Buffer vs Later 2026: Which Social Scheduler Wins?
Quick verdict: Buffer is our overall pick for Buffer vs Later.
Buffer is the obvious pick on price and access — a free 3-channel plan against Later's card-required, auto-charging 14-day trial. Buffer: free plan, paid from $5/channel/mo (annual); Later: paid from $18.75/mo (annual). Prices checked 2026-09-18.
| Tool | Rating | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer Best overall Best free Best for teams | 4.0/5 | Free $5/channel/mo (annual) | Buffer is a social scheduling tool built around one clean idea: queue and schedule posts a… |
| Later | 3.8/5 | $18.75/mo (annual) | Later is a social-first scheduler built around a visual Instagram-first grid. It has no fr… |
Bottom line: Buffer (4.0/5) for a free, generalist scheduler — 3 channels (including X/Twitter), 10 posts per channel, 1 user, then $5/channel/mo annual. Later (3.8/5) for visual, Instagram-first planning — a grid where you drop images into weekly slots — but no free plan: a 14-day trial that requires a card and auto-charges, billed by 'Social Set' (Starter $18.75/mo annual, 1 set = 8 profiles, 30 posts). Later dropped X/Twitter support in 2025. Pick Buffer for cost and breadth; pick Later only when the visual grid and Instagram-first planning are the actual job.
Pricing and details
Buffer · 4.0/5
Free plan available · $5/channel/mo (annual)
Buffer bills by channel, not by user. Free $0 forever: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user. Essentials $6/channel/mo monthly ($5 annual, 14-day trial). Team $12/channel/mo monthly ($10 annual) adds analytics and integrations. Each additional channel adds to the bill; there is no per-user charge, so it scales better for many-brand accounts than seat-based rivals.
Essentials $5/channel/mo · Team $10-12/channel/mo (annual)
Buffer is a social scheduling tool built around one clean idea: queue and schedule posts across Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube and Threads from a single feed. It bills per channel, not per seat, and its free tier is a real standing plan (3 channels, 1 user) rather than a trial.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Free plan is a standing plan (3 channels, 1 user), not a trial
- Per-channel, not per-seat, pricing — the cheapest paid entry in the cluster ($5/channel/mo annual)
- Covers Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube and Threads from one feed
- Clean, fast UI (ease 4/5) with 14-day paid trial
Cons
- Collaboration (approvers, shared feeds) is lighter than Hootsuite's team workflows
- No built-in deep analytics suite the way Metricool ships — scheduling is the strength, not measurement
- No X-removal surprises, but feature depth trails an enterprise platform
Pricing verified 2026-09-18
Later · 3.8/5
14-day trial (credit card required, auto-charge at expiry) · $18.75/mo (annual)
Later has no free plan — only a 14-day trial that requires a credit card and auto-charges at expiry. It bills by 'Social Set' (1 set = 8 profiles, 30 posts/profile). Starter $25/mo monthly ($18.75 annual) = 1 set, 1 user. Growth $50/mo ($37.50 annual) = 2 sets, 2 users, 180 posts. Scale $110/mo ($82.50 annual) = 6 sets, 4 users, unlimited posts. Extra set $11.25/mo, extra user $3.75/mo. X/Twitter support was removed on 2025-08-28.
Starter $18.75/mo · Growth $37.50/mo · Scale $82.50/mo (annual)
Later is a social-first scheduler built around a visual Instagram-first grid. It has no free plan — only a 14-day trial that requires a credit card and auto-charges — and bills by 'Social Set' (a bundle of profiles and posts) rather than per user.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Visual grid is the best in-class tool for image-led planning (ease 4/5)
- Clean week-planning interface for Instagram-first teams
Cons
- No free plan — evaluation starts on a 14-day card-required, auto-charging trial
- Social Set billing can exceed a set's 30-post cap and add surcharges
- X/Twitter support removed in 2025; smaller vendor than Hootsuite
Pricing verified 2026-09-18
Frequently asked questions
Which is better overall, Buffer or Later?
Buffer is our overall pick (4.0/5 vs 3.8/5). Buffer is the obvious pick on price and access — a free 3-channel plan against Later's card-required, auto-charging 14-day trial. Buffer: free plan, paid from $5/channel/mo (annual); Later: paid from $18.75/mo (annual). Prices checked 2026-09-18.
Do Buffer and Later offer free plans?
Buffer has a free tier. Buffer paid plans start at $5/channel/mo (annual); Later paid plans start at $18.75/mo (annual).
What does Buffer cost?
$5/channel/mo (annual) — Buffer bills by channel, not by user. Free $0 forever: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user. Essentials $6/channel/mo monthly ($5 annual, 14-day trial). Team $12/channel/mo monthly ($10 annual) adds analytics and integrations. Each additional channel adds to the bill; there is no per-user charge, so it scales better for many-brand accounts than seat-based rivals. Prices were last verified on 2026-09-18.