Buffer and Statusbrew occupy the same broad market — social media management — but they make very different bets on what buyers need and what they should pay. Buffer is a per-channel scheduler aimed at creators and small businesses: a free-forever plan for up to 3 channels, transparent per-channel pricing, and full coverage of all 11 major platforms including Mastodon. Statusbrew positions itself as a feature-for-feature alternative to Sprout Social and Hootsuite at a lower price, with a unified engagement inbox, 68+ moderation automations, and analytics depth designed for agencies and enterprise teams — and priced accordingly, starting at $69/month billed annually for a single user and five profiles (as of June 2026). A flat-priced third option, SocialKit, sits between them: all 11 platforms including Mastodon, approval workflows on a €49/month Team plan, and API + webhooks on every plan.
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All three tools side by side, grouped by category. Pricing and feature availability as of June 2026.
| Feature | Buffer | Statusbrew | SocialKit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | |||
| Platforms supported | All 11 | 10 of 11Also supports: WhatsApp, Line | All 11 |
| Bluesky | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mastodon | Yes | No | 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 | $69/mo (Lite, billed annually)$89/mo billed monthly · as of June 2026 | €29/mo flat (€17.40/mo billed annually) |
| Pricing model | Per channel — each connected account billed separately | Tiered suite — 1 user/5 profiles on Lite, up to $229/mo Premium | Flat plans — all 11 platforms included, no per-network pricing |
| Social accounts included | Pay per channelChannels beyond 10 cost less per channel | 5 profiles on Lite · 10 on Standard15 on Premium (expandable) · unlimited on Enterprise | 15 on Solo · 30 on Team |
| Free trial | 14 days (paid plans) + free plan | 14 days, no credit card required | 7 days — €0.00 due today |
| Money-back guarantee | NoNone listed on buffer.com/pricing (June 2026) | NoNone listed on statusbrew.com/pricing (June 2026) | 7 days |
| Publishing & scheduling | |||
| Scheduled posts | Unlimited on paid plans · 10/channel on Free | Unlimited posts on every plan | Unlimited on every plan |
| Best-time auto-posting | Via analytics recommendationsAdvanced analytics on paid plans | Best-time posting queue on every plan | Yes |
| Per-platform customization | Yes | Not listedNot shown on Statusbrew’s pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| First-comment scheduling | Paid plans | Not listedNot shown on Statusbrew’s pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Calendar view | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Content & AI | |||
| AI assistant | AI Assistant on all plans | AI composer · AI sentiment from PremiumComposer plan availability not broken out on the pricing page (June 2026) | Every plan (metered credits) |
| Post templates | Not listedNot shown on the Buffer pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on Statusbrew’s pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Content library | Ideas library (100 on Free, unlimited on paid) | Not listedNot shown on Statusbrew’s pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Thread posts (X, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon) | Not listedNot shown on the Buffer pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on Statusbrew’s pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Hashtag manager | Paid plans | Not listedNot shown on Statusbrew’s pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Collaboration | |||
| Team seats | Unlimited on Team plan$10/mo per channel | 1 on Lite · 3 on Standard · 6 on Premium (expandable) | 2 on Team · unlimited on Enterprise |
| Approval workflow | Team plan only$10/mo per channel | Premium plan ($229/mo annual)Assignment & approval workflows listed on Premium and up (June 2026) | Team & Enterprise plans |
| Comments on posts | Internal notes on paid plans | Not listed by planCollaboration details not broken out on the pricing page (June 2026) | Team & Enterprise plans |
| Integrations & support | |||
| Analytics | 30-day history on Free · advanced on paid plans | Reporting listed from Standard ($129/mo annual)18-month data backfill · team & SLA reporting on Premium | Included on every plan |
| API + webhooks | API access on all plansFree plan limited to 1 key, 3,000 requests/mo | Enterprise plan (custom pricing)Insights API + SAML SSO listed on Enterprise (June 2026) | Every plan, incl. Solo |
| Support | Help center + email | Email on Lite · chat from Standard · priority on Premium | Email · priority on Enterprise |
| Verdict | |||
| Best for | Solo users with 1–3 channels who want a free plan | Agencies & enterprise teams moderating high engagement volume | Posting to many platforms on one flat EUR plan |
Pricing as of June 2026. Buffer figures per their public pricing page; Statusbrew 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.
$89/month billed monthly. Standard $129, Premium $229 per month at annual rates ($179/$299 monthly); Enterprise custom; Agency offer from $49/month per client. As of June 2026.
billed annually · €29/month billed monthly
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Pricing as of June 2026. Buffer and Statusbrew 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 Statusbrew are designed for genuinely different buyers. Buffer is the right starting point for creators and small teams that value simplicity and a free plan — it covers all 11 platforms, including Mastodon, at per-channel rates that make sense when you manage only a handful of accounts. Statusbrew is built for agencies and enterprise teams that live in comments and DMs: its unified inbox, moderation automations, and benchmarking tooling are the real thing, and its "No Price Hikes, Ever" and free-migration promises deserve credit. The gap between them is where most growing businesses actually sit — needing more than Buffer’s per-channel model but far less than an agency engagement suite. SocialKit is built for that gap: all 11 platforms including Mastodon, flat EUR pricing, approval workflows on a €49/month Team plan, and API + webhooks on every plan, with a 7-day trial and a 7-day money-back guarantee.
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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