ToolGPAOctober 2026

Social Media Schedulers

The Insider’s Guide

Plan posts for several networks on one calendar, publish them on time and see which ones worked.

Buffer
Zoho Social
Metricool
Hootsuite
Publer
Vista Social

Every one we grade, what they cost, the best buy at each budget and the three to look at first.

Checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com

20graded

01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Social Media Schedulers page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing

20

social media schedulers we grade, from their own pages

Plan posts for several networks on one calendar, publish them on time and see which ones worked.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about social media schedulers, worked out from every one we grade.

1
We grade 20 social media schedulers
5 of them are free or have a free plan, and 15 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.
2
Paid plans start at $27.25 a month in the middle
From $4 (Publer) to $99 (Vista Social), going by what each one's paid plans start at.
3
Best value: Hootsuite and Publer
Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.
4
15 of 20 have iPhone and Android apps
20 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.
5
The middle GPA is 2.3
0 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Buffer, at 2.8.
6
Best free option: Buffer
Buffer has the highest GPA of the free ones, 2.8. Social media scheduler priced by the channel, with a free plan.
7
14 worth keeping, 1 you could make
By our keep-or-make rules, 14 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 1 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 5 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three social media schedulers we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1st
2.8GPA
Buffer
Free plan · from $5/mo
For: Most people
Buffer schedules posts to 12 networks, including Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky and YouTube, from a queue and a calendar on the web, iPhone and Android. The free plan covers 3 channels and 1 user, Essentials is $5 a channel a month billed yearly, and every plan includes the API. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 34,600 ratings. Know the limits: the free plan holds 10 queued posts per channel, the inbox handles comments only, and approvals need Team at $10 a channel.
The Buffer Insider’s Guide
2nd
2.6GPA
Zoho Social
Free plan · from $10/mo
For: Small teams that need a full inbox and approvals
Zoho Social's Standard plan covers one account on each of 14 networks for $10 a month billed yearly, less than Buffer charges for three channels. Premium, at $40 a month billed yearly, adds 3 team members, an inbox with assignment rules, approvals, custom reports and links to Zoho CRM and Desk. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from 700 ratings. It is second because the free plan only publishes at once, with no scheduling, Standard is for one person, and a second account on the same network needs another brand.
The Zoho Social Insider’s Guide
3rd
2.4GPA
Metricool
Free plan · from $20/mo
For: Freelancers and small agencies handling several brands
Metricool prices by brand, meaning one profile on each network plus a website. Starter is $20 a month billed yearly for up to 5 brands, with unlimited publishing and analytics history, 100 competitors and PDF reports, and its reports also cover Facebook, Google and TikTok ads. The free plan covers 1 brand with 20 posts a month. It is third because X costs $10 a month per account, team access and approvals need Advanced at $53 a month, and the free plan leaves out LinkedIn and X.
The Metricool Insider’s Guide

Part 03 · Pricing

What they cost

What paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans

$27.25

A month to start, in the middle of those that charge

Going by our grades, Hootsuite and Publer give the most for the money among social media schedulers: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $27.25 a month across the 20 that charge, from $4 (Publer) to $99 (Vista Social).

8 of the 20 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 6 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

The best buy at each budget

Up to $5 a month
Publer, Buffer
Starts at $4 a month. Nothing at that price or less scores higher.

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 20 social media schedulers. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. The green line is the best score at each price.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

The best free ones

Buffer
Free plan · Free plan · from $5/mo
2.8
Publer
Free plan · Free plan · from $4/mo
2.6
Zoho Social
Free plan · Free plan · from $10/mo
2.6
Iconosquare
Free plan · Free plan · from €9/mo
2.4
Metricool
Free plan · Free plan · from $20/mo
2.4

Part 04 · Grades

The grades

The highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject

2.8

The highest GPA, Buffer's

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded social media schedulers, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Buffer	C	B	C	A	B	2.8
Hootsuite	D	C	B	A	B	2.6
Publer	C	C	C	A	B	2.6
Vista Social	C	C	B	C	A	2.6
Zoho Social	C	C	B	B	B	2.6
ContentStudio	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Iconosquare	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Later	C	C	C	B	B	2.4
Metricool	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
SocialPilot	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Agorapulse	D	C	B	C	B	2.2
Hypefury	B	C	C	C	C	2.2

How the whole category does

Each bar is every social media scheduler we grade, cut by the letter it got on that subject.

Value for money
avg 1.9
Free plan and trial
avg 2.0
Features
avg 2.5
Ease of use
avg 2.4
Platforms and integrations
avg 3.0

Part 05 · Keep or make

Keep or make?

Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself

1

Simple enough to make yourself, of 20

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where social media schedulers land, by the same rules for every tool.

14
Keep it
It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.
5
Your call
You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.
1
You could make this
What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Worth keeping

Hootsuite
To replace Hootsuite you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Vista Social
To replace Vista Social you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Zoho Social
To replace Zoho Social you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
ContentStudio
To replace ContentStudio you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

You could make these yourself

Hypefury$60 a year

What each costs a year on its cheapest paid plan, which is what making your own would save. A judgement from each listing; nothing was built to test it.

Part 06 · Every tool

Every tool

All of them, best graded first, with what each costs

20

Tools, best graded first

Every social media scheduler we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

Part 07 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two

8

Questions, each answered in a line or two

What are the best social media schedulers?

Buffer first, Zoho Social second, Metricool third. Buffer is for most people.

Which social media schedulers give the most for the money?

Hootsuite and Publer. Each is the highest-scoring tool at its price or below: Publer scores 3.0 out of 4 and starts at $4 a month; Hootsuite scores 3.3 out of 4 and starts at $99 a month for each person.

Which social media schedulers are best for under $5 a month?

Publer and Buffer, with a score of 3.0 out of 4: the highest among the 3 that start at $5 a month or less.

Which social media schedulers are best for under $10 a month?

Publer, Buffer and Zoho Social, with a score of 3.0 out of 4: the highest among the 4 that start at $10 a month or less.

Which social media schedulers cost the most for what they offer?

On this chart, Sked Social (starts at $58 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 8 tools score higher for less), Planable (starts at $33 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 8 tools score higher for less) and Taplio (starts at $32 a month for each person, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 8 tools score higher for less).

How much do social media schedulers cost?

The middle starting price is $27.25 a month: half of the 20 social media schedulers with a recurring price start below that and half above.

How is the score on this chart worked out?

It is the average of three of the five grades ToolGPA gives every tool: features, ease of use, and platforms and integrations, with an A worth 4 and an F worth 0.

How does ToolGPA grade social media schedulers?

Five grades, A to F, for value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them.

Part 08 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

1,880

Tools graded, in 47 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

1,880
tools graded
47
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Social Media Schedulers: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/categories/social-media

Know someone choosing between social media schedulers?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/categories/social-media/guide

ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa

See our other guides

The top three social media schedulers have guides of their own, and so does every category near this one.

ToolGPA

Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.

Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what each tool’s pages, app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Product names are trademarks of their owners, and no maker made, paid for or approved this guide. Prices and plans change: check each maker’s own site before you buy.