Choosing a social scheduler comes down to two questions: how the bill is computed (per channel, per account, per brand or per user), and whether analytics come in the same seat. We probed the five biggest schedulers against their official pricing pages (research sweep, verified 2026-09-18) and ranked them on the billing model, the cheapest paid entry, and how much measurement you get for free. Buffer and Publer both bill by the slot, not the person: Buffer's free tier is 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each for 1 user, then Essentials at $6/channel/month ($5 annual) and Team at $12/channel/month ($10 annual) once you want analytics, while Publer's free tier is 3 accounts (no X/Twitter) with 10 scheduled posts each and 25 drafts, then Professional at $6/account/month ($4 annual) and Business at $12 ($8) for analytics, with every 10th account free. Metricool bills by brand: free forever for 1 brand, 20 posts/month, 5 competitor trackers and 30-day analytics — though X and LinkedIn are excluded until you pay; Starter is $25/month ($20 annual) up to 5 brands and Advanced $67/month ($53 annual) up to 15, with X/Twitter a $10/account/month surcharge and annual saving up to 24%. Hootsuite and Later have closed their free tiers entirely. Hootsuite removed its free plan in March 2023 and offers only a 14-day no-card trial, then bills per user annually from Standard $99/user/month (up to 10 accounts) to Professional $199 and Advanced $399. Later is trial-only too — 14 days, credit card required, auto-charged at expiry — and prices by Social Set (1 set = 8 profiles, 30 posts each): Starter $25/month ($18.75 annual) for 1 set and 1 user, Growth $50/$37.50, Scale $110/$82.50, with X/Twitter support removed on 2025-08-28. The split is structural — the affordable schedulers meter channels or brands, while the governance-heavy ones meter seats and no longer let you in for free.
The cluster's top rating (4.2/5): scheduling, a content calendar, native analytics and competitor tracking in one seat, with the most capable free tier (1 brand, 20 posts/mo, 30-day analytics). Brand-based billing from $25/mo monthly ($20 annual); X/Twitter and LinkedIn are add-ons.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $20/mo (annual) (Metricool bills by brand, not by seat. Free $0 forever: 1 brand, all networks except X/LinkedIn, 20 posts/mo, 5 competitor tracking, 30-day analytics. Starter $25/mo monthly ($20 annual) up to 5 brands (10 brands $36/$45). Advanced $67/mo monthly ($53 annual) up to 15 brands (25 brands $107). X/Twitter costs extra at $10/account/mo. Annual saves up to 24%.)
Metricool is an all-in-one social planner plus analytics platform: schedule across networks, run a content calendar and get built-in analytics and competitor tracking. It bills by brand and has a genuinely useful free tier.
The cleanest free starting point (3 channels including X/Twitter, 10 posts each, 1 user, free forever) and the simplest queue in the set. Per-channel billing from $5/channel/mo annual with no per-seat charge.
Free tier: Yes · 14-day paid trial
Paid from: $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.)
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.
The value leader on price: Professional $4/account/mo annual on a flat, unlimited-post workspace, free 3-account tier (no X/Twitter), every 10th account free.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $5/account/mo (annual) (Publer bills per account, flat workspace (unlimited scheduling, no per-user charge on the workspace). Free $0 forever: 3 social accounts, no X/Twitter, 10 scheduled posts/account, 25 drafts. Professional $6/account/mo monthly ($4 annual). Business $12/account/mo monthly ($8 annual) adds analytics. Every 10th account or seat is free. X/Twitter is not on the free tier.)
Publer is a low-cost social planner that bills per account on a flat workspace with unlimited scheduling. Its free tier covers 3 social accounts, and its paid entry is among the cheapest in the cluster when a small team needs many accounts without the per-seat math.
The enterprise platform: shared inbox, approval and routing workflows, plus Wisdom AI and Talkwalker listening. Billed per user, annually — Standard $99/user/mo, Professional $199, Advanced $399, no free plan.
Free tier: No — trial only · 14-day free trial (no credit card)
Paid from: $99/user/mo (annual, Standard) (Hootsuite has no free plan (removed March 2023) — only a 14-day trial with no card. It bills per user, annually. Standard $99/user/mo (up to 10 accounts). Professional $199/user/mo (unlimited accounts, inbox automation). Advanced $399/user/mo (approval workflows, routing). Enterprise is custom. Includes Wisdom AI and Talkwalker listening.)
Hootsuite is the established enterprise social management platform: publish, monitor and route a shared inbox across networks, with Wisdom AI and Talkwalker listening. It bills per user and has no free plan.
The visual-first grid for image-led, Instagram-centred planning. Billed by 'Social Set' (Starter $18.75/mo annual, 1 set = 8 profiles / 30 posts); no free plan and no X/Twitter since 2025.
Free tier: No — trial only · 14-day trial (credit card required, auto-charge at expiry)
Paid from: $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.)
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.
Bottom line: Pick Metricool when you want scheduling and measurement in one affordable seat and can keep X and LinkedIn on add-ons. Pick Buffer for a free, simple, generalist scheduler. Pick Publer when the per-account flat bill is the priority. Pick Hootsuite for a team that needs an inbox, approvals and routing. Pick Later only when the visual Instagram grid is the actual job and paying from day one is acceptable.
Metricool at 4.2/5 — the cluster's top independent score, and the only tool that ships scheduling with native analytics and competitor tracking in the same seat.
Publer, at Professional $4/account/mo billed annually on a flat, unlimited-post workspace. Buffer's Essentials at $5/channel/mo annual is close but bills per channel.
Buffer (3 channels, 1 user), Publer (3 accounts, no X/Twitter) and Metricool (1 brand, 20 posts/mo, analytics) all ship a standing free tier. Later and Hootsuite do not — only a trial.