Buffer is the scheduler most people start with, and in 2026 it is a good one: every network that matters, a free plan, an API and an MCP server on every tier since May 2026. The reason people look for an alternative is almost always the same: Buffer bills per channel, and a creator or a small studio does not run three channels. They run eight, twelve, twenty.
This page does the arithmetic at eight channels, which is roughly one brand on every network, and says what you give up at each price.
What Buffer costs at 8 channels
Buffer's Essentials plan is $6 per channel per month billed monthly, $5 billed yearly. Team, which adds collaborators and approvals, is $12 per channel ($10 yearly). Channels 11 to 25 are cheaper, and the discount deepens past 25, which matters for agencies and does nothing for anyone smaller.
| Channels | Essentials, monthly | Team, monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | $18 | $36 |
| 8 | $48 | $96 |
| 12 | $72 | $144 |
| 20 | $100 (10 at $6, 10 at $4) | $200 |
The free plan takes three channels and ten queued posts per channel, which is enough to try the product and not enough to run one.
Nine alternatives at 8 channels
Prices are each vendor's own, monthly billing, checked in October 2026. "API" means a documented public API you can post through; "MCP" means a Model Context Protocol server an assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT can connect to.
| Tool | 8 channels / month | What that includes | Free plan | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preflight Starter | $13 | 8 channels, 1 user, 150 posts/month, 1 GB files | Free plan, 3 channels | Pro ($24): 20 channels, 3 users, API + MCP |
| PostFast | €29 (Creator) | 12 accounts, 5 users | No, 7-day trial | API + MCP on every plan; no Discord or Mastodon |
| Publer | about $33 (Professional) | $5 for the first account, $4 each after | Yes, 3 accounts | X excluded from the free plan; MCP in beta |
| Metricool | $25 (Starter) + $10 per X account | 5 brands, one profile of each network per brand | Yes, 1 brand | MCP on every plan; X add-on doubled in July 2026 |
| Postiz | $39 (Team) | 10 channels, unlimited members | No hosted free; self-host is free | Open source; API, MCP, CLI; Discord and Telegram |
| Blotato | $29 (Starter) | 20 accounts, AI credits | No, 7-day trial | AI content is the product; no Mastodon, Discord, Telegram |
| Post Bridge | $39 (Marketer) | 15 accounts, unlimited posts | 5 posts a month | API + MCP; listed inside ChatGPT |
| SocialBee | $49 (Accelerate) | 10 profiles, 1 user | No, 14-day trial | No public API |
| Later | $25 (Starter) | 1 social set of 8 networks, 30 posts per profile | No | Dropped X in 2025; no Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, Telegram; no API |
| Hootsuite | $99 (Standard, yearly) | 10 accounts, 1 user | No | Monthly billing is markedly higher |
Buffer's own 8-channel price, $48, is the line to compare against. Half the table is cheaper; the question is what each tool drops to get there.
What you give up, tool by tool
Preflight is the youngest on the list and it shows in two places: X is text-only today, and LinkedIn means personal profiles, not Company Pages, until LinkedIn's Community Management review comes through. What it has that Buffer does not: it checks every post against each network's real rules before it leaves (frame rate on TikTok, JPEG-only on Instagram, bytes rather than characters on Threads and YouTube; see the limits table), resumable uploads for video up to 2 GB, and Discord, Telegram, Mastodon, Bluesky and Tumblr as first-class networks with their own options. The REST API and MCP server start at Pro, not on the free plan as Buffer's do.
PostFast is the closest in spirit: one founder, flat prices, API and MCP everywhere. It has Google Business Profile, which Preflight does not; it lacks Discord and Mastodon. €12 buys four accounts, €29 buys twelve.
Publer is the best value if you want per-account billing that stays cheap, and it has Telegram and WordPress. Its free plan excludes X because of X's API fees, which is honest of them. Members cost extra.
Metricool is really an analytics tool with scheduling attached, and the analytics are better than anyone else's at this price. The brand model (one profile of each network per brand) is generous for a single brand and expensive for a creator with two Instagram accounts. X costs $10 a month per account on top.
Postiz is open source and the only tool on the list besides Preflight that treats Discord and Telegram as real networks. Self-hosting is free and real work (Docker, Postgres, Redis, each network's developer app approved under your own name). The hosted Team plan at $39 is more than Buffer at eight channels.
Later is the odd one out: it dropped X in August 2025 to avoid raising prices, has no Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord or Telegram, and no API. If you live in Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest, it is fine; otherwise it covers less than Buffer for the same money.
Hootsuite is the tool you buy when procurement needs a logo it knows. At $99 per user it is not an alternative to Buffer for anyone reading this page.
When Buffer is still the right answer
- You need Substack Notes, which Buffer added in September 2026 and nobody else has yet.
- You want an API and MCP server on a free plan. Buffer gives one API key and 3,000 requests a month for nothing.
- You run three channels. Buffer's free plan is better than everyone's free plan at three channels.
- You need a native mobile app with 4.7-star reviews. Preflight is a web app that installs as one; Buffer, Publer and Hootsuite have real native apps.
Moving over
Every tool above imports from a CSV, and so does Preflight: one row per post, columns for text, date, time and a media URL. The part a CSV cannot move is the queue of connected accounts; each network makes you reconnect on the new tool, which is a few minutes per account and the reason to keep the old subscription running for a week while the new one proves itself.
Prices on this page were read from each vendor's pricing page on 5 October 2026. If one has changed, write to [email protected] and the row will be corrected with a new date.
Questions people ask
- Does Buffer still have a free plan in 2026?
- Yes. Three channels, ten queued posts per channel, one user, and since May 2026 an API key with 3,000 requests a month. It is the most generous free plan at three channels; it ends there.
- What is the cheapest Buffer alternative for 8 channels?
- At October 2026 prices: Preflight Starter at $13, then Metricool at $25 (plus $10 per X account), Later at $25 for one set of eight networks, PostFast at €29, Blotato at $29 and Publer at about $33. Buffer itself is $48.
- Which Buffer alternatives post to Discord and Telegram?
- Preflight and Postiz post to both natively. Publer posts to Telegram. Buffer, Metricool, Later, Hootsuite and SocialBee post to neither; SocialBee offers a manual reminder instead.
- Which alternatives include X without a surcharge?
- Buffer, PostFast, Postiz, Post Bridge, Blotato and SocialBee include X in the plan. Metricool charges $10 a month per X account and Vista Social $29; Later and Hypefury dropped X altogether. Preflight's X support is text-only for now.