Skip to content
CoolNewApps

Head to head

Buffer vs Later vs Publer

The same six questions asked of each one, side by side.

AttributeOur pickBufferAlternativeLaterAlternativePubler
Starting price$5/mo$25/mo$5/mo
Free tierYesLimitedYes
Ease of startScored 5/5Usable same dayScored 4/5Running in an hourScored 4/5Running in an hour
Fit for solo / small teamScored 4/5Good for a small teamScored 3/5Workable for a small teamScored 5/5Made for one person
Switching costLowLowLow
Best forIndividuals and small teams posting to a handful of accounts who want scheduling that works without a dashboard full of metrics.One person running one brand across the visual platforms, where the grid preview and drag-and-drop calendar earn their keep.Solo operators and small agencies running many accounts, where per-account pricing plus the free tenth account undercuts every bundled competitor.
Worth knowing side by side
Renews higherNoNoNo
Worst forAnyone managing many accounts. At $5 per channel, ten accounts is $50/mo for scheduling alone.Agencies and anyone with two accounts on the same network. A Social Set is one profile per platform, so a second Instagram forces a second set at $15/mo.Anyone relying on the free plan for X. Twitter/X is excluded from free entirely, and 24 hours of post history means no archive to review.
Skip it ifYou need deep analytics, social listening or approval workflows. Buffer is deliberately lighter than Hootsuite.You post to a handful of accounts and want the cheapest reliable scheduler. Buffer is $5 per channel and Publer starts at $5 for one account.You want deep analytics and social listening rather than scheduling. Publer is a publishing tool first and Metricool covers reporting better.
VisitVisitVisit

Why Buffer is marked as our pick

Schedules posts reliably and does not try to be a marketing suite. It has the lowest ongoing cost of the tools compared here. We compare on the price you keep paying, not the introductory rate — a plan advertised cheaply that renews higher is ranked on its renewal price. Read the methodology.

Other matchups