Later
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.
Verified against: later.comlater.com as of 2026-09-18
Quick verdict: Later earns 3.8/5 in our research-based assessment as the visual-first, Instagram-grid planner with the best image-led scheduling flow in the set. It fits teams that plan primarily as a visual grid and will pay from day one, with the caveat that there is no free plan (only a 14-day card-required, auto-charging trial), X support was removed in 2025, and Social Set billing can add surcharges. (Research sweep, no paid workspace tested.)
- Our rating: 3.8/5
- Strongest dimension: Usability (4/5, research only)
- Weakest dimension: Localization (2/5, research only)
- Pricing: 14-day trial (credit card required, auto-charge at expiry) · $18.75/mo (annual)
- Verification: Research-only pass over official sources, last checked 2026-09-18. Sources: later.com, later.com
Later pricing details
- 14-day trial (credit card required, auto-charge at expiry)
- paid plans from $18.75/mo (annual)
- starter $25/mo · Growth $50/mo · Scale $110/mo (monthly)
- starter $18.75/mo · Growth $37.50/mo · Scale $82.50/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.
In our index: No free plan (14-day card-required trial only); Starter $25/mo ($18.75 annual) for one Social Set; Growth $50/mo; Scale $110/mo; per-Social-Set, not per-seat
How Later scores across our 6 index dimensions
- Functionality: 3/5 (research only)
- Usability: 4/5 (research only)
- Stability: 3/5 (research only)
- Collaboration: 3/5 (research only)
- Localization: 2/5 (research only)
- Value: 3/5 (research only)
Score rationale: The visual Instagram grid is the core strength (ease 4/5), but no free plan and the 14-day card-required trial make it the hardest to test in the cluster (value 3/5). Social Set billing is a trap when profiles exceed a set's 30-post cap. X/Twitter dropped in 2025. Visual-first, weak on localization (2/5). Research figures from the official pricing page.
What Later does well
- Visual grid is the best in-class tool for image-led planning (ease 4/5)
- Clean week-planning interface for Instagram-first teams
Where Later falls short
- 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
- Team governance and localization are light
How Later compares to other Social Media Scheduling tools
Our index tracks 5 Social Media Scheduling tools. Later sits at 3.8/5, with starter $18.75/mo · growth $37.50/mo · scale $82.50/mo (annual). Here are the 4 closest alternatives we hold pricing and scoring evidence for.
- Metricool — 4.2/5 · Free plan · $20/mo (annual)
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. - Hootsuite — 4.1/5 · 14-day free trial (no credit card) · $99/user/mo (annual, Standard)
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. - Buffer — 4.0/5 · Free plan · $5/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. - Publer — 4.0/5 · Free plan · $5/account/mo (annual)
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.
Frequently asked questions about Later
How much does Later cost?
14-day trial (credit card required, auto-charge at expiry); paid plans from $18.75/mo (annual); starter $25/mo · Growth $50/mo · Scale $110/mo (monthly); starter $18.75/mo · Growth $37.50/mo · Scale $82.50/mo (annual). Billing detail: 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. Figures verified 2026-09-18.
Does Later have a free plan?
No free plan is listed for Later, but a trial is offered (14-day trial (credit card required, auto-charge at expiry)). Paid plans start at $18.75/mo (annual).
What is Later rated in our index?
Later sits at 3.8/5 in our index, strongest on usability (4/5, research only) and weakest on localization (2/5, research only). Later earns 3.8/5 in our research-based assessment as the visual-first, Instagram-grid planner with the best image-led scheduling flow in the set. It fits teams that plan primarily as a visual grid and will pay from day one, with the caveat that there is no free plan (only a 14-day card-required, auto-charging trial), X support was removed in 2025, and Social Set billing can add surcharges. (Research sweep, no paid workspace tested.)
What are the drawbacks of Later?
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 Team governance and localization are light.
What does Later do well?
Visual grid is the best in-class tool for image-led planning (ease 4/5) Clean week-planning interface for Instagram-first teams.
How was Later verified?
Research-only pass over official sources, last checked 2026-09-18. Sources: later.com, later.com.
What are the alternatives to Later?
We track Buffer, Publer, Metricool, Hootsuite as the closest alternatives in our Social Media Scheduling index, and 4 head-to-head comparisons against Later are available.