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Marketing · head to head

Buffer vs Mautic

Buffer logo

Buffer

Marketing

Build your audience organically on social media

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Buffer the free plan allows 3 connected channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel; Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • They diverge on capability: Buffer covers Post scheduling, Mautic covers Visual campaign builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Buffer and Mautic actually diverge.

Attributes where Buffer and Mautic differ
AttributeBufferMautic
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Buffer

  • Post scheduling
  • Content calendar
  • Analytics dashboard
  • Link shortening
  • Hashtag manager
  • First comment
  • Instagram Stories
  • Shop Grid

Only in Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Buffer

  • Social media schedulingnot Mautic
  • Content planningnot Mautic
  • Performance analyticsnot Mautic
  • Team collaborationnot Mautic
  • Client managementnot Mautic

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot Buffer
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot Buffer
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot Buffer
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot Buffer

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Buffer

  • The free plan allows 3 connected channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel
  • Essentials at $5 a month covers a single user; team members need the Team plan at $10 a month
  • Approval workflows and custom permissions are Team tier only
  • API access is rationed by plan, from 3,000 monthly requests on free to 15,000 on Team
  • Content ideas are capped at 100 on the free plan

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

Pricing, plan by plan

Buffer

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 connected accounts
    • 10 scheduled posts per channel per month
    • 100 content ideas
  • Essentials$5/month
    • Unlimited scheduled posts
    • Per-channel pricing
    • Advanced analytics
  • Team$10/month
    • Unlimited team members
    • Unlimited scheduled posts
    • Content approval workflows

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

Which should you pick?

Choose Buffer if

  • You need post scheduling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want content calendar.
Buffer review

Choose Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic review

Questions people ask

Is Buffer or Mautic better?
Neither clearly leads. Buffer starts at Free and Mautic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Buffer or Mautic?
Buffer starts at Free and Mautic at Free.
Does Buffer or Mautic run on more platforms?
Buffer runs on Web, iOS, Android. Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Buffer for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Buffer best used for?
Buffer is most often used for social media scheduling, content planning, performance analytics, team collaboration. Of those, social media scheduling and content planning are not what Mautic is typically brought in for.
What can Buffer do that Mautic cannot?
Buffer covers Post scheduling, Content calendar, Analytics dashboard, Link shortening. Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Buffer: Does Buffer's free plan include all social media platforms?

The free plan supports 3 connected accounts across any of Buffer's 11 supported platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon) with up to 10 scheduled posts per channel per month.

Source
Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

Buffer: Can I schedule Instagram Stories with Buffer?

No. Instagram Stories cannot be auto-published. Buffer sends a mobile notification to manually post stories, as Instagram does not provide an API for automated Story scheduling.

Source
Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

Buffer: What is Buffer's per-channel pricing model?

Buffer charges per social media account (channel) rather than per user. Channels 1-10 cost standard rates ($5 Essentials or $10 Team), with additional channels beyond 10 discounted per channel.

Source
Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

Buffer: Does Buffer have a mobile app and what platforms does it support?

Yes, Buffer offers iOS and Android apps for mobile management. The iOS app supports Mastodon and YouTube comment features, while Android support for these features is in development. Android community access works on the six most recent major Android versions.

Source
Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

Buffer: What discount does Buffer offer for annual billing?

Buffer offers a 20% discount for annual billing across all paid plans, plus an additional 50% discount on paid plans for nonprofit organizations.

Source
Buffer: Can Buffer integrate with content creation and storage tools?

Yes. Buffer integrates with 24 tools including Canva, Google Drive, Dropbox, Unsplash for media, Zapier and Make for automation, WordPress for publishing, and Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity for AI-assisted content creation.

Source
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