publishing and analytics features but bundled into a much wider marketing automation suite targeting larger organizations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Swello social profiles
Digital presenceSwello compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Swello financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Swello leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Swello funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Swello M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Swello
What does Swello do?
Swello is a French-made cloud-based SaaS platform for social media management that allows community managers and communications teams to schedule posts, monitor industry content and brand mentions, and analyze engagement performance across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (Twitter), Threads, and Bluesky from a single web dashboard. The platform bundles proprietary tooling — Quality Coach post grading, AI writing/hashtag/alt-tag generators, Swello Pixel image editor, customizable link shortener, and shared team library — and is sold via tiered subscriptions (Starter free, Medium €19/mo, Large €59/mo, Enterprise €99/mo annually).
Is Swello a public or private company?
Swello is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Swello founded?
Swello was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Swello based?
Swello is headquartered in Toulon, France, in the Europe region.
How does Swello make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription Recurring Revenue is the primary driver. The others are affiliate Referral Revenue.
Who are Swello's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Agorapulse, Buffer, Metricool, Later, Sendible and Loomly. Broad incumbents are Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Meltwater and HubSpot.
Does Swello have an API?
No public API is recorded for Swello.
What industry is Swello in?
Swello's product category is Social Media Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAHAGAK, Content Retrieval, Distribution & Reuse Workflows (Interoperability/APIs). Its NAICS code is 5415 and its SIC code is 7372.