Metricool Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 4 Free
Metricool alternatives: Buffer, Publer, Postiz, Mixpost and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 22, 2026.
•3 min read•Social Media & Ads
Verdict:Leave Metricool when you need only scheduling and not analytics, or when its Starter plan is more than your brand count justifies. Metricool's free plan covers one brand with 20 scheduled posts a month and 30 days of analytics, and its Starter is $20 a month for up to five brands billed annually. Buffer is the simplest move: the free plan covers 3 channels with 10 posts each, and paid channels cost $5 a month billed annually. Publer is the cheapest hosted choice, at $4 a month on Professional billed yearly, though its free tier keeps only 24 hours of post history. Mixpost Lite is free and self-hosted, and its Pro is a one-time $299, which suits agencies that dislike subscriptions. Postiz is the other self-hosted option, with no free hosted tier. Later costs $18.75 a month billed yearly for one social set, so it fits a single Instagram account rather than several brands. Keep Metricool when its analytics are part of the job; drop it when scheduling is all you need.
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 | Scheduling a few channels without analytics | 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 | Cheap 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 preferring one-time licence costs | 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 | One Instagram account with visual 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 |
| SocialBee | Paid from $24 per month, billed annually (Bootstrap; $29 billed monthly) | Web browser | Social Media Scheduling | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You schedule posts for a few channels and skip analytics (Buffer is the pick)
- You want the cheapest hosted scheduler for a small team (Publer is the pick)
- You want to self-host the scheduler (Postiz is the pick)
- You prefer a one-time licence over a subscription (Mixpost is the pick)
- You manage one Instagram account and want a visual planner (Later is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Metricool features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Metricool today: 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).
Why people look for Metricool alternatives
Metricool's free plan covers 1 brand with 20 scheduled posts a month, 5 competitor profiles, 30 days of analytics and no LinkedIn or X management. Starter, from $20 a month for up to 5 brands, adds LinkedIn and unlimited analytics history. Team and client management, roles, post approval, API access and full X analytics sit on Advanced, from $53 a month, and X features on Starter and Advanced need a paid add-on.
Buffer
Compared with Metricool: Free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel. Essentials is $5 per channel a month billed annually. You gain simpler per-channel pricing, but lose Metricool's built-in analytics dashboard across all accounts.
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: Scheduling a few channels without analytics.
Publer
Compared with Metricool: Free plan allows 1 user, 3 social accounts (not X) and 10 scheduled posts per account. Professional is $4 a month billed yearly. It is cheaper than Metricool's $20 Starter, but the free tier 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: Cheap scheduling for a small team.
Postiz
Compared with Metricool: Open-source scheduler you host yourself, with no free hosted tier. You pay only for your server and avoid Metricool's monthly plans, but you run the software and lose its hosted analytics.
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 Metricool: Mixpost Lite is free, self-hosted and open source. Self-hosted Pro is a one-time $299 with a year of updates. You trade Metricool's hosted service for a one-time licence, but you manage the server yourself.
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 preferring one-time licence costs.
Worth knowing: Pro and Enterprise ($1,199 one-time) are paid self-hosted editions.
Later
Compared with Metricool: No free plan. Starter is $18.75 a month billed yearly for 1 social set. It is priced close to Metricool's $20 Starter, but covers only one social set on its entry plan, where Metricool allows up to 5 brands.
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: One Instagram account with visual planning.
Other popular options (paid)
Hootsuite
Compared with Metricool: Standard is $99 per user monthly billed annually with 10 social accounts, against Metricool's $20 Starter. No free plan, only a 14-day trial with 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 Metricool: Essentials is $79 per seat monthly billed annually ($99 monthly), with a 30-day trial and no free plan; higher tiers run $199 to $399. Far above Metricool's entry price.
Price: Paid from $79 per seat/month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly), Essentials (Sprout Social pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
SocialBee
Compared with Metricool: Bootstrap is $24 a month billed annually ($29 monthly), with a 14-day trial and no free plan; Accelerate is $40 and Pro $82 annual. Close to Metricool's $20 Starter but without a free tier.
Price: Paid from $24 per month, billed annually (Bootstrap; $29 billed monthly) (SocialBee pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Buffer, Publer, Postiz, Mixpost, Later: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Metricool. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
Related guides
More in Social Media & Ads
All Social Media & Ads alternatives →Sources
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 2026-10-22: Metricool, Buffer, Publer, Postiz, Mixpost, Later, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, SocialBee. 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.