Buffer vs Later: Per Channel or Per Brand? (2026)
Buffer vs Later: Buffer bills per channel from $6 with a free plan for 3 channels, Later per social set from $25. Prices, networks and who each fits.
Evgenii PlugarevPublished
Buffer and Later charge in different units. Buffer bills per channel: its Free plan covers 3 channels, and paid plans start at $6 per channel a month for 12 networks, X included. Later bills per social set, one profile on each of its 8 networks, from $25 a month, and builds its plans around a visual Instagram planner and Link in Bio.
Pick Buffer for a few channels, a free plan or X. Pick Later when each brand posts to five or more networks, mostly Instagram and TikTok. We make Pubblica, a flat-price scheduler, and list it as a third option. Prices are in US dollars, from each vendor's official pricing page.
| Buffer | Later | Pubblica | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per channel | Per social set | Flat price |
| Paid plans from | $6 per channel/mo | $18.75/mo, billed yearly | $20/mo |
| Free plan | 3 channels | No | 20 posts/mo, no X |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days, card required | 7 days, card required |
| Social accounts | Billed per channel | 1 per network on Starter | Unlimited |
| Networks | 12 | 8 | 9 |
| Telegram | No | No | Yes |
Buffer vs Later pricing
Buffer's price grows with each channel you connect, and Later's with each brand, user and post. With monthly billing, five channels cost $30 a month on Buffer Essentials, and one brand on up to eight networks costs $25 on Later Starter.
| Buffer | Later | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Free: $0 for 3 channels, 1 user | Starter: $25/mo for 1 social set, 1 user |
| Middle plan | Essentials: $6 per channel/mo, 1 user | Growth: $50/mo for 2 sets, 2 users |
| Top self-serve plan | Team: $12 per channel/mo, unlimited users | Scale: $110/mo for 6 sets, 4 users |
| Growing past the plan | $4 per channel and lower from the 11th channel | Extra set $15/mo, extra user $5/mo on Growth and Scale |
| Post limits | Free: 10 queued posts per channel | 30 posts per profile/mo on Starter, 180 on Growth |
| Yearly billing | 2 months free | 25% off |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days, card required |
| Refunds | 7 days on monthly plans, 30 days on yearly | Case by case |
Buffer's Free plan is on its pricing page. Later's pricing page lists only paid plans, and its Help Center describes a Free plan with 12 posts per profile a month. For every tier and add-on, see Buffer pricing and Later pricing.
What each plan costs in five scenarios
For one brand, Buffer costs less up to four channels. From the fifth, Later Starter costs less, as long as each profile stays within 30 posts a month. A second person widens the gap: Buffer's Team rate doubles the price of every channel, while Later's Growth includes 2 users. Each brand below posts to five networks, and prices use monthly billing.
| Scenario | Buffer | Later |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person, 1 brand, up to 30 posts per network a month | Essentials, $30/mo | Starter, $25/mo |
| 1 person, 1 brand, daily posts plus Instagram Stories | Essentials, $30/mo | Growth, $50/mo |
| 1 person, 2 brands | Essentials, $60/mo | Growth, $50/mo |
| 2 people, 2 brands | Team, $120/mo | Growth, $50/mo |
| 4 people, 5 brands | Team, $180/mo | Growth + 3 sets + 2 users, $105/mo |
Yearly billing takes 2 months off Buffer's price and 25% off Later's, so the first scenario drops to $25 and $18.75 a month.
On Pubblica, Pro costs $20 a month for unlimited accounts and posts on all 9 networks, so each of the three one-person scenarios costs $20 a month.
Networks and features
Buffer publishes to 12 networks: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube Shorts, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon and Substack Notes. Later publishes to 8: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. Later ended support for X on August 28, 2025.
| Feature | Buffer | Later |
|---|---|---|
| Content calendar | All plans | All plans |
| Instagram grid preview | For professional accounts | Visual Instagram Planner, up to 60 upcoming posts, all plans |
| Link in bio page | Start Page, all plans | Link in Bio, all plans |
| First comment | Paid plans, Instagram and LinkedIn | Starter and up |
| Comment replies | All plans | Inbox on Growth and up |
| Post approvals | Team | Growth and up |
| Users | 1 on Free and Essentials, unlimited on Team | 1 on Starter, 2 on Growth, 4 on Scale |
Buffer adds bulk upload from a CSV file on every plan, up to 100 posts per channel at a time on paid plans. Later adds Instagram Reels audio and Best Time to Post for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok from Starter, and publishes Snapchat Spotlight videos and Public Stories.
How posting works in Buffer and Later
Buffer schedules posts through a queue, and Later through a visual calendar. In Buffer, each channel has a posting schedule of weekly time slots, and a new post takes the next open slot unless you pick a time. A calendar view shows the same posts on every plan. On Free, each channel holds 10 scheduled posts at a time, and a slot frees up when a post goes out.
Later is built around the calendar and a media library. You upload photos and videos to the library and schedule them on the calendar, and the Visual Instagram Planner previews your Instagram grid. Later counts a post when you schedule it, not when it goes out, and resets the count on the 1st of each month.
On Instagram, both tools publish automatically to business and creator accounts. Buffer switches a post to a phone reminder for personal profiles and for features Instagram's API doesn't support, such as music, stickers and links. Later publishes Stories automatically from business profiles, and creator profiles get a reminder to finish the Story in the app.
Who should choose Buffer
Buffer fits people who post to a few channels, use X or Bluesky, or want a free plan. Choose Buffer if:
- You post to three channels or fewer. The Free plan covers them at $0, with 10 queued posts per channel.
- You post to X, Bluesky, Mastodon or Substack Notes. Buffer supports all four.
- Several people work on the same channels. Team includes unlimited users at $12 per channel a month.
- You plan posts in a spreadsheet. CSV bulk upload works on every plan.
- You reply to comments where you schedule. Comment replies come with every plan, including Free.
On G2, where Buffer has over 1,000 reviews, users most often praise its ease of use. To compare more options, see our list of Buffer alternatives.
Who should choose Later
Later fits brands that post visual content to five or more networks, mostly on Instagram and TikTok. Choose Later if:
- Your content is visual and lives on Instagram and TikTok. The Visual Instagram Planner and Link in Bio come with every plan.
- Each brand posts to five or more networks. A social set covers one profile on each, so Starter at $25 a month costs less than five Buffer channels.
- A small team shares two brands. Growth includes 2 users, approvals and the inbox for $50 a month.
- You post to Snapchat. Later schedules Spotlight videos and Public Stories.
Later Social holds 4.5 out of 5 from 384 reviews on G2 and 4.4 from 399 on Capterra. To compare more options, see our list of Later alternatives.
A third option: Pubblica
Pubblica is a social media scheduler with one flat price. Pro costs $20 a month for unlimited accounts and posts on all 9 networks, including X and Telegram, so the bill stays the same as you add brands or networks. You write a post once, pick the accounts and publish it right away or at the time you set.
- Free plan: $0, 20 posts a month on every network except X, with no card.
- Accounts: unlimited on both plans, including several accounts on the same network. Workspaces group them by brand.
- Trial and refunds: Pro has a 7-day free trial, which needs a card, and a 14-day money-back guarantee on payments.
If you mainly publish posts to many accounts, start with Pubblica, a free social media scheduler.
