Softwr

Marketing · head to head

Buffer vs Roxhill

Buffer logo

Buffer

Marketing

Build your audience organically on social media

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Roxhill logo

Roxhill

Marketing

UK-focused journalist database and media monitoring, founder-owned and annual only

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Buffer has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Buffer the free plan allows 3 connected channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel; Roxhill the database is UK-centric by reviewers’ own account, with weak US, Australian and broader Asian journalist coverage, so any multi-market programme needs a second vendor and the single-vendor cost case disappears.
  • They diverge on capability: Buffer covers Post scheduling, Roxhill covers Journalist database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Buffer and Roxhill actually diverge.

Attributes where Buffer and Roxhill differ
AttributeBufferRoxhill
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Roxhill

  • Journalist database
  • Journalist profiles
  • Media lists and distribution
  • Media requests and alerts
  • Media monitoring
  • Bespoke newsletters
  • Historical search
  • Journalist Assistant

What people use each for

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

Buffer

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

Roxhill

  • A UK in-house press office that needs journalist contacts with current pitching preferences rather than a scraped byline list.not Buffer
  • An agency tracking forward features across UK trade and consumer titles to place clients into planned coverage months ahead.not Buffer
  • A communications team monitoring named spokespeople and measuring their share of voice against competitors in UK media.not Buffer
  • A UK public sector body procuring through G-Cloud that needs EEA-hosted media monitoring with a published framework price band.not 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

Roxhill

  • The database is UK-centric by reviewers’ own account, with weak US, Australian and broader Asian journalist coverage, so any multi-market programme needs a second vendor and the single-vendor cost case disappears.
  • Contact records go stale: reviewers report old email addresses and phone numbers, distribution bounces, and there is no self-serve verification step before you send.
  • At roughly 200,000 to 300,000 journalists it is far smaller than the million-plus figures Cision and Prowly claim, with repeated complaints about thin trade, academic and journal coverage.
  • Selling is annual only with no monthly plan and a trial functionally restricted to around two weeks, so you cannot genuinely pilot before a twelve-month commitment, which is a poor fit for project or retainer agency work.
  • Licence bands are 1, 3 and 5 seats, and extra logins, workspaces, smart folders, historical search, share of voice and the spokespeople platform are all chargeable add-ons, so a team of eight to fifteen pays well above any headline band.
  • Search behaviour is described as counter-intuitive and sometimes returns implausibly few results, which means a null result cannot be trusted and lists need manual cross-checking.
  • Monitoring accuracy takes time to settle after switching, so coverage is missed in the first weeks after a cutover, which is a real gap risk if you time the migration badly.

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

Roxhill

On request
  • Core$undefined/year
    • 1 licence
    • Standard database access
    • Journalist Assistant
  • Boutique$undefined/year
    • 3 licences
    • Adds press release distribution
    • 3 workspaces, 6 smart folders, 10 spokespeople, 3 newsletters
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • 5 licences
    • 5 workspaces, 10 smart folders, 5 newsletters
    • Spokespeople platform
  • Premium$undefined/year
    • Everything in Enterprise
    • Insights analysis and bespoke reporting
    • Competitor share of voice

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 Roxhill if

  • You need journalist database.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want journalist profiles.
Roxhill review

Questions people ask

Is Buffer or Roxhill better?
Neither clearly leads. Buffer starts at Free and Roxhill at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Buffer or Roxhill?
Buffer has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Buffer and On request for Roxhill.
Does Buffer or Roxhill run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Buffer for free?
Yes. Buffer has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Roxhill starts at On request.
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 Roxhill is typically brought in for.
What can Buffer do that Roxhill cannot?
Buffer covers Post scheduling, Content calendar, Analytics dashboard, Link shortening. Roxhill covers Journalist database, Journalist profiles, Media lists and distribution, Media requests and alerts.

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
Roxhill: How much does Roxhill cost?

Not published on the vendor site, but the UK G-Cloud 14 listing discloses £6,450 to £25,000 per instance per year. Use that as your anchor.

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
Roxhill: Is Roxhill owned by Cision or Access Intelligence?

No. Companies House shows a single individual holding over 75% of shares and no corporate PSC. It is founder-controlled and unfunded. Note the founder previously sold Gorkana to Cision, so ask for a change-of-control clause.

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
Roxhill: Is it usable for US or APAC media relations?

Not well. Reviewers describe US, Australian and Asian coverage as materially weaker than UK. Budget for a second database.

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
Roxhill: Can I buy monthly?

No. Contracts are annual, sales-gated, with a trial of around two weeks.

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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