Planoly Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 4 Free
Planoly alternatives: Metricool, Later, Buffer, Publer and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Social Media & Ads
Verdict:Leave Planoly when you run several social accounts, or when you want its visual grid without paying for a planner built only for Instagram. Planoly's free plan works only on its mobile app and allows 10 uploads a month, and Starter is $14 a month for one social set. Metricool is the strongest move if you want analytics next to scheduling: its free plan covers one brand with 20 posts a month, and Starter is $20 a month for up to five brands billed annually. Later is the closest like-for-like swap, since it keeps a visual grid, but its entry plan costs $18.75 a month billed yearly and covers one social set. Buffer is cheaper per channel and handles more platforms, but it has no grid preview for Instagram. Publer costs $4 a month billed yearly on Professional, a low-budget choice for a small team. Postiz is the self-hosted route with no seat fees, though it asks for your own server. Keep Planoly for a single Instagram feed; move when the account count grows.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Scheduling plus analytics across several brands | 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 | Instagram grid planning like Planoly | Docs only |
| Buffer | Free (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel); paid from $5 per channel/month, Essentials, billed annually ($60 a year) | Web | Scheduling across several platforms cheaply | 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-cost 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 a scheduler | 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 want scheduling and analytics across several brands (Metricool is the pick)
- You want to keep a visual Instagram grid workflow (Later is the pick)
- You schedule posts across several platforms on a budget (Buffer is the pick)
- You run a small team on a very low budget (Publer is the pick)
- You want to self-host and avoid monthly fees (Postiz is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Planoly features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Planoly today: Free (Free plan available on the Planoly mobile app only, 10 uploads per month); paid from $14 per month (Starter, 1 social set and 1 user); annual billing saves up to 15% (Planoly pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Planoly alternatives
Planoly's three plans differ only in capacity: Starter is $14 a month for 1 social set and 1 user, Growth is $24 for 2 of each, and Pro is $47 for 6 of each. Starter cannot add anything, so a second social set means moving up. Growth charges $10 a month per extra social set and $5 per extra user. The free plan exists only in the mobile app, with 10 uploads a month.
Metricool
Compared with Planoly: 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. It schedules more widely than Planoly's $14 Starter for one social set, though it lacks Planoly's visual grid planner.
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: Scheduling plus analytics across several brands.
Later
Compared with Planoly: No free plan. Starter is $18.75 a month billed yearly for 1 social set. It is the closest visual grid planner to Planoly, so you keep the same workflow at a slightly higher price than Planoly's $14 Starter.
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: Instagram grid planning like Planoly.
Buffer
Compared with Planoly: Free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel. Essentials is $5 a channel a month billed annually. It handles more platforms than Planoly, but has no grid preview for Instagram posts.
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 across several platforms cheaply.
Publer
Compared with Planoly: Free plan allows 1 user, 3 social accounts (not X) and 10 scheduled posts per account. Professional is $4 a month billed yearly. It costs less than Planoly's $14 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: Low-cost scheduling for a small team.
Postiz
Compared with Planoly: Open-source scheduler you host yourself, with no free hosted tier. You pay only for your server, which avoids Planoly's monthly fee, but you lose its managed mobile app and visual planner.
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 a scheduler.
Worth knowing: Postiz calls self-hosting a secondary option; new agent features ship on the hosted platform first.
Other popular options (paid)
Hootsuite
Compared with Planoly: Standard is $99 per user a month billed annually and covers 10 social accounts; Professional is $199 and Advanced up to $399. No free plan, 14-day trial, and far above Planoly's $14 Starter.
Price: Paid from $99 per user/month, billed annually (Standard, 10 social accounts) (Hootsuite pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Sprout Social
Compared with Planoly: Essentials is $79 per seat a month billed annually ($99 monthly) with a 30-day trial; higher tiers run $199 to $399 per seat. Several times the price of Planoly Starter.
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 Metricool, Later, Buffer, Publer, Postiz: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Planoly. 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: Planoly, Metricool, Later, Buffer, Publer, Postiz, 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.