Marketing · alternatives
Alternatives to Buffer
23 marketing tools sit alongside Buffer in this directory. Below is what separates each from Buffer on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 23
- With a free tier
- 3
- Cheaper to start
- 2
- Buffer starts at
- Free, then $5/month
Why people look past Buffer
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Buffer has a free tier, and starts at $5/month against a category median of $50/month. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Save time and grow on social media
- No free tier, where Buffer has one.
- Starts $94 a year dearer, at $99/year.
Social media management with influencer insights
- No free tier, where Buffer has one.
- Starts $74 a month dearer, at $79/month.
- 5 tiers to Buffer's 3.
Unified CX platform with influencer marketing
- No free tier, where Buffer has one.
- Starts $1244 a month dearer, at $1249/month.
The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed
- 2 tiers to Buffer's 3.
Open source, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for the cost of a database
- Starts $5 a month cheaper, at Free.
- 4 tiers to Buffer's 3.
A/B testing for Google Analytics
- Starts $5 a month cheaper, at Free.
- 1 tier to Buffer's 3.
Every Buffer alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer (this page) | Free, then $5/month | - | 3 | |
| HootsuiteFull-featured social media management platform with advanced analytics and listening tools, but costs significantly more ($199/mo minimum vs Buffer's $5/mo) | $99/year | - | - | vs Buffer |
| Sprout SocialEnterprise-grade social media management for large teams and agencies, with more sophisticated analytics and team collaboration features | $79/month | Subscription | 5 | vs Buffer |
| EmplifiSocial listening and engagement platform focused on large brands, with AI-powered insights for social conversation analysis | $1249/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Buffer |
| Mautic | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs Buffer |
| Umami | Free | Per month by event count | 4 | vs Buffer |
| Google Optimize | Free | Freemium | 1 | vs Buffer |
| Swydo | €69/month | Per month by data source count | 1 | vs Buffer |
| Onclusive | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Buffer |
| Roxhill | On request | Quote | 4 | vs Buffer |
| Wunderkind | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Buffer |
| Invoca | On request | Quote | 5 | vs Buffer |
| WebEngage | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Buffer |
| Postscript | $49/month | Per month plus per message sent | 4 | vs Buffer |
| Bloomreach | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Buffer |
| Netcore Cloud | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Buffer |
| Zoho Marketing Automation | $19/month | Per month by contact count | 3 | vs Buffer |
| CallRail | $50/month | Per month by plan, plus per-number and per-minute overages | 4 | vs Buffer |
| CleverTap | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Buffer |
| Insider | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Buffer |
| Optimove | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Buffer |
| Octoboard | €25/month | Per month by connected client count | 1 | vs Buffer |
| Freshpaint | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Buffer |
| Madgicx | $49/month | Usage-based | 2 | vs Buffer |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Buffer badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (3)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Mautic , Free
- Umami , Free
- Google Optimize , Free
Cheaper than Buffer (2)
Entry price under Buffer's $5/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Umami , Free
- Google Optimize , Free
What you would be giving up
Buffer is most often brought in for social media scheduling, content planning, performance analytics, team collaboration, client management. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Buffer is broadly right and the question is cost, the Buffer pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Marketing category lists everything the directory holds, and best marketing tools ranks them.
Buffer runs on web, ios, android. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Buffer alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Buffer?
- 23 other marketing tools are listed in this directory, led by Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Emplifi, Mautic. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Buffer?
- 3 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Mautic, Umami, Google Optimize.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Buffer?
- Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Buffer's $5/month: Umami at Free, Google Optimize at Free.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Buffer?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Buffer has a free tier, and starts at $5/month against a category median of $50/month. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Buffer?
- Buffer is most often brought in for social media scheduling, content planning, performance analytics, team collaboration, client management. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Buffer?
- None of the marketing tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Buffer alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Marketing, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Buffer against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Buffer covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every marketing tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Marketing category, 23 tools beside Buffer. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.