Best social media schedulers: a buyer’s guide
Choosing between the best social media schedulers comes down to four things: how you are billed, who signs off, where your audience talks to you and which networks you publish to. This guide gives you the questions to ask, then compares Posty, Buffer, Hootsuite, Planable and Sprout Social on them, using each vendor’s own pricing page and help centre.
Platform and vendor facts checked on 27 October 2026.
Step 1: List the networks you publish to
Write down every network you publish to now and any you plan to add this year. A scheduler that misses one means a second tool, and a second login, for that network.
Check the formats too: Reels, Stories, carousels, Shorts, documents. Supporting a network does not always mean supporting every format on it.
Step 2: Price your actual team, not the headline
Schedulers bill in three ways: per person, per connected channel, or per brand or workspace. A low price per seat grows quickly with five people; a low price per channel grows quickly with ten clients.
Write down your people, brands and channels, then price each tool on the plan that has the features you need, not its entry plan.
Step 3: Decide who has to approve posts
If anyone other than the writer signs off, find the plan that includes approval workflows, and check whether people outside your team, such as clients, can approve without a paid seat.
Approvals often sit on a higher plan, which changes the real price more than any other feature.
Step 4: Check where comments and messages land
If customers write to you in direct messages, check that the inbox takes messages as well as comments, on the networks where your audience writes.
Some tools sell the inbox as an add-on or keep it for a higher plan, so price it with the rest.
Step 5: Trial your shortlist on a real week
Run one real week of posts through your top two tools, including an approval round and a reply to a comment. A week of real work shows more than any feature list.
Schedule each post in one tool only while you trial, or it will publish twice.
The five schedulers side by side
List prices in USD. Each vendor’s facts come from its own pricing page and help centre, checked on the date shown in the sources below.
- How you pay
- PostyPer workspace (one brand or client), never per seat
- BufferPer connected channel
- HootsuitePer user, every seat billed at the plan’s rate
- PlanablePer workspace, with unlimited users
- Sprout SocialPer seat, every seat billed at the plan’s rate
- Lowest paid plan
- PostyStarter, $24 a workspace a month billed annually, or $29 monthly
- BufferEssentials, $5 a channel a month billed annually, or $6 monthly
- HootsuiteStandard, $99 a user a month billed annually
- PlanableBasic, $32.50 a workspace a month billed annually, or $39 monthly
- Sprout SocialEssentials, $79 a seat a month billed annually, or $99 monthly
- People included
- Posty1 on Starter, up to 10 per workspace on Growth, unlimited on Accelerate
- Buffer1 on Essentials; unlimited on Team at no extra charge
- HootsuiteAs many seats as you buy, each at the per-user price
- PlanableUnlimited users on every plan
- Sprout SocialAs many seats as you buy, each at the per-seat price
- Approval workflows
- PostyGrowth and Accelerate; your team then the client on Accelerate
- BufferTeam plan only ($10 a channel a month, billed annually)
- HootsuiteAdvanced ($399 a user a month, billed annually) and Enterprise
- PlanableOptional approval on Basic; required approval from Pro; multi-level on Enterprise
- Sprout SocialProfessional ($299 a seat a month, billed annually) and above
- Client approvals
- PostyClients approve in their own workspace and count towards its people
- BufferClients approve with their own Buffer login on the Team plan
- HootsuiteNo external approvers documented; approvers are team members with access to the account
- PlanableClients join as approvers with their own account, from Pro; not on Basic
- Sprout SocialUp to three external approvers, on Advanced ($399 a seat a month) and Enterprise; they approve from an email link
- Comments and DMs inbox
- PostyComments and messages on every paid plan, from Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and YouTube
- BufferComment replies on every plan; no direct messages
- HootsuiteComments and DMs on every plan; assignment and routing from Advanced
- PlanableAn add-on at $9 a workspace a month ($90 a year); DMs from Facebook and Instagram only
- Sprout SocialSmart Inbox from Standard ($199 a seat a month); not on Essentials
- Analytics
- PostyEvery paid plan: 30-day history on Starter, 90-day on Growth, 1-year on Accelerate
- Buffer30 days of history on Free; unlimited history and reports on paid plans; branded reports on Team
- HootsuiteReports on every plan; custom reports from Professional; branded and shared reports on Advanced
- PlanableAn add-on at $14 a workspace a month ($140 a year); included on Enterprise
- Sprout SocialProfile and post reports on every plan; Premium Analytics is an add-on with no published price
- Post limits
- PostyUnlimited posts on every paid plan
- BufferUnlimited on paid plans, within a 5,000 post fair use cap per channel
- HootsuiteUnlimited posts on paid plans
- Planable60 posts a workspace a month on Basic, 150 on Pro, unlimited on Enterprise
- Sprout SocialNo monthly cap; the queue allows 10 to 30 posts a day by plan
- Networks
- PostyBluesky, Discord, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, WordPress and YouTube. No X or Google Business Profile.
- BufferInstagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube Shorts, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, X, Mastodon and Google Business Profile
- HootsuiteFacebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest and Bluesky, plus WhatsApp in the inbox
- PlanableFacebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads and Google Business Profile
- Sprout SocialX, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Bluesky, Threads, WhatsApp and Google Business Profile
- Free plan
- PostyLink in Bio only; scheduling needs a paid plan
- BufferYes: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, 1 user
- HootsuiteNone; a 14 day trial with no card required
- Planable50 posts in total, with no time limit and no card required
- Sprout SocialNone; a 30 day trial with no card required
Who each scheduler suits
Judged on the four questions above. Every product here falls short somewhere; the right one is the one whose shortfall you can live with.
Posty
Teams and agencies that want approvals, the inbox and analytics in one price per brand or client.
Where it falls short
No X, WhatsApp or Google Business Profile, no inbox assignment, and Growth allows 10 people per workspace before you need Accelerate.
Buffer
Creators and small teams that mainly publish, want a low entry price and reply to comments rather than messages.
Where it falls short
The inbox replies to comments but takes no direct messages, approvals need the Team plan, and the bill grows with every channel.
Hootsuite
Larger social teams that publish to X or WhatsApp and are happy to pay for every seat.
Where it falls short
Every user is billed at the plan’s rate, and approval workflows start on Advanced at $399 a user a month, billed annually.
Planable
Content teams that want unlimited users per workspace and publish to X, within a monthly post allowance.
Where it falls short
Posts are limited to 60 a workspace a month on Basic and 150 on Pro, and the inbox and analytics are paid add-ons.
Sprout Social
Larger social teams that want deep reporting and external approvers, and are used to paying per seat.
Where it falls short
Billed per seat from $79 a month on annual billing, and external approvers are limited to three, on Advanced.
Questions and answers
- What is the best social media scheduler?
- There is no single best one; it depends on how you are billed, who signs off and where your audience talks to you. On the facts below: Buffer has the lowest entry price for a creator with a few channels. Posty and Planable bill per workspace, which suits agencies and multi-brand teams. Hootsuite and Sprout Social suit larger teams used to paying per seat that need X, WhatsApp or deeper reporting.
- Which social media schedulers include approval workflows?
- All five do, on different plans: Buffer on Team, Hootsuite on Advanced, Planable from Basic for optional approval and Pro for required approval, Sprout Social from Professional, and Posty from Growth.
- Which schedulers are not priced per seat?
- Posty and Planable bill per workspace, so adding a person does not add a seat. Buffer bills per connected channel. Hootsuite and Sprout Social bill every user at the plan’s rate.
- Is there a free social media scheduler?
- Buffer has a free plan with 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time. Planable lets you create 50 posts in total with no time limit. Hootsuite and Sprout Social offer trials instead. Posty’s Free plan includes Link in Bio only; scheduling needs a paid plan.
- Which schedulers publish to X?
- Buffer, Hootsuite, Planable and Sprout Social publish to X. Posty does not publish to X or Google Business Profile.
- Why are only these five schedulers compared?
- These are the tools whose pricing pages and help centres we have checked, on the date shown. Other schedulers are not covered yet; we add a tool only once its facts are checked against its own pages.
Sources
Vendors change plans often. Every competitor fact on this page comes from the vendor’s own pricing page or help centre, checked on the date shown. Posty’s figures come from the pricing page.
Buffer, checked 27 October 2026
Hootsuite, checked 27 October 2026
Planable, checked 27 October 2026
Sprout Social, checked 27 October 2026
Put Posty on your shortlist
Run a real week of posts through your approval rule before you decide. Paid plans start with a 7 day trial that needs a card and bills the plan you chose automatically unless you cancel.