Buffer and Postiz land at opposite poles of the social media scheduler spectrum. Buffer is the category’s most recognized "just works" tool — a clean, hosted product with a free-forever plan, per-channel pricing, and a decade-plus track record. Postiz is a 2024-vintage open-source scheduler that leans into developer and agentic workflows: a self-hostable codebase, 30+ publishing networks, an MCP server, and a public API with SDK and OAuth2. This page compares the two honestly — pricing, platforms, hosting model, and team features as of June 2026 — and notes where SocialKit, a fully hosted flat EUR scheduler, covers the multi-network publishing case without per-channel billing or server maintenance.
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All three tools side by side, grouped by category. Pricing and feature availability as of June 2026.
| Feature | Buffer | Postiz | SocialKit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | |||
| Platforms supported | All 11 | All 11Also supports: Reddit, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Dribbble, Whop, Twitch, Skool, Kick, Warpcast, VK, Lemmy, MeWe, Nostr, Listmonk, WordPress, Medium, Hashnode, Dev.to | All 11 |
| Bluesky | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mastodon | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Business | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Pricing & trial | |||
| Entry price | $5/mo per channel (Essentials)Free plan: up to 3 channels | $29/mo Standard (listed)Verified on postiz.com June 2026; about 20% less billed annually ($23/mo). Free only if you self-host. | €29/mo flat (€17.40/mo billed annually) |
| Pricing model | Per channel — each connected account billed separately | Tiered USD plans by channel count (5/10/30/100) — or self-host the open-source build free on your own server | Flat plans — all 11 platforms included, no per-network pricing |
| Social accounts included | Pay per channelChannels beyond 10 cost less per channel | 5 channels on Standard · 10 on Team · 30 on Pro · 100 on UltimatePer Postiz’s pricing page (June 2026) | 15 on Solo · 30 on Team |
| Free trial | 14 days (paid plans) + free plan | 7 days (hosted) · or self-host freeNo permanent hosted free plan; the free path is self-hosting (June 2026) | 7 days — €0.00 due today |
| Money-back guarantee | NoNone listed on buffer.com/pricing (June 2026) | Not listedNo money-back guarantee found in published plan details (June 2026) | 7 days |
| Publishing & scheduling | |||
| Scheduled posts | Unlimited on paid plans · 10/channel on Free | 400/mo on Standard · unlimited from TeamPer Postiz’s pricing page (June 2026) | Unlimited on every plan |
| Best-time auto-posting | Via analytics recommendationsAdvanced analytics on paid plans | Not itemizedBest-time auto-posting not specified in Postiz’s published plan details (June 2026) | Yes |
| Per-platform customization | Yes | Cross-posting + per-network editingHomepage: “review and edit everything in a visual calendar” (June 2026) | Yes |
| First-comment scheduling | Paid plans | Not itemizedFirst-comment scheduling not specified in Postiz’s published plan details (June 2026) | Yes |
| Calendar view | Yes | Visual calendar (core)The visual calendar is central to the product (June 2026) | Yes |
| Content & AI | |||
| AI assistant | AI Assistant on all plans | AI agents, images & videos (quota by tier)AI metered: 0 images / 3 videos on Standard up to 500 images / 60 videos on Ultimate (June 2026) | Every plan (metered credits) |
| Post templates | Not listedNot shown on the Buffer pricing page (June 2026) | Not itemizedPost templates not specified in Postiz’s published plan details (June 2026) | Yes |
| Content library | Ideas library (100 on Free, unlimited on paid) | Not itemizedA content/media library is not itemized in published plan details (June 2026) | Yes |
| Thread posts (X, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon) | Not listedNot shown on the Buffer pricing page (June 2026) | Not itemizedNative thread posting not specified in Postiz’s published plan details (June 2026) | Yes |
| Hashtag manager | Paid plans | AI hashtag generator (free tool)Offered as a free standalone AI tool; an in-app hashtag manager is not itemized (June 2026) | Yes |
| Collaboration | |||
| Team seats | Unlimited on Team plan$10/mo per channel | No team on Standard · unlimited members from TeamStandard ($29) has no team support; Team/Pro/Ultimate include unlimited team members (June 2026) | 2 on Team · unlimited on Enterprise |
| Approval workflow | Team plan only$10/mo per channel | Approvals advertisedAn approvals flow is referenced on Postiz’s channel pages; tier gating not itemized (June 2026) | Team & Enterprise plans |
| Comments on posts | Internal notes on paid plans | Not itemizedComments-on-posts not specified in Postiz’s published plan details (June 2026) | Team & Enterprise plans |
| Integrations & support | |||
| Analytics | 30-day history on Free · advanced on paid plans | Included on paid plansAnalytics advertised on all paid tiers (June 2026) | Included on every plan |
| API + webhooks | API access on all plansFree plan limited to 1 key, 3,000 requests/mo | API, webhooks, SDK & MCPPublic API/webhooks on all paid tiers; OAuth2 + SDK + MCP server (June 2026) | Every plan, incl. Solo |
| Support | Help center + email | Email + open-source community/GitHubUsers report mixed support and billing experiences on Trustpilot; self-host relies on community support | Email · priority on Enterprise |
| Verdict | |||
| Best for | Solo users with 1–3 channels who want a free plan | Developers and open-source-minded teams who want a hackable, self-hostable scheduler with AI-agent/MCP integrations | Posting to many platforms on one flat EUR plan |
Pricing as of June 2026. Buffer figures per their public pricing page; Postiz figures per their public pricing page. Both may change. SocialKit facts per our own pricing page.
Entry plans compared. SocialKit prices are in EUR; all 11 platforms included — no per-network pricing.
About $55/month with all 11 networks connected (channels beyond 10 cost less per channel). Team plan: $10/month per channel. As of June 2026.
Verified on postiz.com June 2026: Standard $29/month (5 channels, 400 posts/mo, 0 AI images, 3 AI videos, no team); Team $39/month (10 channels, unlimited posts, unlimited team); Pro $49/month (30 channels); Ultimate $99/month (100 channels). About 20% off billed annually. The only free path is self-hosting the open-source build on your own server.
billed annually · €29/month billed monthly
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Pricing as of June 2026. Buffer and Postiz prices are taken from their public pricing pages (linked above) and may change. Full SocialKit plan details on our pricing page.
Each tool genuinely wins somewhere. Here is the honest split.
Bottom line
Buffer and Postiz appeal to different philosophies of tool ownership. Buffer is the safe, familiar SaaS choice: you subscribe, you publish, a support team exists, and the product has been in production since around 2010. Postiz is the open-source bet: you can own it, extend it, self-host it for free, and push it to 30+ networks including decentralized channels Buffer doesn’t cover — but only if you are willing to be your own DevOps team. For the large middle ground — teams that just want to post reliably to many mainstream networks without counting channels or managing servers — SocialKit is built precisely for that: 11 platforms on one flat EUR plan, unlimited posts, approval workflows, and no infrastructure to babysit.
FAQ
Still weighing it up? These are the answers people look for before they switch.
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Every SocialKit plan includes all 11 platforms, analytics, AI, and API + webhooks — no per-channel meters, no per-seat pricing. Try it free for 7 days.
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