Key takeaways
- Buffer charges per channel: 10 channels on Essentials cost $50 a month, billed yearly. SocialPilot Standard covers 15 accounts for $42.50 flat, billed yearly.
- Buffer approvals are on the Team plan only. We did not find approvals for outside clients on its pricing page.
- Flekh is not a cheaper Buffer. It costs per seat and has no free plan, no inbox, and no TikTok or Pinterest publishing yet.
How we chose: tools that do the same job as Buffer. We checked each price on the vendor's own page on Oct 28, 2026. Flekh is our product, and we list its weak points too.
Buffer alternatives compared
| Tool | Best for | Price from | Free plan | Video review | Publishes to social |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flekh · Our product | Small agencies whose clients must approve each video before it goes live. | Essential $7 a seat a month, billed monthly. Yearly billing saves 40%. | No · 14-day Pro trial, no card | frame-accurate, with drawings | Yes |
| Later (later.com) | Brands and creators who plan visual posts for Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. | Starter $18.75 a month for 1 social set, billed yearly | Yes, limited. Only its help center shows it. · 14-day trial | none | Yes |
| Metricool | Freelancers and small agencies that report on many brands each month. | Starter $20 a month for up to 5 brands, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly) | Yes · 1 brand, 20 posts a month, no LinkedIn or X | none | Yes |
| Publer | Solo marketers and small teams on a tight budget. | Professional $5 a month for 1 social account, billed monthly ($4 billed yearly) | Yes · 3 accounts, 10 scheduled posts each, no X | none | Yes |
| SocialPilot | Agencies that manage 15 to 50 client accounts. | Essentials $25.50 a month flat, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly), 7 accounts, 1 user | No · 14-day trial, no card | none | Yes |
| Hootsuite | Mid-size social teams that need an inbox and listening. | Standard $99 a user a month, billed yearly, 10 social accounts | No (ended March 31, 2023) · 14-day trial, no card | none | Yes |
FlekhOur product
Review, then postIn short: Clients review and approve the video first. Then Flekh schedules only the approved version to social.
| Best for | Small agencies whose clients must approve each video before it goes live. |
|---|---|
| Price from | Essential $7 a seat a month, billed monthly. Yearly billing saves 40%. |
| Free plan | No · 14-day Pro trial, no card |
| Video review | frame-accurate, with drawings |
| Publishes to social | Yes · Instagram, Facebook Pages, YouTube, LinkedIn, X (TikTok, Threads, Pinterest coming) |
Pros
- One tag links a file, its tasks and its posts. Results filter by tag.
- Clients approve from a link, with no account and no seat.
- No charge per social channel, unlike Buffer.
- Results show next to the post and the file.
Cons
- No free plan. Buffer has one for 3 channels.
- No TikTok or Pinterest publishing yet.
- Launched in 2026, so public reviews are few.
Choose it ifyour clients approve videos that you then post to Instagram, YouTube or LinkedIn.
Skip it ifyou post alone, need TikTok or Pinterest, or want a free plan.
Need TikTok or Pinterest publishing? Flekh does not have it yet. Tell Shashank, the founder, what you need →
Later (later.com)
Visual plannerIn short: Later (later.com) is a visual planner for Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest, priced per social set of 8 profiles.
| Best for | Brands and creators who plan visual posts for Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. |
|---|---|
| Price from | Starter $18.75 a month for 1 social set, billed yearly |
| Free plan | Yes, limited. Only its help center shows it. · 14-day trial |
| Video review | none |
| Publishes to social | Yes · Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat (no X) |
Pros
- One social set covers 8 profiles, one per platform.
- Growth and Scale add approval and external comment workflows.
- Link in Bio page included.
Cons
- No X publishing since August 28, 2025.
- Starter allows 30 posts per profile a month and has no approvals.
- G2 reviewers report that Reels and some videos fail to upload.
Choose it ifyour feed is mostly Instagram and TikTok and you plan it visually.
Skip it ifyou post to X, Bluesky or Mastodon.
Metricool
Analytics firstIn short: Metricool (from Spain) mixes scheduling with analytics, competitor tracking and ads reports, priced by number of brands.
| Best for | Freelancers and small agencies that report on many brands each month. |
|---|---|
| Price from | Starter $20 a month for up to 5 brands, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Yes · 1 brand, 20 posts a month, no LinkedIn or X |
| Video review | none |
| Publishes to social | Yes · Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X (paid add-on), Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Google Business Profile, Twitch |
Pros
- Price covers brands, not single channels or users.
- Tracks up to 100 competitor profiles on paid plans.
- Ads reports for Facebook, Google and TikTok Ads.
Cons
- X costs $10 a month per account as an add-on.
- Team members and approvals start on Advanced, $53 a month, billed yearly.
- Capterra reviewers report renewal charges they did not expect.
Choose it ifmost of your client work is reports across many brands.
Skip it ifyou need team approvals on a small budget.
Publer
Cheap per accountIn short: Publer is a scheduler priced per social account, with a free plan, an AI assistant and approvals on Business.
| Best for | Solo marketers and small teams on a tight budget. |
|---|---|
| Price from | Professional $5 a month for 1 social account, billed monthly ($4 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | Yes · 3 accounts, 10 scheduled posts each, no X |
| Video review | none |
| Publishes to social | Yes · Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (paid plans), Threads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, WordPress |
Pros
- Free plan plus a low paid entry price.
- Publishes to Mastodon, Telegram and WordPress.
- Business adds an external Client role for approvals.
Cons
- Capterra reviewers say the price grows with each account and member.
- Capterra reviewers call the analytics basic.
- Capterra reviewers report an unstable bulk uploader with large videos.
Choose it ifyou like paying per account, as with Buffer, but want more networks.
Skip it ifclients must approve without being invited as workspace members.
Hootsuite
Full suiteIn short: Hootsuite (Vancouver, Canada) is a per-user suite with publishing, inbox, listening, analytics and ads tools.
| Best for | Mid-size social teams that need an inbox and listening. |
|---|---|
| Price from | Standard $99 a user a month, billed yearly, 10 social accounts |
| Free plan | No (ended March 31, 2023) · 14-day trial, no card |
| Video review | none |
| Publishes to social | Yes · Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky |
Pros
- Inbox, listening and analytics in the entry plan.
- Bluesky publishing on all paid plans.
- The trial needs no card.
Cons
- G2 reviewers often tag it as expensive.
- Approvals start on Advanced, up to $399 a user a month, billed yearly.
- Monthly-billing prices are not published.
Choose it ifreplies, listening and reports matter more than low-cost posting.
Skip it ifyou are a solo creator with three channels.
How to switch from Buffer to Flekh
- 1Day 1
Start the 14-day Pro trial and connect Instagram, Facebook Pages, YouTube, LinkedIn and X.
- 2Day 2
Keep TikTok, Pinterest and Mastodon posts in Buffer, because Flekh does not publish there yet.
- 3Day 3
Upload the next client video and send the client an approval link.
- 4Day 4
Move queued Buffer posts for those five networks into Flekh, each linked to its approved file.
- 5Day 5
Check results next to each post, then cancel the Buffer channels you no longer use.
Questions
- What is the best free Buffer alternative?
- Publer and Metricool both have free plans. Publer Free covers 3 social accounts with 10 scheduled posts each, but not X. Metricool Free covers 1 brand and 20 posts a month, without LinkedIn or X. Later (later.com) also has a limited free plan, but only its help center shows it. Flekh has no free plan.
- Buffer vs Hootsuite: which should I pick?
- Pick Buffer for low-cost posting and Hootsuite for a full suite. Buffer Essentials costs $5 a channel a month, billed yearly, and Buffer has a free plan. Hootsuite Standard costs $99 a user a month, billed yearly, and includes inbox, listening and analytics. Hootsuite ended its free plan in 2023.
- Is there an open source Buffer alternative?
- Yes. Postiz is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, and you can self-host it with no license fee. You run the server and create your own Meta, YouTube and TikTok developer apps, which can take weeks. Mixpost Lite is free under the MIT license, but it publishes only to Facebook Pages, X and Mastodon.
- Is Buffer free?
- Yes, Buffer has a free plan. It covers up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user. Paid plans start at Essentials, $5 a channel a month, billed yearly. Team costs $10 a channel a month, billed yearly, and adds unlimited users and approvals.
- Is Buffer good for agencies with clients?
- Buffer suits small agencies that only schedule posts. Its approval workflow is on the Team plan, and we did not find approvals for outside clients on its pricing page. Agencies that need client approval of posts can look at SocialPilot Premium. Agencies whose clients approve videos first can look at Flekh.
Sources
- https://buffer.com/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://buffer.com/about, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://napoleoncat.com/blog/buffer-pricing/, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://pricingsaas.com/companies/buffer, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.g2.com/products/buffer/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.capterra.com/p/143492/Buffer/reviews/?page=3, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://later.com/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://help.later.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059362253, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://help.later.com/hc/en-us/articles/33709975610135-Ending-Support-for-X-formerly-Twitter, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://g2.com/products/later-social/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://metricool.com/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.capterra.com/p/203702/Metricool/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://publer.com/plans, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://publer.com/help/en/article/what-are-publers-plans-and-pricing-15h4yqh/, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.capterra.com/p/177145/Publer/reviews/, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.socialpilot.co/plans, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.capterra.com/p/144332/SocialPilot/reviews/, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.hootsuite.com/plans, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://www.g2.com/products/hootsuite/reviews, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://energeticcity.ca/2023/02/24/hootsuite-to-ditch-free-plan-begin-charging-users-for-social-media-tool/, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://postiz.com/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://github.com/gitroomhq/postiz-app, checked Oct 28, 2026
- https://mixpost.app/pricing, checked Oct 28, 2026
Flekh is our product. Every other fact on this page comes from the vendor's own page or a named source, with the date we checked.
SocialPilot
Agency schedulerIn short: SocialPilot is a flat-price scheduler for agencies, with client seats, client approval and white-label reports from Premium.