Buffer starts at $5/mo and Later at $18.75/mo (billed yearly). Buffer is not open source; Later is not open source. Below: the two side by side, then what each costs at 5, 10, 50 accounts, with fanout alongside. Every number is from each vendor's own pricing page.
| Buffer | Later | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $5/mo | $18.75/mo (billed yearly) |
| Billing unit | Per channel | Per social set |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Open source / self-host | No | No |
| Platforms listed | 11: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon | 8: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat |
| Telegram | No | No |
| Gated by plan | Advanced analytics and custom reports above the free plan; Multiple team members and approval workflows on paid plans; First comment scheduling and hashtag manager on paid plans | Social inbox and approval workflows on Growth and up; Multi-profile Best Times to Post on Growth and up; Competitive benchmarking and custom analytics on Scale only |
Buffer: Essentials, $6 per channel per month billed monthly ($5 billed yearly).
Later: Priced per social set (one profile per supported network), not per account.
| Connected accounts | Buffer | Later | fanout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $30 | — | $29 |
| 10 | $60 | — | $39 |
| 50 | $300 | — | $100 |
Cheapest published plan that covers that many accounts, monthly billing unless marked. “—” means that vendor does not price per connected account, so there is no like-for-like number.
| Feature | Buffer | Later | fanout |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI version per network | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, every plan Rewrites hook, length and hashtags per network; live character limits |
| Post ideas from news & feeds | Not listed | From the Scale plan Trending topics | Yes, every plan Discover: Google News topics, RSS, Telegram and X, ranked by coverage |
| Drafts in your voice | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, every plan Writing styles: instructions, example posts, words to avoid |
| Best time to post | Not listed | Yes, every plan Instagram; multi-profile on Growth | Yes, every plan Heatmap from your own posts’ engagement, one-click best slot |
| Comments inbox | Yes, every plan Community inbox | From the Growth plan | Yes, every plan X, Instagram, YouTube, Threads and Bluesky |
| Analytics | Yes, every plan Advanced reports on Essentials | Yes, every plan Up to 3 months on Starter | Yes, every plan X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Facebook and Pinterest |
| MCP for Claude & ChatGPT | Yes, every plan Claude and ChatGPT connectors | Not listed | Yes, every plan 8 tools: accounts, posts, schedule, analytics, media |
| First comment scheduling | From the Essentials plan | Yes, every plan | Not yet |
“Not listed” means we could not find it on their pages, not that it does not exist. Checked October 2026.
Nothing in the data above favours Later over Buffer.
Card required, cancel anytime, no charge during the trial.
It depends on the number of accounts. Monthly cost on the cheapest published plan: 5 accounts: Buffer $30, Later —, fanout $29; 10 accounts: Buffer $60, Later —, fanout $39; 50 accounts: Buffer $300, Later —, fanout $100. "—" means that vendor does not price per connected account.
Buffer: a free plan is listed. Later: no free plan is listed. Open source: Buffer no, Later no.
Buffer lists 11 platforms and Later lists 8, per their own pages. Telegram: Buffer no, Later no.
fanout is a hosted scheduler for 15 networks, from $29/month for 5 accounts with a 3-day free trial. It is not open source and has no self-hosting, team seats or first-comment scheduling.
Sources: Buffer pricing (checked September 2026) and Later pricing (checked September 2026). Tell us if something changed: support@tryfanout.com.
Buffer alternative · Later alternative · Compare all tools
Postiz vs Buffer · Buffer vs Hootsuite · Buffer vs Publer · Buffer vs Metricool · Postiz vs Later · Hootsuite vs Later · Later vs Metricool