Loomly Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Loomly alternatives: Buffer, Publer, Postiz, Mixpost and 2 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•4 min read•Social Media & Ads
Verdict:Leave Loomly when you run one or two brands and do not need its approval workflow, or when the $49 yearly Starter is too much for your posting volume. Loomly has no permanent free plan, only a trial, so every alternative below is compared on its paid entry price or its free limits. Buffer is the simplest move if you publish on a few channels: its free plan covers 3 channels and 10 posts per channel, and paid channels cost $5 each billed annually. Publer is cheaper again at $4 a month billed yearly, but its free plan keeps only 24 hours of post history. Metricool suits teams that want analytics next to scheduling, with a free plan for one brand and a Starter at $20 a month for five brands. Later costs $18.75 a month billed yearly, but its entry plan covers only one social set, so it fits a single Instagram account. For self-hosting, Postiz and Mixpost avoid seat fees entirely, but you maintain the server. Keep Loomly only if you need its approval steps; drop it if you post a few times a week.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Free (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel); paid from $5 per channel/month, Essentials, billed annually ($60 a year) | Web | Solo creators on a few channels | Docs only |
| Publer | Free (1 user, 3 social accounts (not X), 10 scheduled posts per account, 24-hour post history); paid from $4 per month, Professional, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly) | Web | Low-budget scheduling for a small team | Docs only |
| Postiz | Free (Open-source code you host yourself; the hosted plans have no free tier, only a 7-day trial); paid from $23 per month, hosted Standard, billed annually ($29 billed monthly, 5 channels) | Web, Self-hosted | Teams that can self-host | Docs only |
| Mixpost | Free (Mixpost Lite is free, self-hosted and open source); paid from $299 per one-time, self-hosted Pro with 1 year of updates | Web, Self-hosted | Agencies wanting one-time licence costs | Docs only |
| Metricool | Free (1 brand, 20 scheduled posts per month, 30 days of analytics); paid from $20 per month, Starter for up to 5 brands, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) | Web | Analytics plus scheduling on a budget | Docs only |
| Later | Paid from $18.75 per month, billed yearly (Starter: 1 social set, 30 scheduled posts per profile per month; 14-day free trial) | Web browser | Visual Instagram planning | Docs only |
| Hootsuite | Paid from $99 per user/month, billed annually (Standard, 10 social accounts) | Web browser | Social Media Management | Docs only |
| Sprout Social | Paid from $79 per seat/month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly), Essentials | Web | Social media management | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You post on a few channels and want the cheapest paid tier (Buffer is the pick)
- You want a free plan for a single small team (Publer is the pick)
- You want to self-host and avoid monthly seats (Postiz is the pick)
- You want analytics and scheduling in one tool (Metricool is the pick)
- You manage one Instagram account and want visual planning (Later is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Loomly features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Loomly today: Paid from $49 per month, billed yearly (Starter, 12 social accounts and 3 users; $65 billed monthly) (Loomly pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Loomly alternatives
Loomly has no permanent free plan. Starter is $49 a month on yearly billing ($65 monthly) and covers 12 social accounts and 3 users. Beyond is $249 a month yearly ($332 monthly) for 60 accounts and unlimited users, and scheduled reports and custom approval roles are Beyond only. The pricing page states you cannot terminate a yearly plan early, so a wrong choice commits you for twelve months.
Buffer
Compared with Loomly: Free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel. Paid Essentials is $5 per channel a month billed annually. You gain cheap per-channel pricing, but lose Loomly's content calendar and approval workflow for teams.
Price: Free (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel); paid from $5 per channel/month, Essentials, billed annually ($60 a year) (Buffer pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Solo creators on a few channels.
Publer
Compared with Loomly: Free plan allows 1 user, 3 social accounts (not X) and 10 scheduled posts per account. Professional is $4 a month billed yearly. You gain a lower entry price than Loomly's $49 yearly Starter, but the free plan keeps only 24 hours of post history.
Price: Free (1 user, 3 social accounts (not X), 10 scheduled posts per account, 24-hour post history); paid from $4 per month, Professional, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly) (Publer pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Low-budget scheduling for a small team.
Postiz
Compared with Loomly: Open-source scheduler you host yourself, with no free hosted tier and a 7-day trial on hosted plans. You pay only for your server and lose Loomly's managed support, but avoid any monthly seat fee.
Price: Free (Open-source code you host yourself; the hosted plans have no free tier, only a 7-day trial); paid from $23 per month, hosted Standard, billed annually ($29 billed monthly, 5 channels) (Postiz pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 39.4k GitHub stars · latest release v2.25.3 (Oct 24, 2026) · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Best for: Teams that can self-host.
Worth knowing: Postiz calls self-hosting a secondary option; new agent features ship on the hosted platform first.
Mixpost
Compared with Loomly: Mixpost Lite is free, self-hosted and open source. Self-hosted Pro is a one-time $299 with a year of updates. You trade Loomly's hosted interface and post-idea generator for a tool you run on your own server.
Price: Free (Mixpost Lite is free, self-hosted and open source); paid from $299 per one-time, self-hosted Pro with 1 year of updates (Mixpost pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (Lite) (open source).
Project activity: 3.9k GitHub stars · latest release 2.6.0 (Mar 16, 2026) · last commit Mar 16, 2026
Best for: Agencies wanting one-time licence costs.
Worth knowing: Pro and Enterprise ($1,199 one-time) are paid self-hosted editions.
Metricool
Compared with Loomly: Free plan covers 1 brand with 20 scheduled posts a month and 30 days of analytics. Starter is $20 a month for up to 5 brands billed annually. You gain analytics alongside scheduling, but lose Loomly's built-in content ideas.
Price: Free (1 brand, 20 scheduled posts per month, 30 days of analytics); paid from $20 per month, Starter for up to 5 brands, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) (Metricool pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Analytics plus scheduling on a budget.
Later
Compared with Loomly: No free plan. Starter is $18.75 a month billed yearly for 1 social set. It costs less than Loomly's $49 yearly Starter and suits visual planning, but covers far fewer accounts on its entry plan.
Price: Paid from $18.75 per month, billed yearly (Starter: 1 social set, 30 scheduled posts per profile per month; 14-day free trial) (Later pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Visual Instagram planning.
Other popular options (paid)
Hootsuite
Compared with Loomly: Standard is $99 per user per month billed annually with 10 social accounts, about double Loomly Starter's $49 for 12 accounts. The 14-day trial has daily posting limits.
Price: Paid from $99 per user/month, billed annually (Standard, 10 social accounts) (Hootsuite pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Sprout Social
Compared with Loomly: Essentials is $79 per seat per month billed annually ($99 monthly), with a 30-day trial and no card. Higher tiers run $199 to $399 per seat, whereas Loomly Starter covers 3 users for $49.
Price: Paid from $79 per seat/month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly), Essentials (Sprout Social pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Buffer, Publer, Postiz, Mixpost, Metricool, Later: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Loomly. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Loomly, Buffer, Publer, Postiz, Mixpost, Metricool, Later, Hootsuite, Sprout Social. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.