Buffer vs Social Champ (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Buffer: it is first in our ranking of social media schedulers, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Buffer grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. Social Champ grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Buffer
Social media scheduler priced by the channel, with a free plan
Social Champ
Social media scheduler priced per profile or in bundles
Which one is for you
Pick Buffer if
- Fits if you post to a few channels and want to pay only for those
- Works for one person running up to 3 accounts on the free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you keep adding channels on Team, since every one is $10 a month, including the three that were free
- Too light for teams that live in DMs, as its inbox is described for comments, and there's no competitor tracking on record
- Tight if you're staying free, with 10 queued posts per channel, 1 user and 30 days of analytics
- Not for you if you need approvals or more than one user on Essentials, as those need Team
- Watch out: Instagram personal profiles and Facebook groups get a reminder to post by hand, not automatic publishing
Pick Social Champ if
- Fits if you are a solo user or small brand with a handful of accounts
- Works for agencies who want per-profile or flat-rate pricing
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 15 scheduled posts across 3 accounts
- Pricey if you post to X, because it's charged per profile on top
- Watch out: per-account prices only drop at 11, 21 and 41 accounts
- Watch out: Standard can't add users, extra Professional users are $8 each, and Enterprise has no published price
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABufferGood | 2.4GPASocial ChampFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFive channels on Team, which a team needs because Essentials is one user, is $50 a month billed yearly ($10 a channel). That's above this category's $29 middle and under the $58 where the dearer quarter starts. On your own, Essentials is $25 for five. | BStarter is $4 per account a month on yearly billing ($5 monthly); the flat Standard bundle is $23.20 for 6 accounts. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for good with up to 3 channels, AI help, a comment inbox and 30 days of insights. One person can run three accounts on it. The catch is 10 queued posts per channel at a time and a single user. | CFree plan: 3 social accounts, 1 user, 15 scheduled posts. 14-day trial on paid plans, no card. |
| Features | CQueue, calendar, ideas board, AI help, reports and an API across 12 networks. The gaps it shows: the inbox is described for comments only, there's no competitor tracking on record, and Instagram personal profiles and Facebook groups only get a reminder to post by hand. | CScheduling, inbox, design editor, approvals, listening and reports. X publishing costs extra per profile. |
| Ease of use | AIts iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 34,600 ratings, and the free plan needs nothing but your social accounts connected. | CNo store rating on record. Accounts and workspaces to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension, plus an API on every plan, an MCP server, and Canva, Zapier, Make and WordPress. No desktop app, which is what an A needs. | BWeb, iOS, Android and an extension, with Google Drive, Dropbox, Canva, WordPress, Salesforce and HubSpot, plus an API on Agency. |
| Best for | paying only for the channels you use | paying per social account |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Buffer and Social Champ. How we grade
Price against what you get
Buffer starts at $5 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Social Champ starts at $4 a month and scores 2.3.
Buffer scores higher, and starts $1 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other social media schedulers on the chart, none scores higher than Buffer for less, and none scores higher than Social Champ for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Buffer also covers templates.
- Social Champ also covers shared inbox.
At a glance
| Buffer | Social Champ | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per channel / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) | $4 per social account / month, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, 1 user, 100 saved ideas and 30 days of analytics history. | 3 social accounts, 1 user and 15 scheduled posts. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the paid plans | 14-day free trial on paid plans, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Buffer | Social Champ |
| Price read from | buffer.com | socialchamp.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Buffer
- The Free plan holds only 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time and keeps 30 days of analytics.
- Essentials allows a single user; approval workflows, access controls and branded reports need Team.
- Upgrading means paying for every connected channel, including the three that were free.
- Instagram personal profiles and Facebook groups get reminder notifications to post by hand, not automatic publishing.
Social Champ
- Pay-per-profile prices rise with every connected account, though the per-account rate drops at 11, 21 and 41 accounts.
- X (Twitter) publishing is an add-on charged per profile.
- Extra users on Professional cost $8 per user a month, and Standard cannot add users.
- Enterprise (SSO, Salesforce, HubSpot, custom integrations) has no published price.
Key features
Buffer
- Queue and calendar
- Posts go into a per-channel queue or onto a visual calendar for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, Pinterest, YouTube, Substack and Google Business Profile.
- Ideas and AI Assistant
- An ideas board stores drafts and inspiration (100 on Free, unlimited on paid plans), and the AI Assistant helps write and repurpose posts on every plan.
- Community inbox
- Comments from connected accounts can be answered in one place, with saved replies and AI reply suggestions (5 a week on Free).
- Analytics and reports
- Insights cover follower growth, engagement and post performance. Free keeps 30 days of history; paid plans add reports and UTM tags, and Team adds branded reports.
- Start Page
- A link-in-bio page builder is included on every plan, alongside link shortening and a Chrome extension for sharing from any web page.
- API and MCP server
- Every plan includes API keys, from 3,000 requests a month on Free to 15,000 on Team, and Buffer lists a social media MCP server for AI tools.
Social Champ
- Scheduling and bulk upload
- Unlimited post scheduling on paid plans, with bulk upload on the bundled plans, across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube and more.
- Social inbox
- Messages and comments sit in one inbox, and Discord messages and app-store and G2 reviews can be routed into it.
- Design editor
- Every plan includes templates, seven post sizes, charts of your analytics, background removal and a retouch tool.
- Approvals and client management
- Approval workflows start as basic on Standard and become multi-layer on Professional, with client management on the higher tiers.
- Listening and competitor analysis
- Growth and the bundled Agency plan include social listening, and Professional adds competitor analysis and automation rules.
- Analytics and reports
- Analytics on all paid plans, with cross-platform analytics on Professional and white-label reports on Agency.
Plans
Buffer
Free$0
Up to 3 channels and 1 user, 10 queued posts per channel at a time, the AI Assistant and a comment inbox.
Essentials$5
per channel / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)
1 user, unlimited scheduled posts, hashtag manager, first-comment scheduling and reports. The rate per channel drops after 10: $100 a month at 25 channels, billed annually.
Team$10
per channel / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited team members, approval workflows, access levels and branded reports. $150 a month at 25 channels, billed annually.
Social Champ
Free$0
3 social accounts, 1 user and 15 scheduled posts.
Starter$4
per social account / month, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly)
Pay per profile: unlimited scheduling, 1 user, 1 workspace, analytics, social inbox. Per-account price falls from $4 to $3, $2 and $0.50 in steps.
Growth$8
per social account / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly)
Pay per profile: unlimited users and workspaces, approvals, client management, social listening and competitor analysis.
Standard$23.20
per month for 6 accounts, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly)
Flat-rate bundle with 6 social accounts, 2 users, 1 workspace, bulk upload, MCP access and the Champ AI suite.
Professional$47.20
per month for 12 accounts, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly)
12 accounts, 5 users, 3 workspaces, multi-layer approvals, automation rules and WhatsApp Business.
Agency$119.20
per month for 30 accounts, billed yearly ($149 billed monthly)
30 accounts, unlimited users and workspaces, white-label reports, REST API access and social listening.
Ways to pay less
Buffer
- Annual discount
About two months free with yearly billing
Yearly billing brings Essentials to $5 a channel a month from $6, and Team to $10 from $12. The pricing page calls it saving two months.
- Nonprofit
50% off for nonprofits and charities
Buffer's pricing FAQ offers nonprofit and charity organizations a 50% discount on its paid plans.
Social Champ
- Annual discount
Up to 20% off with yearly billing
The pricing page shows yearly billing as up to 20% cheaper, for example Standard at $23.20 a month against $29.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Buffer or Social Champ?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Social Champ is cheaper to start with: $4 a month, against $5 a month for Buffer. Buffer starts at $5 per channel / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly), and Social Champ starts at $4 per social account / month, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Buffer or Social Champ?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Buffer and Social Champ have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.