How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Free starts: Buffer covers 3 channels free, Metricool is free forever for 1 brand, and Agorapulse gives 1 user with 3 profiles free.
- Cheapest paid tiers: Buffer Essentials at $5 per channel per month (annual), Metricool Starter from $25 per month for 5 brands, and SocialBee Bootstrap at $29 per month for 5 profiles.
- For approval workflows and client work, look at Loomly, Sendible and Agorapulse; Sendible includes unlimited users on every plan.
- Enterprise-grade all-rounders start higher: Hootsuite Standard at $99 per user per month and Sprout Social Essentials at $79 per seat per month, both billed annually.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Buffer | Solo creators and small brands that want dead-simple scheduling | Free (3 channels); Essentials $6/channel/month ($5 billed annually) | Yes (3 channels) |
 Metricool | Brands that want planning plus genuinely deep analytics in one tool | Free (1 brand, free forever); Starter from $25/month (5 brands, per reviewers) | Yes (1 brand, free forever) |
 Later | Visual-first brands and creators on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest | $25/month (Starter; $18.75 billed annually) | Yes (limited, per reviewers) |
 SocialBee | Small businesses that want structured content categories and evergreen recycling | $29/month (Bootstrap, 5 profiles; 16% discount on annual) | No (14-day free trial, no credit card) |
 Loomly | Teams and agencies where every post needs approval | $35/month (Base; $26 billed annually) | No (7-day free trial, no credit card) |
 Sendible | Agencies that refuse to pay per-seat fees for every team member | $35/month (Core; 15% discount on annual) | No (14-day free trial, no credit card) |
 Hootsuite | Mid-size teams that want the full social command center | $99/user/month (Standard, billed annually; Professional $199; Advanced $399) | No (30-day free trial, per vendor) |
 Sprout Social | Teams that want the deepest analytics, listening and customer care tools | $79/seat/month (Essentials, billed annually; $99 month-to-month) | No (30-day free trial, no credit card, per vendor homepage) |
 Agorapulse | Teams that want strong engagement tools and ROI reporting without enterprise prices | $99/user/month (Standard; $79 billed annually, per reviewers) | Yes (1 user, 3 profiles, 10 scheduled posts) |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Here is the uncomfortable truth about this category: most tools called "planning platforms" are just calendars with a publish button. A real planning platform covers the whole loop: content ideas, creation, approvals, scheduling, engagement and reporting, all in one place. That is the bar every tool below is judged against.
The nine platforms here span that whole range. Buffer and Metricool are the affordable on-ramps. SocialBee, Loomly and Sendible are built for teams and agencies with approval chains. Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Agorapulse are the heavy all-rounders. Later sits between the visual creator world and the agency world. Prices below come from each vendor's own pages; where a number comes from a reviewer instead, it says so.
#1
Buffer
Best for: Solo creators and small brands that want dead-simple scheduling
Visit buffer.com
Starting priceFree (3 channels); Essentials $6/channel/month ($5 billed annually)
Free planYes (3 channels)
Buffer is the least intimidating tool on this list. Connect your channels, drop posts into the queue or calendar, and Buffer publishes them. The free plan covers 3 channels, Essentials runs $6 per channel per month ($5 on annual billing) and adds the AI assistant and deeper analytics, and Team at $12 ($10 annual) adds collaboration. It now plugs into Claude and ChatGPT too, so you can plan and queue content from a chat.
The simplicity has a ceiling. Teams with approval chains, client workspaces or heavy reporting needs will outgrow it; the per-channel model also punishes brands with many accounts (six channels on Essentials is $30 to $36 a month before you add anyone). But for one person or a small team that just needs to stay consistent, Buffer is the fastest way to get scheduled and stay scheduled.
What we like- The free plan covers 3 channels with no time limit
- Per-channel pricing stays cheap for small account counts
- Clean calendar, AI assistant and comment management
- Open company that publishes its metrics
Watch out for- Per-channel pricing gets expensive past a handful of accounts
- Analytics are lighter than Sprout or Hootsuite
- Approval workflows are basic compared to Loomly or Sendible
#2
Metricool
Best for: Brands that want planning plus genuinely deep analytics in one tool
Visit metricool.com
Starting priceFree (1 brand, free forever); Starter from $25/month (5 brands, per reviewers)
Free planYes (1 brand, free forever)
Metricool earns its place by doing two jobs well: it is a solid planner with a drag-and-drop calendar and best-time-to-post suggestions, and it is one of the best analytics tools at this price. The vendor's own FAQ confirms the free plan is free forever for one brand, covering planning, auto-publishing and the inbox. Paid tiers start from $25 a month for 5 brands, adding more brands, collaborators, API access and the Data Studio connector on Advanced.
One pricing quirk to know: X (Twitter) costs extra as an add-on, a legacy of that network's API pricing. If X is central to your strategy, factor that in. For everyone else, Metricool is the best value in analytics-heavy planning: the free tier alone replaces a separate analytics subscription for a single brand.
What we like- Free forever for one brand, including analytics and inbox
- Planning, analytics, ads management and DM automation in one dashboard
- Automated reports and competitor tracking
- No per-user fees on the model
Watch out for- Per-brand pricing adds up for agencies with many clients
- X (Twitter) is a paid add-on
- The interface packs a lot in and takes a week to learn
#3
Later
Best for: Visual-first brands and creators on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest
Visit later.com
Starting price$25/month (Starter; $18.75 billed annually)
Free planYes (limited, per reviewers)
Later built its reputation as the visual planner for Instagram, and that DNA is still its strength: a drag-and-drop calendar, media library, Link in Bio pages and dedicated workflows for short-form video. Starter at $25 a month ($18.75 annual) covers one social set with 8 profiles; Growth and Scale add more sets, users and analytics. Reviewers report a limited free plan for evaluation.
Two caveats before you commit. Later ended X support in 2025, which is a dealbreaker if X matters to your audience. And the company's homepage now leads with influencer marketing rather than scheduling, so watch whether the planner keeps getting the product love. For visual brands that live on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest, it remains a top pick.
What we like- The visual content calendar is still the best in class for Instagram and TikTok
- Link in Bio tools connect posts to sales
- Short-form video workflows for Reels, TikToks and Shorts
- Influencer marketing network on higher tiers
Watch out for- Later dropped X support in 2025, so X-heavy strategies need another tool
- Per-plan social sets cap how many profiles you manage
- The homepage now leads with influencer marketing, which may signal where the product is heading
#4
SocialBee
Best for: Small businesses that want structured content categories and evergreen recycling
Visit socialbee.com
Starting price$29/month (Bootstrap, 5 profiles; 16% discount on annual)
Free planNo (14-day free trial, no credit card)
SocialBee's big idea is content categories: you define buckets (blog posts, tips, promos, quotes), set a weekly schedule per bucket, and the tool keeps your feed balanced without daily babysitting. The vendor's own pricing FAQ confirms six tiers from Bootstrap at $29 a month (5 profiles) to Pro150 at $449, all with 16% off on annual billing. Every plan includes AI content creation, a social inbox and analytics.
The entry tier is honest about its limits: 3 months of analytics history, no post approvals, no CSV imports. That is fine for a solopreneur; teams should start at Accelerate ($49) or Pro ($99). SocialBee fits businesses that post a lot of evergreen content and want the calendar to run itself.
What we like- Category-based scheduling keeps content balanced automatically
- AI Copilot builds a strategy from your website
- Vendor-confirmed pricing across six clear tiers
- Works with 10 networks including Threads and Bluesky
Watch out for- No free plan, only the 14-day trial
- Bootstrap limits analytics history to 3 months and skips approvals
- Agency features need the $99-plus tiers
#5
Loomly
Best for: Teams and agencies where every post needs approval
Visit loomly.com
Starting price$35/month (Base; $26 billed annually)
Free planNo (7-day free trial, no credit card)
Loomly is built around one workflow: idea to approval to publication, with no miscommunication. Team members draft posts, stakeholders see pixel-accurate mockups of how each post will look on each network, and approvals happen in the platform instead of email threads. The vendor's homepage now confirms a 7-day free trial with no card required, and Base pricing at $35 a month ($26 annual) covers 2 users and 10 social accounts.
It is the strictest tool here about process, which is either its virtue or its friction depending on your team. Solo creators will find it heavy. But marketing departments and agencies where legal or executive sign-off is non-negotiable will find nothing else structures approvals this well.
What we like- Approval workflows are the core of the product, not an add-on
- Post mockups show stakeholders exactly what will go live
- AI generates ideas, captions and visuals
- Generous user allowances per plan
Watch out for- Only a 7-day trial, the shortest here
- No free plan
- Base covers 2 users and 10 accounts, so bigger teams climb tiers fast
#6
Sendible
Best for: Agencies that refuse to pay per-seat fees for every team member
Visit sendible.com
Starting price$35/month (Core; 15% discount on annual)
Free planNo (14-day free trial, no credit card)
Sendible's headline feature is pricing, not software: every plan includes unlimited users. Hootsuite, Sprout and Agorapulse all charge per seat, so an agency with 10 people pays Sendible $35 a month on Core while rivals charge hundreds. The vendor's homepage FAQ confirms the tier ladder: Core $35, Plus $99, Premium $199, Elite $299, Enterprise $750, with 15% off annual and a 14-day trial on all plans.
The product itself is a capable agency platform: shared calendars, approval queues, client workspaces with permissions, white-labeling on the top tiers and one-click migration from Hootsuite or Sprout. It is not the prettiest dashboard here, but for agencies where headcount makes per-seat tools unaffordable, the math is hard to argue with.
What we like- Unlimited users on every plan, a genuine differentiator
- Vendor-confirmed pricing from Core $35 to Enterprise $750
- Client workspaces with granular permissions and white-labeling
- Bulk import from Hootsuite or Sprout for easy switching
Watch out for- No free plan
- Core covers 1 workspace and 6 profiles, so multi-client agencies need higher tiers
- The interface is functional rather than beautiful
#7
Hootsuite
Best for: Mid-size teams that want the full social command center
Visit hootsuite.com
Starting price$99/user/month (Standard, billed annually; Professional $199; Advanced $399)
Free planNo (30-day free trial, per vendor)
Hootsuite is the category's heavyweight. The Standard plan at $99 per user per month billed annually covers planning and scheduling across all major networks with AI content creation; Professional ($199) and Advanced ($399) add the deeper listening, analytics and team workflows. The vendor's blog confirms a 30-day trial. Recent additions include Hootsuite Wisdom, an AI teammate for content and insights, and MCP connectors that let you run social workflows from ChatGPT or Claude.
You pay for the breadth. A five-person team is $495 a month before add-ons, which is serious money next to Buffer or Metricool. Hootsuite makes sense when social is a real channel with real headcount: listening, advocacy and competitive intelligence that the cheaper tools cannot match.
What we like- The most complete feature set: planning, listening, engagement, analytics and advocacy in one platform
- Wisdom AI assistant plus MCP connectors to ChatGPT and Claude
- Deep competitive and trend analysis
- G2's top-ranked social product for 2026
Watch out for- $99 per user per month is the steepest entry price here
- The platform's breadth means a real learning curve
- Small teams pay for features they will never touch
#8
Sprout Social
Best for: Teams that want the deepest analytics, listening and customer care tools
Visit sproutsocial.com
Starting price$79/seat/month (Essentials, billed annually; $99 month-to-month)
Free planNo (30-day free trial, no credit card, per vendor homepage)
Sprout Social competes with Hootsuite at the top of this list and wins on depth. Essentials at $79 per seat per month billed annually covers publishing, engagement and analytics for small teams; higher tiers add the listening, premium analytics and automation that enterprises buy it for. The homepage itself confirms a 30-day free trial with no credit card, and the structured pricing data shows plans running to $399.
Where Sprout pulls ahead is the quality of its data: listening that actually informs strategy, reports that executives read, and a Smart Inbox that turns social into a customer care channel. It is overkill for a brand posting three times a week. For teams where social drives revenue and needs proving, it is the measurement-first choice.
What we like- Best-in-class analytics and social listening
- Smart Inbox unifies messages, comments and reviews
- AI Assist drafts replies and posts
- Premium add-ons for advocacy and influencer marketing
Watch out for- $79 per seat is expensive for small teams, and costs scale with every hire
- The full power needs the pricier tiers
- Onboarding takes longer than simpler tools
#9
Agorapulse
Best for: Teams that want strong engagement tools and ROI reporting without enterprise prices
Visit agorapulse.com
Starting price$99/user/month (Standard; $79 billed annually, per reviewers)
Free planYes (1 user, 3 profiles, 10 scheduled posts)
Agorapulse positions itself as the value alternative to Hootsuite and Sprout, and the free plan backs that up: the vendor's homepage FAQ confirms one user, 3 profiles, 10 scheduled posts, a basic inbox and reporting, free to start anytime. Paid Standard pricing is reported by reviewers at $99 per user per month ($79 annual), undercutting Hootsuite's list price.
The standout feature is Social ROI: reports that connect organic posts to website traffic, leads and sales, which is exactly what marketing managers need for budget conversations. Support is consistently rated the best in the category. If you want most of what Hootsuite does at a lower price with a free on-ramp, start here.
What we like- A real free plan, confirmed on the vendor's own homepage
- Social ROI reports tie organic social to traffic, leads and sales
- Unified inbox with automated moderation
- Consistently top-rated customer support
Watch out for- Standard pricing is not published on the homepage and comes from reviewers
- Fewer listening features than Hootsuite or Sprout
- Advanced reporting needs higher tiers
The per-seat trap: how pricing models change the real cost
The sticker prices above do not tell the whole story because every vendor bills differently. Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Agorapulse charge per user or per seat: add a teammate and the bill grows. Buffer charges per channel: add a network and the bill grows. Metricool charges per brand: add a client and the bill grows. Sendible charges per plan with unlimited users: add teammates and nothing changes.
Run your own numbers before you fall in love with a feature list. A five-person team on Hootsuite Standard pays $495 a month; the same team on Sendible Core pays $35. A brand with ten social accounts on Buffer Essentials pays $50 to $60 a month per channel math; on SocialBee Bootstrap it pays $29. The cheapest tool for your neighbor is rarely the cheapest tool for you.
Also watch what is missing from the base price. Metricool charges extra for X. Later dropped X entirely. Sprout's best analytics live on higher tiers. The honest comparison is total cost for your team, your accounts and your networks, not the headline number on the pricing page.
Start with your team shape. Solo creators and tiny teams should optimize for simplicity and price: Buffer, Metricool and SocialBee get you scheduled this week for under $30 a month. Growing teams with approvals need Loomly or Sendible. Departments where social is a serious channel should shortlist Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Agorapulse.
Next, list your networks and check each one. X support is the current fault line: Later dropped it, Metricool charges extra for it. If TikTok, Threads or Bluesky matter to you, confirm native publishing, not just scheduling with reminders. Then check the approval story: who drafts, who approves, who publishes, and does the tool enforce that order or just allow it?
Finally, trial with real work. Every tool here offers a trial or free plan; run the same week's content through two finalists and see which one your team actually opens on day eight. The best planning platform is the one that survives contact with your content calendar.
How we chose
We searched as buyers do: social media planning platforms, social media scheduling tools, social media management software and the best tools for agencies. For each candidate we opened the vendor homepage to confirm the current name and URL, then checked the vendor's own pricing and FAQ pages for plans, trials and free tiers; unverifiable numbers are labeled as reviewer-reported rather than stated as fact. We favored tools that are actively sold and maintained in 2026, mixed solo, team and enterprise options, and weighted approval workflows and pricing transparency because those decide real-world fit. No vendor paid for placement.
Frequently asked questions
How much do social media planning platforms cost?
From free to $750 a month. Buffer, Metricool and Agorapulse all have free tiers. Paid plans start around $25 to $35 a month (Later Starter, Metricool Starter, SocialBee Bootstrap, Loomly Base, Sendible Core). Mid-market all-rounders run $79 to $99 per user per month (Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Agorapulse), and agency tiers climb to $199 to $750.
What is the difference between a planning platform and a scheduling tool?
Scheduling posts is one feature; planning is the whole workflow. A planning platform covers content ideas and creation, team approvals, scheduling, engagement with comments and DMs, and analytics. Buffer leans toward scheduling; Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Agorapulse and Sendible cover the full loop.
How many social accounts can I manage?
It depends on the plan. Buffer's free plan covers 3 channels; SocialBee Bootstrap covers 5 profiles; Metricool Starter covers 5 brands; Sendible Core covers 6 profiles in 1 workspace; Loomly Base covers 10 accounts. Higher tiers multiply those limits, and enterprise plans are effectively unlimited.
Do these tools still support X (Twitter)?
Mostly, but check the fine print. Later dropped X support in 2025, and Metricool sells X as a paid add-on. The rest, including Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, SocialBee, Loomly, Sendible and Agorapulse, publish to X on their standard plans at the time of writing.
Is there a free social media planning platform?
Yes, with limits. Buffer is free for 3 channels, Metricool is free forever for 1 brand including analytics, and Agorapulse is free for 1 user with 3 profiles. Later has a limited free plan according to reviewers. Free tiers suit solo operators; teams will hit the limits fast.
How important are approval workflows?
Critical if more than one person touches content, or if clients approve posts. Loomly builds its whole product around approvals with per-network mockups; Sendible and Agorapulse have solid approval queues; Buffer's are basic. If legal or executive sign-off is part of your process, shortlist the tools that enforce the workflow rather than just allowing it.
Sources we checked (15)
- https://hootsuite.com/
- https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-much-does-hootsuite-cost/
- https://buffer.com/
- https://buffer.com/pricing
- https://sproutsocial.com/
- https://sproutsocial.com/pricing
- https://later.com/
- https://later.com/pricing/
- https://www.loomly.com
- https://socialbee.com
- https://agorapulse.com/
- https://agorapulse.com/pricing/
- https://metricool.com/
- https://metricool.com/pricing/
- https://sendible.com/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.