Buffer vs Later vs Metricool for Entrepreneurs: 2026 Prices

For one entrepreneur posting to Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Threads, Buffer is the cheapest of the three that covers all four networks: $24 a month, or $240 billed yearly. Later no longer schedules to X at all, and Metricool covers all four for $35 a month once you add its X add-on, with deeper reporting as the reason to pay more.

Below, the same four-account setup is priced in each tool, followed by networks, X support, analytics, AI, and free plans. If you are only weighing two of these for text networks, our Buffer vs Metricool comparison covers that narrower choice.

Distinctful publishes this guide and is one of the options. Every competitor fact below comes from that vendor's own pricing or help pages. This is a documentation-based comparison, not a trial of each product.

Which is best for an entrepreneur?

It depends on which networks you need and what you want the tool to do after a post goes out.

• Buffer fits when you want the lowest price for a mixed set of networks, including X and Bluesky, and a free plan you can start on today.
• Later fits when Instagram and visual planning lead your marketing and you do not post to X.
• Metricool fits when you manage more than one brand or want reporting and competitor analysis beside your calendar, and accept paying separately for X.

All three are built around scheduling and measuring posts you bring to them, with AI that helps write captions or ideas. If your harder problem is deciding what to post each week from your own business, that is where Distinctful fits; more on that below.

How do Buffer, Later, and Metricool compare side by side?

The example is one person with four accounts: Instagram, a LinkedIn profile, X, and Threads. Checked on November 1, 2026 against each vendor's own pages. Prices are in US dollars before tax.

	Buffer	Later	Metricool	Distinctful
Plan for this setup	Essentials, 4 channels	Starter (covers 3 of the 4)	Starter, up to 5 brands, plus 1 X add-on	Grow, up to 12 accounts
Monthly billing	$24 a month	$25 a month	$35 a month	$49 a month
Billed yearly	$240 a year ($20 a month)	$225 a year ($18.75 a month)	$360 a year ($30 a month)	$468 a year ($39 a month)
X	Yes	No, support ended August 28, 2025	Paid add-on, $10 a month per account	Yes, posts and threads
LinkedIn	Profiles and Pages	Profiles and Pages	Paid plans only	Member profile only
Threads	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Instagram	Yes; personal accounts by notification	Yes	Yes	Professional accounts
Bluesky	Yes	No, listed as unsupported	Yes	Yes
YouTube	Shorts only	Shorts only	Yes	Videos and Shorts, in beta
Pinterest	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Free plan	3 channels, 10 queued posts each	12 posts per profile a month	1 brand, 20 posts a month, no LinkedIn or X	None; 14-day trial
Analytics history on this plan	Unlimited	3 months	Unlimited, except X at 30 days	Each post compared with your usual
AI on this plan	AI Assistant, unlimited use	5 credits a month	20 credits per brand a month	125 credits a month
Approvals or team	Team plan	Growth and up	Advanced	Teammates on Scale

Sources are linked in each section below. Yearly totals multiply the vendor's displayed monthly rate by twelve.

What does each cost for Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Threads?

Buffer charges per connected channel. Its pricing page lists Essentials at $6 per channel a month on monthly billing and $5 per channel a month billed yearly, for 1 to 10 channels. Four channels come to $24 a month or $240 a year. Approval workflows sit on the Team plan, at $12 per channel a month or $10 billed yearly.

Later charges per plan, and each plan includes social sets. One social set holds one profile from each network Later supports. Later's pricing page shows Starter at $25.00 a month billed monthly or $18.75 a month billed yearly, with one social set, one user, and up to 30 posts per profile. Growth is $50.00 monthly or $37.50 yearly with two sets and 180 posts per profile. Scale is $110.00 monthly or $82.50 yearly with six sets and unlimited posts. Monthly prices appear after switching the page's billing toggle. None of these plans adds X.

Metricool charges by number of brands, then adds X per account. Its pricing page lists Starter for up to five brands at $25 a month on monthly billing or $20 a month billed yearly. The X add-on guide sets the current price at $10 a month or $120 a year per connected X account, effective July 13, 2026, billed on the same cycle as your plan. That gives $35 a month, or $240 plus $120 for $360 a year.

Distinctful Grow is $49 a month or $39 a month billed yearly, with up to 12 social accounts and a 14-day free trial. See Distinctful pricing.

Which networks does each support?

Check this first. A cheaper plan that cannot reach one of your accounts means a second tool.

• Buffer lists Instagram (business, creator, and personal), LinkedIn profiles and Pages, X profiles, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, and others on its supported channels page. Instagram personal accounts publish by notification only, meaning you finish the post in the app.
• Later names Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat among its supported platforms in its platforms guide, updated October 21, 2026. The same guide lists Bluesky and Mastodon as unsupported and says long-form YouTube videos are not supported.
• Metricool lists Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and X on its pricing page. LinkedIn requires a paid plan, and X requires the add-on on every paid plan.
• Distinctful publishes to LinkedIn, X, Threads, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube. LinkedIn posts go to your member profile, not a company Page, and YouTube is in beta. It does not publish to Pinterest.

For a deeper look at formats on these four networks, see our scheduler guide for Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Threads.

Which still schedules to X?

Buffer and Metricool do. Later does not.

Later's help article Ending Support for X (formerly Twitter) sets two dates. From July 30, 2025, you could no longer connect new X accounts. On August 28, 2025, Later ended X support: posts scheduled for that date or later do not publish, X analytics collection stopped, and a removed X account cannot be reconnected. If X matters to your business, Later needs a second tool beside it.

Buffer's supported channels page lists X profiles with publishing, analytics, and comment management. Its pricing FAQ lists both free and premium X accounts as supported channel types.

Metricool's X access article says only paid plans can connect X, starting with Starter. On Starter, X planning and inbox are included, analytics and competitor analytics are partial, and best times to post are reserved for Advanced. Accounts that had the add-on before July 2026 may keep a legacy rate of $5 a month or $60 a year while at least one add-on stays active.

How do analytics compare?

Buffer gives Free plans 30 days of Insights history and paid plans unlimited history, plus reports and custom analytics, per its pricing page. Depth varies by network: its channels page lists basic analytics for LinkedIn profiles and Threads, advanced analytics for LinkedIn Pages, and no analytics for Bluesky.

Later ties history to plan. Its plan availability guide lists 3 months on Starter, 1 year on Growth, and 2 years on Scale, with Custom Analytics on Scale only. Threads analytics cover up to 3 months on all plans, and the Free plan has no Instagram analytics.

Metricool puts reporting closest to the center of the product. Its pricing page lists 30 days of metrics on Free and unlimited storage on paid plans, with a 30-day limit for X. Starter adds PDF and PPT reports and analysis of up to 100 competitors. Complete X analytics start on Advanced, from $67 a month or $53 a month billed yearly.

Distinctful compares each post with your usual once it goes out, and shows post performance beside newsletter sends when you connect one.

What AI features does each include?

• Buffer: its pricing page lists the AI Assistant on every plan, including Free, with unlimited use to create, refine, and repurpose content. Free gets 5 AI reply suggestions a week in the community inbox; paid plans get unlimited AI replies.
• Later: AI credits are 0 on Free, 5 on Starter, 50 on Growth, and 100 on Scale each month, shared between Caption Writer and Ideas, which is in beta, per the plan availability guide.
• Metricool: its pricing page gives the AI assistant 5 credits per brand a month on Free, 20 on Starter, and 35 on Advanced. Metricool MCP, for connecting AI assistants, is listed from the Free plan.
• Distinctful: Grow includes 125 AI credits a month. Chat writes drafts from your strategy, content pillars, and voice rules, and the MCP server is included for ChatGPT and Claude.

Which free plan covers the most?

Buffer Free allows 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, refilling as posts publish, with 30 days of Insights. It is the only free plan here that can reach LinkedIn and X together.

Later Free is not shown on the pricing page, but Later's plan guide documents it: 12 posts per profile a month, one YouTube Short a month, calendar access two weeks back and ahead, no AI credits, and introductory analytics only. Later also offers a 14-day trial of paid plans.

Metricool Free allows 1 brand and 20 posts a month with 30 days of analytics, but excludes LinkedIn and X.

Distinctful has no free plan; it starts with a 14-day trial.

Which should you pick for your situation?

• You post to X and want the lowest bill: Buffer Essentials. Four channels cost $24 a month.
• You only need three channels and want to start free: Buffer Free, if 10 queued posts per channel is enough.
• Instagram leads and you never post to X: Later Starter at $18.75 a month billed yearly. Move to Growth for approvals and a social inbox. Our Later alternatives guide covers what to use if your work is mostly text.
• You run several brands or want competitor reports: Metricool Starter, with up to five brands for $25 a month. Budget the X add-on per X account.
• You post to Bluesky: Buffer or Metricool. Later lists Bluesky as unsupported.
• You need someone else to approve posts: Buffer Team, Later Growth, or Metricool Advanced.

When is Distinctful the better fit?

Distinctful is a social media scheduler for entrepreneurs that plans and drafts each week from your own business: your offers, your voice, and what already worked. Buffer, Later, and Metricool are strong at queuing and measuring posts you bring to them. Distinctful is for the person whose harder problem is deciding what to post every week, and who is tired of re-explaining their business to a separate AI chat.

Your strategy, drafts, scheduled posts, and results live together, so next week starts where this week ended. Grow covers up to 12 accounts across LinkedIn, X, Threads, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube.

The tradeoffs are real. For this setup, Grow at $49 a month costs more than all three tools above. There is no free plan, no Pinterest publishing, and no LinkedIn company Page publishing, and YouTube is still in beta. If you already know what to post and want the cheapest queue, Buffer is the simpler choice. If you want help deciding what to post from your own offers and results, start a Distinctful trial and plan one real week before you commit.