PlanSched vs Buffer
Best for creators & small teams on a budget. Here's how the two platforms actually stack up on price, features, and fit.
Last updated: July 2026
Quick verdict
The right pick if you're a creator or 1-3 person team publishing to a handful of accounts. Costs scale with channels rather than seats, which suits small teams but gets awkward for agencies running 30+ profiles.
Feature matrix
| Feature | PlanSched | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Free workspace | $5/channel/mo |
| Pricing model | Flat per workspace | Per channel |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Networks supported | 9 | 10 |
| Scheduling | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Content calendar | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Analytics | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Team collaboration | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| AI caption assist | ✓ | Varies by tier |
Ratings reflect publicly documented feature depth as of the last review. See Buffer's website for current specifics.
Buffer pricing
Pricing as documented publicly — verify current rates on Buffer's site before buying.
- Channels
- 3 channels
- Users
- 1 user
- Scheduling
- 10 posts / channeliHard cap of 10 scheduled posts per channel at any time. Once published, slots free up.
- Analytics
- BasiciPost-level stats for the last 30 days. No historical trends, no exports, no audience insights.
- Collaboration
- Solo only
- Channels
- Unlimited posts
- Users
- 1 user
- Scheduling
- Unlimited queueiUnlimited scheduled posts per channel, custom posting schedules, hashtag manager, and first-comment scheduling.
- Analytics
- AdvancediFull historical analytics, custom date ranges, story & reel metrics, and PDF exports.
- Collaboration
- Solo
- Channels
- Unlimited posts
- Users
- Unlimited users
- Scheduling
- Unlimited + approvalsiEverything in Essentials plus draft collaboration, approval workflows, and custom access permissions per teammate.
- Analytics
- Advanced + brandediAdvanced analytics with branded, white-labeled PDF reports. No cross-channel benchmarking or listening.
- Collaboration
- Approvals & roles
| Plan | Free | Essentials | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 Forever free | $5 / channel / month (annual) | $10 / channel / month (annual) |
| Channels | 3 channels | Unlimited posts | Unlimited posts |
| Users | 1 user | 1 user | Unlimited users |
| Scheduling | 10 posts / channeliHard cap of 10 scheduled posts per channel at any time. Once published, slots free up. | Unlimited queueiUnlimited scheduled posts per channel, custom posting schedules, hashtag manager, and first-comment scheduling. | Unlimited + approvalsiEverything in Essentials plus draft collaboration, approval workflows, and custom access permissions per teammate. |
| Analytics | BasiciPost-level stats for the last 30 days. No historical trends, no exports, no audience insights. | AdvancediFull historical analytics, custom date ranges, story & reel metrics, and PDF exports. | Advanced + brandediAdvanced analytics with branded, white-labeled PDF reports. No cross-channel benchmarking or listening. |
| Collaboration | Solo only | Solo | Approvals & roles |
The Dec 2025 overhaul, in plain terms
In December 2025 Buffer restructured its plans. The standalone Agency tier was retired and its differentiating features — approval workflows, custom access permissions, and branded PDF reports — were absorbed into the Team plan at the same $10/channel/month price. Essentials and Free were left untouched.
- +Team absorbs Agency: unlimited users, approvals, custom permissions, and branded reports are now included on Team.
- +No forced migration: existing Agency customers were moved to Team at their current rate.
- −Still per-channel: the pricing math didn't change. A 30-channel workspace still pays $300/month on Team regardless of team size.
- −Still no inbox or listening: the overhaul was pricing-only. Unified social inbox and social listening remain absent at every tier.
Cost example: 3-person team, 5 channels
Same team, same channel count. Buffer wins on cost by ~6× — but you trade away the unified inbox and listening that make Sprout expensive in the first place.
Buffer pricing FAQ
Common questions about what's included at each tier.
What actually changed on the Team plan in December 2025?+
Team absorbed the retired Agency tier. It now includes unlimited users, approval workflows, custom access permissions per teammate, and branded (white-labeled) PDF analytics reports — at the same $10/channel/month annual price it had before.
What's included at each tier?+
Free: 3 channels, 1 user, 10 scheduled posts per channel, basic 30-day analytics. Essentials ($5/ch/mo): unlimited scheduling, advanced historical analytics, hashtag manager, first-comment scheduling, single user. Team ($10/ch/mo): everything in Essentials plus unlimited users, approvals, custom permissions, and branded reports.
Is scheduling actually unlimited on paid tiers?+
Yes. The 10-post-per-channel cap only exists on Free. Both Essentials and Team offer unlimited scheduled posts per channel, custom posting schedules, and queue management.
How do analytics differ between Essentials and Team?+
Essentials and Team share the same advanced analytics engine — historical trends, custom date ranges, story/reel metrics, and PDF exports. The only analytics difference on Team is white-labeled branded reports for client delivery. Neither tier includes cross-network benchmarking or social listening.
Do I still pay per channel on Team, even with unlimited users?+
Yes. Team removes per-seat charges but keeps per-channel pricing. A 30-profile agency pays $300/month on Team whether they have 3 teammates or 30 — which is Buffer's core advantage over Sprout Social and Hootsuite for growing teams.
What's still missing that competitors offer?+
No unified social inbox at any tier, no social listening, and lighter analytics than Sprout Social or Hootsuite Enterprise. If you need conversation management or brand monitoring, Buffer will not cover that use case.
Where Buffer wins
- +Genuinely affordable per-channel pricing
- +Free plan with 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts
- +Clean drag-and-drop content calendar
- +Supports 10+ networks including Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads
Where Buffer falls short
- −Analytics are lighter than enterprise competitors
- −No unified social inbox at any tier
- −No social listening
- −Collaboration features gated behind Team plan
Who each is for
You match this profile: Solopreneurs, creators, freelancers. Your budget and workflow fit per channel pricing and you value what Buffer is known for.
You want approvals, a shared inbox, and cross-network analytics on flat workspace pricing — without per-seat or per-channel math that punishes team growth.
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Disclosure: PlanSched is our product. Competitor information is drawn from publicly available sources at time of writing and may change.