· Reviewed by Sergio Verdugo, co-founder of Quetzal
If Buffer's queue is empty because nobody has time to fill it, Quetzal makes and publishes the posts for you, and SocialBee's copilot drafts them for you to approve. If you only want a cheaper or different queue, Publer and Metricool both have free plans, and Metricool's app is in Spanish.
If you make your own posts for up to three channels and like Buffer's queue, stay with Buffer's free plan: nothing on this page is cheaper for that job.
14 days free. Card required, nothing charged today.
Ranked first by how much of the posting work the tool does for you (plans and makes posts on its own, then makes video on request, then helps with text), then by whether you can start on a free plan, then by how many networks it publishes to. We make Quetzal, and it sits first because under this criterion it does the most: it plans, writes, designs and publishes the week. Judge that claim against the table below.
| Best for | From | Free plan or trial | Main trade-off | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Quetzal | Businesses with an empty queue and no time to fill it | Starter: $116 a month per brand ($89 a month billed yearly), before tax | 14-day trial, card required; no free plan | No free plan, and more expensive than a queue for a few channels |
| 2. SocialBee | Evergreen posting with AI drafts you approve | Bootstrap: $29 a month per workspace ($24.17 a month billed yearly) | 14-day trial, no card | No AI video on its pricing page |
| 3. Postiz | Many networks, or hosting it yourself | Standard: $29 a month per workspace ($23 a month billed yearly) | 7-day trial | Its AI drafts on request; you still direct every post |
| 4. Publer | A cheap queue across many accounts | Not listed on their pricing page | Free plan and 7-day trial, no card | Prices were not listed on the page we read |
| 5. Metricool | Scheduling plus reporting, in Spanish | Starter (up to 5 brands): $25 a month per account ($20 a month billed yearly) | Free plan | AI is limited to writing help; no AI video |
| 6. Typefully | Writing text posts and threads | Creator: $8.25 a month per social set, billed yearly only | Free plan, no card | No Instagram, TikTok or Facebook in its network list |
| 7. Later | Planning an Instagram grid visually | Starter: $25 a month per workspace ($18.75 a month billed yearly) | 14-day trial, no card | X is not in its list of networks |
1. Quetzal
2. SocialBee
3. Postiz
4. Publer
5. Metricool
6. Typefully
7. Later
An AI social media autopilot: it plans, writes, designs and publishes your posts, and learns from the results.
Quetzal plans the week from your brand and website, writes and designs the posts and carousels, and publishes them to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and YouTube, after your approval or on autopilot, in English or Spanish. AI images start on Starter and AI reels on Pro. Starter is $116 a month per brand ($89 billed yearly), with a 14-day trial that takes a card.
A social media scheduler with a built-in AI agent that drafts posts, images and short videos on request, also available as open-source software to self-host.
Postiz publishes to 30 networks, has an open-source edition you can run on your own server, and its AI agent drafts posts, images and short videos when you ask. It starts at $29 a month per workspace with a 7-day trial.
A social media scheduler priced per connected account, with a free plan and an AI assistant for post text and images.
Publer charges per connected account, has a free plan, and lets you try its paid features for 7 days without a card. It publishes to 13 networks and has approvals and an AI assistant for text and images.
A planning and analytics platform priced by number of brands, popular with agencies and community managers.
Metricool adds detailed reporting, competitor analytics, an inbox and approvals to the queue, with a free plan and paid plans by brand count from $25 a month per account. Its app is available in Spanish, among seven languages.
A writing and scheduling app for text posts and threads, with an AI editor that helps you rewrite your drafts.
Typefully is a clean editor for text posts and threads, with an AI editor that rewrites your drafts, a free plan and a low yearly Creator price of $8.25 a month per social set, billed yearly. It publishes to 6 networks, X and LinkedIn among them.
A visual-first scheduler built around Instagram planning, with a media library, link in bio and AI captions.
Later is built around visual Instagram planning, with a media library, link in bio and AI captions. It starts at $25 a month per workspace with a 14-day trial without a card, and publishes to 8 networks.
For a business that needs the posts made, Quetzal plans, writes, designs and publishes them. For a cheaper queue with a free plan, Publer or Metricool. For recycling evergreen posts with AI drafts, SocialBee.
Publer, Metricool and Typefully all have free plans. Buffer's own free plan covers up to three channels. Quetzal has no free plan; it has a 14-day trial with a card.
Quetzal plans and makes the week's posts on its own, then publishes them after your approval or on autopilot. SocialBee's copilot drafts a plan, captions and images for you to approve. The rest help with text when you ask.
Buffer's help centre says its web app is English only. Metricool's app is available in Spanish, and Quetzal works in Spanish and English and writes the content natively in both.
If Buffer's queue works and only the content is missing, you can keep Buffer and add a tool that makes posts, or move to one that makes and publishes them in one place. If you want a cheaper queue, replace it.
Copy the posts left in your queue, start the new tool's trial, connect the same accounts and move the scheduled posts. Buffer refunds monthly plans within 7 days of starting and annual plans within 30 days.
The quickest way to compare is to see a week of posts made with your brand and put it next to what you use today.
14 days free. Card required, nothing charged today.
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