Best free social media schedulers in 2026, compared

For one person on a few networks, Buffer's free plan is the strongest we read: three channels, ten queued posts each, an API key and every network on the list. For Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok with analytics next to the scheduler, Metricool's free plan is the better fit, as long as you can live without LinkedIn and X. For a small business that wants to try a post-checking scheduler with client approval links, Preflight's free plan fits. We are not the best choice if you post more than 20 times a month on three channels, or need Company Page posting on LinkedIn today: Zoho Social's free plan lists a LinkedIn Company Page, and ours does not yet.

This guide is written by a company that sells a scheduler, so here is how it was made. For each tool below we opened the vendor's own pricing page or help centre on 8 October 2026 and wrote down what it said. Where a page did not say, the table says so instead of guessing.

The free plans side by side

Only tools with a free plan we could confirm from the vendor's own page are in the table. Tools with no free plan are listed under "What free usually means".

All figures were read from the linked pages on 8 October 2026. Plans change often, so use the links to confirm before you build a workflow on a number. Preflight is not in this table because the next section covers it with the same rules.

Pick by job

One creator on one or two networks

Buffer's ten queued posts per channel is a generous queue for one person, and the slot frees up when a post publishes. If your only networks are Facebook and Instagram, check Meta's own scheduling before you add any tool; Meta Business Suite lets you create and schedule posts on both, though the page we read did not state a price. Publer's free plan is also a fair fit, with the catch that it deletes published posts after 24 hours, so keep your own record.

A small business with a few channels

You usually need three things: a calendar, the networks your customers use, and a way to keep one person from posting something wrong. Buffer fits a business that is happy with three channels and a queue. Metricool fits one that wants to see how posts did, with one brand and 20 scheduled posts a month. Preflight fits a business that wants every post checked against each network's real limits before it goes out, and wants a boss or client to approve by link. See the Buffer comparison and the Metricool comparison for the paid side.

A nonprofit

None of the pages we read describe a nonprofit discount, so we cannot say which vendors offer one; ask before you pay. What a free plan gives a small charity is usually enough: three channels is a Facebook page, an Instagram account and a LinkedIn profile. Zoho Social lists six channels including a LinkedIn Company Page, which matters for an organisation whose public face is a Page. Watch the posting caps: a charity that posts daily will hit Metricool's 20 a month or Preflight's 20 a month in under three weeks.

A developer who wants an API or MCP for free

This is where free plans differ most. Buffer's pricing page lists one API key with 100 requests per 15 minutes, 250 per day and 3,000 per 30 days on Free. Metricool's API appears only on Advanced and Custom, while its pricing page lists Metricool MCP among the Free plan's features. Postiz self-hosted has no plan limits, and its cloud plans are paid. Preflight has no API on Free; API keys, webhooks and the MCP server start on Pro. If you want an assistant to schedule for you, this guide shows how that works.

An agency with clients

Free plans are built for one account, and none of the free plans above offers a client-facing approval step except Preflight's. Buffer puts approvals on Team ($10 per channel per month on the page we read), Metricool on paid plans, and Zoho Social on Premium and Agency. If clients are the reason you are shopping, read the approval workflow guide first, then check how each tool handles a post edited after approval.

What "free" usually means

Free plans in 2026 limit things in a handful of recurring ways. Here are the patterns, each with an example we read.

A cap on queued or monthly posts. Buffer allows 10 scheduled posts per channel at once and frees the slot when a post publishes. Metricool allows 20 scheduled posts a month, and Pallyy 15. These are different limits: a queue limit lets you post indefinitely if you refill it, while a monthly limit is a hard stop.

A cap on channels. Buffer and Publer take three. Metricool counts brands, and a brand holds one profile of each network, so two Instagram accounts are two brands.

Networks left out. Metricool's page says its free plan covers all networks except LinkedIn and X. Publer's help centre says X needs an upgrade.

Short history. Buffer, Metricool and Pallyy keep 30 days of analytics on Free. Publer goes further and deletes published posts after 24 hours. If you need to show a client last quarter, free history will not do it.

Features cut, not limits. Buffer's Free plan has no first-comment scheduling, hashtag manager or custom UTM parameters. The posts go out; the polish is paid.

No free plan at all. Several well-known tools have none. Hootsuite lists plans from Standard at $99 and a 14-day trial, with no card needed. Later lists Starter at $18.75 a month billed yearly with a 14-day trial. Planable offers a free trial of 50 created posts in total, not a free plan. Vista Social and SocialBee have 14-day trials. Postiz's cloud has no free tier. A trial ends; a free plan does not, so the distinction matters when you compare.

Posting stops when a trial ends. SocialBee's page says posting stops automatically when its trial ends and settings are kept. Check what any tool does at the limit before you rely on it.

Where Preflight's free plan fits

Preflight's Free plan, as defined in our own plan file:

• 3 channels, on any of the twelve networks. Networks are not locked by plan.
• 20 posts a month. Drafts do not count.
• 1 user.
• 3 GB of media sent to networks a month, files up to 200 MB, kept 7 days after the post that used them.
• 30 days of analytics.
• The rule check on every post: the composer checks caption length, media format and the network's real limits as you write, before the post goes out. The numbers are on the limits page.
• Client approval links, on every plan including Free. The client needs no account.
• No API, webhooks or MCP; those begin on Pro. No AI assistant on Free.

There is no card on the Free plan and no time limit. A 14-day Pro trial can be started once per person from Billing. It takes a card: nothing is charged during the trial, and unless you cancel before it ends it becomes a paid Pro plan. Cancel in time and the workspace goes back to Free with everything still there.

What Preflight lacks, honestly. Twenty posts a month is less than a Buffer queue refilled daily. LinkedIn means personal profiles; Company Pages wait for LinkedIn's review (see LinkedIn). X posting is text-only today. We are the youngest tool in this guide, and there is no self-hosted option; for that, see Postiz. Paid plans are on the pricing page.

Things to check before you commit

1. Is the limit on posts or on channels? Ten posts per channel is a very different promise from twenty posts in total.
2. Is it a queue limit or a monthly limit? A queue refills when posts publish; a monthly limit does not.
3. What happens at the limit? Does the tool refuse the new post, stop old ones, or push you into a trial? Test it with a throwaway account.
4. Which networks are really included? Read the footnotes. LinkedIn and X are the usual exceptions, and Pinterest sometimes has account rules.
5. How long are posts and numbers kept? If a client wants a report, 30 days or 24 hours of history decides the tool.
6. Can you take your data out? Look for a CSV or export before you build a queue of 200 posts. Our Metricool alternatives page shows how a queue is rebuilt in a new tool.
7. How fast does the plan change? Free plans are the first thing vendors trim. Hootsuite and Later list none now; check the date on any comparison, including this one.
8. What does the tool do with your data? Read the privacy notice and terms of any tool that holds your network tokens.
9. Is the approval step for you or for the client? An approval feature that needs the client to sign up is a feature your client may never use.

If the answer to most of these is "it depends", start with the free plan and a real week of posts, not a sample. Our roundup of paid schedulers covers what you get when you outgrow free.