Posting to several networks by hand works until you miss a week. A scheduler lets you write a batch of posts in one sitting and spread them out. Most schedulers are priced for agencies juggling clients, at $99 to $399 a month per seat, so for one person the real choice is narrower than the market looks.
Three pricing models hide behind similar-looking plans: per channel (Buffer), per brand (Metricool, Zoho Social) and per seat (Sprout Social, Agorapulse). For a solo creator with four or five profiles, the model matters more than the headline price. Plans and terms below were read from each tool's own pricing and terms pages on 3 Nov 2026.
Quick picks
- Free scheduling: Buffer, 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time.
- Free with LinkedIn profile support: Zoho Social's free plan covers 6 networks including your LinkedIn profile.
- Cheapest paid scheduler for one brand: Zoho Social Standard, $10/mo billed yearly, or Buffer at $5/mo per channel billed yearly.
- Scheduling plus a 30-day money-back guarantee: ContentStudio, $19/mo billed yearly.
- LinkedIn growth: Taplio, from $39/mo.
How these tools were compared
This guide is built from what each company publishes. For every tool it checks:
- The free plan, and which networks it leaves out.
- How the price scales: per channel, per brand or per seat.
- The cheapest paid plan for one person with a handful of profiles.
- Trial terms (card or no card) and refunds.
Compare at a glance
| Tool | Free plan or trial | Cheapest paid plan | Priced per | Refunds | Trustpilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | 3 channels, 10 queued posts each | $6/mo ($5 yearly) | Channel | Not stated | 4.2 (152) |
| Zoho Social | 1 brand, 6 networks | $15/mo ($10 yearly) | Brand | By email request | Not listed |
| Metricool | 1 brand, 20 posts/month, no LinkedIn | $25/mo ($20 yearly) | Brands | Not stated | 4.1 (691) |
| ContentStudio | 7-day trial, no card | $29/mo ($19 yearly) | Account | 30-day money back | Too few reviews |
| Sendible | 14-day trial, no card | $35/mo | Account | Month to month | 4.3 (25) |
| Predis.ai | 3-day trial, card charged | $32/mo ($19 yearly) | Brand | Non-refundable after trial | 4.4 (295) |
| Taplio | 7-day trial | $39/mo | Account | Not stated | 3.6 (20) |
| Agorapulse | 30-day trial, no card | $99/mo ($79 yearly) | User | Not stated | 4.0 (57) |
| Hootsuite | 14-day trial, card | $99/mo | Account | No refund on cancel | 1.3 (556) |
| Sprout Social | 30-day trial, no card | $199/mo yearly | Seat | Not stated | 1.8 (89) |
Schedulers
Write posts once, queue them for several networks, and see what performed.
Buffer
from $6/mo
Free plan: 3 channels, 10 queued posts each
Buffer schedules posts to Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon and YouTube, with an AI assistant, a comment inbox, a link-in-bio page and analytics. The free plan covers 3 channels with up to 10 posts queued per channel at any one time.
Paid plans are priced per channel: Essentials costs $6/mo per channel, or $5/mo billed yearly, with unlimited scheduling and analytics. One catch: once you upgrade, you pay for every channel, including the three that were free. Five channels on Essentials come to $25/mo billed yearly.
On Trustpilot, Buffer scores 4.2 from 152 reviews. Reviewers find it intuitive and say it saves time scheduling across platforms.
Pick it if you post to two or three networks and the free queue is enough, or if you want to pay only for the channels you use.
Zoho Social
Zoho Social schedules posts with custom queues, a bulk scheduler from CSV, repeat posting and best-time predictions on higher plans. The free plan covers 1 brand across 6 networks, including both a LinkedIn page and a LinkedIn profile, with 5 AI credits.
Standard is $15/mo ($10/mo billed yearly) for 14 channels. Bulk scheduling and repeat posting start on Professional at $40/mo ($30/mo yearly). Refunds are requested by email.
Pick it if you want a free plan that includes your personal LinkedIn profile, or the cheapest paid plan for one brand.
Metricool
from $25/mo
Free plan: 1 brand, 20 posts/month, no LinkedIn
Metricool combines a visual planner with analytics, competitor tracking, an inbox, link-in-bio and automated PDF reports. The free plan gives 1 brand, 20 scheduled posts a month and 30 days of analytics, but leaves out LinkedIn and X.
Starter is $25/mo ($20/mo billed yearly) for up to 5 brands, unlimited publishing and LinkedIn. A brand means one business, with one profile per network. Prices exclude VAT.
On Trustpilot, Metricool scores 4.1 from 691 reviews. Reviewers praise responsive support and say planning is clear and easy.
Pick it if analytics matter as much as scheduling and you don't post to LinkedIn on the free plan.
ContentStudio
ContentStudio offers a content calendar, an AI studio for captions and images, social listening, an inbox and client approvals. Standard is $29/mo ($19/mo billed yearly) for 5 social accounts and 1 user, but it does not include the unified inbox; that starts on Advanced at $69/mo ($49/mo yearly).
The 7-day trial needs no card, and ContentStudio offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is unusual in this category.
Pick it if you want scheduling and AI captions for up to 5 accounts, with a refund window to try it properly.
Sendible
from $35/mo
Trial: 14-day trial, no card
Sendible is built for agencies, with workspaces per client, unlimited users and evergreen post recycling. Core is $35/mo for 1 workspace and 6 profiles with unlimited AI credits. Billing is month to month with no contract, and yearly billing saves 15%. The 14-day trial needs no card.
On Trustpilot, Sendible scores 4.3 from 25 reviews. Reviewers managing many client accounts say it saves time and like the calendar view.
Pick it if you manage social media for a few clients as well as your own.
Agorapulse
from $99/mo
Trial: 30-day trial, no card
Agorapulse adds an AI engine that repurposes webinars and articles into posts, plus an inbox with moderation rules and ROI reports. Standard is $99/mo per user ($79/mo billed yearly). The 30-day trial needs no card.
On Trustpilot, Agorapulse scores 4.0 from 57 reviews. Agencies praise it highly; a recurring complaint is profile connections that fail and need reconnecting.
Pick it if you need reporting that ties posts to results. For one person scheduling posts, it is more than you need.
Hootsuite
from $99/mo
Trial: 14-day trial, card needed
Hootsuite covers scheduling with best-time suggestions, an inbox, social listening, an AI assistant and over 100 integrations. Standard is $99/mo for up to 10 profiles. The 14-day trial asks for payment details, limits daily posts and disables bulk scheduling. Its terms say that if you cancel or downgrade, you keep paying for the rest of the term with no refund.
On Trustpilot, Hootsuite scores 1.3 from 556 reviews. Reviewers mostly report charges they did not expect, some for large annual amounts.
Pick it if a business you work with already runs on it.
Sprout Social
from $199/mo billed yearly
Trial: 30-day trial, no card
Sprout Social offers a shared calendar, a smart inbox with sentiment detection, an AI agent, monitoring and review management. Standard is $199/mo per seat billed yearly for 5 profiles. The 30-day trial needs no card.
On Trustpilot, Sprout Social scores 1.8 from 89 reviews. Recent reviewers report being held to annual contracts they thought were monthly and slow replies from account managers.
Pick it if you work in a team that needs customer care and reporting. It is priced for companies, not individuals.
AI posts and LinkedIn
Tools that write or design the posts, not just queue them.
Predis.ai
from $32/mo
Trial: 3-day trial, card charged after
Predis.ai generates ad creatives, short videos, carousels and memes with AI, tracks competitor posts and schedules to your networks. Core is $32/mo ($19/mo billed yearly) for 1 brand and 1,300 credits a month; a social post uses about 15 credits. Core does not auto-post; that starts on Rise at $79/mo.
The 3-day trial needs a card and charges it when the trial ends, and payments after that are non-refundable.
On Trustpilot, Predis.ai scores 4.4 from 295 reviews. Reviewers praise quick, personal support and say scheduling and post creation are simple.
Pick it if you need a steady supply of designed posts and short videos for one brand. Set a reminder before day 3.
Taplio
Taplio is built only for LinkedIn: an AI post generator trained on millions of posts, a scheduler with drip queues, engagement feeds, reach prediction and automated connection requests. Starter is $39/mo with limited AI; full AI starts on Growth at $69/mo.
The 7-day trial gives Pro access with limited AI usage, and the paid plan starts automatically at the end of day 7 or as soon as you hit the AI limit, whichever comes first.
On Trustpilot, Taplio scores 3.6 from 20 reviews. The few recent reviews praise fast support and say it suits people who use LinkedIn heavily.
Pick it if LinkedIn is your main channel and you post several times a week.
What to check before you commit
- How the price scales. Buffer charges per channel, Agorapulse and Sprout Social per user, Metricool per brand. Count your profiles first.
- Missing networks on free plans. Metricool's free plan has no LinkedIn or X.
- Trials that charge. Predis.ai charges at the end of day 3, Taplio may start billing before day 7, Hootsuite needs a card up front.
- Refunds. ContentStudio offers 30 days; Hootsuite and Predis.ai say no refunds.
- Inbox on cheap plans. ContentStudio's Standard plan has no unified inbox.
Which one should you pick?
- You post to 2 or 3 networks: Buffer's free plan.
- You want your LinkedIn profile on a free plan: Zoho Social.
- You want analytics and competitor tracking: Metricool.
- You want AI captions and a refund window: ContentStudio.
- You grow on LinkedIn: Taplio.
- You need designed posts and videos made for you: Predis.ai.
How this guide was put together
The tool list comes from the guides that rank highest for this job, Zapier, Social Champ and TechRadar, plus tools that run partner programs. Plans, limits and terms come from each tool's own pricing and terms pages, read on 3 Nov 2026. User ratings and review themes come from each tool's Trustpilot page, read the same day; they reflect what reviewers chose to post, not a survey of all users.