Buffer Pricing 2026: Free, $5 to $12 per Channel
Buffer pricing: free for 3 channels, Essentials $6 and Team $12 per channel a month, lower rates after 10 channels, 2 months off yearly. 14-day trial.
Evgenii PlugarevPublished
Buffer pricing starts with a Free plan for up to 3 channels. Paid plans bill per channel: Essentials costs $6 per channel a month and Team $12 per channel for the first 10 channels, and yearly billing lowers that to $5 and $10. From the 11th channel, every extra channel costs less. Paid plans come with a 14-day free trial.
This breakdown shows creators, freelancers and small teams what they'd pay for their number of channels. Prices are in US dollars, from Buffer's official pricing page.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing | Channels | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 3 | 1 |
| Essentials | $6 per channel/mo | $5 per channel/mo | Unlimited | 1 |
| Team | $12 per channel/mo | $10 per channel/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Paid prices are per channel for the first 10 channels. A channel is one connected account, such as an Instagram profile or a Facebook page.
What each Buffer plan includes
Free: $0 for up to 3 channels
Buffer Free costs $0 and connects up to 3 channels with 1 user. With 10 scheduled posts per channel, 3 channels hold 30 posts at a time. The plan also includes the AI Assistant, replies to comments and API access. The full list of limits is in the free plan section below.
Essentials: $6 per channel a month
Buffer Essentials costs $6 per channel a month with monthly billing, or $5 billed yearly, for the first 10 channels, with 1 user. It removes the queue limit, up to Buffer's fair use cap of 5,000 scheduled posts per channel, and adds advanced analytics, reports, custom UTM parameters, the hashtag manager and first comment scheduling.
Team: $12 per channel a month
Buffer Team costs $12 per channel a month with monthly billing, or $10 billed yearly, for the first 10 channels, with unlimited users. On top of Essentials, it adds approval workflows, access levels for each channel and branded reports.
How Buffer's volume pricing works
Buffer lowers the rate per channel as you connect more. The first 10 channels cost the full rate, and each band above that costs less:
| Channels | Essentials | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 | $6 per channel/mo | $12 per channel/mo |
| 11–25 | $4 per channel/mo | $4 per channel/mo |
| 26–50 | $3 per channel/mo | $3 per channel/mo |
| 51+ | $1 per channel/mo | $2 per channel/mo |
The rates apply band by band, with monthly billing. On Essentials, 25 channels cost 10 × $6 plus 15 × $4, or $120 a month. On Team, the same 25 channels cost $180 a month.
What you'll actually pay: real-world scenarios
With monthly billing, Buffer costs $0 for up to 3 channels, $30 a month for 5 channels on Essentials and $120 for 10 channels on Team. The totals below come from Buffer's per-channel rates.
| Scenario | Plan you need | Monthly billing | Yearly billing, per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person, 3 channels, 10 queued posts each | Free | $0 | $0 |
| 1 person, 3 channels, unlimited queue | Essentials | $18/mo | $15/mo |
| 1 person, 5 channels | Essentials | $30/mo | $25/mo |
| 1 person, 10 channels | Essentials | $60/mo | $50/mo |
| 1 person, 25 channels | Essentials | $120/mo | $100/mo |
| A team, 10 channels | Team | $120/mo | $100/mo |
| A team, 25 channels | Team | $180/mo | $150/mo |
| A team, 50 channels | Team | $255/mo | $213/mo |
The biggest price step comes when you leave the Free plan. On a paid plan, Buffer bills every channel, including the three that were free, so a fourth channel takes the bill from $0 to $24 a month on Essentials. Adding a teammate means moving every channel to the Team rate, which doubles the price for the first 10.
On Pubblica, connected accounts are unlimited on both plans, and Pro is $20 a month flat for all 9 networks.
Is Buffer free? Free plan limits
Yes, Buffer has a Free plan with no time limit. It covers:
- 3 channels and 1 user.
- 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time. When a post goes out, its slot opens again.
- 30 days of insights, 100 ideas and 1 threaded post.
- 5 AI replies a week for comments.
Reports, custom UTM parameters, the hashtag manager and first comment scheduling start on Essentials. On every plan, Instagram personal profiles and Facebook groups get reminders to post rather than automatic publishing.
Does Buffer have a free trial?
Buffer offers a 14-day free trial of its paid plans. During the trial, your account runs on Team, with every feature and room to invite teammates, per Buffer's trial guide. If you don't keep a paid plan, the account moves to Free: channels beyond the third are locked, and posts scheduled on the other channels still go out.
If you're looking for a free plan with unlimited accounts, Pubblica's Free plan includes 20 posts a month to every supported network except X, with unlimited accounts and no card.
Other things that affect your Buffer bill
Six things besides the plan and channel count change what you pay: billing period, discounts, refunds, renewals, payment methods and who uses the account.
- Yearly billing saves 2 months. $6 per channel becomes $5, and 10 channels on Essentials cost $600 a year instead of $720.
- Nonprofits get 50% off paid plans. You apply from a free account, per Buffer's nonprofit discount page.
- Refunds have a short window. Buffer refunds monthly plans within 7 days of starting a subscription and yearly plans within 30 days, per its refund policy. After you cancel, the plan runs to the end of the paid period.
- Prices can change with notice. Plans renew for the same period until you cancel, and Buffer's Terms let it change fees with advance notice. The current prices date from November 2025.
- Payment is by card only. Buffer accepts major credit and debit cards, not PayPal, checks or bank transfers.
- Channels drive the bill, not people. On Team, adding a teammate costs nothing, but every new channel adds its rate.
Buffer pricing compared with other schedulers
Each tool bills by a different unit: Buffer per channel, Hootsuite per user, Later per social set. For side-by-side looks, see Buffer vs Hootsuite and Buffer vs Later.
| Buffer | Pubblica | Hootsuite | Later | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per channel | Flat price | Per user | Per social set |
| Paid plans from | $6 per channel/mo | $20/mo | $99 per user/mo, billed yearly | $18.75/mo, billed yearly |
| Free plan | 3 channels | 20 posts/mo, no X | No | No |
| Free trial | 14 days | 7 days, card required | 14 days, no card | 14 days, card required |
| Social accounts | Billed per channel | Unlimited | 10 on Standard | 1 per network on Starter |
| Networks | 12 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Telegram | No | Yes | No | No |
Buffer publishes to 12 networks, including Bluesky, Mastodon and Google Business Profile. Pubblica, which we make, covers 9 networks, including Telegram, and charges one flat price however many accounts you connect. For more options, see these Buffer alternatives.
Who Buffer pricing fits
Buffer's per-channel pricing suits people whose channel count stays low or who use its analytics and team features on each channel.
- Creators with one to three channels. The Free plan covers them with a queue of 10 posts each.
- Solo marketers who want analytics on a few channels. Essentials adds reports, UTM parameters and first comments at $6 per channel.
- Teams with many channels. Team includes unlimited users, and the rate drops to $4 per channel after the tenth and $3 after the 25th.
If you mainly publish posts, you can start at $0: Pubblica is a free social media scheduler, and Pro is $20 a month flat for unlimited posts and accounts. Move to Pro when you post more or need X.
