Best Social Media Scheduling Tools (2026): 7 Compared on Real Pricing
Best Social Media Scheduling Tools (2026): 7 Compared on Real Pricing
How we make money: if you sign up for Metricool through our links, Metricool pays us a commission. You pay the same price. None of the other six tools pay us, and those links go straight to their official pricing pages.
A scheduler lets you write a week of posts in one sitting and have them publish on their own. The tools look alike on the surface. What really differs is how they charge (per channel, per brand, or per person) and which limits sit on the cheaper plans. We compared seven popular options using each vendor’s live pricing page, plan limits, help docs, and published reviews. The short answer is below.
Our picks at a glance
Prices billed yearlyMetricool
Best overall for small businesses and creators. It schedules and gives you real analytics in one tool. The free plan never expires, and Starter is $20/mo for up to 5 brands.
- Buffer: simplest to useFree for 3 channels · then $5 per channel/moRead more
- Publer: cheapest per accountFree plan · then $4 per account/moRead more
- Later: best for Instagram and visual brands14-day trial · from $18.75/moRead more
- SocialBee: best for recycling evergreen posts14-day trial · from $290/yrRead more
- Sprout Social / Hootsuite: for teams with a budgetTrials · from $79 and $99 per person/moRead more
Comparison table
Starting prices are billed yearly in USD, before tax, from each vendor’s pricing page on October 5, 2026. Paying monthly usually costs more (see each review).
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starts at (yearly) | Pricing model | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metricool | Scheduling + analytics, multiple brands | Yes: 1 brand, 20 posts/mo | $20/mo up to 5 brands | Per brand | Free plan instead |
| Buffer | Simple scheduling, few channels | Yes: 3 channels | $5/mo per channel | Per channel | 14 days |
| Publer | Lowest cost, many networks | Yes: 3 accounts (no X) | $4/mo per account | Per account | 7–14 days |
| Later | Instagram, TikTok, visual planning | No | $18.75/mo 1 set of 8 profiles | Flat plan + social sets | 14 days |
| SocialBee | Evergreen content queues | No | $290/yr 5 profiles (~$24/mo) | Flat tiers | 14 days |
| Hootsuite | All-in-one for social teams | No | $99/mo per user, 10 accounts | Per user | 14 days |
| Sprout Social | Teams that live in the inbox and reports | No | $79/mo per seat, 5 profiles | Per seat | 30 days |
What you’ll actually pay: one business, five profiles
Headline prices can mislead because each tool counts differently. Here’s the monthly cost, billed yearly, for a common setup: one business posting to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, with one person doing the work. We worked these out from the listed prices, before tax and add-ons.
| Tool and plan | Monthly cost | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Later Starter | $18.75 | Capped at 30 posts per profile each month, 1 user |
| Metricool Starter | $20 | Same price covers up to 5 brands, with analytics and competitor tracking |
| Publer Professional | $20 | 5 × $4. No analytics. Business plan with analytics: 5 × $8 = $40 |
| SocialBee Bootstrap | ~$24.17 | $290/yr. 5 profiles is the plan’s maximum |
| Buffer Essentials | $25 | 5 × $5. Approvals need the Team plan (5 × $10 = $50) |
| Sprout Social Essentials | $79 | Per seat. 5 profiles is the plan’s limit |
| Hootsuite Standard | $99 | Per user. Up to 10 accounts |
The gap gets bigger if you run several businesses or manage clients. Three brands with five profiles each is 15 profiles. Metricool Starter still covers that for $20/mo, while per-channel and per-account tools bill all 15.
The 7 tools, reviewed
Each review covers what the tool is best at, the limits that matter, and who should skip it.
Metricool: best overall for small businesses and creators
- Free planYes: 1 brand, 20 posts/mo
- Paid from$20/mo yearly · $25 monthly
- Pricing modelPer brand (1 profile per network)
Metricool is the one we’d point most people to first, because it pairs scheduling with the analytics many schedulers leave out or sell as extras. The free plan doesn’t expire. It includes 30 days of analytics and tracking for 5 competitor profiles. Starter covers up to five brands at one price, which helps if you run more than one business or post for clients. It also pulls in Facebook, Google, and TikTok Ads data next to your organic posts. Other reviewers agree on where it’s strongest: Zapier calls it the best tool for analytics and reports, and TechnologyAdvice lists it among its top small-business picks.
Pros
- Free-forever plan includes scheduling, analytics, and competitor tracking
- Starter covers up to 5 brands for $20/mo (yearly), or 10 brands for $36/mo
- Paid plans keep your analytics history with no time limit, plus PDF and PowerPoint reports
- Connects Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Twitch, and Google Business Profile
Cons
- X (Twitter) costs an extra $10/mo per connected account, on any plan
- The free plan leaves out LinkedIn and X, and stops at 20 posts a month
- Approvals, team roles, and client access need Advanced (from $53/mo yearly)
- Several reviewers find its screens busier than Buffer’s
Skip it if X is your main network, or you want the plainest possible posting queue with nothing else on screen.
Buffer: simplest to use
- Free planYes: 3 channels, 10 queued posts each
- Paid from$5 per channel/mo ($60/yr)
- Pricing modelPer channel
Buffer is the easiest scheduler to learn. You get a clean queue, a calendar, and very little else in the way. Per-channel pricing keeps it cheap for a creator posting to a few networks. The Team plan ($10 per channel/mo, yearly) adds unlimited team members and approval workflows.
Pros
- Useful free plan for up to 3 channels
- Cheap when you only post to a few channels
- Wide network list, including Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Google Business Profile
- Team plan includes unlimited team members
Cons
- The bill grows with every channel you add
- Approvals and custom permissions only on Team
- The free plan holds just 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time
- No built-in competitor tracking
Skip it if you manage several brands or clients. Paying per channel adds up fast.
Publer: cheapest per account
- Free planYes: 3 accounts (no X)
- Paid from$4 per account/mo yearly · $5 monthly
- Pricing modelPer account (every 10th free)
Publer has the lowest per-account price here. Even the Professional plan includes unlimited scheduling, first-comment and thread scheduling, RSS automations, and X. The catch is analytics: performance reports, best times to post, and competitor analysis all need the Business plan ($8 per account/mo, yearly).
Pros
- Lowest per-account price of the seven
- Unlimited scheduling and RSS automations on Professional
- X is included on paid plans
- Every 10th social account is free
Cons
- Analytics and best-time suggestions need the Business plan
- The free plan blocks X and keeps published posts for only 24 hours
- Per-account pricing adds up once you pass a handful of profiles
Skip it if you want analytics without moving up to Business.
Later: best for Instagram and visual brands
- Free planNo (14-day trial)
- Paid from$18.75/mo billed yearly
- Pricing modelFlat plans + social sets
Later is built around a drag-and-drop visual planner, so you can see your feed before it goes live. Every plan includes a Link in Bio page and best-time-to-post suggestions for Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. One “social set” means one profile on each of the 8 networks Later supports.
Pros
- Visual calendar and planner made for image and video content
- Link in Bio page included on every plan
- Best-time-to-post suggestions for Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
- Unlimited media storage
Cons
- Starter allows only 30 posts per profile per month and 1 user
- Social inbox and approvals start at Growth ($37.50/mo yearly)
- X isn’t on its list of supported networks
- No free plan
Skip it if you post more than once a day to one profile, or your audience is mostly on LinkedIn or X.
SocialBee: best for recycling evergreen posts
- Free planNo (14-day trial)
- Paid from$290/yr · $29 monthly
- Pricing modelFlat tiers (5 profiles on Bootstrap)
SocialBee sorts posts into content categories (tips, promos, blog links) and can recycle your evergreen posts on a schedule. That suits coaches and small businesses who reuse a library of content instead of always writing new posts. Every plan includes unlimited AI content generation.
Pros
- Content categories keep your feed balanced automatically
- Recycles evergreen posts so good content keeps working
- Unlimited AI content generation on every plan
Cons
- No free plan
- Bootstrap is 1 user, 1 workspace, and 3 months of analytics
- Post approvals start at Accelerate ($490/yr or $49 monthly)
Skip it if you mostly post fresh, timely content. The category system adds overhead you won’t use.
Hootsuite: all-in-one for social media teams
- Free planNo (14-day trial)
- Paid from$99 per user/mo, billed yearly
- Pricing modelPer user (Standard: 10 accounts)
Hootsuite is a full social media suite, not just a scheduler. Even the Standard plan includes one inbox for messages, brand and competitor monitoring, and AI post generation. Professional ($199) adds unlimited accounts and automation, and Advanced ($399) adds team approvals.
Pros
- Unified inbox and brand monitoring on the entry plan
- Unlimited scheduling; up to 10 accounts on Standard
- Long track record and a big integration catalog
Cons
- $99/mo per user is the minimum. There’s no free plan
- Content approvals only on Advanced ($399/user/mo)
- Trial accounts have daily posting limits and no bulk scheduling
Skip it if you’re solo or on a small budget. Most of what you’d pay for would go unused.
Sprout Social: premium pick for teams
- Free planNo (30-day trial)
- Paid from$79 per seat/mo yearly · $99 monthly
- Pricing modelPer seat (5 profiles on entry plans)
Sprout Social is the polished, expensive option. Its consolidated inbox, review management, and reporting are aimed at teams that answer customers and report to bosses every week. The Essentials plan ($79) covers publishing and reporting for 5 profiles. Standard ($199) adds the inbox and monitoring tools.
Pros
- 30-day free trial with no credit card
- Consolidated inbox, keyword monitoring, and review management on Standard
- Unlimited profiles and competitor reports on Professional
Cons
- The inbox and monitoring tools start at $199 per seat/mo (Standard)
- Essentials and Standard stop at 5 social profiles
- Premium Analytics and Listening are paid add-ons
Skip it if your team is one or two people, or your budget is under about $100 a month.
How we picked
To be clear about our method: this guide is based on research, not a months-long hands-on test of every tool. Here’s what went into it:
- Live pricing pagesWe loaded every vendor’s pricing page on October 5, 2026 and recorded plans, limits, and add-on fees.
- Plan limits and docsPost caps, profile limits, which networks are supported, and which features sit behind higher plans.
- Published reviews and user feedbackRoundups from Zapier and TechnologyAdvice, independent reviewers, and user discussions about recurring complaints.
- Fit for real situationsThe cost for a typical small business, free plan usefulness, analytics, and team features, matched to who each tool suits.
Commissions don’t decide the ranking. Metricool is first because of its free plan, analytics, and per-brand price, and its downsides are listed just as plainly as everyone else’s. If a price or plan changes, we update this page and the date at the top.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best social media scheduling tool for a small business?
For most small businesses and creators, we'd start with Metricool. Its free plan never expires and includes analytics, and the Starter plan ($20/month billed yearly) covers up to 5 brands. If you only want the simplest possible scheduler, Buffer is easier to learn. Teams that need a shared inbox and approvals should look at Hootsuite or Sprout Social.
Is there a free social media scheduler?
Yes. Metricool (1 brand, up to 20 posts a month, no LinkedIn or X), Buffer (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time), and Publer (3 accounts except X, 10 scheduled posts per account) all have free plans. Later, SocialBee, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social offer free trials instead.
How much do social media scheduling tools cost?
Based on vendor pricing pages checked October 5, 2026 (billed yearly), budget tools start around $4 to $5 per account or channel per month (Publer, Buffer). Flat plans start at $18.75 a month (Later), about $24 a month (SocialBee), or $20 a month for up to 5 brands (Metricool). Team suites start at $79 per seat (Sprout Social Essentials) and $99 per user (Hootsuite Standard). Paying monthly usually costs more.
What is the difference between per-channel, per-brand, and per-seat pricing?
Per-channel or per-account pricing (Buffer, Publer) charges for every social profile you connect. That's cheap for a few profiles but adds up. Per-brand pricing (Metricool) charges by how many businesses or clients you manage, and each brand includes one profile per network. Per-seat pricing (Hootsuite, Sprout Social) charges for every person who logs in, which gets expensive for teams.
Does Metricool post to X (Twitter)?
Yes, but X is a paid add-on. It costs $10 a month per connected X account on Metricool's paid plans, and it isn't available on the free plan. If X is your main network, compare Buffer or Publer, which include X on their paid plans.
Do you earn money from these recommendations?
Only from Metricool. If you sign up through our Metricool links, Metricool pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. None of the other tools on this page pay us, and links to them go straight to their official pricing pages.