{
    "title": "Later Alternatives 2027: 13 Paid, Free & Open-Source",
    "url": "https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/later/",
    "summary": "The best Later alternatives in 2027 are Hootsuite (best overall, $99/user/mo billed yearly), Buffer (best free plan) and Postiz (best open source, AGPL-3.0). Later itself starts at $18.75/mo billed yearly. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 14 Nov 2026; 10 more are compared below, including 3 with a free plan and 4 open source.",
    "tool": {
        "name": "Later",
        "starting_price": "$18.75/mo billed yearly",
        "free_plan": "No",
        "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
        "pricing_url": "https://later.com/pricing"
    },
    "task": "Social media scheduler / manager",
    "prices_checked": "2026-11-14",
    "date_modified": "2026-11-14",
    "alternatives": [
        {
            "name": "Buffer",
            "type": "Free plan + paid",
            "starting_price": "$5/channel/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user, 100 ideas",
            "best_for": "Per-channel pricing with a free plan",
            "difference": "Prices per channel: Essentials is $5 per channel billed yearly with unlimited scheduled posts, and the free plan connects 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://buffer.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://buffer.com",
            "zekai_score": 9.3,
            "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/buffer/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Hootsuite",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$99/user/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "Enterprise inbox and monitoring",
            "difference": "Standard is $99 per user a month billed annually for 10 accounts, against Later Starter at $18.75 for one social set of 8 profiles and a single user.",
            "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": "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": "Multi-brand analytics at low cost",
            "difference": "Free plan includes 1 brand, 20 scheduled posts a month and 5 competitor profiles; Starter at $20 billed yearly covers up to 5 brands with unlimited publishing.",
            "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": "Planoly",
            "type": "Free plan + paid",
            "starting_price": "$14/mo",
            "free_plan_limit": "Free plan on the mobile app: 10 uploads a month",
            "best_for": "Grid planning at a lower price",
            "difference": "Starter is $14 a month for 1 social set and 1 user with grid planning and Instagram DM automation; Later Starter costs $18.75 billed yearly with 5 AI credits.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://www.planoly.com/pricing",
            "website": "https://www.planoly.com"
        },
        {
            "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": "Free tier and per-account billing",
            "difference": "Free plan allows 3 social accounts, 10 scheduled posts per account and 25 drafts; Professional is $4 per account a month billed yearly with unlimited scheduling.",
            "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 plans with bulk scheduling",
            "difference": "Essentials gives 5 accounts and 1 user for $17 a month billed yearly with 500 AI credits; Later Starter gives 8 profiles but only 5 AI credits.",
            "price_checked": "2026-11-14",
            "pricing_url": "https://www.socialpilot.co/pricing",
            "website": "https://www.socialpilot.co"
        },
        {
            "name": "ContentStudio",
            "type": "Paid",
            "starting_price": "$19/mo billed yearly",
            "free_plan_limit": "No free plan",
            "best_for": "AI-heavy content production",
            "difference": "Standard is $19 a month billed yearly for 5 accounts with 25,000 AI text credits, AI image and video credits and MCP access, against Later's 5 AI credits on Starter.",
            "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": "Creator automations on a budget",
            "difference": "Creator is $15 a month billed yearly for 4 social accounts with conditional automation and AI performance prediction, but only 30 scheduled posts and 14 days of lead time.",
            "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, no post caps",
            "difference": "AGPL-3.0 scheduler with unlimited posts, a calendar and AI agent integrations; self-hosting needs Postgres, Redis and a developer app for each network, which Later handles for you.",
            "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 on your own server",
            "difference": "Lite is MIT and free but covers only Facebook Pages, Mastodon and X; Instagram and TikTok scheduling needs the $299 one-time Pro licence and your own PHP or Docker 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": "OpenPost",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "AGPL-3.0",
            "best_for": "Single-container self-hosted editor",
            "difference": "Includes built-in image, carousel and video editors and runs as a single Docker container with SQLite by default, with no Later-style social sets or per-profile post counts.",
            "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": "TryPost",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "AGPL-3.0",
            "best_for": "Agent-driven self-hosted scheduling",
            "difference": "AGPL-3.0 Laravel scheduler offering an MCP server and REST API for AI agents; at roughly 860 stars it is far younger than Later's established product.",
            "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": "Socioboard",
            "type": "Open source",
            "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)",
            "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)",
            "licence": "GPL-3.0-or-later",
            "best_for": "Self-hosted reporting suite",
            "difference": "GPL-3.0 platform with reporting for nine networks; the last release is from January 2024 and it needs Node.js, PHP, MongoDB and MySQL, unlike Later's hosted setup.",
            "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 Later in 2027?",
            "a": "Hootsuite is the best overall Later alternative on this page ($99/user/mo billed yearly). For no cost, Buffer has a free plan (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user, 100 ideas). To self-host, Postiz is open source (AGPL-3.0)."
        },
        {
            "q": "Is there a free version of Later?",
            "a": "No. Later has no free plan; paid plans start at $18.75/mo billed yearly, checked on 14 Nov 2026."
        },
        {
            "q": "Is there a 100% free alternative to Later?",
            "a": "Yes. Postiz, Mixpost, OpenPost, TryPost, Socioboard are open source and free to self-host. Buffer, Metricool, Planoly, Publer have a free plan with limits, shown in the table."
        },
        {
            "q": "What is cheaper than Later?",
            "a": "Planoly starts at $14/mo, against $18.75/mo billed yearly for Later, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 14 Nov 2026."
        },
        {
            "q": "How much do Later 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, Buffer $25/mo, Planoly $70/mo, against Later $93.75/mo for Later. 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 Later?",
            "a": "Standard is $99 per user a month billed annually for 10 accounts, against Later Starter at $18.75 for one social set of 8 profiles and a single user. Choose Hootsuite if you need a shared inbox, monitoring and enterprise permissions across more than ten profiles. Stay with Later if you plan visually around Instagram and TikTok on a budget under $30 a month."
        },
        {
            "q": "Why are people leaving Later?",
            "a": "The documented reasons are: Later's help centre defines current plans (Starter, Growth, Scale) as those started on or after July 1, 2025, and says the Advanced tier no longer exists on current plans (1 Jul 2025); Pricing page: Starter allows 30 posts per profile and 5 AI credits a month, extra social sets and users are not available on it, and Growth ($37.50 yearly, $50 monthly) is the first plan with a social inbox (14 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above."
        },
        {
            "q": "What are the best Later alternatives?",
            "a": "Planoly for a cheaper visual planner, Buffer for per-channel pricing, Metricool for analytics across brands, and Postiz if you want to self-host."
        }
    ],
    "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/later/. Bulk copying or republishing the dataset is not permitted."
}