Buffer alternatives for 2026
Five Buffer alternatives for people who outgrow paying per channel: Weekbird, Metricool, Publer, Pallyy and Postiz. Each one prices differently, so the right pick depends on how many brands, channels and people you have. All prices were checked on each vendor's pricing page on 10 October 2026.
| Tool | Best for | How it bills | Cheapest paid plan | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WeekbirdWeekbird vs Buffer | small agencies and businesses that want client sign-off and one predictable price. The head-to-head is in Weekbird vs Buffer. | Per plan | $19 / monthbilled annually | No |
| MetricoolMetricool pricing in 2026: plans and costs | Many brands, with ads reporting | per brand | $20 / monthbilled annually | Yes |
| Publer | The lowest price per account | Per plan / per channel | $4 / monthbilled annually | Yes |
| Pallyy | Agencies grouping profiles by social set | Per plan | $25 / month | Yes |
| Postiz | Self-hosting an open-source scheduler | Per plan | $23 / monthbilled annually | No |
Prices from metricool.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026; publer.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026; pallyy.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026; postiz.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026
Product prices from weekbird.app, updated 11 Oct 2026
1. Weekbird: one price per plan, approvals from a link
Weekbird costs $24, $49 or $149 a month ($228, $468 or $1,428 a year) with unlimited posts on every plan. Clients approve posts from a link without an account, and comments, replies and reviews arrive in one Inbox, both on Team and Agency. AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude can draft and schedule, and each action waits for your approval. There is no free plan.
Best for: small agencies and businesses that want client sign-off and one predictable price. The head-to-head is in Weekbird vs Buffer.
2. Metricool: priced by brand, with ads reporting
Metricool prices by number of brands: Starter is $25 a month for up to 5 brands ($20 billed yearly), $45 for up to 10, and Advanced is $67 for up to 15 with team and client management. A free plan covers one brand with 20 posts a month. It reports on Facebook, Google and TikTok ads next to organic posts.
Best for: marketers who want organic and paid results in one report.
3. Publer: low price per account
Publer charges per social account: Professional is $5 a month per account ($4 billed yearly) and Business $10 ($8 yearly), with every 10th account free. A free plan covers 3 accounts, not including X. Extra team members cost extra.
Best for: one person running many accounts on a tight budget.
4. Pallyy: social sets for agencies
Pallyy groups up to 11 accounts into a social set, which works like a brand. Pro is $25 a month, Agency $99 with 3 users ($10 per extra user), and Scale $199 with 10 users. A free plan covers one set with 15 scheduled image posts a month.
Best for: agencies that think in clients rather than channels.
5. Postiz: open source, many channels
Postiz plans run from $29 a month for 5 channels to $99 for 100 channels ($23 to $79 billed yearly), with unlimited posts. Team members are unlimited from the $39 Team plan, and an MCP server, CLI and API come with every plan. The code is open source if you would rather host it yourself.
Best for: technical teams and people who want to self-host.
Buffer plans
| Plan | Price | Brands / seats | Channels | Users | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 account | Up to 3 channels | 1 | Posts: 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 threaded post; AI: AI Assistant included; Approvals: No; Inbox: Community inbox included, AI replies 5/week; Analytics: Basic analytics, 30-day history; API: 1 API key, 3,000 requests/30 days |
| Essentials | $6 per channel / month $5 per channel / monthbilled annually | n/a | Per channel purchased | 1 user | Posts: Unlimited scheduled posts; AI: AI Assistant, unlimited AI replies; Approvals: No; Inbox: Community inbox, unlimited saved replies; Analytics: Unlimited (advanced analytics); API: 3 API keys, 7,500 requests/30 days |
| Team | $12 per channel / month $10 per channel / monthbilled annually | n/a | Per channel purchased | Unlimited | Posts: Unlimited scheduled posts; AI: AI Assistant; Approvals: Content approval workflows and access levels; Inbox: Community inbox; Analytics: Unlimited (advanced analytics); API: 5 API keys, 15,000 requests/30 days |
| Plan | Price | Brands / seats | Channels | Users | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 account | Up to 3 channels | 1 | Posts: 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 threaded post; AI: AI Assistant included; Approvals: No; Inbox: Community inbox included, AI replies 5/week; Analytics: Basic analytics, 30-day history; API: 1 API key, 3,000 requests/30 days |
| Essentials | $6 per channel / month | n/a | Per channel purchased | 1 user | Posts: Unlimited scheduled posts; AI: AI Assistant, unlimited AI replies; Approvals: No; Inbox: Community inbox, unlimited saved replies; Analytics: Unlimited (advanced analytics); API: 3 API keys, 7,500 requests/30 days |
| Team | $12 per channel / month | n/a | Per channel purchased | Unlimited | Posts: Unlimited scheduled posts; AI: AI Assistant; Approvals: Content approval workflows and access levels; Inbox: Community inbox; Analytics: Unlimited (advanced analytics); API: 5 API keys, 15,000 requests/30 days |
| Plan | Price | Brands / seats | Channels | Users | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 account | Up to 3 channels | 1 | Posts: 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 threaded post; AI: AI Assistant included; Approvals: No; Inbox: Community inbox included, AI replies 5/week; Analytics: Basic analytics, 30-day history; API: 1 API key, 3,000 requests/30 days |
| Essentials | $5 per channel / monthbilled annually | n/a | Per channel purchased | 1 user | Posts: Unlimited scheduled posts; AI: AI Assistant, unlimited AI replies; Approvals: No; Inbox: Community inbox, unlimited saved replies; Analytics: Unlimited (advanced analytics); API: 3 API keys, 7,500 requests/30 days |
| Team | $10 per channel / monthbilled annually | n/a | Per channel purchased | Unlimited | Posts: Unlimited scheduled posts; AI: AI Assistant; Approvals: Content approval workflows and access levels; Inbox: Community inbox; Analytics: Unlimited (advanced analytics); API: 5 API keys, 15,000 requests/30 days |
Prices from buffer.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026
- Free plan covers 3 channels with AI Assistant and community inbox.
- Pricing is per channel, so a single channel costs $5/month annual.
- Publishes to Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, Google Business Profile, Pinterest and YouTube Shorts with community engagement on most of them.
- Includes a public API on every plan, including Free.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Buffer | Weekbird |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox for comments, replies and reviews | Inbox (Free): Community inbox included; AI replies 5/week | Comments and replies from Facebook Pages, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and X, and Google Business Profile reviews, in one list. |
| Public API and webhooks | API or MCP (Free): 1 API key, 3,000 requests/30 days | REST API and signed webhooks for published posts, approvals and channel events. |
| Analytics per channel | Analytics (Free): Basic analytics, 30-day history | Account and post metrics per connected network, exported as CSV or HTML. |
| Approvals from a link | Approvals (Team): Content approval workflows and access levels | Send a reviewer a link to approve or request changes. Reviewers need no account. Links last 30 days and can be revoked. |
Reasons to switch
- Per-channel billing adds up quickly for people managing many accounts, especially once analytics or extra team members are needed.
- Some users report scheduled posts failing to go out and connected social accounts dropping off, so they have to reconnect channels and check that posts actually published.
- Reviewers note limits with certain content formats, such as Instagram Reels and some carousel posts.
- Tagging people and companies is unreliable on some networks, with LinkedIn and Instagram tagging cited as steps users still finish by hand.
- Analytics are described as top-line or basic unless the account is upgraded, which falls short for teams wanting in-depth reporting.
- The in-app post preview does not always match how the post finally appears on the network, so users double-check posts on each platform.
- Scheduling across time zones is reported as confusing, particularly when the account owner and the posting audience are in different zones.
Who should stay
People who post to one to three channels, want a free plan or need Buffer's public API on a free account.
Moving your workflow
- Connect your channels in Weekbird.
- Schedule next week's posts in one sitting; Weekbird has no import from other tools.
- Keep Buffer running until its last scheduled post has gone out, then cancel.