Best social media scheduler: free plans, prices and Buffer or Hootsuite alternatives

The short answer

• Pick Metricool if you run one brand and want a free plan that stays free: 20 scheduled posts a month, plus analytics, with paid plans from $20 a month billed annually.
• Pick ContentStudio if you want AI captions, a shared inbox and client approvals at a low entry price: Standard is $19 a month billed yearly.
• Pick Vista Social if you are an agency or multi-location brand that also needs listening, review management and DM automations in the same tool.
• Pick Pallyy if you post for several clients and want to pay per client, not per connected profile.
• Pick Postiz if you need many networks (30+) and unlimited posts, or want an open-source version you can host yourself.
• Pick Typefully if you mostly write for X, LinkedIn or Threads, and Hypefury if you are a creator on Threads, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram or TikTok who wants posts to promote your offer automatically.

All seven offer a free plan or a free trial: test two with your real accounts, including a video and a carousel, before you pay.

How to choose a social media scheduler

1. Networks you post to. Not every tool covers every network, and some charge extra for X (Twitter): Metricool and Vista Social sell it as an add-on, and Hypefury no longer supports X at all.
2. How the price scales. Tools charge by brand (Metricool), by connected account (ContentStudio, Postiz), by profile and seat (Vista Social), by client (Pallyy) or by "social set", a group of one person's or one brand's accounts (Typefully).
3. Free plan or trial. A permanent free plan suits a single small brand; a trial is only for testing. Check whether a trial needs a card.
4. Post limits. Free plans cap posts per month, and some "unlimited" plans have a fair use ceiling.
5. Team and client features. Agencies need approvals, roles and client reports; solo creators rarely do.
6. Refund terms. They range from ContentStudio's 30-day guarantee for first-time subscribers to Vista Social's non-refundable fees.

In the table, starting price is the cheapest paid plan billed monthly, with the yearly price where listed.

Free social media scheduling tools

If you want to schedule posts without paying, three of the featured tools have a permanent free plan, each with its own limits:

Metricool's is the broadest for a single brand. Postiz has no free hosted tier, but its open-source code (AGPL-3.0) can be self-hosted at no software cost. ContentStudio, Vista Social and Hypefury offer trials without a card.

Metricool: best free plan for one brand

Metricool combines a drag-and-drop planner, analytics, competitor tracking, reports, an inbox and ad management for Google, Facebook and TikTok Ads. Networks include Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Google Business Profile and X.

Pricing is by number of brands. Starter costs $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly) for 5 brands, or $36 ($45) for 10, with unlimited publishing and reports. Advanced starts at $53 a month billed annually ($67 monthly) for 15 brands and adds team and client management, post approvals and API access.

The downside: X costs $10 a month per connected account on top of any plan, and LinkedIn is not available on Free. "Unlimited" publishing has a fair use threshold of 600 posts per brand per month. Refunds apply only within 15 days of your first purchase, never on renewals. Details in our Metricool review.

ContentStudio: AI content and approvals at a low entry price

ContentStudio combines a calendar with bulk and evergreen scheduling, AI Studio for captions, images and video, analytics, a unified inbox and RSS content discovery. It supports 11 networks: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Threads and Telegram.

Standard is $29 a month, or $19 a month billed yearly, for 5 social accounts and one user. Advanced is $69 ($49 yearly) for 10 accounts and 2 users, and Agency Unlimited is $139 ($99 yearly) with 25 accounts to start and unlimited workspaces and users. Clients can approve posts without logging in.

The downside: monthly billing costs noticeably more than yearly, social listening is an add-on from $99 a month, and there is no free plan, only the 7-day trial. First-time subscribers get a 30-day money-back guarantee. More in our ContentStudio review.

Vista Social: a full suite for agencies and multi-location brands

Vista Social adds approvals, an engagement inbox, analytics, listening, review management, DM automations and AI agents to publishing, across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Threads, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest. White label is included on the Scale plan.

Professional costs $99 a month ($950 a year) for 15 social profiles, Advanced $199 a month ($1,910 a year) for 30, and Scale $449 a month ($4,310 a year) for 70. The 14-day trial needs no card.

The downside: it is the most expensive entry point here, X is a $29-a-month add-on, and the terms say fees are non-refundable. Its pricing page gives conflicting user counts, so confirm seats before buying. See our Vista Social review.

Pallyy: per-client pricing for agencies and freelancers

Pallyy is built for people who post on behalf of clients. Each client is a "social set" with its own calendar covering all of that client's channels, and a client that posts to five networks still counts as one set. Clients approve posts through a shared link without an account. It supports Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Bluesky.

Pro is $25 a month for one set, with extra sets at $10 a month. Agency is $99 a month for 10 sets and 3 users, and Scale $199 a month for 30 sets and 10 users. Paid plans include unlimited posts, and annual billing saves up to 25%.

The downside: the 14-day trial asks for card details and bills automatically unless you cancel, and annual plans are usually not refunded in full. The free plan is image-only. Read our Pallyy review.

Postiz: the most networks and unlimited posts

Postiz publishes to 30+ channels from one calendar, including X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Reddit, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, Discord and WordPress. Every plan has unlimited posts, an API, webhooks and built-in AI for text, images and short videos.

Standard is $29 a month ($23 billed annually) for 5 channels, Team $39 ($31) for 10 channels with unlimited team members, Pro $49 ($39) for 30 and Ultimate $99 ($79) for 100. Each plan has a 7-day trial.

The downside: Standard has no team members and annual plans are non-refundable. Self-hosting is free but you run the servers and social app credentials yourself. More in our Postiz review.

For X/Twitter and Threads writers: Typefully and Hypefury

Typefully is a distraction-free editor with a queue and calendar for X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon and Instagram, plus Substack Notes. Paid plans add an AI writing assistant and X analytics. The Free plan gives one social set and 10 posts a month. Creator is $99 a year (annual billing only) for 1,000 posts a month, and Business is $20 per social set a month ($216 a year) with teams and unlimited users. The downside: built-in analytics cover X only. See our Typefully review.

Hypefury started as an X tool, but its pricing FAQ now says it no longer supports X. Today it schedules to Bluesky, Threads, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok. Autoplugs add a comment promoting your newsletter or course to posts that perform well, and Auto DMs answer Instagram keyword triggers. Flexible is $6 a month for one channel plus $6 per extra platform; Full is $19 a month for all channels, AI drafts trained on your posts and cross-posting. Both start with a 7-day trial without a card. The downside: no X, no free plan and no general refund policy in its terms. Details in our Hypefury review.

So if X is your main network, choose Typefully; if you have moved to Threads, LinkedIn or Bluesky and want automation, Hypefury is the cheaper option.

Buffer, Hootsuite and Later alternatives

Where the best-known names sit, from their own pricing pages:

• Buffer has a free plan for up to 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time. Paid plans are priced per channel: Essentials $5 and Team $10 a month per channel, with a 14-day trial. Metricool's free plan adds analytics for one brand.
• Hootsuite has no free plan, only 14-day trials; its plans page lists Standard from $99 and Professional from $199. Vista Social is a full-suite alternative at that price; ContentStudio and Postiz cost far less.
• Later has no free plan either; its pricing page lists Starter at $18.75 a month billed yearly for one social set of 8 profiles, with a 14-day trial. Pallyy fits agencies that think in clients.

More options sit in our marketing and SEO tools.