Buffer vs Metricool vs Later: best social scheduler for solopreneurs (2026)

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Pricing side by side

All prices are in US dollars, taken from buffer.com/pricing, metricool.com/pricing and later.com/pricing on 20 October 2026. Buffer says its pricing was last updated in November 2025. Taxes such as UK VAT are added on top. Vendors change prices often, so check before you buy.

Monthly-billing prices for Buffer and Later aren't shown in the figures we captured, so we've listed their annual prices; both say annual billing saves you money (20% and 25%). Later's top Scale plan is $82.50 a month billed yearly for 6 social sets, 4 users, unlimited posts and competitor benchmarking, which is more than most solo businesses need.

What a typical solo setup actually costs

Pricing models are hard to compare in the abstract, so here are two common setups, billed yearly. These are our own sums from the published prices above.

Setup 1: LinkedIn and X only (a consultant or B2B freelancer)

• Buffer: $0 on the Free plan if 10 queued posts per channel is enough, or 2 channels on Essentials for $10 a month.
• Metricool: the Free plan doesn't include LinkedIn or X, so you'd need Starter at $20 a month plus the X add-on at $10, which is $30 a month.
• Later: doesn't list X, so it can only cover the LinkedIn half of this setup.

Buffer wins this one clearly.

Setup 2: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube (a creator or coach)

• Buffer: 5 channels on Essentials at $5 each is $25 a month.
• Metricool: Starter at $20 a month covers one profile on each network for up to 5 brands, so all five accounts are included, with analytics and reports.
• Later: Starter at $18.75 a month covers all five in one social set, but you can schedule only 30 posts per profile each month. Daily posting to a profile would need Growth at $37.50.

Here Later is the cheapest on paper if you post less than daily, and Metricool is the best value if you want unlimited scheduling plus proper analytics. Buffer costs a little more but stays the simplest to use. The pattern is general: Buffer is cheapest for a few accounts, and Metricool and Later get relatively cheaper the more networks you run.

The free plans, honestly

Buffer Free

Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at any one time, 100 saved ideas, the AI Assistant, basic insights, a community inbox and even API access (1 key, 3,000 requests a month). The 10-post limit refills as posts go out, so if you batch a week or two of content at a time it's workable indefinitely. It's the best free option if LinkedIn or X matters to you.

Metricool Free

One brand with a profile on each supported network except LinkedIn and X, up to 20 scheduled posts a month, 30 days of analytics, analysis of 5 competitor profiles and Metricool's AI assistant. Twenty posts a month across all networks is tight for regular posting, but it's plenty to test the tool with your real routine, especially if you live on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or YouTube.

Later

There's no free plan, only a 14-day free trial of the paid plans. If you want a permanent $0 option, Later is out.

Where each one is strongest

Buffer: simple queue, flexible per-channel billing

Buffer's core is a posting queue and a visual calendar, plus an ideas board, a browser extension, an AI Assistant on every plan and a community inbox for replying to comments. Paid plans add hashtag management and first-comment scheduling. The per-channel model is its big advantage for solopreneurs: you pay only for the accounts you connect and can remove one when you stop using it. Buffer also connects to Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, Google Business Profile and Substack.

Metricool: analytics and many networks for one price

Metricool combines planning with reporting. From Starter you get unlimited analytics history, analysis of up to 100 competitors, PDF and PPT reports, multiple link-in-bio pages, Canva and Google Drive integrations and LinkedIn. Advanced adds team and client management, a post approval system, full X analytics, report templates, a Data Studio connector and API access for Zapier and Make. It's the obvious choice if you also manage social for a few clients, because each client is just another brand on the same plan.

Later: visual planning for Instagram and TikTok

Later is designed around the visual feed. Every plan includes a drag-and-drop visual planner, best-time-to-post suggestions for Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, hashtag suggestions, Instagram first comment, unlimited media storage, Canva export, a Chrome extension and a customisable Link in Bio page with email collection. Growth adds a social inbox, approvals and content collected from tags and mentions. The catch is the post caps on Starter and Growth, and no X.

Which one fits your business?

Choose Buffer if

• You post to one to three accounts and want a capable free plan
• LinkedIn or X is a main channel for you
• You want to pay only for the channels you actually use
• You'd like the simplest tool with the least to learn

Choose Metricool if

• You post on four or more networks and want one flat price
• Analytics and client-ready reports matter to you
• You manage social for clients, or run more than one brand
• You want to connect scheduling to Zapier or Make (Advanced plan)

Choose Later if

• Instagram and TikTok are your main platforms and you plan visually
• You want link-in-bio, best-time suggestions and media tools in the same app
• You post a few times a week per account, so the 30-post Starter cap is fine
• You don't need to schedule to X

How a scheduler fits into a lean solo stack

A scheduler is only useful if you have content to put in it. A practical setup is to design posts in Canva (all three connect to it), cut short clips from longer videos with Descript, and use the scheduler to send everyone back to an email list on Kit or a funnel on Systeme.io, since social followers aren't an audience you own. If you want posts to go out automatically when you publish a blog post or a product, see Make vs Zapier.

Metricool is the scheduling pick in our creator stack and coach stack, and it's in the $0 stack because its free plan is enough to start. If LinkedIn is your main channel, swap in Buffer's free plan instead. For the full picture, see the solopreneur tech stack.

Verdict

There's no single winner, because the right pick follows the number and type of accounts you run. Buffer is the best start for most solopreneurs posting to a handful of accounts, especially on LinkedIn and X, and its free plan may be all you ever need. Metricool is the best value once you're on four or more networks or want real analytics, with one Starter price covering every network. Later is the specialist for Instagram- and TikTok-first creators who post a few times a week. Start on Buffer's or Metricool's free plan with your real posting routine for two weeks, and upgrade only when you hit a limit.

Read more: Metricool review · Best AI tools for solopreneurs · Free AI tools for solopreneurs

Sources: buffer.com/pricing (pricing last updated November 2025, per Buffer), metricool.com/pricing and later.com/pricing, all checked 20 October 2026. Setup costs are our own arithmetic from those published prices, billed yearly and before tax. We haven't been paid by any of these companies for this comparison, and we haven't run our own long-term test of all three.