Curated buying guide

Best Social Media Schedulers: Compare Every Option by Price

The best social media scheduling tool depends on the accounts you manage, the formats you publish, and the work you want to automate. This guide compares eight established options using current provider pricing and the same directory data behind our finder.

Which social media schedulers lead the shortlist?

Buffer is the best starting point for most solo users. SocialBee suits small businesses with an evergreen content library. SocialPilot fits teams that need more accounts, while Postiz gives technical teams open-source and self-hosted options.

Best overall. Buffer has a permanent free plan for three channels and a simple paid price of $6 per channel each month.
Best for small business. SocialBee starts at $29 per month for five profiles and organizes repeat content into category-based queues.
Best for analytics. Metricool combines scheduling with competitor tracking and thirty days of analytics on its permanent free plan.
Best for technical control. Postiz offers hosted plans from $29 per month plus open-source code and a documented self-hosting path.

What is a social media scheduling tool?

A social media scheduling tool lets you prepare posts in advance and publish them at set times across several networks. The useful ones also provide a calendar, reusable queues, media previews, analytics, collaboration, or approvals from one dashboard.

How were these tools selected?

Every required social network is supported
The plan covers the required account count
Feed posts, carousels, short video, and Stories match the publishing workflow
The monthly price is compared at the same account count
Free plans are separated from time-limited trials

How should you choose a social media scheduler?

Start with network coverage and account count, then compare post formats, publishing method, team access, and price. A cheap plan is not useful if it excludes a required network or turns every video post into a manual phone reminder.

Networks. Check Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, X, Google Business Profile, Threads, Bluesky, and any smaller network you use.
Post formats. Confirm feed images, carousels, Reels, Stories, Shorts, documents, first comments, tags, covers, and direct publishing.
Account limits. Count each page, profile, or channel. A brand or social set may contain several profiles, so provider terminology matters.
Free access. Separate permanent $0 plans from seven-day or fourteen-day trials of a paid tier.
Comparable price. Calculate the monthly cost for the same account count, users, and workflow features instead of comparing headline prices.

Price calculator

How many social profiles do you need?

Choose an account count to see the lowest current monthly match among these eight schedulers. The result uses permanent free tiers first, then provider-listed monthly prices without annual discounts.

This calculator compares hosted monthly prices among the eight tools on this page. It excludes annual discounts, taxes, add-ons, extra users, and the infrastructure cost of self-hosting.

Practical comparison

How do the leading social media schedulers compare at a glance?

Prices use monthly billing where the provider publishes it. Free means an ongoing $0 tier, not a trial. Account terms vary between channels, profiles, brands, and social sets.

Scheduler	Best fit	Free access	Starting paid price
Buffer	Simple cross-network publishing	Yes, 3 channels	$6 per channel per month
SocialBee	Evergreen categories and recycling	14-day trial only	$29 per month, 5 profiles
Metricool	Scheduling with analytics	Yes, 1 brand and 20 posts per month	$25 per month, 5 brands
Hootsuite	Monitoring and larger teams	14-day trial only	$99 per month, 10 accounts
Later	Visual planning and short-form content	14-day trial only	$25 per month, 1 social set
SocialPilot	Small teams and agencies	14-day trial only	$20 per month, 5 accounts
Publer	Flexible per-account pricing	Yes, 3 accounts	$5 for the first account per month
Postiz	Open source, API, and self-hosting	Self-hosted code; hosted 7-day trial	$29 per month, 5 channels

Verified shortlist

Compare 8 social media scheduling tools

The cards use the directory's current price estimate and profile allowance. Open any profile for provider sources, plan notes, technical access, and verification dates.

Buffer

Creators and small teams that want simple publishing without a steep learning curve

Straightforward scheduling with a low learning curve.

Strength: A short learning curve, a useful free plan, broad network support, and API access on every tier.
Tradeoff: Paid pricing grows with every connected channel, and advanced workflow controls require higher tiers.

Estimated price: $36 / month
Profiles: Up to 6 profiles
GBP: Yes

Visit Buffer →

Pricing & details

SocialBee

Small teams building evergreen content queues by topic and publishing cadence

Evergreen queues organized by content category.

Strength: Category queues and evergreen recycling suit businesses with a repeatable library of educational, promotional, and curated posts.
Tradeoff: There is no permanent free plan, and the entry tier is limited to five profiles and one workspace.

Estimated price: $29 / month
Profiles: Up to 5 profiles
GBP: Yes

Visit SocialBee →

Pricing & details

Metricool

Marketers and analysts who need scheduling, campaign reporting, and competitor data together

Social scheduling and analytics in one workspace.

Strength: Scheduling, competitor tracking, and analytics live in one product, with a permanent free plan for one brand.
Tradeoff: Free excludes LinkedIn and X, while separate API access and deeper team controls require Advanced or Custom.

Estimated price: $45 / month
Profiles: Up to 10 profiles
GBP: Yes

Visit Metricool →

Pricing & details

Hootsuite

Established marketing teams that need publishing, social listening, inbox management, and governed workflows

Publishing, engagement, and reporting for established teams.

Strength: One calendar combines publishing, inbox work, monitoring, analytics, and workflows for established social teams.
Tradeoff: The starting price is much higher than creator-focused tools, and the free access is a fourteen-day trial.

Estimated price: $99 / month
Profiles: Up to 10 profiles
GBP: Yes

Visit Hootsuite →

Pricing & details

Later

Creators and visual brands planning Instagram, TikTok, and other image-first content

A visual calendar for image-first publishing.

Strength: The visual calendar and media-first workflow fit Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and other content-led channels.
Tradeoff: Starter limits monthly posts and analytics history, while approvals and broader team tools require higher plans.

Estimated price: $25 / month
Profiles: Up to 8 profiles
GBP: No

Visit Later →

Pricing & details

SocialPilot

Agencies that need client access, approvals, bulk scheduling, and higher account limits

Higher account limits and client management for agencies.

Strength: Five accounts start at $20 monthly, and higher plans add bulk scheduling, collaboration, approvals, and white-label reporting.
Tradeoff: Client approval and agency reporting sit on more expensive tiers, and there is no permanent free plan.

Estimated price: $40 / month
Profiles: Up to 10 profiles
GBP: Yes

Visit SocialPilot →

Pricing & details

Publer

Freelancers and agencies managing repeat content across several client workspaces

Queues, post recycling, and team approvals.

Strength: A permanent three-account free plan and granular paid pricing make it easy to match cost to account count.
Tradeoff: The free plan excludes X, and analytics, bulk publishing, automation, and team needs can change the cheapest tier.

Estimated price: $33 / month
Profiles: Up to 8 profiles
GBP: Yes

Visit Publer →

Pricing & details

PostizFeaturedAgent-ready

AI agents, developers, and automation-first teams using MCP, CLI, or API workflows

MCP, CLI, API, and web scheduling built for agent workflows.

Strength: Hosted plans combine broad network coverage with API, agent, and automation features, while the source code can be self-hosted.
Tradeoff: Self-hosting creates deployment and maintenance work, and social network app approval remains your responsibility.

Estimated price: $39 / month
Profiles: Up to 10 profiles
GBP: Yes

+18

Visit Postiz →

Pricing & details

What is the best social media scheduler for a small business?

SocialBee is the stronger choice when a small business already has reusable content and wants category queues. Buffer is easier when the goal is reliable publishing across a few accounts without a long setup process.

SocialBee groups posts into categories such as educational, promotional, and curated content, then assigns each category to a publishing schedule. Buffer uses a simpler queue. That simplicity is valuable when the owner or marketing generalist manages social alongside other work.

What is the best free social media scheduling app?

Buffer is the best general-purpose free scheduling app for up to three channels. Metricool is better when free analytics matter, while Publer is a useful three-account option when X is not required.

Postiz is open source and can be self-hosted, but that is not the same as a hosted free plan. You provide the server, deployment, updates, backups, and social network credentials. Compare all current allowances in our free social media scheduler guide.

Compare permanent free social media scheduler plans →

Which scheduler is cheapest for your account count?

Buffer costs nothing for up to three channels. SocialPilot is the lowest listed hosted match for five accounts, Publer is competitive around ten, and Postiz becomes the lowest listed match in this shortlist at twenty-five or fifty channels.

Price alone does not settle the choice. Check users, approvals, analytics, post limits, and required formats before treating the calculator result as a recommendation. A cheaper plan that sends every important post back to a phone can cost more in staff time.

What is the best social media scheduling tool?

Buffer is the best starting point for most solo users and small businesses because it combines a permanent free plan, broad network support, basic analytics, and simple per-channel pricing. SocialBee, Metricool, SocialPilot, Hootsuite, Later, Publer, and Postiz fit more specific workflows.

What is the cheapest social media scheduler?

Buffer costs $0 for up to three channels. For paid hosted plans, the cheapest option changes with account count. SocialPilot starts at $20 for five accounts, Publer prices accounts individually, and Postiz reaches thirty channels for $49 per month.

Is there a free social media scheduler?

Yes. Buffer, Metricool, and Publer have permanent hosted free plans with different network and publishing limits. Postiz publishes open-source code for self-hosting, but its hosted product uses a seven-day trial rather than a permanent free tier.

Which social media scheduler is best for a small business?

SocialBee fits small businesses that reuse evergreen content through category queues. Buffer fits a business that wants the simplest publishing workflow and can start within three free channels. Metricool is stronger when reporting and competitor tracking shape the decision.

How many social media accounts can one scheduling tool manage?

The limit depends on the plan. Entry tiers in this comparison cover three to ten accounts, while higher Postiz, SocialPilot, Hootsuite, SocialBee, and Metricool tiers reach larger account sets. Count every profile and check how the provider defines a channel, brand, or social set.