Buffer is a good scheduler. It is simple, it has a usable free plan, and it covers a long list of networks. People still go looking for alternatives, usually for one of four reasons: per-channel pricing adds up once you run several brands, they want a visual Instagram grid planner, they need team and analytics features Buffer's lower tiers do not cover, or they would rather keep their content and keys on their own computer.
This guide compares the realistic options for someone working on a Mac. Prices and features below are taken from each company's own pricing and help pages as of October 2026. They change often, so check before you buy. Our full comparison table has the same facts side by side, with sources.
What Buffer costs now
Buffer bills per connected channel. As of October 2026:
- Free: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, one user.
- Essentials: from $6 per channel a month billed monthly ($5 on yearly billing), unlimited posts, hashtag manager, first comment, fuller analytics.
- Team: from $12 per channel a month billed monthly ($10 yearly), adding unlimited team members, approvals and branded reports.
Per-channel discounts kick in from the 11th channel. Buffer's own example puts 10 channels at $60 a month on Essentials and $120 on Team. Every plan includes Buffer's AI Assistant, a community inbox, a browser extension and iOS and Android apps.
If you run one brand on three or four channels, Buffer's free or Essentials plan is hard to beat on price. The alternatives get interesting when you need something Buffer does not do well, or when the per-channel bill grows.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Starting price (Oct 2026) | Where it runs | Best at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Snagger | Free, pay what you want | Mac app | Reposts with credit, AI posts with your own or local AI, ordered series |
| Later | $18.75/mo billed yearly | Web, iOS, Android | Visual Instagram planning, link in bio |
| Planoly | $14/mo (Starter) | Web, iOS, Android | Instagram grid planning |
| Metricool | Free; Starter $20/mo billed yearly | Web, mobile | Analytics and many brands for the price |
| Hootsuite | From $99 per user/mo billed yearly | Web, mobile | Teams, inbox, listening |
| Sprout Social | From $79 per seat/mo billed yearly | Web, mobile | Teams, reporting, customer care |
Later: if your feed's look matters most
Later is built around a visual planner. You drag media onto a calendar, preview your Instagram profile as followers will see it, and rearrange the grid before posts go out. Its Starter plan is $18.75 a month billed yearly for one social set (8 profiles), 30 posts per profile a month and one user; Growth is $37.50 and Scale $82.50, both billed yearly. Caption Writer AI runs on monthly credits (5 on Starter, 50 on Growth). Later auto-publishes Instagram carousels, including mixed photos and videos, and supports Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and Snapchat.
Stronger than Buffer at: grid preview, link in bio. Weaker: post limits on Starter, AI is metered.
Planoly: the grid planner
Planoly started as an Instagram grid planner and still leads with it: drag-and-drop feed preview, auto-posting for grid posts, carousels, reels and stories, a hashtag manager and an AI caption writer. Plans are $14 (Starter), $24 (Growth) and $47 (Pro) a month, with up to 15% off yearly. The free plan lives on the mobile app with 10 uploads a month. Analytics focus on Instagram.
Stronger than Buffer at: feed aesthetics. Weaker: fewer networks, Instagram-centred analytics.
Metricool: analytics on a budget
Metricool's free plan covers one brand with 20 scheduled posts a month and a month of analytics history. Starter is $20 a month billed yearly ($25 monthly) for up to 10 brands with unlimited scheduling and analytics history; Advanced is $53 billed yearly for up to 50 brands, adding approvals and team roles. It supports a wide list of networks including Bluesky, Threads and Google Business Profile, has an inbox for Instagram, Facebook and Google Business, and lets you mix photos and video in Instagram carousels. X is a paid add-on.
Stronger than Buffer at: analytics and competitor tracking per dollar, many brands on one plan.
Hootsuite and Sprout Social: when you have a team
These two are a different category. Hootsuite's plans start at $99 per user a month billed yearly (Standard, 10 social accounts) and run to $399 for Advanced; Sprout Social's Essentials plan is $79 per seat billed yearly, then $199, $299 and $399 per seat. You get unified inboxes, approval workflows, listening, deep reporting and support. Hootsuite also offers MCP connectors so you can drive it from ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot.
Stronger than Buffer at: everything a social team or agency needs. Weaker: price for a solo creator or a small shop.
Social Snagger: a Mac app instead of a subscription
Social Snagger takes a different approach. It is a Mac app, not a website, and it is free with an optional tip. Your library, logins and API keys stay on your Mac.
What it does that the others do not:
- Finds posts with credit attached. Follow creators and hashtags on nine platforms, or paste a link; each item keeps the creator's @handle and original caption, with credit on by default and permission tracked per post.
- Writes posts with the AI you choose. Claude, OpenAI, Gemini or OpenRouter with your own key, or Ollama and LM Studio running free on your Mac. You pay the AI provider directly, or nothing at all with a local model.
- Keeps series in order. Files named B1, B2, B3 or "1 of 3" become a series, and a part is held until the one before it has gone out.
- Plans whole launches. Plan my launch writes 10, 20 or 25 posts across pre-launch, launch week and after.
- Fills the week for every brand. Fill my week books posts across brands and channels with a mix of your own work, credited reposts and promos.
It posts automatically to Instagram, Threads, Facebook Pages, Pinterest, Tumblr and Bluesky (and to a webhook for Zapier). TikTok and YouTube Shorts arrive on your phone through a free Telegram bot, ready to post in a tap.
Where it is weaker, honestly: it is Mac only and your Mac must be awake for posts to go out. Connecting channels takes more setup than one-click sign-in: you use your own developer credentials (a Meta app for Instagram, Threads and Facebook, plus a media host for those). There are no analytics, no comment inbox and no team accounts. The build is not yet signed by Apple, so macOS asks you to approve it once; there is nothing else to install. If you need analytics or a team inbox, pair it with a tool that has them, or pick one of the tools above.
How to choose
- One brand, a few channels, want simple: stay on Buffer, or try its free plan.
- Your Instagram grid is your shop window: Later or Planoly.
- You want analytics without enterprise prices: Metricool.
- You manage a team or clients with approvals: Hootsuite or Sprout Social.
- You curate other creators' work, post every day across several brands, and want to use your own or free local AI on your Mac: Social Snagger.
Read more on running a scheduler locally in a free social media scheduler that runs on your Mac, or see how to schedule carousels in order.
Try it
Social Snagger costs nothing to try. Download it for Mac, connect one channel, and see whether a local app fits the way you work before you renew a subscription.