{
    "title": "Buffer Alternatives 2027: 13 Paid, Free & Open-Source",
    "url": "https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/buffer/",
    "summary": "The best Buffer alternatives in 2027 are Hootsuite (best overall, $99/user/mo billed yearly), Metricool (best free plan) and Postiz (best open source, AGPL-3.0). Buffer itself starts at $5/channel/mo billed yearly. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 14 Nov 2026; 10 more are compared below, including 1 with a free plan and 4 open source.",
    "tool": {
        "name": "Buffer",
        "starting_price": "$5/channel/mo billed yearly",
        "free_plan": "3 channels, 10 scheduled posts each",
        "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
        "pricing_url": "https://buffer.com/pricing"
    },
    "task": "Social media scheduler / manager",
    "prices_checked": "2026-11-14",
    "date_modified": "2026-11-14",
    "alternatives": [
        {
            "name": "Hootsuite",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$99/user/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "Teams needing inbox and listening",
            "difference": "Charges per user, not per channel: Standard is $99 per user a month billed annually for 10 accounts, where Buffer Essentials is $5 per channel with one user included.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://www.hootsuite.com/plans",
            "website": "https://www.hootsuite.com",
            "zekai_score": 8.8,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/hootsuite/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Later",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$18.75/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "Visual-first Instagram planning",
            "difference": "Prices by social set, one profile of each network: Starter is $18.75 a month billed yearly for 8 profiles and 30 posts per profile, with no free tier on the pricing page.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://later.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://later.com",
            "zekai_score": 8.8,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/later/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Metricool",
            "type": "Free plan + paid",
            "starting_price": "$20/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "1 brand, 20 posts a month, 30 days of analytics, 5 competitors",
            "best_for": "Scheduling plus analytics and ads",
            "difference": "Free plan covers 1 brand with 20 scheduled posts a month, 5 competitor profiles and 30 days of analytics; Metricool also reports Facebook, Google and TikTok ads inside the same dashboard.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://metricool.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://metricool.com",
            "zekai_score": 9.3,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/metricool/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Publer",
            "type": "Free plan + paid",
            "starting_price": "$4/account/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "3 social accounts (no X), 10 scheduled posts per account, 25 drafts, 24-hour post history",
            "best_for": "Low per-account pricing",
            "difference": "Professional costs $4 per social account a month billed yearly, below Buffer's $5 per channel, and adds RSS automations and unlimited workspaces; the free plan blocks X accounts.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://publer.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://publer.com",
            "zekai_score": 7.9,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/publer/"
        },
        {
            "name": "SocialPilot",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$17/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "Flat pricing for 5+ accounts",
            "difference": "Flat plans instead of per-channel billing: Essentials is $17 a month billed yearly for 5 accounts and 1 user, with Standard adding 3 users and a social inbox at $34.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://www.socialpilot.co/pricing",
            "website": "https://www.socialpilot.co"
        },
        {
            "name": "Agorapulse",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$79/user/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "Inbox-led community management",
            "difference": "Per-user plans from $79 billed yearly with 10 social profiles, an all-in-one social inbox with review moderation and a 30-day no-card trial; Buffer's inbox is limited to community comments.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://www.agorapulse.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://www.agorapulse.com",
            "zekai_score": 7.8,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/agorapulse/"
        },
        {
            "name": "ContentStudio",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$19/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "Bundled AI content creation",
            "difference": "Standard is $19 a month billed yearly for 5 accounts and includes 25,000 AI text credits, AI image and video credits, MCP access and X threads or LinkedIn carousels.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://contentstudio.io/pricing",
            "website": "https://contentstudio.io",
            "zekai_score": 8.8,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/contentstudio/"
        },
        {
            "name": "FeedHive",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$15/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "Automation-minded creators",
            "difference": "Creator is $15 a month billed yearly for 4 accounts but caps scheduled posts at 30 and future scheduling at 14 days; it adds automation runs and AI performance prediction.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://feedhive.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://feedhive.com",
            "zekai_score": 7.2,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/feedhive/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Postiz",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "$29/mo (hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "AGPL-3.0",
            "best_for": "Self-hosted scheduling with agents",
            "difference": "Same job from an AGPL codebase: unlimited posts, an API, webhooks and AI agent integrations; self-hosting needs Postgres, Redis and a developer app for each network.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://postiz.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://postiz.com",
            "repository": "https://github.com/gitroomhq/postiz-app",
            "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/postiz-app/",
            "commercial_use": "Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.",
            "runs_on": "Docker host with Postgres, Redis and media storage.",
            "setup": "moderate: Docker plus a developer app and keys for each network.",
            "github_stars": 41600,
            "stars_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "last_commit": "2026-11-14",
            "last_release": "2026-11-13",
            "zekai_score": 7.9,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/postiz-app/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Mixpost",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "$299 one-time (hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "MIT (Lite edition)",
            "best_for": "One-time licence, self-hosted",
            "difference": "Lite edition is MIT and free, but publishes only to Facebook Pages, Mastodon and X; all networks, inbox and approvals need the $299 one-time Pro licence on your own server.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://mixpost.app/pricing",
            "website": "https://mixpost.app",
            "repository": "https://github.com/inovector/mixpost",
            "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/mixpost/",
            "commercial_use": "Yes for Lite (MIT); Pro and Enterprise need paid licences.",
            "runs_on": "A PHP or Docker server with a public domain.",
            "setup": "moderate: Laravel app needing a web server, database and domain.",
            "github_stars": 3900,
            "stars_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "last_commit": "2026-03-16",
            "last_release": "2026-03-16",
            "zekai_score": 6.3,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/mixpost/"
        },
        {
            "name": "TryPost",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "AGPL-3.0",
            "best_for": "Agent-friendly self-hosted scheduler",
            "difference": "Laravel AGPL-3.0 scheduler that exposes an MCP server and REST API so AI agents can draft and schedule posts; the project has only about 860 stars and a young codebase.",
            "website": "https://github.com/trypostit/trypost",
            "repository": "https://github.com/trypostit/trypost",
            "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/trypost/",
            "commercial_use": "Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.",
            "runs_on": "A web server running PHP 8.2 or newer with Laravel.",
            "setup": "moderate: Laravel app with queue workers and per-network developer keys.",
            "github_stars": 863,
            "stars_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "last_commit": "2026-11-13",
            "last_release": "2026-11-01",
            "zekai_score": 7,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/trypost/"
        },
        {
            "name": "OpenPost",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "AGPL-3.0",
            "best_for": "Lightweight Docker scheduler",
            "difference": "Ships built-in image, carousel and video editors and runs as one Docker container with SQLite by default, so the starting footprint is far smaller than Postiz's Postgres and Redis stack.",
            "website": "https://github.com/getopenpost/openpost",
            "repository": "https://github.com/getopenpost/openpost",
            "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/openpost/",
            "commercial_use": "Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.",
            "runs_on": "Docker Compose; the default setup is one container with SQLite.",
            "setup": "moderate: One Docker container, but each network needs its own developer app.",
            "github_stars": 913,
            "stars_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "last_commit": "2026-11-14",
            "last_release": "2026-11-13",
            "zekai_score": 7.3,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/openpost/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Socioboard",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "GPL-3.0-or-later",
            "best_for": "Analytics-heavy self-hosted suite",
            "difference": "Older GPL-3.0 platform with analytics and reporting for nine networks; its last release dates from January 2024 and it needs Node.js, PHP, MongoDB and MySQL.",
            "website": "https://github.com/socioboard/Socioboard-5.0",
            "repository": "https://github.com/socioboard/Socioboard-5.0",
            "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/socioboard/",
            "commercial_use": "Yes; GPL-3.0 means sharing source if you distribute modified versions.",
            "runs_on": "Server with Node.js, PHP front end, MongoDB, MySQL and PM2.",
            "setup": "hard: Several services (Node, PHP, MongoDB, MySQL) to install and keep running.",
            "github_stars": 1500,
            "stars_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "last_commit": "2026-08-17",
            "last_release": "2024-01-16",
            "zekai_score": 6,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/socioboard/"
        }
    ],
    "faq": [
        {
            "q": "What is the best alternative to Buffer in 2027?",
            "a": "Hootsuite is the best overall Buffer alternative on this page ($99/user/mo billed yearly). For no cost, Metricool has a free plan (1 brand, 20 posts a month, 30 days of analytics, 5 competitors). To self-host, Postiz is open source (AGPL-3.0)."
        },
        {
            "q": "Is there a free version of Buffer?",
            "a": "Yes. Buffer has a free plan: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts each. Paid plans start at $5/channel/mo billed yearly, checked on 14 Nov 2026."
        },
        {
            "q": "Is there a 100% free alternative to Buffer?",
            "a": "Yes. Postiz, Mixpost, TryPost, OpenPost, Socioboard are open source and free to self-host. Metricool, Publer have a free plan with limits, shown in the table."
        },
        {
            "q": "What is cheaper than Buffer?",
            "a": "Publer starts at $4/account/mo billed yearly, against $5/channel/mo billed yearly for Buffer, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 14 Nov 2026."
        },
        {
            "q": "How much do Buffer alternatives cost for a team of 5?",
            "a": "If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 14 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Publer $20/mo, FeedHive $75/mo, SocialPilot $85/mo, against Buffer $25/mo for Buffer. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size."
        },
        {
            "q": "Which is better, Hootsuite or Buffer?",
            "a": "Charges per user, not per channel: Standard is $99 per user a month billed annually for 10 accounts, where Buffer Essentials is $5 per channel with one user included. Choose Hootsuite if you need a shared inbox, listening and approvals across ten or more profiles under one vendor. Stay with Buffer if you add or drop single channels month to month and only one person publishes."
        },
        {
            "q": "Why are people leaving Buffer?",
            "a": "The documented reasons are: Buffer's help centre states a lifetime channel connection limit of 8 channels per social network on the Free plan, which counts channels you have since disconnected (14 Nov 2026); Pricing page lists the Free plan at 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user; unlimited scheduled posts and first-comment scheduling start on Essentials at $6 per channel monthly (14 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above."
        },
        {
            "q": "What is the best Buffer alternative?",
            "a": "It depends on the job: Publer for cheaper per-account pricing, Metricool for analytics and ads reports, Hootsuite for team inbox work, and Postiz if you want to host the tool yourself."
        }
    ],
    "publisher": "Zekai (zekaiwork.com) — independently reviewed; prices read on vendor pages on the dates shown.",
    "licence": "Free to quote with a link to https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/buffer/. Bulk copying or republishing the dataset is not permitted."
}