Buffer
Social publishing, planning, analytics and community replies priced by connected social channel.
Rich scheduler, content idea board, AI Assistant, community inbox and analytics; social listening and enterprise governance less extensive.
Straightforward social channel connection and planning supported by extensive user feedback; social API constraints still matter.
Public free/paid tiers, annual prices and volume discounts with practical channel calculator; bills scale with channel count.
Broad social networks, public API, numerous automation/design integrations and two-factor authentication; no independent publishing/security test.
Scored by Vishal Singh
Quick facts
- Vendor
- Buffer
- Pricing model
- Free tier and per-connected-channel subscriptions; volume discounts after 10 channels and annual discount
- Plan pricing
- Free plan for 3 channels; Essentials $6/channel/month monthly or $5/channel/month equivalent annually ($60/channel/year) Vendor source checked; not a hands-on review
- Free plan
- Yes — check limits
- Free trial
- Yes — check eligibility
- Last verified
- Not yet verified
About Buffer
Buffer is a social media management platform for individual creators, local businesses, marketing teams and agencies that want to organize publishing across multiple social accounts. Its Create and Publish workflows combine an idea library, post drafts, AI Assistant, social content calendar, per-channel posting queues, cross-post formatting, link handling, scheduled publishing and reminder publishing where social-network APIs restrict automatic publication. Insights provides performance views, reports and suggested takeaways, while Community brings supported social comments into an engagement inbox with suggested replies and saved responses. Buffer also provides a Start Page link-in-bio page, a public API and connections with design, storage and workflow tools. November 2026 pricing uses social channels rather than seats or brands. Free supports three channels, one user, 100 saved ideas and ten pending scheduled posts per channel; posting frees a queue slot. Paid Essentials is $6 per channel per month or $60/year per channel ($5 monthly equivalent) for channels 1–10, and has unlimited scheduled posts, ideas, advanced analytics and a single seat. Team is $12/channel/month or $120/year ($10/month equivalent) for the first ten channels and adds unlimited team members, approvals and role/access controls. The unit price drops above ten channels; for example monthly Essentials channels 11–25 cost $4 each and Team channels 11–25 cost $4 each, with lower steps on larger portfolios. Users receive a 14-day trial of paid tools. The vendor describes paid scheduling as unlimited under a fair-use cap of 5,000 posts per channel, so marketing copy should not imply an infinite quota. Its official refund policy allows requests within seven days of starting a monthly subscription or thirty days for annual subscriptions. Buffer supports Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, X, Bluesky, Pinterest, YouTube Shorts and Google Business Profile, though available post types, analytics and comment handling depend on each network. G2 reviews particularly praise approachable scheduling and ease of use, while some users want more network-level functionality and deeper analytics. Toollers has not connected social accounts, verified API publishing or benchmarked engagement data. The score is based on source documentation and observed review themes.
Best for
Creators, small businesses and agencies scheduling content, reviewing social performance and managing team approvals across several social networks.
Buffer pros and cons
Pros
- Free plan includes three social channels, AI assistance, analytics and scheduling without requiring a trial.
- Clear per-channel pricing means brands pay for connected profiles rather than every team seat.
- Modern channel coverage includes LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky and Google Business Profile alongside established networks.
- Team adds unlimited seats, approval workflows and access levels without per-user charges.
- Public API plus Canva, Zapier, Make and cloud-storage connections enable content workflows.
Cons
- −Free is limited to three channels, 100 ideas, one user and ten queued posts per channel.
- −Every connected social channel costs money after upgrading, including the first three previously free channels.
- −Essentials supports one user; team reviews and approvals require the more expensive Team tier.
- −Platform-dependent posting, community and analytics limits vary between social networks.
- −Unlimited paid scheduling is subject to the vendor fair-use maximum of 5,000 posts per channel.
Features
Platforms
Integrations
Pricing — research snapshot
Pricing at a glance
Free forever with three channels, ten pending posts per channel, 100 ideas and one user; limited Insights history and one API key.
$6/channel/month billed monthly or $60/channel/year ($5 monthly equivalent) for channels 1–10; 14-day trial. Price decreases for higher channel counts.
$12/channel/month monthly or $120/channel/year ($10 monthly equivalent) for channels 1–10; 14-day trial. Adds unlimited team users and approval workflows.
Official pricing / availability source · Checked 5 November 2026. Confirm current taxes, regional terms and allowances. A listed plan is not necessarily the cheapest option.
Editorial verification: Not yet verified. Check the vendor's site for current pricing.
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