More doesn't necessarily mean better. Think emails in your inbox, glitter on a Mother's Day card, hot sauce… That applies to social media metrics, too.

It's tempting to track everything your analytics dashboard throws at you. But not all social media metrics are created equal, and the ones worth your time come down to your specific social media marketing goals — whether that's testing a new format, growing an audience, or getting more people to your website.

Metrics are most helpful when they guide your next move — adjusting your content, switching up your posting schedule, or even thinking up new products. In this guide, I'll walk you through 20 social media marketing metrics, what each one tells you, how to calculate it, and how to turn the right handful into KPIs.

Key takeaways

• Social media metrics vs. KPIs: Metrics are everything you can measure on your accounts. KPIs are the three to five metrics you tie to a specific goal and target, such as lifting LinkedIn engagement rate from 4% to 6% in a quarter.
• Engagement rate is the most widely used metric for judging whether content is landing. The formula is total engagements ÷ reach × 100.
• Typical engagement rates differ by platform. Buffer’s analysis of 52+ million posts found 2025 medians of about 6.2% on LinkedIn, 5.6% on Facebook, 5.5% on Instagram, 4.6% on TikTok, 4.0% on Pinterest, 3.6% on Threads, and 2.5% on X.
• Reach vs. impressions: Reach counts the unique people who saw a post. Impressions, which many platforms now report as views, count every time it was shown, including repeats.
• Replying to comments is linked to higher engagement on every platform Buffer studied, with up to 42% more on Threads and 30% more on LinkedIn.
• Posting consistently protects your growth. In Buffer’s data, accounts that skipped a week of posting grew followers more slowly than their own usual rate.
• Vanity metrics like follower count and likes are most useful when you turn them into a rate, such as follower growth rate or engagement rate.
• Click-through rate, conversion rate, and return on ad spend are the metrics that connect social media activity to revenue.

What are social media metrics (and how are they different from KPIs)

Social media metrics are the numbers you use to see how your content is performing against your social media goals.

Any time you check how many people liked a post, clicked a link, or followed your account, you're working with social media metrics. Each one tells its own story about your content's reach and impact.

Social media metrics vs. social media KPIs 

You may hear people refer to metrics as "social media KPIs," or key performance indicators. They sound similar, but they aren't exactly the same.

• Metrics include every single thing you can measure on your social media channels.
• KPIs are the specific metrics you've chosen to track towards your goals, usually with a target attached.

A metric becomes a KPI when you tie it to a goal and a number. A few examples:

• Goal: build awareness for a new product → KPI: grow monthly reach by 20% over the next quarter
• Goal: build a more engaged community on LinkedIn → KPI: lift average post engagement rate from 4% to 6%
• Goal: drive signups from social → KPI: 150 signups a month from social referral traffic

You can track dozens of metrics, but you need only three to five KPIs to understand whether you’re close to or far from achieving your goals.

Which social media metrics should you track?

Start with the goal, not the metric. Here's every metric in this guide at a glance, with the formula and the goal it's most useful for:

Pick the metrics that match your goal and choose three to five as your social media KPIs. Then note where each one sits today before you set a target. A baseline makes “good” mean something for your account rather than someone else’s.

Say your goal is getting more people to your website. You might pick click-through rate, social referral traffic, and conversion rate. If your posts currently average a 0.8% CTR and send 400 visitors a month, those are your baselines. A realistic target might be a 1.2% CTR and 600 visitors a month by the end of the quarter. Without the starting numbers, you wouldn’t know whether 1.2% was a win or a slip.

Vanity metrics vs. actionable metrics

Vanity metrics are numbers that look impressive but don't tell you what to do next — total follower count, likes on their own, or a single post's impressions.

They aren't useless. Follower count still matters for creator partnerships, and impressions are a fair top-of-funnel signal. They just work better paired with a rate or an outcome:

• Follower count → follower growth rate
• Likes → engagement rate
• Impressions → click-through rate

If a number can go up without changing anything you'd do differently, it's probably a vanity metric on its own.

Social media engagement metrics

Engagement metrics show how people are responding to your content — not just seeing it, but actively doing something about it. When you track these signals, you start to see clear patterns in what your audience enjoys and comes back for.

1. Engagement rate

Formula: Engagement rate = total engagements ÷ reach × 100

Engagement rate tells you how much your audience is interacting with your content.

Things like likes, comments, shares, or saves all count towards engagement rate. It's a quick way to understand whether your content is catching people's attention and prompting them to respond.

Some tools divide by followers instead of reach (useful for comparing accounts of different sizes), and LinkedIn includes clicks in its own engagement count. Whichever version you use, stick with it so your numbers stay comparable over time.

Freelance social media marketer Rebecca Broad uses this metric as a gut check while creating content. "Keeping engagement rate in mind means I constantly assess visuals and copy and ask 'why would anyone care?'" says Rebecca.

"Why would someone who sees this post stop scrolling and spend precious time and energy engaging with it?" It's a perspective that can help you keep your audience at the center of every creative decision.

What's a good engagement rate? It depends heavily on the platform. Buffer's State of Social Media Engagement report, which analyzed 52+ million posts from 200,000+ accounts, found these median engagement rates in 2025:

Medians from accounts posting through Buffer only. Each platform defines engagement differently, so compare your numbers within a platform, not across them. A 4% engagement rate is below the median on LinkedIn and above it on X.

(More context in our guide to average engagement rate.)

You can track engagement rate:

• for a single post
• across a campaign
• over time on a platform

Each view gives you slightly different insights — from how well a specific piece of content landed to how your audience is engaging week over week.

Post engagement rate

Post engagement rate shows you which posts are making people stop and react — not just scroll by.

This type of social media engagement also tells the algorithm your content is worth sharing more widely, though engagement types are often weighted slightly differently on each platform. For example, shares (especially in DMs) are a strong signal to the Instagram algorithm. Meaningful comments carry weight on LinkedIn, especially when they get a conversation going.

Buffer Insights shows each post’s engagement rate for you, so you can spot patterns without exporting everything to a spreadsheet and working it out by hand.

Track this metric when:

• you're experimenting with new content formats
• you're promoting a message you want to stand out
• you want to keep a general eye on what your audience responds to

How to use post engagement metrics

When you see a spike in engagement, don't stop at the number — figure out what's behind it. Was the post tied to a trending topic? Did you ask a question that got people talking? Did the visual pop in the feed?

Those are the kinds of clues that can guide what you post next. And if something really clicks, look for ways to repurpose it elsewhere — Rebecca often reworks strong LinkedIn posts into blog CTAs (calls to action).

On the flip side, if engagement is low, that's your cue to experiment. Change up the format, try a different tone, or shift your focus and see what sticks.

Campaign engagement rate

Campaign engagement rate shows how an entire social media campaign is landing — messaging, post timing, and creatives together.

Because campaigns often span multiple formats and run over several days, this metric can reveal patterns you may not spot while looking at individual social media posts alone.

In Buffer, you can use tags to segment posts related to a specific campaign and then see its engagement rate with one filter. 

Track this metric when:

• you're launching a new product or service
• you're running a seasonal promotion (Black Friday + Cyber Monday, anyone?)
• you're raising awareness on a topic

How to use campaign engagement metrics

For brands, campaign engagement rate is a helpful way to adjust your approach mid-campaign. If engagement's low, you might rethink your next post or shift your ad spend. It's also a practical way to test influencer or creator partnerships before making bigger commitments in future campaigns.

Creators can include strong campaign engagement rates in pitches and media kits. A solid campaign engagement rate shows brands that you won't just get them in front of people — you'll get people talking, following, and maybe even buying.

Platform engagement rate

Platform engagement rate gives you a broader view of how your content is performing across an entire social media platform. When you track this over time, you'll start to see whether your audience is still responding or if engagement is beginning to dip.

Buffer shows the overall engagement rate for each channel you connect, and you can set a custom date range to see how it changed over a specific period, such as before and after a strategy shift.

Track this metric when:

• you're evaluating whether your overall social strategy is working or needs a shift
• you want to know if the platform is still worth your time, or if your focus might be better placed elsewhere

How to use platform engagement metrics

If engagement is steady or trending up, it's a sign that the platform is worth continued time and effort.

If it starts to fall, it could mean your content needs a refresh, your posting rhythm needs tweaking, or your audience is moving elsewhere — and it might be worth following them. 

Before you pack up, check the platform-wide trend in the table above: Instagram's median engagement rate fell around 26% between 2024 and 2025 across Buffer's whole dataset, so a dip there isn't necessarily about you.

2. Comments

Formula: Total number of comments per post (also evaluate the quality of engagement)

Comments count the replies people leave on your posts. They take more effort than a like, which makes them one of the clearest signs that a post gave someone something to say.

Comments are also the engagement you can do the most about. In Buffer's analysis of nearly two million posts, posts where the account replied to comments earned more engagement than the same account's posts without replies: 

• +42% on Threads 
• +30% on LinkedIn
• +21% on Instagram 

(That's a correlation rather than proof of cause, but it held on all platforms studied.)

Track this metric when:

• you want to know which topics start conversations, not just get a quick tap
• you're building a community and want to see if people talk to each other, not just to you
• you're testing questions or prompts in your captions

How to use comments

Judge comments by quality, not quantity. Are people asking questions about your content? Are they sharing their own experience with the topic? A handful of thoughtful comments tells you more than a hundred fire emojis.

Replying is how you turn comments into more engagement, and into a community. Buffer pulls comments from all your connected channels into one place, so you can reply without opening each app (and getting pulled into scrolling while you’re there).

And when a comment sparks an idea, you can turn it straight into a new post from inside Buffer (instead of scrambling to note it down somewhere so you can remember it).

3. Shares

Formula: Amplification rate = shares ÷ followers × 100

Shares (also called reposts or retweets) count how many times people pass your content on to their own followers or send it to someone directly.

A share puts your content in front of people who don't follow you yet, which is why platforms treat it as a strong signal. If you want a rate rather than a raw count, use the amplification rate.

Track this metric when:

• you want to grow beyond your existing audience
• you're testing whether a piece of content is useful or relatable enough to pass on
• you're comparing which formats travel furthest

How to use shares

Look at what your most-shared posts have in common. Often it's a clear takeaway, a strong opinion, or something people want to send to a specific friend or colleague. Make more of that, and make it easy to share — a single, self-contained point travels further than a post that needs context.

To spot patterns faster, ask your AI assistant (connected to Buffer through MCP) “Which of my posts got the most shares, and what do they have in common?”

4. Saves

Formula: Save rate = saves ÷ reach × 100

Saves count how many people bookmarked your post to come back to later. They're available on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and X (as bookmarks), though not every platform shows them publicly.

A save means someone found the post useful enough to keep, which is why saves tend to follow tutorials, checklists, and reference-style posts.

Track this metric when:

• you're creating educational or how-to content
• you want to know which posts have long-term value, not just a quick reaction
• you're testing carousels or other formats designed to be revisited

How to use saves

Saves are one of the best sources of content ideas you have. Each save tells you that someone wanted to come back to that post, so look at your most-saved posts and ask what made them worth keeping. Was it a step-by-step process, a checklist, a set of examples?

Then build on it. A post that explained one tip can become a series covering the rest. A popular checklist can become a downloadable template. And if the same topic keeps pulling saves, read the comments on those posts too. Follow-up questions there are often your next post, already written for you by your audience.

5. Average watch time and completion rate

Formulas:

• Average watch time = total watch time ÷ total views
• Completion rate = completed views ÷ total views × 100

Average watch time (sometimes called average view duration) is the number of seconds people spend watching your video. Completion rate is the share of viewers who watched to the end.

These are two of the clearest video performance metrics — a higher average watch time means viewers are sticking around for longer. They matter even more on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where watch time influences what gets recommended or shown to more people.

Depending on the platform, you might be able to track average watch time for your full library or just individual videos. YouTube gives you both, while Instagram Reels focuses on video-by-video performance.

Track this metric when:

• you're experimenting with different video lengths or formats
• you're comparing video content performance across platforms
• you want to see which topics or styles keep people watching

How to use video engagement metrics

A longer average watch time suggests your content is working, whether it’s the pacing, the topic, or how the video opens. Use that to guide what you make next.

If people are dropping off early, open the retention graph for that video. Most platforms show one in their analytics, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. Look at where the line drops, not just how far:

• A steep drop in the first three seconds means the hook isn’t working. The topic may be fine, but the opening didn’t give people a reason to stay. Rework the first line or first frame before you change anything else. Buffer’s free Hook Generator can give you a few options to test.
• A sudden dip in the middle usually lines up with a slow section, a long intro, or a point where the video stops delivering what the hook promised. Cut or tighten that part next time.
• A gradual slope to the end is normal. Compare your completion rate across similar videos to see which lengths your audience sticks with.

Reach and awareness metrics

Reach and awareness metrics tell you how often your posts are being shown and how far they're traveling. Content can't make an impact if no one's seeing it.

6. Reach

Reach tells you how many different people saw your post or ad. Each person is counted once, whether they saw that post one time or five times.

If a post has a reach of 15,000, that means 15,000 different people saw it.

It's one of the key metrics that Hailley Griffis, Director of Communications and Content at Buffer, tracks. "Different communities and social networks will engage differently, but if you are reaching an increased number of people, then you're doing something right," says Hailley.

Reach helps you compare which formats, topics, or platforms are getting seen the most.

Track reach when:

• you're testing different formats to see which ones grab more attention
• you want to understand which topics or messages your audience cares most about
• you want to see if posting at different times or on different days helps you reach more people
• you're reviewing which platforms your audience is most active on

How to use reach

Just like you did with engagement rate, start by checking which posts had the highest reach, then dig into the context. Was it the topic? The timing? Did someone share it and extend your audience?

Hailley reviews her reach every couple of weeks to find these patterns and make small adjustments that add up over time.

One thing she's noticed: showing up regularly makes a difference. "My reach continues to increase on Threads the more I stay consistent," says Hailley.

"I've spotted the same pattern for other creators too. While my Threads engagement is still growing, I've also seen increases in overall reach in the last few months of maintaining consistency."

Buffer’s data shows a similar pattern for growth. Across 4.8 million channel-weeks, accounts that skipped a week grew followers more slowly than their own baseline.

7. Impressions and views

Impressions count how many times your content is shown on someone's screen, even if it's to the same person more than once.

For example, say someone taps through to an Instagram post from your stories and then also sees the post in their feed the next time they open the app. This counts as two impressions, even though it's the same person.

It's easy to confuse impressions with reach, but they measure different things. Reach tracks how many unique people saw your posts. Impressions count all views, including repeat ones.

For Meryoli Arias, Head of Social Media at Glide, impressions are a north star metric. "As a social media marketer, my main focus is top-of-mind relevance. And the number of times my message and brand are in front of X amount of people (impressions) helps me with that," she says.

Track impressions when:

• you're testing or comparing content formats
• you're checking if the algorithm is showing people your posts
• you're measuring overall brand awareness

Just keep in mind: a post can rack up thousands — even millions — of impressions without leading to more followers or engagement, or meeting your business objectives.

"I had a viral post that hit 2 million impressions. Something that took me two minutes to create was being appreciated by so many people," says Meryoli. But despite its success, the post didn't do much to boost any of Meryoli's business goals, like increasing click-throughs or sign-ups.

"I learned that virality is not and should never be the goal of social media. A good tap in the shoulder for the ego does not equal business success."

In Buffer, you can see a post’s reach and impressions side by side (for channels that support both). That makes it easy to spot which posts reached lots of new people and which ones were mostly seen again by the same people. 

If impressions are well above reach, the post was shown to the same people multiple times. If the two are close, most views came from different people.

How to use impressions

Look at which formats, topics, or post styles get the most impressions, then tweak your formats, posting schedule, or content collaborations to build on what's working.

If your impressions start to slide, check three things before you overhaul your content:

• How often you’re posting. Impressions are closely tied to how much you post. In Buffer’s LinkedIn data, moving from one post a week to two to five meant about 1,182 more impressions per post. And in our Instagram analysis, weeks with no posts at all pulled follower growth below an account’s usual baseline.
• Which formats you’re using. Some formats are built for reach. On Instagram, Reels get around 36% more reach than carousels, even though carousels earn more engagement.
• Whether it’s just you. Check the platform-wide trends in the engagement rate table above. If a whole platform is down, the dip may say more about the platform than about your content.

Audience growth metrics

Audience growth metrics show who's following along and how that community is growing or changing. They help you see who's in the proverbial room, so you know who to talk to in your content.

8. Follower growth rate

Formula: Follower growth rate = new followers in a period ÷ followers at the start of the period × 100

Follower growth rate tracks how quickly new people are choosing to follow your account over time. Follower count is one of the most visible social media metrics, and often one of the first numbers people look at when trying to measure progress — the growth rate turns it into something you can compare month to month.

If you started the month with 2,000 followers and gained 150, your follower growth rate is 7.5%.

For Meryoli, it's another north star metric. She uses follower growth to see whether her content is reaching new people and growing her audience — a sign that it's drawing attention and building momentum.

Buffer Insights tracks follower growth for every channel you connect and compares it with the previous period, so you can see straight away whether this month’s growth sped up or slowed down.

Track this metric when:

• you want to see if your content or campaigns are reaching fresh eyes
• you're measuring the impact of a recent launch, collaboration, or experiment
• you're setting goals for overall brand awareness or community growth

How to use follower growth

Follower growth can be a helpful KPI, but it's most meaningful when paired with metrics like engagement and conversions. A rising follower count on its own doesn't say much about whether those followers are taking action. That's why it's sometimes called a "vanity metric" — it reflects potential reach, not impact.

Use it as a signal, not the final measure of social media success. If your follower count is going up but comments, likes, or clicks aren't, it might be time to adjust your content or CTAs to better engage your followers or reach the right audience.

9. Audience demographics

Audience demographics show you what kinds of people make up your audience — details like age, gender, and location.

It's a simple way to check whether you're attracting your target audience. You can use that information to create more content for the people already following you and adjust your social media strategy if you need to reach someone else.

Track this metric when:

• you want to know if you're attracting your target audience
• you're considering a shift in content style or topics and want to check fit
• you're preparing a brand or investor pitch or media kit that needs audience proof

How to use demographics

Start by comparing who’s actually following you with who you want to reach. If they match, keep doing what you’re doing, and use the data to fine-tune your tone, visuals, and timing.

If they don’t, your content is probably speaking to the wrong people. Say you sell project management software to team leads in their 30s and 40s, but most of your followers are students aged 18 to 24. That’s usually a sign your posts lean towards general productivity tips rather than the problems team leads deal with every day. 

Shift some of your posts to the questions and frustrations your ideal audience has, like running meetings, managing workloads, or reporting to leadership. Then check your demographics again in a month or two to see whether the mix is moving.

If you’re a creator, demographic data can also strengthen your pitch to brands. When you show that your audience lines up with who they’re trying to reach, you become a much more appealing partner.

Brand health metrics

Brand health metrics show whether — and how — people talk about your brand, which helps you see what's working and where there's room to improve. Social media monitoring and listening tools make it easy to track those conversations and see how people feel.

10. Brand mentions

Formula: Total mentions in a set period

Brand mentions measure how often your brand name pops up in posts, captions, or comments, whether someone tags your @handle or just types your name. Not every mention comes with a tag, so if you're just relying on notifications, you're likely missing pieces of the bigger conversation.

You can keep tabs on your brand name, key hashtags, and any phrases associated with you across different social media platforms. There's no fancy formula here — it's simply the total count of how many times you're mentioned across the time you're checking for.

Track this metric when:

• you want to measure brand awareness across multiple platforms
• you want to catch early signals from campaigns, partnerships, or product launches
• you're keeping an eye out for potential issues before they escalate

How to use brand mentions

Brand mentions can show patterns in who's talking about you and what gets them sharing. Maybe a campaign hashtag takes off, or you notice more chatter after a launch or big announcement. This data helps you fine-tune your ad targeting, spot potential brand advocates, and even connect with super fans who are already cheering you on.

Brand mentions also play a key role in tracking brand sentiment and share of voice (both coming up next).

11. Brand sentiment

Formula: Positive sentiment rate = positive mentions ÷ total mentions × 100

Brand sentiment measures how people feel about your brand, content, or product — whether their comments and posts are mostly positive, negative, or somewhere in between.

While mentions tell you how often your brand comes up in conversation, sentiment reveals what's actually being said and how people feel.

Reading through comments and mentions yourself gives you a sense of sentiment, but this gets tricky as your audience grows. Sentiment analysis tools can help by reviewing those mentions automatically and tagging the tone behind each one.

For example, "This candle smells incredible and lasts for days" would register as positive. A comment like, "This package took ages to arrive and came damaged" would lean negative.

Track it when:

• you're checking reactions to a product launch, seasonal campaign, or new collaboration
• you're seeing a spike in mentions and want to understand what's causing them
• you're exploring ways to turn positive sentiment into testimonials or social proof

How to use brand sentiment

For brands, check sentiment on specific campaigns to see if you've nailed it — or if there's something you need to adjust. Are customers complaining about shipping times? Check if the issue is with the carrier or internal logistics. Are they unhappy that you're non-responsive? That's where the customer service metrics below come in.

For creators, sentiment can help you spot which products or resources are really hitting home. Combine that with metrics like sales or click-through rates (more on this below) to figure out what to offer next. Are people loving your habit tracking template? A goals template might be a natural next step.

12. Share of voice

Formula: Share of voice = your brand mentions ÷ (your mentions + competitor mentions) × 100

Share of voice measures how much of the conversation in your space is about you, compared with your competitors.

If your brand was mentioned 300 times last month and your three main competitors were mentioned 900 times between them, your share of voice is 25%.

You count competitor mentions the same way you count your own. There are two ways to do it:

• With a social listening tool. Add each competitor’s brand name, @handle, and branded hashtags as keywords, the same way you set up tracking for your own brand. The tool collects every mention across platforms over the period you choose, and most will calculate share of voice for you. Our roundup of social listening tools compares the options.
• By hand. For a quick snapshot, search each competitor’s name, handle, and hashtags on each platform for a set period, such as the last 30 days. X’s advanced search lets you filter by date, and Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn let you search by keyword. Log the counts in a spreadsheet. This works for two or three competitors on one or two platforms, but it gets slow fast, and you’ll miss untagged mentions.

Whichever method you use, track the same keywords for every brand, over the same period and on the same platforms. Otherwise, you’re comparing different things.

Track this metric when:

• you want to measure brand awareness against competitors, not just against your own past numbers
• you're running a campaign meant to get people talking
• you're entering a new market or category

How to use share of voice

Track it over time rather than as a one-off. A rising share of voice after a campaign is a good sign it cut through, and a falling one while your mentions stay flat usually means a competitor is getting louder. 

Customer service metrics

Customer service metrics tell you how well you're looking after the people who reach out to you on social media. For a lot of customers, a comment or DM is the first place they go with a question or complaint, so these numbers shape how people feel about your brand.

13. Response time

Formula: Average response time = total time to first response ÷ number of messages answered

Response time is the average time it takes your team to reply to a message, comment, or mention that needs an answer.

Track this metric when:

• you handle customer questions or complaints through social media
• you want to set (and meet) a service standard for your team
• you're seeing negative sentiment that mentions slow replies

How to use response time

Set a target that fits your resources, then check it weekly. If your average creeps up, look at when messages arrive versus when your team is online — gaps around weekends and time zones are a common culprit. Our guide to customer service response time covers how to set a realistic target.

14. Response rate

Formula: Response rate = messages replied to ÷ messages received × 100

Response rate is the share of incoming messages, comments, or mentions that get a reply.

Track this metric when:

• you want to make sure nothing slips through the cracks
• you're comparing how well different channels are covered
• you're building community and want people to feel heard

How to use response rate

Not every comment needs a reply, so decide what counts (questions, complaints, and direct mentions are a good start) and track against that. Replying is also good for reach: as we covered under comments, posts with replies earned more engagement across every platform Buffer studied.

Conversion and ROI metrics

Conversion and ROI metrics show how your content drives results like website traffic, signups, sales, and a better return on your ad spend. If you're deciding where to invest time or budget, these are the numbers that point you in the right direction — and the ones that help you calculate social media ROI.

15. Click-through rate (CTR)

Formula: CTR = link clicks ÷ impressions × 100

Click-through rate measures how often people click on a link after seeing your post or ad. If you're sharing a link to your latest blog article, product, or signup page, CTR reveals how effective your post is at turning an impression into a visit.

Most major social media platforms — including Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Threads, and Bluesky — support clickable links in posts. Instagram is a little different: you can't add links to regular posts (yet), but you can add them to stories with link stickers.

If you use a trackable link — known as a UTM — you can find out exactly how many people landed on your site from a specific post. Rebecca tracks CTR for posts that send people off a social media platform to understand what's catching people's attention and prompting them to click.

CTR isn't a conversion metric — it won't tell you if someone actually bought those earrings or joined your course. But it's a strong sign your content is drawing people one step closer to your business objectives.

Track this metric when:

• you want to send people to a product page, landing page, or signup form
• you're checking whether your ad spend is leading to site visits
• you want to compare how different CTAs or headlines perform

How to use click-through rate

A high CTR is a good sign that your copy, images, or CTA are piquing your target audience's interest. If CTR isn't where you hoped, that's your cue to try something new: tweak your message, refresh your visuals, or experiment with different CTAs to see what gets people clicking.

Brands can use CTR to spot which ads or posts are compelling enough to get people to click through. If a product drop post isn't driving many clicks, consider changing up the copy or shifting your targeting for the next round.

For creators, a strong CTR is useful in brand pitches — it shows you can send real traffic, not just rack up views. If CTR drops, see it as a nudge to switch up your post structure, test new formats, or experiment with fresh ways to encourage clicks.

16. Social referral traffic

Social referral traffic is the number of visits your website gets from social media platforms.

CTR tells you how many people clicked; referral traffic tells you how many of those clicks actually arrived on your site, which pages they landed on, and what they did next. You'll find it in your website analytics (like Google Analytics 4) under traffic sources, and UTM-tagged links let you break it down by post or campaign.

Track this metric when:

• you want to know which platforms send the most visitors
• you're comparing organic and paid social as traffic sources
• you need to show social's contribution alongside email, search, and other channels

How to use social referral traffic

Compare traffic by platform and by landing page. A platform that sends fewer visitors who stay longer and convert more is often worth more than one that sends a flood of quick bounces.

17. Conversion rate

Formula: Conversion rate = conversions ÷ clicks × 100

Conversion rate is the percentage of people who complete an action after clicking through from social — buying something, signing up, downloading, or booking a call.

If a post sends 400 people to your signup page and 20 of them sign up, your conversion rate is 5%.

Track this metric when:

• you're running a launch, promotion, or lead-generation campaign
• you want to know whether social traffic is the right traffic, not just a lot of it
• you're comparing how different platforms or posts contribute to sales

How to use conversion rate

If CTR is strong but conversions are low, the problem usually isn't the post — look at the page people land on and whether it delivers what the post promised. If both are low, start with the post and the audience you're targeting.

18. Cost-per-click (CPC)

Formula: CPC = total ad spend ÷ number of clicks

Cost-per-click — or CPC — is an ad-specific metric that tells you how much it costs you for each click on your ad. It's a useful way to keep tabs on how your ads are performing when your goal is to bring people to a specific page.

Because CPC measures cost, this is one social media metric where a higher number isn't a good thing. A lower CPC, on the other hand, means you're paying less each time someone clicks.

You can calculate CPC for individual ads or look at it over an entire campaign.

If you spent $50 on an ad that received 100 clicks, your CPC for the ad would be 50 cents — $50/100.

If you spent $500 on a campaign that received 2,000 clicks, your CPC for the campaign would be 25 cents — $500/2,000.

Track this metric when:

• you're running ads to drive traffic to a site, store, or signup page
• you want to compare CPC across social media channels to see where your budget goes further
• you're testing ad variations to see which one drives more clicks for less

How to use cost-per-click

Start by looking at the range of CPC across your ads. If one version costs more to get a click, look at the difference in copy, visuals, or CTA — did one include a clear benefit? Was it shorter, more specific, or better matched to the audience? Use this information to adjust new ads in the campaign.

Compare CPC by platform, too. If one consistently gives you lower costs, consider shifting more of your ad spend there or repurposing what worked in the creative or copy on other channels.

19. Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)

Formula: CPM = total ad spend ÷ impressions × 1,000

CPM is what you pay for every 1,000 times your ad is shown. Where CPC measures the cost of a click, CPM measures the cost of being seen.

If you spent $200 on an ad that was shown 40,000 times, your CPM is $5.

Track this metric when:

• you're running awareness campaigns where clicks aren't the main goal
• you're comparing how expensive it is to reach people on different platforms
• your CPC jumps and you want to know whether ads got pricier or fewer people clicked

How to use CPM

Read CPM alongside CTR. A rising CPM with a steady CTR means it's costing more to reach people, but a steady CPM with a falling CTR means the ad itself needs work.

20. Return on ad spend (ROAS)

Formula: ROAS = revenue from ads ÷ ad spend × 100

Return on ad spend (ROAS) measures how much you earn for every dollar spent on ads. It's one of the clearest ways to check whether your paid campaigns are turning clicks into income.

While CPC measures how much your ads cost you, ROAS measures how much your ads earn you.

So, if you made $5,000 from a Facebook campaign and spent $1,000 on ads, your ROAS would be 500%.

Digital marketing consultant Laura Holyer considers ROAS (and revenue) one of the top paid social media metrics to track.

It's a platform-specific metric, and both the revenue and the ad spend data come from the same place — usually the social media platform's own tracking tools. That means your numbers can be affected by things like cookie restrictions or missing conversion data.

That's why, says Laura, you should take the numbers "with a pinch of salt" if they're coming from the platform itself. "Then we look at Blended ROAS figures as one of the top metrics," she says.

Instead of looking at each platform in isolation, Blended ROAS looks at the bigger picture: how much total revenue you're earning across all channels — organic social media, Google searches, email newsletters, paid ads — compared to what you're spending on advertising.

Formula: Blended ROAS = total revenue across all channels ÷ total ad spend across all channels × 100

If your business brings in $8,000 overall after spending $1,000 on ads across all channels, your Blended ROAS is 800%.

Track this metric when:

• you want to measure whether your ad spend is converting into sales
• you're comparing which channels are bringing in the most return
• you're trying to decide where to shift budget or prioritize spend

How to use return on ad spend

Use ROAS to spot which campaigns are bringing in sales and which ones might need a change in direction — whether that's updating the offer, tweaking the creative, or rethinking the channel.

Laura points out that the impact of a campaign also shows up in ways other than revenue. If you're running a brand awareness campaign, you might not see sales right away — but you might notice more people searching for your brand. These kinds of shifts can be a sign your campaign is working, even if it takes people a little longer to act.

How to track social media metrics

Once you know which metrics to pay attention to, the next step is figuring out how to track them. Most platforms offer built-in analytics tools, and there are third-party options that bring everything together.

Platform native insights

Most social media platforms come with built-in analytics, so you can keep an eye on key metrics without ever leaving the app.

What you'll see (and how much detail you get) depends on the platform, and sometimes on your account type, but nearly all of them cover the basics: impressions or views, reach, engagement, follower growth, and demographic data.

• LinkedIn offers these metrics at both the post and account level (here's our walkthrough of LinkedIn analytics).
• Instagram creator and business accounts go even deeper. The data breaks down views and engagements from followers vs. non-followers, and the percentage of views by content (and audience) type. You also get data about when your audience is most active each day of the week.
• X/Twitter analytics are only available to premium users. These detailed metrics include both post- and account-level impressions, engagement, link clicks, and follower growth. Link clicks are an important metric here, since posts directly support clickable links. Free users still get access to basic insights at the post level (see our guide to X analytics).
• Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, and Pinterest all have built-in metrics you can use to measure your social media performance on those channels (see our guide to TikTok analytics).

It's always helpful to see all those metrics right where you create and post, but there's a limitation — network-specific tools only show you what's happening on that one platform.

If you're sharing content on more than one social channel (and chances are, you are), these built-in dashboards aren't going to give you the whole story. Third-party social media analytics tools come in handy if you want to see every channel side by side.

Social media analytics tools

Native analytics show you one platform at a time. If you post on more than one, you’ll spend your reporting time switching between apps and copying numbers into a spreadsheet. A social media analytics tool brings every channel into one view, so you can compare them side by side and spot trends over time.

Buffer Insights is built for that. Here’s what you get:

• Every channel in one dashboard. See reach, engagement, follower changes, and your top posts across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X, Bluesky, and more. Then drill into a single channel when you want the detail.
• Progress you can compare. Likes, comments, impressions, and new followers are each compared with the previous period, so you can tell at a glance whether things are moving in the right direction.
• Weekly takeaways, not just charts. Insights suggests what to do next based on your data, such as adjusting your posting schedule, posting more often to hit your goal, or reposting content that performed well. Each suggestion comes with a one-click action.
• Reports you can hand over. Export reports as PDF or CSV to share with your team or clients (on paid plans).
• Answers from your AI assistant. Connect Buffer to Claude, ChatGPT, or another AI tool, and ask questions like “What were my top posts last month?” without opening a dashboard.

Every metric in Insights comes with a definition and shows when it was last updated, so you know exactly what you’re looking at.

Insights is included on Buffer’s free plan, and paid plans add longer history and exports. Get started for free →

How to measure social media success

Here's a simple routine to start with:

1. Pick one goal for the next quarter — awareness, engagement, growth, traffic, or sales.
2. Choose three to five metrics from the table above that match it, and write down where each one sits today.
3. Set a target for each, which turns them into KPIs.
4. Check content metrics weekly (engagement, reach, watch time) and KPIs monthly, so you spot patterns without overreacting to one post.
5. Change one thing at a time — format, timing, topic, or CTA — so you can tell what moved the number.

Social media metrics FAQ

What are the most important social media metrics?

The most important social media metrics are the ones tied to your goal. For most accounts that means engagement rate (is content landing?), reach (is it being seen?), follower growth rate (is the audience growing?), and click-through rate or conversion rate (is it driving action?). Pick three to five, not all 20.

What's the difference between social media metrics and KPIs?

Social media metrics are everything you can measure on your accounts. KPIs are the few metrics you've connected to a specific goal and target — for example, "increase LinkedIn engagement rate from 4% to 6% this quarter."

How do you measure social media success?

Set a clear goal, choose the metrics that reflect it, record a baseline, and check progress on a fixed schedule. Success is movement towards your target over time, not one viral post.

What is a good engagement rate on social media?

It depends on the platform. In Buffer's analysis of 52+ million posts, median engagement rates were around:

• 6.2% on LinkedIn
• 5.6% on Facebook
• 5.5% on Instagram
• 4.6% on TikTok
• 4.0% on Pinterest
• 3.6% on Threads
• 2.5% on X

Compare your rate to your own past performance and to the median for that platform, not to other platforms.

What are vanity metrics?

Vanity metrics are numbers that look good but don't tell you what to do next, like total follower count or likes on their own. They become useful when paired with a rate — follower growth rate instead of follower count, engagement rate instead of likes.

How often should you review social media metrics?

Check content-level metrics like engagement and reach weekly, and review your KPIs monthly. A quarterly look at the bigger picture (including a social media audit) helps you decide whether your goals or platforms need to change.

How do you track social media metrics?

Use each platform's built-in analytics for channel-level data, UTM links and website analytics for traffic and conversions, and a social media analytics tool to see every channel in one dashboard.

This article was originally written by Shivani Shah and updated by Rochi Zalani in November 2026.

For a long time, my ideas were scattered everywhere. Some were in my Notes app. Others were screenshots on my phone that I’d never opened again, or buried in old Claude conversations. Sometimes I'd remember a good line from a voice note I recorded months ago, but have no idea where to find it.

Everything was saved somewhere, just never anywhere I'd look when it was time to make something.

And even with this mega-level disorganization, I had been getting by fine. I have an 80-week creation streak in my personal Buffer account, and that's not counting the content I make for Buffer's channels. Coming up with ideas has never been my problem. Finding them again is.
So when MCPs started gaining traction, I went all in (though not in the way most tutorials suggested).

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets an LLM connect directly to the tools you already use, no code required. Most guides stop at what each individual connection can do, which is plenty useful. What changed how I work is using MCPs to pull all my scattered ideas into one place, then create and publish from that same place with tools that also run on MCPs, like Buffer, Canva, and Descript.

These are the 8 MCP servers I use every week to turn random ideas into finished posts without switching between a dozen tabs. Here's the stack and how each one feeds into the next.

The short version

Buffer is the best MCP server for social media if you post to more than one platform. It's a multi-platform MCP built for people who don't write code, it's free to connect, and it covers both ends of my system: a place for capturing ideas and a place for scheduling finished posts.

It’s in the top spot for a simple reason: every other tool in my stack exists either to get content into Buffer or to make the content that ends up there. Notion is home base for storing research, Granola pulls quotes out of my recorded calls, Google Workspace handles the admin, Elicit backs up my takes with research, Sublime holds everything I've saved from around the web, and Canva and Descript help turn an idea into something I can post.

Key takeaways

• Buffer is the best multi-platform MCP server for social media. It's built in partnership with social platforms, is free to connect, and works as the place I capture ideas, schedule posts, and check how they performed. It connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Cursor, Zapier, n8n, and other MCP-compatible tools.
• MCPs are the no-code version of APIs. You connect a tool once through OAuth, then ask your AI to do things in it in plain English.
• Every MCP in this stack is official and OAuth-based. You authorize access through your normal login and can revoke it anytime, which matters when you're connecting tools to your social accounts.
• The stack splits in two: capture and create. Notion, Sublime, Granola, Google Workspace, and Elicit gather and organize the ideas; Canva, Descript, and Buffer turn them into finished posts.

⚡ Note: You will need at least a paid plan for your AI Assistant of choice to use many of these tools

How I think about my MCP stack

Before we get to the list, here's how the tools fit together, because that matters as much as what each one does.

One hub with two jobs

The hub is the AI assistant you already use (for me, that's Claude), and the two tasks are to capture and create.

A Capture task is anything that gets an idea into your system: a note, a voice memo, a line from a call, a post you saved.

A Create task is anything that turns that idea into something you can publish: a caption, a graphic, a cleaned-up video. Almost every MCP in my stack does one of those two jobs, while a couple of them do both.

Buffer also covers what happens after a post goes out. I can ask how it performed, and what worked feeds into the next round of ideas I capture.

Think in hand-offs, not single tools

Most people connect one tool and use it on its own, which is a good place to start. But I’ve seen the most benefit from the hand-offs.

An idea gets captured in one place, organized in another, and made into a post in a third, without you leaving the conversation to move it along. A quote that Granola caught on a call last month became a scheduled LinkedIn post in Buffer without me opening either app.

And there are even deeper levels to MCP usage, with my setup being a pretty simple one in the grand scheme of things.

Stick to official MCPs that use OAuth

When I'm deciding what to connect, I check for two things.

The first is official over individual. Anyone can build an MCP server, and many useful ones come from independent developers. But if something is going to have so much access to my data, I want it to be something that a company with strict security standards is accountable for.

The second is how you connect. The best MCPs run on OAuth, so you authorize them through your normal login (the same way you'd connect one app to another, like Instagram to Buffer), and you can revoke that access whenever you want.

Okay, now that we have that locked in, let's get into my list.

Buffer

Best for: Anyone posting to more than one platform who wants one place to capture ideas, schedule the finished posts, and see how they did.

I have my Buffer connected to Claude, which gives it direct access to my connected channels, my posting queue, my post analytics, and of course, my ideas board. The MCP is powered by Buffer’s API, and once you connect it, you can manage your whole queue by asking Claude in plain language.

Scheduling is the obvious use case, but for me, it's a capture layer for my ideas.

I'll be reading something on my phone, or halfway through a Claude conversation that's turned into a half-formed post idea, and instead of stopping to open Buffer and log it, I just say "save this as a Buffer idea." It lands on my ideas board, tagged for the right platform, ready to be developed later. By the time I sit down to batch my content for the week, the board is already full of starting points I'd otherwise have lost.

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When I first connected Buffer, you couldn't pull analytics through the MCP, so anything that depended on performance data still happened in the Buffer dashboard. That's no longer the case. Now I can ask Claude something like "how did my LinkedIn posts do over the last two weeks?" and get totals and averages for any date range up to a year, filtered by channel or tag. It can also pull the numbers for individual posts, so I can see which ideas from my board actually performed before I plan what to make next.

A couple of things to know: the metrics refresh once a day, so they can be up to a day behind what you see on the platform. And post count, reactions, and comments always show up, but reach, impressions, and engagement rate only appear for channels that support them.

💡 Here's how to connect the Buffer MCP. There are setup guides for Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Manus, Notion, Cursor, Raycast, Google Antigravity, Zapier, and n8n.

Notion

Best for: Anyone who already stores their notes, ideas, or resources in Notion and wants to put them to use.

The Notion MCP gives Claude access to years of my notes and ideas, all saved as Notion pages. That includes every resource I've ever built to share with my audience, like my database of 100+ remote work resources.

That database is my best example of why this connection matters. I built it to be shared, but a resource only helps people if they keep hearing about it. With the MCP connected, I can ask Claude to help me find new ways to point people to it: text posts, short videos, carousels.

Most recently, I asked for a hook for an Instagram trial reel (b-roll with on-screen text) plus a caption that sends people to the database through DM automation. In my capture-and-create split, this is Notion's job: it's the deep storage the rest of the stack pulls from.

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It's not just audience-facing content, either. I keep a page to track my brand partnerships, and when a campaign wraps, I can spin up a post-partnership analytics doc and quickly share it with the brand, all from the same conversation.

Even with all that, I believe I’m still underusing this one. The obvious next step is to have Claude help me build new resources from the notes already sitting in there, not just promote the ones that exist.

💡 Here's how to connect the Notion MCP

Granola

Best for: Anyone who spends a lot of time on calls and suspects that half of what they say and hear could be content.

Granola records and transcribes my calls, and the MCP gives Claude access to all of those transcripts.

I started out using it for team calls, mostly to build internal communication and a reference library out of meeting notes. But lately I've been joining more calls with communities I'm part of and doing more interviews for podcasts and blog content, and those conversations are always valuable. I kept surprising myself with what I said, and realizing that a lot of what I was saying (and hearing) could be turned into content. But none of it was being captured.

Now I have Claude go through my Granola transcripts and pull content ideas. That's usually enough of a starting point for me to develop a post, and it usually becomes a carousel. These are ideas I never would have thought to write down before, and a one-hour conversation can yield weeks of content ideas.

If you're joining a lot of Zoom calls, or even listening to a lot of podcasts and video essays on YouTube (another place this has earned its keep for me), this is an extra content layer on top of something you're already doing.

💡 Here's how to connect the Granola MCP

Google Workspace

Best for: Creators who use any Google tool

I have my whole Google Workspace connected, but the thing I use it for most as a creator is staying on top of my emails. I've never been an inbox zero person (I'm more of an inbox 99,999 person), but there's a level of organization you need to be a successful creator, and I wouldn't get there without this MCP.

With it, I can ask Claude to keep track of ongoing conversations, find lost threads, set reminders for who I owe a reply, and flag potential brands to reach out to. The things that used to fall through the cracks of my inbox get surfaced instead.

I use the calendar side a lot, too. Being able to organize my schedule in natural language ("[real example of something you'd type]") is a bigger help than it sounds.

This is the one tool in my stack that doesn't really touch content. But it's what keeps everything else running.

💡 Here's how to connect the Google Workspace MCP

Elicit

Best for: Creators whose content makes claims about how things work, and who'd rather check than guess.

I connected Elicit because I wanted to strengthen my ideas. As a consumer, I prefer content that's based in research, and I didn't want to say things without being sure, without the backing of peer-reviewed work (at least where possible).

So Elicit was a dream find. Through the MCP, I can look through multiple papers at once, make connections between them, find related work that I’d never have surfaced on my own, and generally prove or disprove my own theories before they become posts.

Now, I don't put citations in my content as I’m not making purely educational content that makes hardline claims. But I like knowing that if anyone asks why I made a certain inference or mentioned something, I can point them to the research behind it.

One feature worth calling out: give Elicit the topic you're trying to tackle, and it can pull a group of studies together into one new paper you can share with your audience. The research becomes a resource in itself.

💡 Here's how to connect the Elicit MCP

Sublime

Best for: Creators who save everything (quotes, articles, Instagram posts) and want those saves to lead somewhere.

If Notion is where my own work lives, Sublime is where everyone else's lives. It's a tool for saving and connecting ideas: I store quotes, articles, and Instagram content there through the Chrome extension and the Instagram connection, all sorted into collections. Mine range from carousel formats I want to try to research on creator income.

What makes Sublime different from a bookmarks folder is that it's connected to a library built by every other Sublime user. When something catches my eye, the recommendation algorithm helps me understand it deeper, surfacing related ideas other people have saved, until I've got a fully formed idea woven together from a web of connected ones.

With the MCP connected, Claude can search all of it. When I'm developing a post, I can pull the quote I half-remember or the carousel format I saved a month ago without digging through my collections by hand.

One thing to know: there's no back-and-forth between Sublime and Claude. Claude can read my library, but saving still happens in Sublime, through the extension or the app. I personally like it that way. It means everything in there was added organically, by me, when it actually caught my eye.

Canva

Best for: Creators who already design in Canva and want to stop rebuilding the same assets from scratch.

With Canva connected, I can start a carousel idea in Claude and transfer it over once I have the copy. I can also reference my existing design library and assets, so I get ahead of spending hours figuring out where certain text should be placed.

All of my templates, fonts, and colors already live in Canva, so this was a no-brainer inclusion in my workflow.

This one doesn't stay all in Claude, though. I tend to move to Canva to finish up designs and export.

💡 Here's how to connect the Canva MCP

Descript

Best for: Creators who record long and post short — podcast episodes, interviews, and webinars that need to become clips.

This one is my newest discovery and potentially a game changer for creators. Descript's MCP only launched in May 2026, and I'll be honest: I haven't run many videos through it yet. It's still one of the coolest finds in my stack, and the one I want to use the most.

Once your video is in Descript, you can reference the raw file in Claude. Even better, you can edit it from the conversation: cut filler words, clean up the audio, add captions, pull out clips, and build a rough cut, then generate the accompanying copy for the post while you're at it.

Under the hood, your requests go to Underlord, Descript's AI editing assistant, so if you can ask for it in Descript, you can now ask for it from Claude. Descript's own pitch is that it handles 90% of the work and you show up for the last 10%. That last part matters: this isn't hands-off editing. You still open Descript to review the cut and make it yours.

A few things to know before connecting it: you need a paid Descript plan (the MCP costs nothing extra, but edits draw from your plan's AI credits and media minutes), and you can't import from YouTube links, only files and direct URLs.

What I'm looking out for in future updates is whether it'll eventually handle the finishing touches creators actually spend time on: transitions, sound effects, text on screen beyond captions.

💡 Here's how to connect the Descript MCP

Start with one connection

If this list feels like a lot, that's because you're seeing a system that’s grown over time. Mine actually started with Notion and grew from there as I discovered more tools, and yours can too.

Here's what I'd do to start: connect one MCP to the assistant you already use, and make it the one that catches ideas. For me, that's Buffer. It's free to connect, and the next time a good line shows up mid-conversation, you say "save this as a Buffer idea" and it'll be waiting for you when you’re ready to create.

You'll know it's time to add the next tool when you catch yourself switching tabs to move an idea along. If that tab happens to have an MCP, that’s your next connection.

FAQs about MCP servers for social media

What is an MCP server?

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server lets an AI assistant like Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity connect directly to another tool, like Buffer, Notion, or Canva. Once connected, you can ask the assistant to do things in that tool using plain language: save an idea, schedule a post, pull a transcript. No code required.

Do I need to know how to code to use MCPs?

No. Every MCP in this article connects through OAuth, which means you authorize it through your normal login, the same way you'd connect Instagram to Buffer. If you can connect two apps, you can set up an MCP.

What is the best MCP server for social media?

Buffer is the best MCP server for social media if you post to more than one platform. It's the only official, multi-platform option built for non-developers, it's free to connect, and it handles capturing ideas, scheduling posts, and pulling post analytics. The full breakdown is at the top of this article.

Can you get social media analytics through an MCP server?

Yes, if the tool's MCP supports it. Buffer's MCP can pull totals and averages for your posts across any date range up to a year, filtered by channel or tag, and it can show the numbers for individual posts too. Metrics refresh once a day. Post count, reactions, and comments are always included, and reach, impressions, and engagement rate show up for channels that support them.

Are MCP servers free to use?

The MCP connection itself is usually free, but most require an account with the underlying tool, and some require a paid plan. Buffer's MCP is free to connect. Descript's MCP is free but requires a paid Descript plan, and edits draw from your plan's AI credits.

Are MCPs safe to connect to my social media accounts?

They're as safe as the tool behind them, which is why I stick to two rules: only connect official MCPs (built by the company, not a third party), and only use ones that run on OAuth so you can revoke access anytime from your account settings.

As Buffer has continued to support the individuals, creators, and small and medium businesses who use us, we've had to balance being a relatively small team with making tough decisions.

We've had to make one of these recently. After careful deliberation as a team, we've decided to retire Start Page.

If you've built a Start Page with us, thank you.

Creators, small businesses, and nonprofits have used it as a front door to their work since 2021. Many of our customers were just getting started with their online journey, and a full website can be expensive and fiddly to maintain. Start Page provided a simple, flexible page anyone could build in minutes and share across their social profiles.

We don't take ending that lightly, which is why we're giving several months' notice, firm dates, and multiple options to make the transition as hassle-free as possible

Here's the timeline:

• November 4, 2026: We've stopped allowing the creation of new Start Pages
• November 30, 2026: You'll have tools to move your page somewhere else.
• February 2, 2027: We'll begin taking down Start Pages that haven't been migrated somewhere else.

I'd like to elaborate on why we're doing this, the plan moving forward, and what options we plan to have available.

Why we're doing this

Having one link that holds everything (also referred to as a link-in-bio tool) is still useful in today's social space. So why are we moving away from it? For us at Buffer, three things have become hard to ignore.

We've focused Buffer on our core strengths outside of Start Page. Buffer is a social media toolkit: we help you plan, publish, and learn from your content, and engage with your community across the social channels you use. While Start Page lives in your bio, it sits off to the side of all that. We've wanted to work on Start Page, but it takes away from Buffer's strengths and focus.

From a capabilities perspective, Start Page has fallen behind, and catching up would cost us the things you rely on. Link-in-bio and microsite tools have come a long way since 2021, and Start Page hasn't kept pace. Making it best-in-class would mean pulling several teammates away from other key, much-requested improvements to other core Buffer features. We don't think that's the right trade for most of our customers.

It's challenging to run well as a small, nimble team. Hosting public pages at scale comes with real costs: infrastructure, traffic spikes when a page goes viral, and a constant effort to keep spam and malicious pages off our domains.

We looked at other options, like making Start Page a free standalone tool, or freezing it in place with no further development. Each one left us running a product we couldn't properly invest in, slowly getting worse for the people using it. We'd rather make the clear decision to move ahead with sunsetting Start Page instead.

How we'll help you move

If you've put time into your Start Page, you shouldn't need to start over. By November 30, you'll find a migration tool in Buffer with these options:

• Download your whole page. Export your Start Page as a complete set of files, images, and all, ready to upload to a free host like Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages. We'll include step-by-step instructions, plus a readme written so an AI assistant can walk you through setup if you'd like a hand.
• Move your page to Lnk.bio, a leading link-in-bio service. If you'd prefer a simple, visual interface for managing your Start Page moving forward, we've partnered with Lnk.bio, an independent link-in-bio tool, to offer a simple migration flow. Lnk.bio is free to use in the way you used Start Page before, and has additional features on their affordable paid plans.
• Keep your link working. When you move, give us your new page's address, and we'll redirect your start.page link to it. The links already in your bios, posts, and printed materials keep working.

Not every block translates perfectly everywhere. The updates feed, for example, only exists in Buffer. We'll show you what carries over before you move anything.

If you pay for Start Page as a channel

Starting November 30, 2026, once migration tools are available and Start Page editing ends, Start Page will no longer count toward your channel slots. You won't lose the slot you've been paying for — consider a new social channel to use in its place. If you've been growing your online presence, or are curious about Bluesky, Threads, or Substack, this is a good excuse to try one.

If you'd rather not, you can lower your channel count at any time in your billing settings, and the change will appear on your next bill. Our Advocacy team is happy to help with that too.

Questions you might have

Is my Start Page going away today? No. It stays live until February 2, 2027, and you can keep editing it until November 30, 2026.

Can I still create a new Start Page? No. New Start Pages can't be created as of November 4, 2026.

What happens to my link after February 2? If you set up a redirect through the migration tool, your start.page link keeps sending visitors to your new page. Without a redirect, the link stops working once your page is removed.

How long will redirects last? Redirects stay up after Start Page shuts down. If that ever changes, we'll give you plenty of notice first.

I pay for a Start Page channel. Do I keep paying for it? From November 30, 2026, Start Page stops counting as a channel, so that slot is free for another channel. If you don't need it, lower your channel count, and you'll see the change on your next bill.

Why not just leave Start Page running as it is? We considered it. Keeping public pages online means ongoing hosting costs and moderation, and a product nobody is improving slowly gets worse for its users. A clear end date with good exit options felt more honest.

Thank you

Nobody enjoys a post announcing a product going away — myself included. But we'd rather tell you plainly, early, and with a plan than let Start Page quietly gather dust. Thank you for building with it, and for trusting us with your social media presence.

If you have questions about your page, your plan, or the move, reach out to our Advocacy team at hello@buffer.com. We'll be sharing reminders by email as each date gets closer.

Yes, you can schedule Instagram Stories — just not inside the Instagram app. Instagram's built-in scheduler doesn't cover stories, so you'll need a third-party social media scheduling tool like Buffer, or Meta's own Meta Business Suite.

That's good news if stories are the first thing to slip off your to-do list. They're fleeting, often on the fly, and easy to forget when your day gets busy. If you've ever found yourself scrambling for something (anything!) to post at the last minute, scheduling takes that pressure off. It's something I wish I'd started doing sooner.

In this guide, I'll walk you through both methods step by step — on desktop and on your phone — then share a few tips for getting more out of the stories you schedule.

Can you schedule Instagram Stories?

Yes, but not in the Instagram app itself. Instagram's built-in scheduler lets professional accounts schedule reels, photos, and carousel posts, but stories aren't included right now.

To schedule an Instagram Story, you need either Meta Business Suite (Meta's free tool for Facebook and Instagram), or a third-party scheduler like Buffer, which works from both desktop and mobile.

Whether your story publishes on its own depends on your account type and what's in it. More on that in the Buffer steps below.

Key takeaways

• Instagram app: There's no native story scheduling. The in-app scheduler covers only Reels, photos, and carousel posts.
• Meta Business Suite: Schedules Instagram Stories for free from a desktop browser and the app.
• Buffer: Schedules Instagram Stories from the web app or the iOS and Android apps, including on the free plan (up to three channels).
• Auto-publishing: Buffer publishes stories automatically for Instagram business and creator accounts. Personal accounts get a reminder on their phone to finish the post in Instagram.
• Stickers, links, and music: Instagram doesn't let third-party tools add these automatically, so stories that use them are sent to your phone to finish in the Instagram app.
• One file per story: In Buffer, each photo or video is scheduled as its own story.
• Story size: 9:16 aspect ratio (1080 x 1920 pixels). Story videos can run 3 to 60 seconds.

Your three options at a glance

There are three places you might try to schedule an Instagram Story. Only two of them can do it:

How to schedule a story on Instagram with Buffer (4 steps)

Here's how to schedule a story in Buffer's Instagram scheduler, from upload to publish:

Step 1. Start your story

1. Click + New Post > Post in the top right of your Buffer dashboard to open the composer.
2. Choose Instagram from the Channels list on the top left.
3. Choose Story as the post type.

Step 2. Add your photo or video

1. Drag and drop your image or video into the composer — or click to browse your folders.
2. Check the preview on the right to see how the story will look once it's live.

Step 3. Make quick edits

Notice a photo needs a little tweak? No problem.

1. Just hover over the image and click the pencil icon to edit.
2. You'll be able to crop, rotate, blur, brighten, and more — handy for last-minute touch-ups.

Step 4. Set the time your story goes live

1. Pick Automatic (Buffer posts it for you) or Notify Me (Buffer sends a reminder to your phone and you finish the post in Instagram).
2. Choose when it goes out:
   • Set Date and Time to pick a specific day and time — Buffer also suggests the times your audience is most likely to be active
   • Next Available to drop it into your next open posting slot
   • Prioritize to bump it to the top of your queue (paid plans)
   • Now to post it straight away
3. Click Schedule Post.

Business, creator, or personal account: what publishes automatically

How Buffer publishes your story depends on your Instagram account type:

• Business and creator accounts: Buffer can publish your story automatically at the time you choose.
• Personal accounts: Buffer sends a notification to the Buffer mobile app when it's time to post. You tap it and share the story from Instagram.

Even on a business or creator account, a story switches to a phone reminder if it includes stickers, a link, text, music, or a caption, or if your image or video falls outside Instagram's accepted size. Buffer shows you which method a story will use before you schedule it. (Our help center has the full rundown of automatic vs. notification publishing.)

And that's it — your story is scheduled.

How to schedule a story on Instagram from your phone

You can do all of the above from the Buffer app on iOS or Android:

1. Tap the green + icon at the bottom right to open the composer.
2. Tap the channel icon and select your Instagram account.
3. Tap Story.
4. Upload your photo or video.
5. Tap Automatic or Notify Me.
6. Pick a scheduling option — and you're done!

If you choose Notify Me — or your story needs a sticker or link — the Buffer app pings you at the scheduled time, and you finish the story in Instagram. You'll need push notifications turned on for that to work. (Here are the mobile scheduling steps in our help center, with screenshots.)

How to schedule a story with Meta Business Suite

Meta Business Suite is Meta's free tool for managing Facebook and Instagram, and it can schedule Instagram Stories from both your desktop browser and the Meta Business Suite app.

In your browser:

1. Navigate to business.facebook.com to access Meta Business Suite, and log into the correct account.
2. Click the Create Story button.
3. Select your Facebook and/or Instagram accounts.
4. Upload media (images and videos) for your story.
5. Click Edit to add text, mentions, or stickers.
6. To schedule the Instagram Story to publish later, click the Schedule button.

With the Meta Business Suite app:

1. Tap Content from the bottom navigation bar (or tap the + / Story button on the home screen).
2. Select Story and add your photos or videos.
3. Choose Schedule for later to set your date and time.
4. Tap Schedule.

What happens to stickers, polls, and links when you schedule a story?

Instagram doesn't let third-party tools add interactive elements to a story automatically. That covers link stickers, polls, questions, music, and story text, plus captions on stories. So if a story needs any of these, it can't publish on its own — even on a business or creator account.

The workaround is simple. In Buffer, add the sticker you want (or a note about it) and the story switches to Notify Me. Buffer leaves a placeholder for each sticker so you remember what to add, sends the story to your phone at the scheduled time, and you add the sticker in Instagram before you share it. (Our help center explains which effects need notification publishing.)

If you've never added a link sticker before, here's how to add a link to your Instagram Story.

Buffer vs. Meta Business Suite: which should you use to schedule stories?

Both tools can schedule Instagram Stories. The main differences are which platforms they cover, whether you can schedule from your phone, and what happens with team workflows.

Why schedule your Instagram Stories?

Scheduling your stories keeps you posting consistently, and consistent stories keep your existing followers engaged — which is what the Instagram algorithm wants to see. Stories might not be the best format for reaching new followers, but the more someone watches or interacts with your stories, the more likely Instagram is to show them your future posts and reels.

Here’s Adam Mosseri, the Head of Instagram, on how stories factor into the Instagram algorithm.

“The most important signals we look at when ranking Stories are the likelihood that you’ll tap on the story, like the story, or reply with a message,” he says.

Scheduling takes the pressure off needing to be "on" all the time, so your stories keep showing up even on your busiest days. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Stay consistent without burning out: Scheduling ahead helps you keep showing up without scrambling for content, and without feeling like you have to be glued to your phone 24/7.
• Post with more intention: I've definitely posted a "just so I've posted something" story. Scheduling breaks that habit, because you're choosing what to share a few days out, not five minutes before bed. That extra time makes it easier to tie each story back to what you're working toward — a launch, a promo, a newsletter signup.
• Plan for key engagement moments: Tease a new product drop, share a promo code, or ask a poll question (finished in Instagram), so you're showing up at the top of your followers' feeds when it counts.
• Batch your stories in one sitting: Ever spent way too long hunting down screenshots and videos scattered across your phone, laptop, and maybe even an old Google Drive? I've been there. Pull everything together once, schedule it, and get on with the rest of your to-do list.
• Post when your followers are online: You might not always be online when your audience is, but scheduled stories can be. With scheduling, you can post your stories when your followers are most active without setting a reminder or stopping what you're doing. Our analysis of 9.6 million Instagram posts found Wednesday is the strongest day overall, with Thursday at 9 a.m. and Wednesday at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. the top slots for posts — a good starting point for testing your story times.
• Plan from your desktop (or your phone): Sometimes, creating content on a bigger screen just feels better. Personally, I also prefer to keep my laptop for work, and my phone for personal stuff. When you schedule stories from your desktop, you get more space to plan, write, and design without squinting at your phone or juggling files between devices. And when you're away from your desk, the Buffer app covers the same ground.

Quick tips for scheduling Instagram Stories

Here are a few tips for making your scheduled stories land.

Stick to the right story size (so nothing gets cut off)

Instagram Stories are designed for people to view them full-screen while holding their phone vertically:

• Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical, full-screen)
• Recommended size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
• Video length: 3 to 60 seconds per story

Use the recommended dimensions so that your content shows up clearly without anything important getting cropped out.

Don't forget the link sticker

If you have something to promote, add a link sticker to your story. It's an easy way to send viewers straight to your website, blog, product page, or anywhere you want.

Just remember: link stickers can't be scheduled to publish automatically. Schedule the story with Notify Me, then tap the sticker icon and paste your link when Buffer sends it to your phone.

Turn posts into stories

Got a great feed post or reel? Boost its reach and make the most of the content you've already created by sharing it to your stories. Add a quick caption or sticker to encourage followers to tap through.

Mix it up with fun content

Show behind-the-scenes moments, polls, questions, quick tips, or even just a funny meme. Mixing things up keeps your audience engaged and reminds them there's a real person behind the brand.

Stay on track with posting goals and streaks

Need a little motivation to stay consistent? Set a story posting goal in Buffer and keep your streak going — every week you publish through Buffer counts toward it.

Every week, I get an email from Buffer on my progress, and it's amazing how a little accountability inspires me to keep going:

Use free tools to level up your stories

From content creation to scheduling and audience research, there are plenty of free tools out there to help you make your stories pop. Here's a list of 24 free Instagram tools for designing, editing, and planning your stories.

Start scheduling your stories with Buffer

Scheduling won't replace the occasional off-the-cuff story — and it shouldn't. But having a few stories lined up means every story is working toward your goals, and you're still showing up on the days you're too busy to think about Instagram.

Buffer's Instagram Story scheduler is included on the free plan for up to three channels.

Here's everything you need to know to schedule Instagram Stories with Buffer.

Happy scheduling!

Instagram Story scheduling FAQs

Can you schedule a story in the Instagram app itself?

No. Instagram's built-in scheduler covers Reels, photos, and carousel posts, but not stories (as of November 2026). Instagram hasn't added stories to it, so scheduling a story needs Meta Business Suite or a third-party scheduler that connects to Instagram, like Buffer.

Can you schedule Instagram Stories for free?

Yes. Meta Business Suite is free and schedules Instagram Stories from desktop or its mobile app. Buffer's free plan also includes Instagram Story scheduling for up to three channels, from desktop or mobile, with up to 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time.

Can you set a time for a story on Instagram?

Not in the Instagram app. With a scheduler, you pick the exact date and time. In Buffer, choose Set Date and Time when you schedule your story, and Buffer will also suggest times when your audience is most likely to be active.

Can you schedule Instagram Stories from your phone?

Yes, with the Buffer app for iOS or Android: tap Publish, open the composer, choose your Instagram account, tap Story, upload your media, and pick a time. You can also schedule stories in the Meta Business Suite app.

Can you schedule Instagram Stories on a personal account?

Yes, with Buffer, but they won't publish automatically. Buffer sends a reminder to your phone at the scheduled time and you finish the story in Instagram. To have stories publish on their own, switch to a free business or creator account. Meta Business Suite works with professional accounts only.

Will a scheduled story post automatically?

It depends. With Buffer, stories on business and creator accounts publish automatically, as long as they don't include stickers, links, text, music, or a caption. Stories on personal accounts, or stories with those features, are sent to your phone to finish in Instagram.

What's the best way to schedule Instagram Stories for the week?

Batch them. Set aside one session to gather your photos and videos, schedule each story into its slot, and use Buffer's calendar view as your Instagram Stories calendar so you can see the whole week at a glance. Setting a weekly posting goal (and keeping your streak going) helps you stick to it.

How do you edit or delete a scheduled Instagram Story?

In Buffer, head to the Queue or Drafts tab for your Instagram channel. Click on the scheduled Instagram Story you want to change. From there, you can edit the content, update the timing, or delete it entirely before it goes live.

More Instagram resources

• How to Get More Followers on Instagram
• How to Use Instagram Close Friends (and Pair With Broadcast Channels and Unlockable Reels)
• Unlockable Reels Are Coming to Instagram: Here’s How They Work
• 24 Free Instagram Tools to Grow Your Following
• How to Sell on Instagram: A Complete Guide for Creators and Businesses
• How to Share Instagram Feed Posts to Stories: 3 Simple Steps

Choosing the right trending audio to accompany your latest Instagram post is an art, not a science. Still, opting for a trending sound or music clip could provide the boost you need to get your video on the Instagram Explore page or Instagram Reels feed.

While it used to be just for Instagram Reels, you can now also add trending audio to your carousels and single photo posts. This gives your posts a better chance of landing on the Explore page, and it makes carousels and photos eligible to appear on the reels feed, too. That opens up a new way to expand your reach.

But where can you find trending audio on Instagram? If you feel like you’re always chasing the tail end of trending songs on the app, you’ve come to the right place.

Here are some of the most viral, versatile, trending songs and sounds on Instagram right now.

13 trending songs and audio on Instagram

Here's a quick summary of what is trending in November 2026.

1. DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT x STAYIN ALIVE (ALTÉGO MIX)

Altego Music mashes up another doozy. This time, the song is being used for a trend where creators zoom in on an encouraging message for their followers. It feels like an affirmation or mantra that just happens to come with a catchy tune.

🎧 Get the song

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dally (@dontdillydally_)

2. All I Want For Christmas Is You

Let the thawing of Mariah Carey begin! Fun fact: The iconic holiday track has accumulated 22 cumulative weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most dominant chart-topping songs in history. The holiday cheer has officially arrived, so use it for any Christmas content.

🎧 Get the song

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Marcella Tranchesi (@matranchesi)

3. Upside Down

Diana Ross's catchy classic is giving before-and-after transitions a disco makeover. Creators are mouthing the lyrics, flipping the camera, and hitting the hand gestures to reveal everything from new hairstyles to outfit changes and makeup looks.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by eva (@evajan.x)

4. Windows in Brazil (Sped Up)

If you remember the iconic Windows startup sound, this trend will take you right back to your family's first PC. Set to Windows in Brazil (Sped Up), creators are turning their GRWMs into a loading screen, starting at 0% in PJs and eye patches before revealing the finished look at 100%.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yuliya| Beauty Creator 💄 (@glam.byyuliya)

5. November Rain

A November classic by Guns N' Roses. This power ballad from 1992 is the rocking accompaniment to cinematic reels and epic travel content. It also resurfaces the original music video, reminding us to turn up the volume and pay some respect to Axl himself.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝑆𝑘𝑦𝑒 𝑁' 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 (@jjunl_skyeprivv)

6. Mix

This audio by sviola_handmade uses a snippet of Touch the Sky by Kanye West for the "toggle on" trend. Creators add an animated ON/OFF switch to their video, flipping it to reveal a new look, announcement, or big update. Brands can use it to tease a launch, introduce a new content series, or build anticipation for something coming soon.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by katiengoshair (@katiengoshair)

7. Original audio by traavloo

The “Getting robbed, but first...” trend pokes fun at being so absorbed in your phone that you miss what's happening around you. Creators film themselves glued to their phones while a bag gets stolen from their arm.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sheer Socialx | Digital Marketing & Content Strategy Agency (@sheersocialxx)

8. My Own Universe

My Own Universe by PattiJ North is the sound for slowing down and embracing autumn’s softer side. Creators are pairing the song with cozy seasonal moments, adding a dash of on-trend whimsy.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by dominiqueansel (@dominiqueansel)

9. Pump It

This song by The Black Eyed Peas brings the vibes (and the university dancefloor memories). It's currently the soundtrack to a mini vlog trend that sees creators labeling the setting, fuel, tools, and more that make up their day or a moment of it.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Edmond Xhaferi (@edmond.running)

10. Luminary

This is one of those epic-sounding instrumentals that works for any victorious, emotional, or dramatic content. Pair it with on-screen text to add to the impact.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by STEPHANIE POLLARD (@stephanie_pollard)

11. Underneath the Tree

November is here, and creators are giving festive feels with Kelly Clarkson's Underneath the Tree. Think Kelly Clarkson’s answer to Mariah Carey’s festive classics, perfect for the holiday season.

🎧 Get the audio

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Noelle (@noellesimpson_)

12. Patient Zero

Released at the end of September, Patient Zero by Taylor Swift has Swifties celebrating the new song and using the lyrics to capture feelings and experiences they relate to.

🎧 Get the song

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by A I T A N A B A U M G A R T E L (@aitanabaum)

13. Nicole Kidman

The lyrics to ADÉLA's new song have set the scene for a cheeky dance trend. Creators are lip-syncing along and serving looks with a little extra support up top 😉.

🎧 Get the song

⚠️ Caution: NSFW

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MERAKI (@merakiofficial.ig)

How to find trending audio on Instagram

Not loving any of the above options? No sweat: here’s a crash course on how to find trending sounds on Instagram Reels.

1. Use Instagram’s trending audio list: Check Instagram’s built-in leaderboard for the top 50 trending songs updated every few days. Find it when creating a post, story, or reel on the Instagram mobile app by tapping the music icon, then selecting ‘Trending.’ Save tracks for later with the bookmark icon.
2. Check the professional dashboard: If you have a professional account in the US, visit the Professional Dashboard on your profile, scroll to Tips and resources, and tap Trending audio for curated suggestions on Instagram Reels.
3. Look for the arrow icon: As you scroll reels, watch for an upward arrow next to audio tracks—that’s Instagram’s indicator that a sound is trending.
4. Follow Instagram’s Creators account: The @creators account shares regular updates on trending songs, editing tips for Instagram Reels, and feature announcements. Check out their IG Anthems highlight for more trending songs and trending sounds.
5. Check TikTok or YouTube Shorts for early trends: Many trending Instagram Reels sounds originate on TikTok or YouTube Shorts. Browse trending sounds there, then search for those tracks on Instagram to get ahead of the curve.

Don't forget about original audio

As you can see from some of the audio we've mentioned on the list, many creators are making waves with their own clips, and jumping on a trending original track can give your content an extra boost and help it stand out in feeds.

💡 Pro tip: You can find trending original audio on your professional dashboard under the Original audio tab.

Happy posting with these trending Instagram songs!

You're well-equipped to find the next great trending audio on Instagram for your reels, carousels, or single-photo posts — and you've got several great tracks to put in your back pocket if you get stuck!

If you’ve created an Instagram Reel with one of these trending songs, we’d love to see it. Tag @buffer on Instagram so we can find you!

Hootsuite is a pretty powerful social media management tool. But its $149/user per month starting price ($99 if you pay annually) puts it out of reach for many creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses.

That's at least $1,188 a year for each user — and that's before you even get to the plan most people actually need. And with no free plan, there's no way to get Hootsuite for free beyond the 14-day trial.

Hootsuite has to earn its place in the budget, especially when you're already juggling a stack of tools just to keep your content running. So it's no surprise so many folks end up searching for Hootsuite alternatives.

The good news: you have options. There are plenty of social media management tools out there, and a few Hootsuite competitors do things Hootsuite doesn't, often at a fraction of the price (sometimes free).

I’m a former social media manager and creator, and I’ve used more than my fair share of social media management and analytics platforms. 

In this article, we’ll explore several of the best Hootsuite competitors and alternatives, how much they cost, who they’re best suited for, and what their best features look like.

Why people look for Hootsuite alternatives

Not sure if you should make the leap? Here are a few common reasons creators and small teams start exploring other platforms:

• Budget: the monthly fees add up fast, especially as your team grows
• Analytics: wanting something deeper, clearer, or just easier to actually read
• Workflow: simpler scheduling, approvals, or engagement tools that don't require a learning curve
• Interface: a calmer, less cluttered dashboard that keeps the focus on creating
• Platform coverage: needing support for networks like Substack or Mastodon that your current tool doesn't cover
• AI tools: looking for API and MCP access to create custom tools and workflows, plus built-in AI to help generate ideas, draft posts, or repurpose content across channels

If any of those hit close to home, the alternatives below are worth a look.

Key takeaways

• Best overall value: Buffer offers a robust free plan and affordable per-channel pricing (starting at $6 per month), making it the top choice for creators and small teams.
• Best if you only need it for Facebook and Instagram: Meta Business Suite is entirely free, with no paid tier.
• Best for agencies and teams: Sendible's tasks system lets team members and clients assign to-dos tied to the content calendar, and its reports are ready to present.
• Best for competitor and timing insights: Metricool tracks competitor accounts, and its heat-map planner shows when your audience is most likely to engage.
• Best for visual-first brands running influencer campaigns: Later combines a grid preview of your feed with tools for finding creators and tracking influencer campaigns.
• Best for content beyond social: CoSchedule schedules your social posts alongside your blog, newsletters, and podcasts in one calendar.
• Best for larger teams: Sprout Social brings CRM features, social listening, and stakeholder-friendly reports into one platform.
• Best for tying social to website traffic: Agorapulse connects with Google Analytics to measure how your social posts affect website traffic.

Hootsuite alternatives and competitors at a glance

Here's how the eight alternatives compare on free options and starting prices.

1. Buffer

Best for creators, small businesses, and growing agencies who want powerful features without the price tag

At Buffer, we’re really into transparency. We're also pretty open about how we operate. You can find everything from product metrics to salaries on our public transparency hub, if you're curious.

So, full transparency: I work at Buffer, so I'm not exactly neutral here. But I've worked as a social media manager and creator for more than a decade, long before starting at Buffer.

But I keep coming back to Buffer because it covers the features most creators and small teams actually need — without the price tag that makes you wince every month.

Buffer is a social media management tool with a free plan that covers up to three channels. Paid plans are priced per channel rather than per user, so you're not paying extra as your team grows.

The Free plan includes some super useful features:

• Schedule up to 30 posts across three channels: Buffer's Free plan lets you publish and schedule up to 30 posts (10 per channel). That’s a refillable queue (not a hard limit), meaning a slot opens up the moment a scheduled post gets published.
• Connect to a wide range of social media platforms: You'll also be able to choose from a broad range of different channels, including Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Substack, Google Business, Pinterest, Mastodon, YouTube, Threads, and Bluesky. To crosspost and manage multiple channels from a single composer, simply draft a post once and customize it for each platform before publishing.
• Drag-and-drop social media calendar: The intuitive calendar shows all scheduled posts and drafts at a glance, so you can monitor all your social accounts from a single dashboard, in real time. To reschedule an upcoming post, simply drag it to the date you want it to go live and drop it onto the calendar.
• Get powerful, easy-to-understand analytics: Buffer's analytics live in Insights, which helps you make sense of your metrics across channels rather than leaving you to interpret raw charts. Get AI-powered takeaways to help you plan your next move and export your data as a report for your manager or a markdown file for your AI tool of choice.
• Save ideas in the Create Space: A free content library where you can save and plan out your ideas, which is something I find incredibly helpful in my content creation workflow. You can store up to 100 ideas on the Free plan.
• Build custom tools and workflows with the API and MCP: Connect your Buffer account to Claude, ChatGPT, Raycast, Cursor, or other AI tools you already work in to make content planning easier. You can even build your own custom apps to manage your social media content.
• Reply to comments: Say goodbye to posting and ghosting, and boost your engagement by 5% to 42%. Buffer's Community tab helps you manage all your social media comments, mentions, and replies in one place. You also get 5 AI reply suggestions per week.
• Use Buffer's AI Assistant: Draft posts for your schedule, repurpose content you've already created, and keep the ideas coming when you're running low so you can spend more time on the stuff that actually matters. Buffer's AI Assistant is available on the free plan with unlimited usage.

If you're looking to manage more than three social media accounts or want advanced features, you might want to check out Buffer's other plans:

• Essentials: Starting at $6/channel per month
• Team: Starting at $12/channel per month

Advanced features include unlimited scheduled posts and ideas, analytics exports to create reports, unlimited AI replies in the inbox, custom video thumbnails, LinkedIn first comment scheduling

On the Team plan, you also get unlimited users, permission levels, approval workflows, notes and collaboration tools including comments and notes.

2. Meta Business Suite

Best for businesses and creators who work entirely within Facebook and Instagram

Meta Business Suite is Meta's free tool for managing Facebook and Instagram in one place. And yes, it really is free. You’ll only spend money if you boost a post, but that’s your ad budget at work, not a fee for using the platform.

You can boost a single post right from the composer, and the linked Ads Manager takes over when you want to run full campaigns. Analytics show how your organic posts perform next to your ads and how many of the people you reached already follow you.

You can also manage your organic Facebook and Instagram content from Meta Business Suite. It has some neat features like letting you add stories to highlights from the dashboard, and sending automated replies to first-time DMs or on a schedule while you're away.

If Facebook and Instagram are your whole social presence, it covers a lot of what you'd otherwise pay Hootsuite for. It has a few features for Threads and WhatsApp Business too, but the Facebook and Instagram feature set is much more developed.

The trade-off: there’s no X, LinkedIn, TikTok, or YouTube, so it won't cover you if you use Hootsuite outside the Meta platforms.

3. Sendible

Best for agencies and teams that need task-based collaboration

Sendible is a no-frills, no-fuss social media management platform at an affordable price. It connects with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Threads, YouTube, Bluesky, and Google Business Profiles, and the streamlined dashboard lets you view your scheduled, draft, and undelivered posts at a glance.

The tool also has a handy tasks system where team members or clients can assign to-dos related to the content calendar, which makes it a good fit for agencies and teams that need to stay organized. It also has a social inbox, so you can manage comments and messages without leaving the platform.

Along with social media management tools, Sendible users can generate instant social media analytics reports for all their connected channels. The reports are presentation-ready, which is helpful if you're sharing updates with clients or stakeholders.

4. Metricool

Best for brands that want competitor monitoring and best-time-to-post insights

Metricool is a user-friendly social media management platform with a free plan. You can schedule up to 20 posts per month at no cost, which is plenty if you're just getting started. The platform supports scheduling and automation for multiple social media platforms and also allows for bulk scheduling across social channels.

Metricool offers competitor tracking for many of its supported platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, and Twitch on all plans, plus YouTube and X/Twitter on paid. It’s a handy feature to have if you want to keep a close eye on the competition. 

Competitor tracking pulls in followers, likes, replies, reposts, and views for every account you add, and all of it rolls into your monthly reports. One tip if you're starting on the free plan: you can track five competitors, but you can't swap them out once they're added, so choose carefully.

One of its key scheduling features is its heat-map-style planner, which shows the best times to post on some of your channels. When a slot looks good, you can double-click to start a new post or drag a scheduled post straight onto it to change its date or time.

The tool also has slick approval workflows for social media posts and a central social inbox for comments from the majority of its connected platforms.

It’s worth knowing before you commit that the free plan doesn't include LinkedIn or X/Twitter at all, and X is a paid add-on even on Metricool's paid plans. Each X account adds $10 to your monthly bill.

5. Later

Best for visual-first brands and creators managing influencer campaigns

Later started as an Instagram-focused tool, and visual planning is still where it shines. If maintaining a polished brand aesthetic is a priority, its drag-and-drop content calendar and grid preview make it easy to see exactly how your content will appear on your profile before it goes live.

Drag an image from your media library onto the calendar, write the caption right there, and check how it'll sit in your grid (both Instagram and Pinterest) before you hit schedule. If your feed has a look you've worked hard on, that preview takes a lot of the guesswork out of planning.

Since its launch, Later has expanded into broader social media management and has a whole separate product for influencer marketing. Brands can find creators, manage those relationships, measure results, and even send products to influencers through its Shopify integration (pricing isn't listed upfront, though).

And if you're on the other side of the deal, the Creator hub comes with your plan, which is handy for putting together a media kit and applying to brand campaigns without signing up for yet another tool.

Later doesn't support quite a few platforms that Hootsuite does, including X/Twitter, Bluesky, and Google Business Profile. On the plus side, it’s one of the few tools on this list that supports Snapchat.

6. CoSchedule

Best for teams managing blogs, newsletters, and social media in one calendar

CoSchedule is a good fit if you're managing content beyond social (think a blog, newsletters, and the like) and want to see it all in one place. If you're running social in Hootsuite and tracking everything else in a separate calendar or spreadsheet, that's one less thing to keep in sync.

When we tested it for our Sprout Social alternatives roundup, it felt more like a way to project-manage your content than just schedule it. If you're publishing a blog post, for example, the newsletter and social posts that go with it can sit in the same campaign. And if you're a full-time creator earning from a newsletter, podcast, or blog alongside your social channels, it could work for you for the same reason.

It publishes to most major social media platforms and connects with WordPress and email tools like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign. Mia, its AI chatbot, can draft anything from a blog post to a press release.

If you rely on Hootsuite for in-depth analytics or social listening, those aren’t features CoSchedule covers. You'd need a separate tool for reporting and listening alongside managing your content calendar.

7. Sprout Social

Best for enterprise teams with a large volume of messages, comments, and mentions to manage

Sprout Social is often a close match for teams moving off Hootsuite, though costs climb quickly as you move up its plans. Its Smart Inbox (available on the $249/user plan) is one such feature you’ll need to budget for. But if a big part of your team’s work is responding to comments, messages, and mentions, it’s worth serious consideration.

What makes it hold up at volume is what you can do once a message arrives: assign a conversation to a teammate, tag it by topic or sentiment, pass it on to customer support through helpdesk integrations with Zendesk, Salesforce, and HubSpot.

It also picks up conversations you'd otherwise miss. Keyword monitoring catches brand mentions when nobody tags you, and you can manage reviews from places like TripAdvisor, Glassdoor, and the app stores without leaving the platform. If you want to go beyond your own brand mentions into full social listening, that's available too as a paid add-on.

You get social media scheduling, analytics, and great team collaboration features in your plan, with employee advocacy and influencer marketing features available as paid add-ons.

8. Agorapulse

Best for marketing teams that want in-depth analytics and customizable reports

Agorapulse suits small marketing teams that are ready to invest in a more feature-rich tool, and its reporting is a big part of why. It covers the everyday metrics you'd expect, like audience growth, engagement, and reach, and then lets you go a lot further with custom reports.

Start a report from scratch or from a template, then drag in whichever metrics that report needs. A report for your leadership team and one for a client can each show only what that audience cares about. 

You can also connect Google Analytics to see the clicks and traffic your posts send to your website. That goes further on higher plans: you can tie conversions and revenue back to specific posts, and report on your Meta and LinkedIn ad campaigns in the same place.

Agorapulse also has a unified inbox for comments, mentions, DMs, and reviews, with comments on your paid ads included on higher plans. If X/Twitter is one of your channels, factor it into the cost: it isn't included in any plan, so you'll pay for it as an add-on.

How to choose the right Hootsuite alternative

There's no single "best" Hootsuite alternative, and the right pick comes down to what you need.

Here's a simple three-step way to figure it out:

1. Jot down two or three features you love (or need) from your current tool.
2. Shortlist platforms that tick those boxes and fit your budget.
3. Test each one for at least a week on a free plan or trial, paying close attention to workflow, analytics, and ease of use.

Within a couple of weeks, you'll know which platform feels like home.

• On a tight budget? Buffer's free plan gives you three channels, an AI assistant, and a content calendar, with no credit card needed.
• Only posting to Facebook and Instagram? Meta Business Suite covers both for free.
• Managing clients or a team? Sendible's task system makes collaboration a lot easier.
• Dealing with tons of comments and DMs? Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox keeps your team on top of engagement and customer support.
• Need more than social? CoSchedule lets you manage blog posts, newsletters, and social media in a single calendar.
• Want deep analytics and reporting? Buffer's Insights, Metricool's competitor tracking, and Agorapulse’s custom reports give you clear, usable data without the enterprise price tag.

Whether you're on a social media marketing team, a solo creator, or working with clients in an agency, social media management tools are a pretty personal choice. If Buffer ends up being the right fit, we'd love to have you as part of our community. If not, that's OK too; we hope you find the tool that works best for you.

FAQ about Hootsuite alternatives

What is the best alternative to Hootsuite?

The best Hootsuite alternative depends on your goals, budget, and workflow. Popular options include tools that offer social media scheduling, analytics, and engagement features at a lower cost or with simpler interfaces. Creators and small teams looking for a free or low-cost plan have options like Buffer (free for up to three channels), Metricool (free for up to 20 posts per month), or Meta Business Suite (completely free, only for Instagram and Facebook). Larger teams that need advanced reports, CRM, and social listening tend to look at Sprout Social or Agorapulse. 

Is there a free alternative to Hootsuite?

Yes. Several Hootsuite alternatives offer free plans or free trials. These plans often include limited scheduling, basic analytics, or caps on the number of posts per month, which can work well for creators or small businesses getting started.

Buffer has a free plan that lets you schedule up to 30 posts at a time across three social channels, with no time limit. It’s a usable free plan, not just a trial. Meta Business Suite is entirely free if you only post to Facebook and Instagram. Metricool's free plan covers up to 20 posts per month, Later’s free plan supports 12 posts per month for each connected channel, and CoSchedule's free plan covers one social media profile. Sendible, Sprout Social, and Agorapulse offer free trials so you can test them before committing.

Does Hootsuite have a free plan?

No, Hootsuite doesn't have a free plan. Hootsuite ended its free plan on March 31, 2023, as part of a shift toward paid subscriptions. New users can still access a 14-day free trial, but continued use requires a paid plan.

How much does Hootsuite cost in 2026?

Hootsuite's paid plans start at $149 per user per month, or $99 per user per month billed annually, after a 14-day free trial. Pricing is per user, so the cost goes up with every team member you add.

Are Hootsuite alternatives good for small businesses?

Yes, many Hootsuite alternatives are a good fit for small businesses and solo creators. They typically focus on ease of use, clearer analytics, and more affordable pricing, making them easier to adopt without high upfront costs.

Hootsuite alternatives like Buffer, Metricool, Later, and CoSchedule offer free plans, and paid plans often start at significantly lower prices than Hootsuite’s $149/user monthly starting price. 

What's the best Hootsuite alternative for agencies?

For agencies, Buffer, Sendible, and Agorapulse are the closest fits on this list. Buffer’s granular permissions and approval workflows let agencies give team members and clients the exact access they need. With pricing per channel instead of per user, agencies can add as many team members and clients as they need to their account without worrying about the cost.

Sendible's tasks system lets team members and clients assign to-dos tied to the content calendar. Agorapulse’s reporting and Google Analytics integration lets agencies create reports tailored to each client’s requirements.

Can I switch from Hootsuite without losing my content?

Your published content and social accounts are yours, so you won't lose them. What you will need to rebuild are any scheduled or queued posts, since those live inside Hootsuite's system and can't be exported. The good news: reconnecting your social accounts to a new tool usually takes just a few minutes, and you can start scheduling again right away.

How do I choose the right Hootsuite alternative?

Start by identifying the features you rely on most, such as scheduling, analytics, engagement tools, or team collaboration. Then narrow your list to platforms that offer those features within your budget. Finally, take your top one or two picks for a spin using a free plan or trial for at least a week. Pay close attention to how the tool fits into your daily workflow — the best tool is the one you'll actually enjoy using.

What is the cheapest social media management tool?

Budget options exist at every level. Buffer's free plan costs nothing and covers three social channels with up to 30 scheduled posts. Paid plans start at $6 per channel per month, one of the lowest entry points you'll find. Meta Business Suite is completely free for teams and creators focused on Facebook and Instagram. Metricool also has a free plan (capped at 20 posts per month), with paid plans from $25 per month. If you're watching your spend, starting on a free plan and upgrading only when you need to is a reasonable approach.

Is Buffer cheaper than Hootsuite?

Yes. Buffer offers a free plan and paid plans starting at $6/channel per month, while Hootsuite's paid plans start at $149/user per month.

Which is better, Hootsuite or Buffer?

Buffer and Hootsuite suit different needs. Buffer has a free plan and prices per channel, which works well for creators, small teams, and growing agencies. Hootsuite has no free plan, prices per user, and leans toward larger teams that need features like competitor tracking and social listening. For a feature-by-feature breakdown, see our Buffer vs. Hootsuite comparison.

More social media marketing tool resources

• The 11 Best Social Media Management Tools — Tried + Tested
• 9 Tools for Social Media Automation (+ Automation Pro Tips)
• The Best Social Media APIs for Developers + Vibe Coders
• The Top 10 AI Writing Tools I Recommend as a Professional Writer
• The 21 Best Social Media Marketing Tools to Try
• The 9 Best AI Image Generators of 2026 (+ Examples)
• The 11 Best Social Media Analytics + Reporting Tools

Social media was never just a one-way broadcast channel. A holistic social media strategy includes creating useful, entertaining content and building a community.

But it's hard to connect with your audience if you're leaving comments unanswered, ignoring direct messages (DMs), and skipping brand mentions.

If you're here, you already understand why engagement matters. And whether you're a creator, small business owner, or agency, it can be tough to make time to reply and engage — never mind doing this across multiple different platforms.

Social media engagement tools help you monitor interactions, respond to conversations, and track engagement metrics so you can build better connections with your audience without drowning in manual effort. You might also see them called social media engagement platforms, engagement software, or community management tools.

When you're evaluating tools, here are the features worth looking for:

• Unified inbox: Pulls comments, DMs, and mentions from multiple platforms into one place
• Automated comment moderation: Uses AI or rules to filter spam, offensive content, or off-topic noise
• Team collaboration: Lets you assign conversations, leave internal notes, and share access with teammates
• Social media listening: Monitors brand mentions, keywords, and industry conversations beyond your own posts
• Analytics and reporting: Tracks response times, sentiment, and engagement trends so you can keep improving

Not every tool will check every box, and that's OK. The right pick depends on your size, budget, and the platforms you're most active on. Let's dig in.

Key takeaways

• Best for creators, small businesses, and growing agencies: Buffer's Community inbox brings comments from 10 networks, plus mentions from X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, into one place.
• Best for enterprise teams: Sprout Social and Hootsuite combine engagement with social listening, and Sprout Social alerts you to unusual spikes in brand messages.
• Best for customer service: NapoleonCat keeps each customer's conversation history, internal notes, and sentiment in a social media CRM.
• Best for automating DMs: Manychat sends automatic replies when people comment a keyword.
• Best for agencies: Sked Social combines a shared inbox with client approvals and internal comments.
• Best for comment moderation: CommentGuard auto-hides profanity on Facebook and Instagram, and BrandBastion moderates comments across 109 languages.
• Best free option for Facebook and Instagram: Meta Business Suite is entirely free and brings DMs and comments into one inbox.

Social media engagement tools at a glance

Here's how the 12 tools compare on free options and starting prices.

Here are 12 tools to help you with social media engagement, organized by what each does best.

1. Community in Buffer

Best social media engagement tool for creators, small businesses, and growing agencies

Buffer is a social media management tool designed to make engagement feel calm and manageable rather than chaotic and overwhelming. Community, Buffer's engagement dashboard, gives you a unified inbox with all the key features you'd need.

It covers more social networks than most tools on this list. You can see and reply to comments from 10 networks: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Google Business Profiles. Mentions come in from X/Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. When you connect a new account, Community also brings in comments from the last 30 days, so you’re not starting with an empty inbox.

It helps you reply faster. Filter your comments by unanswered, newest, or oldest so the comments that need you come first. To speed things up even more, save replies for the questions you get every week or use AI reply suggestions when you’re stuck. Buffer’s AI assistant learns how you write, so the drafts sound like you and not a help desk. You can reply from the Buffer mobile app, so a quick reply while you’re in line for coffee works, too!

It works for teams. Give each teammate full access, view-only access, or no access, either across all your channels or one channel at a time. Perhaps you have some teammates focused on particular accounts, or you want everyone to chip in everywhere — it’s completely customizable to how you work. 

It helps you build the habit. Beyond the usual social media management platform toolkit, Buffer gives you a “comment score” that tracks how consistently and how quickly you reply over time. It’s a small nudge, but it makes social media engagement feel like a routine rather than a chore you get to when you remember.

My favorite feature is the ability to create a new post from one of your comments. Often, engaging with your audience sparks content ideas, and you can turn those ideas into posts directly from Buffer. It's social listening in action, but a lot smoother and faster than the manual way.

Of course, Buffer is about more than engagement — it's an all-in-one social media marketing tool that helps you schedule posts, track performance, collaborate with your team members, and so much more. And it has a free version (with affordable paid plan options), so you won't break the bank to get smoother, faster social media management.

Get Buffer at no cost today.

2. Sprout Social

Best social media engagement tool for detecting unusual spikes

Sprout Social, like Buffer, is a full-fledged social media management tool. It’s best suited for large companies because of its price and features, including real-time alerts for unusual activity in brand messages.

Those alerts ping you as soon as brand messages spike, which can come in handy to maintain brand image and detect a potential crisis before it blows up. Its unified social inbox brings comments, mentions, and DMs from multiple social media platforms into one feed, so you’re not switching between apps to keep up when mentions pick up.

Sprout Social also connects to review sites like Yelp and Google Business Profile, and helpdesk tools like Salesforce Service Cloud. With reviews and support conversations in one place, you can keep an eye on customer satisfaction across multiple channels without switching between tools. You can even create team reports to understand how quickly your support reps are responding to queries raised via social media.

All of these engagement capabilities are in addition to social media metrics, post scheduling across platforms, social listening, and even influencer marketing campaigns.

The drawback is that, because of its cost and extensive feature set, Sprout Social is not the right fit for creators or small teams. Plans start at $99/seat per month, but inbox management isn't included until the higher-tier Standard plan. This makes it best suited for enterprise organizations that want to run various kinds of digital marketing campaigns using a single tool. 

Try Sprout Social for free.

3. NapoleonCat

Best social media engagement tool for customer service

NapoleonCat can help you schedule posts, analyze social media performance, and create reports. But its strongest area is customer service. If you handle dozens of customer questions on social media every day, this might be the best tool to manage them.

For starters, it has a dedicated social media CRM so you have all the historical customer conversations in one place. You or your team can add internal notes, comments, and relationship sentiment so anyone who picks up a conversation gets the full context in seconds. Treating customers like people you already know — because you do — goes a long way for your brand reputation.

Beyond this, NapoleonCat also offers sentiment analysis, a unified social inbox, and scalable collaboration features, all of which are handy when your brand and team are growing.

The trade-off? Its supplementary features (creating social media posts, built-in analytics, etc.) might not be robust enough if you need a one-stop social media management tool.

Try NapoleonCat for free.

4. Manychat

Best social media engagement tool for automating direct messages

Ever seen one of those posts where creators ask their audience to comment “link” or something specific to receive a free resource? Manychat is a DM automation tool that sends automatic replies when people comment a keyword or send you a message.

Manychat isn’t a traditional social media engagement tool where you keep track of messages or comments and type in replies. Instead, it helps you do some very specific tasks with the help of automations. 

You can use Manychat to auto-reply to a keyword or even incoming DMs that ask FAQs. It's really simple to set up DM automations, too. You can get it up and running in just a few clicks.

It’s an excellent tool to add to your tech stack to boost engagement. It prevents comments and DMs from piling up and acts as your support rep 24/7.

Depending on the plan, Manychat supports Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, and email. 

Try Manychat for free.

5. Sked Social

Best social media engagement tool for agencies managing multiple brands and client approvals

Sked Social is a strong fit for agencies managing multiple clients across several social channels. Yes, it has a single inbox for all comments, DMs, and brand mentions.

It also has excellent collaborative tools, allowing you to check in with your clients before responding to anything you're unsure about. You can assign tasks to different team members, tag stakeholders for approval, and leave internal comments.

In addition to its community management features, Sked Social also has agency-friendly workflows to schedule social media posts, get detailed analytics, practice social listening, and conduct competitive analysis. Each feature has built-in approval systems that help you collaborate smoothly with internal team members and external clients.

My favorite feature lets you turn engagement into content: when people tag you or mention your brand in user-generated content (UGC), you can save those posts straight to your Sked Library, ready to share back with your audience.

Try Sked Social for free.

6. Eclincher

Best social media engagement tool for inbox analytics

Eclincher is a good fit for teams or agencies that need detailed analytics on their inbox performance.

The Inbox Report in Eclincher gives data like:

• Response time, broken down by team member
• Number of incoming messages in your inbox per day
• Completed vs. open items in your inbox per day
• Busiest time for your inbox

You can filter this data even further to get granular analytics. Compare how many messages you get on each social channel, and you’ll know which channel to staff first and where to focus your response-time goals. You can also split team performance into completion time vs. first response time, which tells you whether your team is slow to reply or slow to resolve.

Besides advanced inbox analytics, Eclincher also has a unified inbox to help you respond to DMs more quickly and effectively. If your DMs are where most of your conversations take place, Eclincher has some great features for you. The only con is that it doesn't offer the same level of depth in its analytics for comments.

You can also use Eclincher to manage your entire social media presence — create a content calendar and schedule posts, run social media marketing campaigns, and track overall performance. 

Try Eclincher for free.

7. Agorapulse

Best social media engagement tool for responding to ad comments

Agorapulse is a social media management software that can do a host of tasks, but it's one of the few tools I found that can help you respond to ad comments across multiple social networks: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Ad comment moderation is available on a higher plan.

If you’re running ads on social media, you need an easy way to track conversions and pay attention to the comments. You can do both with Agorapulse. An unanswered negative comment is visible to everyone the ad reaches and can hurt your brand’s reputation. 

Adding UTM tracking to links in ad comment replies helps you get a more accurate attribution of clicks and sales. And because ad and organic comments land in the same inbox, your team won't miss any complaints or issues and can make sure every comment gets addressed. 

You can also add labels to messages and comments to categorize them, track sentiment, and manage spam on higher plans.

Try Agorapulse for free.

8. BrandBastion

Best social media engagement platform for multilingual comment moderation

Going viral is great until the comments start pouring in from corners of the globe you didn’t expect, in languages you can’t read. BrandBastion is an AI comment moderation platform trained across 109 languages, so it can keep your comment section clean and aligned with your values wherever your audience is.

Its proprietary AI technology is built on millions of social conversations. It can detect nuance, context, sarcasm, and subtlety within your comment section without you lifting a finger.

What also stood out for me was that you don’t have to run it yourself. With its managed service, BrandBastion handles replies for you around the clock, using responses you’ve approved in advance, with a community manager reviewing each one before it goes out.

The tool also goes beyond your own comment section: the Outbound Inbox pulls in posts that mention your brand (even when you’re not tagged), brand and campaign hashtags, brand keywords on YouTube, and trending TikTok content in your industry, so you can join relevant conversations while they’re still happening.

Book a demo with BrandBastion.

9. Siftsy

Best social media engagement platform for getting insights on your comment section

Siftsy is a social media engagement tool that focuses entirely on your comment section. Upload a CSV file with your social media post or profile links, and Siftsy will analyze the comments to find what customers love, complain about, and want more of.

You can use the tool in many different ways:

• To understand buyer sentiment when one of your product-related posts goes viral
• For social listening and market research, to dissect key themes, questions, and complaints in your comment section
• In influencer marketing campaigns, to understand how influencers’ audiences interact with them and what they say about your products

You can even use Siftsy to see how audiences are reacting to competitors' posts — in your CSV file, simply drop the competitors’ post or profile links you want to analyze. 

You can also export the insights you get using Siftsy for social media reporting. You may not need a recurring subscription, but pulling it out once a quarter (or after a big campaign) to deeply analyze your comment section can surface insights you'd otherwise miss.

Book a demo with Siftsy.

10. Hootsuite

Best social media engagement platform for enterprise companies

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that combines a shared inbox, DM and workflow automations, and customer privacy features in one tool, which makes it a strong fit for enterprise teams. If you have the budget, it can handle a complex social media strategy in one place.

Hootsuite’s new Nest inbox offers a lot of basic engagement features — like a unified social inbox and AI replies — plus some that are more advanced. It can detect more than 60 languages and route comments or DMs to the right person on your team to reply in that language. Information masking lets you protect your customers’ sensitive data, like credit card numbers. Automations let you create workflows that automatically reply to some conversations and route conversations for others. 

There are a few drawbacks to keep in mind:

• Steep learning curve: You'll need some time to get the hang of all the features.
• Price: Most creators or small businesses don't need this many functionalities on a daily basis. It's often more affordable to stitch together lighter tools as you need them.
• Paywalled features: Many of the most useful capabilities are tucked away in the highest-tier plan.

That said, if you're part of a team that needs enterprise-level features and has the budget, Hootsuite is worth looking into.

Try Hootsuite for free.

11. CommentGuard

Best social media engagement tool for automated comment moderation on Facebook and Instagram

CommentGuard is a moderation tool specifically for Facebook pages and Instagram business accounts. Its unified inbox pulls in all the comments on your posts as well as ads.

CommentGuard can automatically hide comments containing profanity, negative language, spam, and even images that fall under those categories. If there are words you’d rather not see under your posts, you can add them to a keyword list, and CommentGuard will hide those comments for you. You can even block or mute users who repeatedly post spam or offensive comments on your posts.

Besides moderation, there are a few engagement-specific features as well, like scanning and tagging comments that need a reply, saved replies, AI-assisted responses, and automated replies.

CommentGuard is a great choice if you want a tool specifically for comment moderation, but it's limited to only Facebook and Instagram at the time of writing this article. If these are your primary social channels and you're spending too much time moderating comments, it'll save you hours.

Try CommentGuard for free.

12. Meta Business Suite

Best free social media engagement tool for Facebook and Instagram

Meta Business Suite is Meta's own tool for managing Facebook and Instagram, and it's entirely free. There are no paid plans and no trial to keep track of.

If you’re wondering why it’s on this list when CommentGuard handles the same social media channels, it’s because they do different jobs. CommentGuard’s strength is automated moderation at scale, hiding profanity and topics you choose so you don't have to review every comment yourself. Meta Business Suite is a free place to engage with your audience across Meta's apps.

Its inbox brings DMs from Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp Business, plus comments from Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, into one place. Comments on your ads show up in the inbox alongside comments on your regular posts, so paid and organic conversations sit in the same place. You can also set up automated replies for first-time messages and away messages, which is handy if your business keeps set hours.

It only works with Meta's platforms, but if most of your conversations happen on Facebook and Instagram and there's no budget for a paid tool, it's a good place to start.

Try Meta Business Suite for free.

How to choose the right social media engagement tool

Let’s be honest, nobody got into social media because they wanted another inbox to manage. Whether you’re a creator building an audience, a small business keeping customers happy, or an agency juggling clients, you’re here to connect with people. But it’s challenging (and overwhelming!) to keep up as you grow and start managing multiple networks at once.

Social media engagement tools help you reclaim your time while increasing the quality of your engagement. No better win-win, if you ask me.

When you’re looking for a tool that works for you, a roundup like this is a starting point. The real test is trying a tool with your own accounts. These questions can help you narrow down the list:

• Do you need a free tool, or can you budget for one? Meta Business Suite is entirely free, and Buffer and Manychat have free plans. The rest offer free trials or demos. If you're a creator or a social media manager at a small business, look for a tool that covers the basics well — a unified inbox and solid collaboration features — without blowing your budget.
• How many people are replying? Sprout Social, Agorapulse, and Hootsuite charge per user or seat, while Buffer charges per channel. Other tools charge differently, like a specific number of social channels per plan. If your team is growing, look for enough flexibility to grow with you.
• Where do your conversations happen? Meta Business Suite and CommentGuard cover Meta platforms only, and Manychat doesn't support X or LinkedIn. Buffer brings in comments from 10 networks.
• Is most of your engagement customer service? NapoleonCat's social media CRM keeps each customer's conversation history and notes in one place.
• Do you need automation or moderation at volume? Manychat automates DMs, CommentGuard filters profanity, and BrandBastion moderates comments in multiple languages.
• Are you an agency? Sked Social is a good fit for client approvals, and Eclincher for detailed inbox analytics.
• Do you run social ads? Agorapulse handles ad comments across multiple networks. CommentGuard and Meta Business Suite inbox also show ad comments on Facebook and Instagram.
• Do you want insights from your comment section? Siftsy analyzes what your commenters love and don’t care for. NapoleonCat, Agorapulse, and Sprout Social offer sentiment analysis.

Most of the tools on this list have a free plan or a free trial, so make the most of them before you commit. Connect the accounts you actually post from, reply to a week's worth of comments, and see whether the tool saves you time or just gives you another inbox to check.

If Buffer sounds like the right fit, give the Community inbox a spin — the free plan covers three channels. If another tool on this list suits how you work, that's OK too. The best engagement tool is the one you'll actually open every day.

Get started with the free plan today.

FAQs about social media engagement tools

What's the difference between a social media engagement tool and a scheduling tool?

Scheduling tools handle what you send out: planning and publishing your posts. Engagement tools handle what comes back: comments, mentions, and messages. Many all-in-one tools, like Buffer, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and Agorapulse, do both. Specialist tools on this list, like Manychat, CommentGuard, and Siftsy, focus only on engagement.

Is there a free social media engagement tool?

Yes. Meta Business Suite is entirely free, with no paid plans, and covers Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp Business, and Threads. Buffer's free plan includes the Community inbox for up to three channels, and Manychat has a free plan for up to 25 active contacts per month. Most of the other tools on this list offer a free trial instead of a free plan.

What are social media engagement tools?

Social media engagement tools help you monitor, respond to, and track conversations across your social accounts all in one place. Instead of jumping between apps to reply to comments, DMs, and mentions, they bring everything into a single dashboard, often called a social media inbox. Many also include team collaboration features, saved replies, and analytics so you can spot trends and improve how you connect with your audience over time.

What features should I look for in a social media engagement tool?

The most important features in a social media engagement tool are a unified inbox, filters, saved replies, team collaboration, analytics, and AI-assisted replies. Here's what each one does for you:

• A unified inbox pulls comments, DMs, and mentions from multiple platforms into one place.
• Filters let you sort by unanswered, newest, or oldest messages so nothing slips through.
• Saved replies that speed up responses to common questions.
• Team collaboration lets you assign or track conversations.
• Analytics help you track response times and engagement rates so you can see what's working
• AI-powered features like sentiment analysis or suggested replies can save extra time as your audience grows.

What are some examples of digital engagement tools for social media?

Digital engagement tools for social media range from all-in-one platforms to more focused solutions. Some help you manage comments and DMs across multiple networks from a single dashboard. Others focus on social listening, automated comment moderation, or team-based workflows. Examples of digital engagement tools for social media include all-in-one platforms like Buffer, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite, and specialist tools like Manychat for DM automation and CommentGuard for comment moderation. The right tool depends on your team size, budget, and which platforms you're most active on.

More social media tools resources

• Buffer vs. Agorapulse: How Do They Compare?
• 17 Best AI Tools for Social Media Content Creation
• The 9 Best AI Image Generators of 2026 (+ Examples)
• The 11 Best Social Media Analytics + Reporting Tools
• Buffer vs. Metricool: An Honest Comparison

If you love geeking out over the numbers, Metricool is a good fit. It’ll tell you what's working, how your competitors are doing, and where your traffic is coming from. Plus, it gives you plenty to work with at a starting price that's easy on the wallet.

That said, Metricool gets trickier to stick with as your setup grows. Some of the features people reach for sit behind add-ons or higher plans, so the price you start with isn't always the price you end up paying. For example:

• Platform access: LinkedIn and X/Twitter are missing from the Free plan entirely, and while X is available for paid plan users, it’s a paid add-on for each account you connect
• Analytics: the full analytics suite and custom reports need an upgrade or a paid add-on, and complete X analytics are available on the higher tiers only
• AI features: AI credits are capped on every plan, and when you run out, you either move up a plan or wait for it to reset next month
• API and agency features: API access and white label sit on the higher tiers, while the MCP has limits on lower ones
• Expensive hashtag tracking: While it's one of the few tools that support hashtag tracking on X and Instagram, it comes at an eye-watering cost of €25/day per social media channel (but only for the days you use it)

If you're looking for a Metricool alternative, there are many social media management tools that do everything it does. I've tested a whole bunch of them, both as a creator and as someone who works in marketing, and each of the seven options below brings its own strengths to the metaphorical table.

Even if Buffer isn't your pick, this list should help you land on the tool that fits the way you work.

Key takeaways

• Best overall value: Buffer has a free plan, paid plans from $6/channel per month, and X/Twitter and LinkedIn are included on every plan.
• Best for tracking competitors: Hootsuite's competitive benchmarking sits right next to your own performance data.
• Best for high-volume comments and DMs: Sprout Social's Smart Inbox pulls messages from across your social channels and ads into one stream.
• Best for in-depth analytics and ROI reporting: Agorapulse ties social activity to tangible results.
• Best for agencies that want a white-labeled platform: SocialPilot lets you hand clients a dashboard on your own domain, with your branding.
• Best for visual planning, especially on Instagram: Later's drag-and-drop calendar and grid preview show your feed before anything goes live.
• Best for multi-step client approvals: Planable's approval workflows are strong, so posts only publish once everyone has signed off.
• Pricing reality: Metricool's Starter plan for one user runs from $25 per month billed monthly, and Advanced plan for teams from $67 per month. But X/Twitter costs $10/month more per account, advanced analytics is a paid add-on, and white label needs a custom plan — the alternatives here bundle those features differently, so check which ones you'd actually be paying extra for.

Metricool alternatives at a glance

1. Buffer

Best for creators, small businesses, and growing agencies that want a flexible, affordable social media management tool.

Buffer is the tool I keep returning to, no matter how many others I try. It covers what most creators and small teams need day-to-day, from generating and publishing content to tracking its performance and staying on top of comments and mentions across platforms.

That's not just me saying it because this is the Buffer website — I've been a Buffer user both as a creator and part of a small team managing a brand, so I speak from experience here.

Buffer doesn't charge extra for any of the supported platforms. If you're coming from Metricool, that's one thing you'll notice right away: X/Twitter and LinkedIn are included on every plan, free included, at no extra cost.

Here's what you get on the Free plan:

• Post to 12 social media platforms: Connect X/Twitter, LinkedIn , Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Substack, Pinterest, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Google Business Profile.
• Schedule posts across three channels: Keep up to 10 posts queued per channel, and a slot opens back up every time one publishes. Crossposting lets you write a post once and tweak it for each platform from the same composer.
• Save ideas in Create Space: Save up to 100 content ideas, tag them, sort them in a Kanban view, and turn them into drafts when you're ready. The template library gives you a starting point when you're stuck.
• Use the AI Assistant as much as you like: There's no credit cap on any plan for using AI in content generation. Draft posts, repurpose old content, brainstorm ideas, write alt text, or test different hooks without watching a counter.
• Reply from one inbox: The Community inbox pulls comments and mentions from Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Mastodon, and Google Business Profile into one place, with five AI reply suggestions a week.
• Get analytics that tell you what to do next: Insights shows 30 days of history, and the AI-powered takeaways give you suggestions for what to do next based on what's working and where you could use a little nudge.
• Build your own workflows with the API and MCP: The API is available on every plan, including Free. The MCP connects Buffer to tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Notion, Zapier, Cursor, n8n, and Raycast.
• Talk to a human when you need help: Support is handled by people, with 24/7 coverage on every plan, so you'll always have a human to help you out. Buffer's AI chatbot helps you search the docs, with an easy way to reach the team if you need more help.

If you need more than three channels, unlimited scheduled posts, unlimited AI reply suggestions, unlimited analytics history, and exports, the Essentials plan starts at $6/channel per month.

For teams, the Team plan starts at $12/channel per month and adds unlimited team members at no extra cost, permission levels set per channel, comments to collaborate on drafts, and approval workflows so nothing goes out without the right person seeing it first.

Both come with a 14-day free trial, so you can try every feature before you commit.

2. Hootsuite

Best for teams that want competitor benchmarking alongside their own analytics.

If competitor tracking is the Metricool feature you'd miss most, Hootsuite is a good fit. It's an enterprise-grade platform built for marketing teams with the budget to match.

Competitor tracking lets you build a private watchlist of competitor accounts and follow their posts, engagement, and follower growth. Competitive analysis is where that data becomes useful. You can benchmark against those competitors or your wider industry, spot gaps in what you're posting, and set goals based on what's realistic in your space.

On the flip side, Hootsuite lets you track 20 competitors to Metricool's 100 on the higher tiers. If you need more, the Enterprise plan has you covered.

Hootsuite also brings bulk scheduling and more than 100 integrations, including Canva, Salesforce, and Zendesk. That's a lot of tool — and starting at $149/user per month, it's priced for teams that will use most of it.

3. Sprout Social

Best for teams that handle a high volume of comments and DMs across networks.

Sprout Social is great for teams that spend a big chunk of their day replying to people on social media. If your channels regularly field comments, questions, and DMs, Sprout Social is worth a close look.

The Smart Inbox gathers incoming comments, mentions, messages and even Meta and TikTok ad comments in a single feed so your team can manage paid and organic conversations in one place. Teammates can hand off conversations to someone else and tag them by topic or sentiment. You can also set spike alerts and inbox rules to notify the team if there's an unusually large number of conversations or a keyword in a message triggers a rule. On X, you can even pull in posts that name your brand without tagging it.

Sprout Social also plugs into helpdesk tools like Zendesk, Salesforce, and HubSpot so you can turn your social media conversations into a full customer support workflow. In all, it's a pretty strong set of inbox tools for teams that spend a lot of time interacting with their audience.

Some of these inbox features sit on Sprout's higher tiers, so check the pricing page for the plan that includes what you need.

4. Agorapulse

Best for teams that need in-depth analytics, from ROI reporting to a Looker Studio connection.

If reporting depth is the Metricool feature you'd miss most, Agorapulse is a good fit.

Agorapulse's ROI reports tie your social activity back to results, which makes it easier to show leadership that the time and budget going into social is paying off. On top of that, you get data about your post performance, audience demographics, ads performance, and even community management to see your team's response rate and time.

You can turn all this data into incredibly detailed custom reports to share. Its read-only API is laser-focused on data, so you can export it into an external tool of your choice for analysis. And if Metricool's Data Studio connection (formerly known as Looker Studio) is what's keeping you, Agorapulse has you covered here too.

You also get bulk scheduling, Facebook post boosts, and Archie, an AI content creation studio that repurposes your blog posts, YouTube videos, podcasts and the like into posts for your socials.

5. SocialPilot

Best for agencies that want a fully white-labeled platform to give clients.

SocialPilot is a strong tool for agencies that want to offer clients a fully white-labeled social media platform.

You can run the whole platform on a custom domain, with a branded login page, dashboard, and custom emails. White-labeled reports round it out, so your analytics reports also contain your agency's logo and colors. White label isn't on the $30 entry plan, so you'll need one of SocialPilot's higher tiers to unlock it.

Beyond that, you get bulk scheduling with CSV uploads, granular team permissions, and an asset library to store your images and videos.

6. Later

Best for brands that plan their content visually, especially on Instagram.

Later is a good fit for creators and brands that plan by how their feed looks, and it's especially handy if Instagram is where most of your content lives.

The drag-and-drop calendar makes it easy to shuffle posts around, and the Instagram grid preview shows exactly how your feed will look before anything goes live. Plus, there are some solid features for Instagram: tagging products, scheduling collab posts, creator marketplace, and a whole influencer marketing platform (that's a separate cost).

Later's strongest for Instagram, but it isn't limited to it. You can use it to manage your social media presence across most major social networks, including TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Threads, and it's one of the few tools on this list that supports Snapchat.

7. Planable

Best for teams and agencies that need multi-step content approvals with clients.

Planable is a social media management tool that takes the guesswork out of content approvals. If your team has strict controls for sign-off before anything publishes, Planable has approval workflows for exactly that.

You've got different approval levels to choose from: none, optional, and required. At the most comprehensive end is multi-level approval, where a post moves from one reviewer to the next and only publishes once everyone on the list has signed off.

Team members can leave internal comments and keep drafts private before anything goes in front of a client. Clients can leave feedback directly on posts without signing in to Planable at all.

The more advanced approval chains sit on Planable's higher plans, so check which approval types your plan includes. And if you need analytics and a social inbox, factor in that those are paid add-ons, not part of the plans' listed prices.

How to find the right Metricool alternative for you

There's no one tool on this list that's right for everyone. It comes down to how you use Metricool today and what you want more (or less) of. Here are a few questions to help you build a shortlist:

• What's your budget? Buffer's paid plans are flexible, starting at $6/channel per month, so you only pay for the channels you actually use. There's also a free forever plan for up to 3 channels if you'd like to start there. Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Agorapulse charge per user, which adds up as your team grows.
• Which networks are you active on? If X/Twitter, LinkedIn, or Substack are in your mix, Buffer includes them all on every plan, Free included. Later is worth a look if Instagram gets most of your attention, and it supports Snapchat, too.
• How deep does your reporting go? If you report ROI to leadership, Agorapulse's integrations, custom reports, and API make that easier. If competitor benchmarking is part of the job, Hootsuite covers it. If you need raw data turned into insights, Buffer turns the data into plain-language takeaways, so you know what to post more of, what to repurpose, and where to engage.
• Are you an agency or managing your own brand? Agencies get the most out of SocialPilot's white label and Planable's client approvals, where clients can leave feedback without signing in. If it's your own brand, Later is a good fit for Instagram, and Buffer is a flexible, easy-to-use option if you post across several networks.
• How busy is your inbox? If your team spends a big part of the day replying to comments, mentions, and DMs, including on ads, Sprout Social's Smart Inbox and spike alerts help you keep up.

Every tool on this list has a free trial, and some — including Buffer — offer free plans. Pick two or three that fit and run them alongside Metricool for a couple of weeks to get a feel for them.

Using them with your real accounts is the fastest way to see which reports, calendar, and workflow actually suit you.

If Buffer turns out to be the one, we'd be glad to have you. If not, I hope this list helped you land on the right tool for your brand.

FAQs about Metricool alternatives

Is there a free alternative to Metricool?

Yes. Buffer's Free plan includes three channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time (refilled as they publish), unlimited AI Assistant, analytics and insights, the Community inbox, and API access. X/Twitter and LinkedIn are both included at no additional cost, as is Substack. Planable also has a free plan, capped at 50 posts total. Later's free plan is limited to 12 posts per month per social channel.

Does Metricool have a free plan?

Yes. Metricool's Free plan covers one brand and up to 20 posts a month, with tracking for up to five competitor profiles. LinkedIn and X/Twitter aren't available on the Free plan, and some analytics and custom reports require an upgrade.

Does Metricool charge extra for X/Twitter?

Yes. On Metricool's paid plans, X/Twitter is a paid add-on that costs $10/month for each X account you connect. It isn't available on the Free plan at all. Buffer includes X/Twitter on every plan, including Free, with no add-on.

Is Metricool cheaper than Hootsuite?

Generally, yes. Metricool has a free plan, and its Advanced plan for teams starts at $67/month billed monthly for up to 15 brands. Hootsuite has no free plan and starts at $149/user per month billed monthly. Metricool's add-ons for X/Twitter and advanced analytics may close some of that gap, depending on your setup.

What is the best Metricool alternative for agencies?

There are many social media management tools well suited for agencies looking for a Metricool alternative. SocialPilot offers a white-labeled platform with a custom domain, branded login, and white-labeled reports on its published plans. Planable is a good fit for agencies that need structured approval workflows. Buffer's Team plan includes unlimited users, customizable permission levels, and approval workflows if you mostly need a flexible way to manage client content.

Can I switch from Metricool without losing my content?

Your published posts and accounts live on the social platforms themselves, so switching tools won't remove them. Connect your accounts to the new tool before you cancel Metricool, then recreate any posts still scheduled there. Some tools, including Buffer, also pull in past post data when you connect a channel, though how far back that goes depends on what each platform allows.

More resources

• Buffer vs. Metricool in 2026: An Honest Comparison
• 20+ Social Media Management Tools
• 22 Top Social Media Analytics Tools
• 8 Sprout Social Alternatives to Try in 2026

I run a Facebook group called Freelancers Who Work Smart, Not Hard, but, for ages, I managed it the hard way, not the smart way.

The hard way looks like this: trying to remember to post regularly (when I sometimes can’t even remember what day of the week it is), coming up with some of my best ideas at 3 a.m. (before promptly falling asleep and forgetting them), and posting sporadically with neither consistency nor strategy. Days or even weeks (eek) would go by without me posting, and the group would lose momentum. 

Somewhat ironically, things changed when I went on maternity leave. Before taking three months off work, I scheduled two posts a week to keep the group active while I was dealing with diapers. In doing so, the group became more active than it’s ever been!

So in the interest of working smarter, not harder — whether you run a Facebook Page, a profile in professional mode, or a Facebook Group — let me walk you through how to set up a similar process.

The short version: you can schedule a post on Facebook natively from a Page, a professional-mode profile, or a Group you admin, but not from a regular personal profile.

In this guide, I'll walk you through how to schedule a post on Facebook three ways: in the Facebook app, in Meta Business Suite, and with Buffer. I'll also cover what to do when the schedule option goes missing, and how to find, edit, or delete posts you've already scheduled.

Key takeaways

• You can schedule a post on Facebook natively from a Facebook Page, a profile in professional mode, or a Facebook Group you admin or moderate. Regular personal profiles can't schedule posts.
• Meta Business Suite schedules posts to Facebook Pages and Instagram, but not to Facebook Groups.
• Buffer publishes scheduled Facebook Page posts automatically and sends Facebook Group posts to your phone as a notification to publish yourself. It doesn't connect to personal or professional-mode profiles.
• If the option to schedule is missing, the most common causes are posting from a regular personal profile or not having admin access to the Page or Group.
• You can edit, reschedule, or delete a scheduled post on Facebook, Meta Business Suite, or, for posts you scheduled there, in Buffer's calendar.
• Buffer's analysis of more than 1 million Facebook posts found that posts shared at 9 a.m. on Thursday performed best.

Can you schedule a post on Facebook? (Pages, profiles, and Groups)

Yes, you can schedule a post on Facebook. But where you can schedule depends on the type of Facebook account you're posting from:

Facebook Pages

Pages have the most options. You can schedule from the Facebook app, from Meta Business Suite, or with a third-party tool like Buffer, and posts publish automatically at the time you pick.

Personal profiles (and professional mode)

Facebook doesn't offer scheduling on a regular personal profile. Turning on professional mode for your profile unlocks Facebook's built-in scheduling. Third-party tools are a different story: Meta's API doesn't let them auto-publish to personal profiles, so at best they'll send you a reminder to post yourself. Buffer doesn't connect to personal or professional-mode profiles at all, so if that's where you post, Facebook's own tools are your route.

Facebook Groups

If you're an admin or moderator, you can schedule posts from inside the Group itself, and Groups also support recurring scheduled posts. Meta Business Suite doesn't support Groups. Buffer can schedule Group posts, but because Meta doesn't allow automatic publishing to Groups, Buffer sends you a notification at the scheduled time and you publish the post from your phone.

How to schedule a post on a Facebook Page or professional profile

If you have a Facebook Page or a profile in professional mode, you can create, schedule, and manage posts directly in the Facebook app.

On the Facebook app

1. At the top of your feed, Page, or profile, tap 'What's on your mind?'
2. Create your post.
3. Tap 'Next,' then 'Schedule' to open post settings and scheduling options.
4. Choose a time to publish your post, hit 'Save,' then 'Schedule.'

How to schedule a post in a Facebook Group

This is the one I use most. If you're an admin or moderator of a Group:

1. Tap 'Write something' in your group and create your post.
2. Tap the calendar icon to set a date and time, then tap 'Schedule'.

Groups also let admins set up recurring posts, which is handy for a weekly thread like an intro post or a "wins of the week" check-in.

How to schedule a post on Facebook using Meta Business Suite

Meta Business Suite is a free tool from Meta that lets you manage your Facebook and Instagram content in one place.

Compared to Facebook's native scheduling in the app, Meta Business Suite gives you more control and lets you post to both platforms at once, though it is a bit more complicated to use.

1. Navigate to the business Page you manage.
2. Click on 'Meta Business Suite' on the left-hand menu.
3. Click 'Create post': Choose where you want to publish (Facebook, Instagram, or both), then write your post, add media, and links.
4. Scroll down to 'Scheduling options' and toggle 'Set date and time'.
5. Pick the date and time you want the post to go live.
6. Click 'Schedule' to confirm.

How to schedule a post on Facebook using Buffer

If you manage more than one channel, or you'd rather not open Facebook every time you post, a social media management tool like Buffer lets you schedule everything from one place. (Yes, this is the Buffer blog, so factor that in.) Buffer works with Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups, but not personal or professional-mode profiles.

Here's how, in four steps:

1. Go to your Buffer dashboard and click 'New' > 'Post' to open the composer.
2. Select your Facebook Page or Group.
3. Create your Facebook post.
4. Schedule your post.

1. Go to your Buffer dashboard

Once you’ve signed up for Buffer and connected your Facebook Page or Group, you’ll see your Buffer dashboard.

2. Select your Facebook Page or Group 

A pop-up where you can craft your post will appear. Choose Facebook from the channel list on the top left. You can also add any other channels you have connected to crosspost your content elsewhere.

3. Create your Facebook post

Use an idea you've saved or start from scratch. Choose 'Post,' 'Reel,' or 'Story,' depending on what you want to share — Reels are available on Facebook Pages only. Upload your media and add your caption.

4. Schedule your post

Once you've crafted your post, choose when it goes out:

• Next Available: Add the post to the next open slot on your posting schedule.
• Prioritize: Put the post at the top of your queue so it goes out next.
• Set Date and Time: Schedule the post for a specific date and time.
• Now: Share the post immediately.

Then click 'Schedule Post.'

Facebook app vs Meta Business Suite vs Buffer: how the scheduling options compare

Buffer is the tool behind this blog, so read that column with that in mind! I've tried to be straight about where Facebook's own tools do the job just as well.

How to find, edit, or delete scheduled posts on Facebook

Spotted a typo? Or perhaps plans changed and that "sale ends Friday" post is now wrong? Good news: you can find, edit, reschedule, or delete a scheduled Facebook post. Where you do it depends on where you scheduled it, because a post you scheduled in a third-party tool like Buffer lives in that tool until it publishes, not in Facebook.

How to find your scheduled posts on Facebook

• Facebook app: On your Page or professional profile, tap 'Manage Posts' to see everything you've scheduled. You'll find the option below your bio, just above your most recently published post. Then tap the 'Filters' button and change the post status to scheduled. Tap on each scheduled post to edit, delete, or reschedule it.
• Meta Business Suite: On desktop, click 'Business Dashboard' > 'Planner' in the left-hand menu. You'll be taken to a content calendar, where you can hover over each scheduled post to edit, delete, or reschedule it.
• Facebook Groups: Admins can see the Group's scheduled posts by heading over to the Group's 'Community home' page, choosing 'Admin tools' from the menu on the left > Scheduled posts.
• Buffer: Open your Facebook channel's queue, or switch to the calendar view to see every scheduled post across your channels.

How to edit or delete a scheduled post in the Facebook app

1. Head over to your Page or professional profile, tap 'Manage Posts' to see everything you've scheduled. You'll find the option below your bio, just above your most recently published post.
2. Tap the 'Filters' button and change the post status to 'Scheduled' to see a list of your scheduled posts.
3. Tap on each scheduled post to edit, delete, or reschedule it.

How to edit or delete a scheduled post in Meta Business Suite

1. On desktop, click on 'Business Dashboard' in the left-hand menu, then choose 'Planner.' You'll be taken to a content calendar.
2. Hover over each scheduled post to edit, delete, or reschedule it.

How to edit or delete a scheduled post in Buffer

1. Open the calendar or queue in Buffer to see all your scheduled content.
2. Click the post, then click the pencil icon to edit it. Make your changes and click 'Save.'
3. To reschedule without changing anything else, drag the post to a new date and time on the calendar.
4. To delete it, hover over the post, click the three dots, and select 'Delete.'

Why can't I schedule a post on Facebook?

If the scheduling option is missing or won't work, it's almost always one of these:

Where did the schedule post button go on Facebook?

Facebook makes menu and interface changes fairly often, so it's probably just on a different screen! In the Facebook app, you can find the scheduled button by writing your post, then tapping 'Next' > 'Schedule' > pick a time > 'Save' > 'Schedule.'

In a Facebook Group, tap the calendar icon after writing your post. In Meta Business Suite, scroll down to 'Scheduling options' and toggle 'Set date and time'. If none of those appear, check the table above: you're most likely on a regular personal profile or don't have admin access.

Why schedule Facebook posts? 5 benefits

Whether you're trying to increase brand awareness, grow your audience, build community, or generate leads (or all four!), scheduling your Facebook posts in advance helps with all of them.

1. Maintain consistency

When you post regularly, your audience knows what to expect and when to expect it. And you stay top of mind so they don't forget who you are and what you do.

The numbers back this up. Buffer's data team analyzed engagement across all platforms Buffer supports — Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads, X, YouTube, Mastodon, and Pinterest. And guess what? The most consistent posters received five times more engagement per post than users who posted inconsistently.

From my own small and less impressive dataset, I can definitively say that scheduling = consistency. Check out my stats below. I was on maternity leave (with scheduled posts) from May 1 to July 31. There's clearly a lot more activity happening in the former half of the chart compared to when I relied on my ad-hoc posting (after August 1).

So Buffer's data and my one small group point the same way.

2. Create higher-quality content

Scheduling gives you time.

Instead of scrambling to come up with something on the fly, you can plan ahead and make sure each post is thoughtfully crafted and not just checking the box of, "Oh heck, I need to post something before people think I've disappeared." (Yes, I am speaking from personal experience.)

A post you wrote on Sunday and reread on Tuesday is almost always better than one you dashed off in five minutes. Plus, you've got a buffer (no pun intended) to refine things before hitting publish.

3. Be more efficient and save time

Posting on Facebook can eat a surprising amount of time, especially if you're creating your posts one by one on the day you plan to share them.

Switching between tasks all day is also draining. Did you know, according to a 2024 study, multitasking makes you slower, less accurate, and more mentally drained? I certainly don't need that in my life, and I doubt you do either.

When you schedule your posts ahead of time, you can batch your work instead of breaking your flow to post on the fly. Setting aside an hour or two once a week to plan and schedule means you'll save time, and you won't be breaking your focus every day to post.

As I mentioned earlier, I created my content in batches before I went on maternity leave, which made the task more manageable. So much so that it's the most consistent I've ever been, despite being away from my desk.

4. Optimize reach by posting at the best time for your audience

Part of your content strategy involves figuring out the best time to post on Facebook for maximum engagement.

Buffer's data team dug into this, too. They analyzed more than 14 million Facebook posts sent via Buffer by businesses, creators, and influencers to find the best time and day to post, and which content performs best.

One caveat before the number: there's no universal best time. It always depends on your audience.

With that in mind, according to Buffer data, the best time to post on Facebook is 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Note that this doesn't necessarily mean this is when audiences are up and consuming your content — it's likely that posts need some time to gain momentum on the feed. Either way, it's when the best-performing posts went out, and unless you're free every Thursday at 9 a.m., scheduling is how you hit that slot.

In my group, for example, I'm reaching two main audiences: South Africa (SAST) and the US, so I need to find a time that works for both. I aim to hit the South African audience at lunchtime, and the US audience first thing in the morning as they start their day.

5. Better content planning and control

I know that random posting can feel a bit like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. But when you schedule posts, you're in the driver's seat.

You can plan strategically, so you're not posting three promos in a row and then nothing for a week. This also allows you to plan for time-sensitive content, ensuring it goes out when it's most relevant.

It's also much easier to keep a consistent voice when you're in control of your posting schedule. Instead of lashing out with something spicy and off-brand because you've had a bad day, planning ahead means a bad day doesn't end up on your Page.

For me, scheduling Facebook posts provides peace of mind that everything's taken care of, leaving me with more brain space to a) do my real job, and b) focus on creating even more awesome content.

4 quick tips for scheduling Facebook posts

1. How often to post

We recommend posting to Facebook up to once or twice a day, but five to seven solid posts a week is a realistic place to start.

⚡️ Action step: Plan a week's worth of posts in one sitting and schedule them in one go.

2. Best time to post

Our data suggests that early weekday mornings are the best time to post on Facebook.

⚡️ Action step: Use Buffer's Insights feature to help you find the best times to post.

3. Stay consistent with goals and streaks

Buffer's posting goals and streaks features show you at a glance whether you're keeping to the schedule you set, and Buffer's data team ties that consistency to five times more engagement per post.

⚡️ Action step: Set a posting goal in Buffer and use the streak tracker to keep yourself accountable.

4. Track analytics and engagement

Analyzing post performance helps you improve future content.

⚡️ Action step: Use Buffer's Insights dashboard to track engagement, reach, and click-through rates across posts. Repurpose or expand on what worked and ditch what didn't.

Facebook post scheduling FAQs

Can you schedule a post on a personal Facebook profile?

Not on a regular personal profile. Facebook's scheduling tools work on Pages, profiles in professional mode, and Groups, so turning on professional mode is the way to get scheduling on your own profile. Third-party tools can't auto-publish to personal profiles because Meta's API doesn't allow it, and Buffer doesn't connect to profiles at all.

How do I find my scheduled posts on Facebook?

On the Facebook app, go to your Page or professional profile, tap 'Manage Posts' to see everything you've scheduled. Tap the 'Filters' button and change the post status to scheduled. Tap on each scheduled post to edit, delete, or reschedule it.

On Meta Business Suite: click 'Business Dashboard' > 'Planner' in the left-hand menu. You'll be taken to a content calendar, where you can hover over each scheduled post to edit, delete, or reschedule it.

Can you edit a scheduled post on Facebook?

Yes. On the Facebook app, tap 'Manage Posts' from your Page or professional profile. Tap the 'Filters' button and change the post status to scheduled. Tap on each scheduled post to edit, delete, or reschedule it. In Meta Business Suite, go to 'Business Dashboard' > 'Planner,' then hover over each scheduled post to edit it.

Can you schedule posts in a Facebook Group?

Yes, if you're an admin or moderator: write your post in the Group, tap the calendar icon, and set a date and time. Groups also support recurring posts. Meta Business Suite doesn't support Groups, and Buffer schedules Group posts as a mobile notification that you publish yourself.

Can you schedule Facebook Reels and Stories?

With Buffer, yes. You can schedule reels to Facebook Pages (3 to 90 seconds, vertical 9:16 video) and stories (one image or video per story, with videos up to 60 seconds).

Does scheduling Facebook posts hurt your reach?

No. Using scheduling tools won't hurt your engagement — a 2020 analysis found that Facebook posts scheduled through third-party tools got 10.3% more engagement than posts published natively. Scheduling won't fix weak content, though. It just gets your posts out on time and frees you up to reply to comments, which is the part that actually moves engagement.

Over to you

Scheduling didn't turn me into a more organized person. It just meant my group kept ticking over while I was busy with diapers. Whether you use the Facebook app, Meta Business Suite, or a scheduling tool like Buffer, the win is the same: you decide what to post once and stop having to remember. Happy scheduling!

If you're a freelancer and want to see how this plays out in a real group, come say hi in Freelancers Who Work Smart, Not Hard.

More Facebook resources

• Best Time to Post on Facebook: We Analyzed 1 Million Posts
• Meta Ad Library 101: 7 Ways to Use the Facebook Ad Library to Improve Your Ads
• The Ideal Facebook Cover Photo Size and How To Make Yours Stand Out (+ 11 Ideas and Examples)
• How to Run Facebook Ads: Beginner's Guide to Advertising on Facebook

The good news: Instagram has transparently shared a ton about the magical, majestic Instagram algorithm. (At Buffer, we’re big believers in transparency, so hat tip to Instagram for that!)

The not-so-good news: Instagram has different algorithms for all parts of the app — namely feed, stories, explore, and reels.

“Does this mean I have to optimize my Instagram content four different ways to please the algo?”  

Not really. 

The overarching signals — such as watch time, likes, and sends — are the same everywhere. And the principles behind them are evergreen enough to survive the small updates. Follow these, and you’re (mostly) golden.

But still, knowing the specifics of how each subset of the algorithm works helps reach your goals faster. Reaching new people on Instagram works a tad differently from deepening relationships with the audience you already have, for instance.

Here’s how each algorithm works, the evergreen principles behind all of them, and what to do about it.

Key takeaways

• Instagram has a different algorithm for each part of the app: Instagram ranks feed, stories, explore, and reels separately, using one system for accounts you follow and another for recommendations from accounts you don't.
• Three signals matter most: Watch time, likes per reach, and sends per reach are the signals Instagram Head Adam Mosseri says carry the most weight in ranking.
• Likes matter for followers, sends matter more for reaching new people: Likes matter slightly more for reaching your followers, while sends via DM matter slightly more for reaching non-followers.
• Original content wins: Instagram gives more distribution to the original creator than to reposters, and accounts that mostly repost others' content aren't recommended to non-followers.
• Viewers can shape what they see: Your Algorithm (in reels and explore), Favorites, and "Not interested" let people tell Instagram what they want more or less of.
• Reels for reach, carousels for engagement: Reels get 36% more reach than carousels, while carousels get 12% more engagement than reels (based on our analysis of 4M+ Instagram posts).

How does the Instagram algorithm work? The short version

If you didn’t already know, Instagram’s feeds are not in chronological order. The algorithm decides how to rank content. Why not chronological?

Adam Mosseri explains ranking has two goals: 

• help people find what interests them most
• grow the overall pie of reach so there's more to go around

Without ranking, feeds would be overrun by the accounts that post most often, which tends to mean businesses and brands, and the average creator's reach would shrink.

And Instagram doesn’t have one algorithm. It runs a separate ranking system for each part of the app (feed, stories, explore, and reels), because people use each one differently. Mosseri groups them into two general types: 

• One ranks content from accounts people follow
• The other ranks content from accounts they don't follow (Instagram calls these recommendations)

Underneath, they all work the same way. They predict how likely someone is to like, comment on, send or watch a post, turn those predictions into a relevancy score, and order posts by it. Recency matters too, which is why your feed is roughly, but not strictly, chronological.

For creators, the split between the two types is the one to remember. The first decides whether your followers see you, and likes count slightly more there. The second decides whether anyone else does, and sends count slightly more. That's how new people find you.

Here's how each part of the app fits in. 

In short: Feed and stories are where you keep the people you already have, and reels and explore are where you reach new ones. We break down each one below.

What the Instagram algorithm rewards across the app: Content principles and key signals

Instagram runs separate algorithms for feed, stories, explore, and reels, but they reward the same four content principles and lean on the same core engagement signals.

4 key Instagram content principles: Originality, recency, breaking content and model size

In part two of his ranking series, Adam Mosseri named four principles Instagram values when ranking content. Here’s what they are in a jiffy:

If you need to understand these principles more deeply and how to apply them, continue reading:

1. Originality

“We want to create a platform that gives more distribution to the original content creator than to those who repost it,” Mosseri says. 

Instagram estimates how likely a post is to be original by looking at what the account has posted in the past, along with other signals, and Mosseri says the percentage of impressions going to original content has gone way up over time.

This has been a long time coming: Mosseri announced Instagram will has been reducing reach for aggregator accounts since April 2026. So Instagram’s been doubling down on pushing original content for a while now.

2. Recency

Instagram wants to keep up with the world as it happens. "It used to be that something might happen and you would see it on Instagram three, four, five days later, and that just doesn't work," Mosseri says.

To fix that, Instagram shortened how long it takes to understand a new post and get it into ranking, especially for people who don't follow the account. The measure it tracks is the share of each day's impressions that go to posts less than 24 hours old, and Mosseri says that number has gone way up as well.

3. Breaking content

This one is good news for smaller accounts. "We want to be a place where a new creator with a great idea can actually reach a massive audience," Mosseri says.

Instagram does this by “auditioning” content. Auditioning just means showing posts from public accounts to some people who don't follow them, and if a post does well, the platform continues pushing that post to other people. 

That's how a post from a small public creator can reach hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people.

As someone who scrolls on Instagram way too much, I can confirm this is true: I see posts from new creators all the time in my feed now — it’s mixed with content from people I follow and other content Instagram thinks I might like.

4. Model size

The last principle is about the system rather than your content. Instagram has made its AI models "larger and larger over the last few years in order just to get better at ranking overall," according to Mosseri.

The 3 Instagram engagement signals that matter the most

Instagram tracks thousands of signals, from comments and saves to profile taps and story replies. Mosseri has named three as the most important: watch time, likes and sends. 

Likes count slightly more for reaching followers, and sends count slightly more for reaching non-followers.

How the Instagram Feed algorithm works

The Instagram Feed algorithm ranks three kinds of content:

• Posts from accounts that you follow
• Recommended posts that Instagram thinks you might like
• Ads

You can find all content formats ranked on your Feed — videos, photos, and carousels. 

Instagram uses thousands of ranking factors (called 'signals') to organize your feed, prioritizing content that's most relevant to each person based on their interests and past interactions.

Here are the most important signals, ranked by importance:

• What a user engages with: Posts a specific user likes, shares, saves, or comments on tell Instagram what content resonates with that person.
• Info about the content and its performance: This includes how many people like a post, how quickly people engage with it, plus more information about the post itself, like when it was posted and any location tags.
• Information about the person who posted: Instagram looks at how many people have interacted with the creator in the past few weeks. "This helps us get a sense for how interesting the person might be to you," says Instagram on their blog.
• Relationship history: Consistent interactions between accounts — like commenting on each other's posts — tell Instagram who might want to see more of your content.

With all that information, Instagram makes a series of calculated guesses about how likely a user is to interact with a post, as Instagram says:

"In Feed, the five interactions we look at most closely are how likely you are to spend a few seconds on a post, comment on it, like it, share it, and tap on the profile photo. The more likely you are to take an action, and the more heavily we weigh that action, the higher up in feed you'll see the post."

How to improve your reach in the Instagram Feed

All of these signals come down to whether people interact with your posts, so here's how to give them more reasons to.

1. Share carousel posts

If you have multiple photos (or videos) that work well together, try sharing them as one carousel or even a few mini carousels.

You can include up to 20 photos or videos in a single carousel. When a follower doesn't swipe through to the end, Instagram treats those unseen slides as "new content."

The platform will show your carousel to that same person again later, picking up with the first slide that they didn't swipe to. This gives your carousel multiple chances to get engagement.

This matches what we found in our analysis of more than 4 million Instagram posts: carousels earn around 109% more engagement per person reached than reels, and single images earn about 34% more than reels.

2. Add audio to posts

Audio isn't limited to videos — you can add a soundtrack to single photo posts and carousels as well.

It's not a requirement, but as Mosseri points out, it can grab the attention of people who browse with sound on — and that can mean more engagement.

Plus, adding audio to a post or carousel means it can also show up for users in the Instagram Reels feed.

3. Use recommended post dimensions

The image size and dimensions of your posts can make a big difference in how they perform.

When you follow Instagram's ideal image sizes, your feed posts will appear exactly as intended with no awkward cropping or pixelation issues. This keeps your content looking polished and gives it a better chance of getting engagement.

How the Instagram Stories algorithm works

The Instagram Stories algorithm ranks stories from accounts you already follow, putting the ones you're most likely to tap, reply to, and watch at the front of your tray. Stories (photos and videos that disappear 24 hours after posting) offer creators and businesses a way to appear at the top of followers' screens as soon as they open the app.

Keep in mind that it can be tougher for brands or creators to show up here — Instagram sees stories as a place where people look for their closest friends.

Here's what Instagram's Stories algorithm looks at:

• Viewing history: Instagram tracks how often someone views an account's stories to determine how high to place them in the stories tray. The more often someone watches your stories, the more likely they are to appear first.
• Engagement history: A user's interactions — such as sending a DM or liking stories — signal to Instagram that they're interested in seeing an account's stories.
• Relationship connections: Instagram considers how close someone is offline to a creator — such as friends or family — when considering where to place a story.

Again, these signals will be used to "make a series of predictions about stories you'll find more relevant and valuable," Instagram says, "including how likely you are to tap into a story, reply to a story in DMs or move on to the next story — to determine which stories will be shown higher in your stories tray."

Instagram Stories aren't typically the best way to reach new people — Mosseri has confirmed this too. Instead, think of stories as a way to build deeper connections with people who already follow you.

They're perfect for building a community that keeps coming back. You can show up when followers open Instagram, learn more about them, and point them to your other platforms.

How to improve your views in Instagram Stories

Here are some ways to engage your existing audience with your stories to move to the front of their tray.

1. Post interactive stories

Add polls, questions, and other interactive elements to get people tapping, liking, and sharing. The more someone engages with your stories, the more likely Instagram is to bump your stories to the top of their tray.

A question sticker can turn into an entire AMA event, where you create a series of follow-up stories with your responses. It's a popular approach — even Mosseri uses it.

These interactive features also work as research tools. Polls, questions, and 'add yours' stickers can help you learn more about who's in your audience and what they actually want to see from you. Win-win.

2. Share timely, authentic, or behind-the-scenes content 

As a serial stories watcher, I love when creators share some timely, behind-the-scenes, human stuff that makes me feel connected to them. Think…

• A food creator teasing a new recipe they will share soon by showing me the ingredients (yum)
• A productivity creator randomly talking about what they do when something derails their day (I feel seen)
• A beauty creator showing me a quick hack she uses to look put together when she’s already late (it’s all about the right lipstick and mascara)

If you're only sharing your posts to stories with a quick tap, you're not giving people much of a reason to view them. Instead, mix in genuine off-the-cuff content that's relatively easy to create and shows your human side.

3. Share user-generated content

When someone tags you in their post or story — maybe they love those shoes they bought from you, or your productivity tips helped them — reshare it to your stories with a quick thank you.

This kind of user-generated content shows followers who aren't customers yet that real people love what you offer, and it builds stronger connections with your existing community. It also encourages others to tag you, since they know you might feature them.

How the Instagram Explore page algorithm works

The Explore algorithm surfaces posts from accounts you don't follow, ranked mostly by how popular a post is and how much you've engaged with similar content.

Here's where things get interesting for creators and brands looking to reach new audiences. The explore page was designed to help users find new accounts. In other words, it helps new audiences find you.

This grid-style feed shows photos and videos you're likely to be interested in based on your past activity: posts you've liked, saved, shared, and commented on.

Here are the signals that influence the Instagram Explore page algorithm.

• Information about the post: Like with feed, Instagram looks at how popular a post seems to be. How many people like, comment on, share, or save a post? And how quickly are they doing so? Post popularity signals matter more in the explore page than in feed or stories.
• A user's activity in explore: Instagram pays attention to what content a user has engaged with before, and how they've interacted with posts in the explore page in the past. The more someone engages with a certain type of post, the more likely they are to see similar content show up.
• A user's interaction history with the poster: Most content in the explore page comes from accounts people don't follow or haven't seen before. But if someone has interacted with an account before, Instagram sees that as a sign that they might be interested in more content from this account.
• Information about the person who posted: Here, Instagram looks at how often users have interacted with posts from an account in the past few weeks, to help users find "compelling content from a wide array of people," says Instagram.

Here's an example from Instagram that I found really helpful in making sense of the explore page algorithm.

"Let's say you've recently liked a number of photos from San Francisco's dumpling chef Cathay Bi (@dumplingclubsf). We then look at who else likes Cathay's photos, and then what other accounts those people are interested in.

Maybe people who like Cathay are also into the SF dim sum spot @dragonbeaux. In that case, the next time you open explore, we might show you a photo or video from @dragonbeaux."

How to get your posts in front of more people using the explore page

Here are some tips to optimize your content for Instagram’s Explore page:

1. Use trending audio tracks

Instagram pays attention to which audio tracks are taking off. When you add these popular sounds to your reels, photo posts, or carousels, your content has a better chance of reaching new people.

You don't need to awkwardly force trending audio into everything you post, but it's worth picking a trending track when it naturally complements what you're creating.

2. Give people a reason to engage right away

The explore page leans on how popular a post looks, including how quickly people like, comment, share or save it. A post that gets reactions fast has a better chance of being picked up.

A few ways to make that easier:

• Put something save-worthy in the post. A checklist, a template or a how-to that people will want to come back to.
• Tell people what to do with it. A line like “save this for later” or “send this to someone who needs it” is enough.
• Reply to comments as they come in. In Buffer’s 2026 engagement report, Instagram posts where the account replied to comments earned 21% more engagement. That’s an association, and the data can’t show that replying caused it.

3. Track post shares

Shares — especially DMs from people who don't follow you — count for more when Instagram is deciding whether to show a post to non-followers, Adam Mosseri explained in his podcast with Colin and Samir. When someone likes your content enough to send it to a friend, Instagram sees that as a strong signal of quality.

Tap View insights below a post to see which posts are being shared the most. When you spot patterns in your most-shared content, you can focus on creating more of what people want to pass along to their friends.

How the Instagram Reels algorithm works

The reels feed is almost entirely recommended content, so it's where watch time and sends do the most work. 

That makes the reels feed a particularly important area if you're looking to grow your audience. It also means the clearer your content is about what it's about (topics, niches, keywords), the easier it is for Instagram to match it with the right people.

Instagram looks at:

• A user's activity: Instagram looks at what reels people have liked, saved, reshared, commented on, and engaged with recently. When someone engages with content similar to yours, they're more likely to see your reels.
• A user's interaction history with the poster: When someone engages with an account — whether through likes, shares, or comments — Instagram takes that as a sign that they want to see more content from that account, even if they aren't a follower.
• Information about the reel: Everything from the visuals to the use of trending or original audio, overall watch time (short, punchy clips tend to win), and early engagement signals influence how widely a reel is distributed across Instagram.
• Information about the person who posted the reel: Instagram looks at signals like a creator's follower count and engagement levels to share content from a mix of creators.

Short-form video is also a big part of how Instagram connects people with their friends. Here’s what Adam Mosseri shared in his conversation with YouTube podcasters Colin and Samir:

"Short-form video is so symbiotic with connecting people with their friends," Adam told Colin and Samir. "Part of our [Instagram's] reason to be is to connect people with friends."

In other words: optimize your Instagram content to start conversations. Think about what makes your followers want to share your reel with someone they care about. Maybe it's relatable, helpful, funny, or thought-provoking.

Every audience is different, so you'll need to experiment to find what works for yours.

How to work with the reels algorithm:

A majority of the work in creating better-performing reels boils down to creating quality content your audience actually wants to see consistently. Here are more practical tips:

1. Build on momentum

If a reel takes off, you don't need to post immediately — but following up within a day or two is a smart move.

Remember, the Instagram Reels algorithm looks at how recently people have engaged with your videos, so timing your follow-up while interest is high can help you stay in their feeds. A viral reel shows Instagram that people are interested in your content, which increases the chances your next post gets seen too.

2. Think about different user types

Mosseri told Colin and Samir that about half of Instagram videos are watched without sound, so your reels need a strong visual hook to grab the attention of people who watch on mute (like me).

Add text to the first frame so it's clear what your reel's about right from the start. Creator @thepotatosauraus does this well in his music reaction videos — they work even when you're watching on mute. Each reel has the title or theme written at the top throughout, so you can see from the very first frame what he — and we — will be listening to.

3. Avoid logos or large watermarks

Instagram has said it repeatedly: Reels with logos from other apps will get pushed down in the algorithm. This doesn't apply to your own branding — only to TikTok logos or watermarks from other video editing apps.

If you're sharing videos across multiple platforms, save a version before adding any platform-specific elements. That way, when you're ready to share it on Instagram, you can upload a version that doesn't have any third-party app logos that will limit your reach.

4. Test new ideas with trial reels

Trial reels are shown to people who don't follow you first, so you can test a new format or hook without it landing in your followers' feeds. It's a do-it-yourself version of the auditioning Instagram already does for small creators. 

P.S. Did you know you can schedule trial reels with Buffer, too? 👀

How Instagram allows users to control their algorithm (and how it impacts your reach)

Instagram launched Your Algorithm to allow users more control over what they see on their app. It shows an AI-generated summary of the topics Instagram thinks a viewer is interested in, and lets them ask for more or less of a topic, remove it, or add one Instagram has missed.

It's live on reels, explore, and feed per Instagram's announcement. 

In part three of his ranking series, Mosseri said: "You can add topics you want to make sure that you never see anything from, and we're going to do our best to live up to those requests."

What it means for your reach: When a post is recommended because of a viewer's chosen topic, Instagram labels it with that topic (for example, "From Running"). To get matched, name your topic in captions and on-screen text, and stick to one niche so Instagram knows who your content is for. Instagram hasn't said how much weight declared topics carry compared with what people actually watch, so treat them as one more signal, not a shortcut.

Viewers also have three smaller tools to steer their feed.

Favorites

Viewers can add an account to Favorites from its profile. That account's posts then show at the top of their feed whenever it posts. 

What it means for your reach: A follower who favorites you sees everything you post, so it's the strongest vote a viewer can give you. It's worth asking your most engaged followers to add you.

Following feed

The following feed shows posts from accounts a viewer follows in chronological order, with no recommendations mixed in.

What it means for your reach: only your followers can see you there, and because it's chronological, your reach in that feed depends on who follows you and when you post, not on ranking.

Not interested

Viewers can tap the three-dot menu on a post or reel and choose Not interested, and Instagram will show them less content like it. For a full fresh start, they can reset their recommendations entirely (here's how), which clears what Instagram has learned about them.

What it means for your reach: a post that doesn't fit your niche is the one most likely to get tapped away, and it can teach Instagram to show that viewer less of your content. Staying on topic keeps your audience's signals working for you.

When Instagram stops recommending content

Instagram wants to keep potentially offensive content from appearing in users' feeds. To that end, it has published detailed recommendation guidelines for creators.

Posts that go against these guidelines might not violate Instagram's Community Guidelines and are still allowed on Instagram, but they won't appear on the explore page or reels tab.

Some examples of things that go against the recommendation guidelines are:

The same goes for accounts that mostly repost other people's work: since April 2026, they aren't recommended to non-followers, even if each post follows the guidelines.

8 evergreen best practices for your Instagram strategy

Instagram uses a different algorithm for each part of the app, but they do have something in common — content that people find engaging and relevant.

Here are some practical ways to work with Instagram's algorithms to get your content in front of more people.

1. Stay consistent

Posting regularly might seem like obvious advice, but the numbers back it up.

Buffer's analysis of more than 100,000 users across social media platforms shows that people who post consistently receive nearly five times more engagement per post than those who post only occasionally. And Instagram sees this recent and regular engagement as a sign that your content should be shown to more people.

Find a posting schedule you can stick with long-term, whether that's daily content or three high-quality posts a week, to avoid burning out.

2. Create original content

Originality is one of Instagram's four content principles, and it now has real teeth. Mosseri has repeatedly confirmed that accounts mostly posting content they didn't create or meaningfully transform aren't recommended to non-followers.

Creating original content could be as simple as snapshots from your morning walk, or as in-depth as a Canva design tutorial. The key is that it's yours, and not aggregated from others' accounts.

If you do want to share someone else's post, use Instagram's repost button or a collab post — both credit the original creator, which is what Mosseri has said Instagram wants to reward.

3. Look at your engagement rate, not just your reach

A post seen by 50,000 people isn't automatically better than one seen by 5,000. In part four of his ranking series, Adam Mosseri's first piece of advice to creators was to look at rates instead of raw numbers. “Too often creators look at how many views a post got or how many likes a reel got, but not at the [engagement] rate,” he says.

Engagement rate is the share of people who saw your post and engaged with it. The rates Mosseri points to are the percent of viewers who liked a reel, the percent who sent it to a friend, and average watch time. Compare them across your last 30 days of posts to see which ones actually landed.

With Buffer Insights, you don’t have to do this calculation (for each post!) manually. You can see the engagement for every post along with a platform-wide engagement rate.

4. Vary your post types

Sharing your content in different formats — single images, carousel posts, reels, stories, and lives — helps you reach a wider range of people.

It's one of the simplest ways to show up across more than one of Instagram's algorithms, and it's a great way to repurpose your content. Not everyone watches a video, so you can turn your reels into a carousel post. Or you can appeal to Instagram Story lovers by re-sharing feed posts in your stories (along with the fresh content we talked about earlier).

Below you can see how we've been making an effort to diversify the post types we use on Buffer's Instagram account:

At Buffer, we're really leaning into content repurposing not just within Instagram, but across social platforms as well.

For example, most of our reels can be used on TikTok and YouTube Shorts, too. Here's how we repurpose content across platforms — without using the other app's logos and watermarks, of course.

5. Post at the best times for you

Buffer's analysis of 9.6 million Instagram posts found the best times to post are Thursday at 9 a.m., Wednesday at 12 p.m., and Wednesday at 6 p.m. Wednesday is the best day overall, while Friday and Saturday are the weakest. Test out these best times to post on Instagram if you're new to the platform.

If you've been posting regularly to Instagram for some time, Instagram Insights will have data on the best times for you. To see your followers' most active times:

1. Go to your profile and tap Professional dashboard.
2. Tap New followers.
3. Scroll to Follower active times.

6. Develop a keyword and hashtag strategy

It's official: hashtags don't help reach, as per the man, the myth, the legend, Mosseri himself.

Instagram has also capped how many hashtags you can use in your posts and reels — and the magical number is five. So fewer, targeted tags work better than lots of generic ones.

So what works instead? Focus on adding relevant keywords to your post captions and your profile. These help people find you through Instagram's search feature and tell the algorithm what your content is about.

And don’t worry, hashtags aren't completely dead — people can still find your posts through hashtag searches. Just make your five count: pick tags that describe the post rather than generic ones like #reels or #explore. Here's how to choose your Instagram hashtags. 

If you use hashtags, Buffer’s (free!) hashtag generator can be a really helpful time-saver. With it, you just have to share what your post is about and get instant recommendations on what hashtags you should use. 

7. Focus on authentic engagement

Instagram's algorithms reward engagement, so focus on the connections you build with your audience.

Interactive stickers on your Instagram Stories — polls, questions, sliding scale rankings — are a simple way to get your followers to engage with you.

Also make sure you reply to direct messages and comments on your posts.

New comments are easy to miss among the likes, follows, and mention notifications on Instagram. To help, Buffer has engagement features that surface unanswered comments on your Instagram posts and help you reply to as many as possible, quickly. You can even create a new post from your replies using Buffer.

8. Use analytics to see what's working

One of the best ways to understand what your audience enjoys seeing is to dig into your Instagram analytics data.

Using Instagram Insights, you can check out which of your posts have had the most interactions. You can also sort posts by most comments, likes, and saves if you'd like to dig into more specific engagement metrics.

Buffer's Insights will also help you uncover your best posts (those with the highest engagement) in just a few clicks:

Once you have a list of your most engaging Instagram posts, you can start to identify what commonalities they might have. For example:

• What types of posts are they?
• What's the style of the creative?
• How is the caption structured?

With this data, you can begin to reverse-engineer what your audience is most likely to engage with and build a strategy to help get the most out of Instagram's algorithm.

How to make the Instagram algorithm work for you

The Instagram algorithm isn't one thing, and it keeps changing. But what it rewards hasn't: original content that people watch to the end, like, and send to a friend.

So you don't need to chase every update. Make something worth watching, stick to a clear niche so Instagram knows who it's for, and check your engagement rate, watch time, and likes and sends per reach to see what's working. Do that consistently and the rest gets a lot easier.

FAQs about the Instagram algorithm

What is the Instagram algorithm?

The Instagram algorithm is a set of AI systems that decide what each person sees. There are separate systems for the home feed, stories, reels, and explore, split into two broad types: one ranks content from accounts you follow, and one ranks recommendations from accounts you don't. Each predicts how likely you are to like, comment on, send, or watch a post, then orders posts by those predictions.

What are the most important Instagram ranking signals?

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has named three: watch time, likes, and sends, which creators can track as average watch time, likes per reach, and sends per reach. Likes count slightly more for reaching your followers, and sends count slightly more for reaching people who don't follow you.

What is Your Algorithm on Instagram?

Your Algorithm is an Instagram tool that shows an AI-generated summary of the topics shaping your recommendations and lets you add topics, remove them, or see more or less of them. It launched on reels in December 2025 and is now live on explore and feed too. To open it, go to Settings and activity, then Content preferences, then Your algorithm.

How can I improve my reach with the Instagram algorithm?

Create original posts people want to watch to the end and send to a friend, since watch time and sends are two of the three signals Instagram weighs most. Then post consistently, mix reels, carousels, and stories, reply to comments and DMs, and use your Insights to see which posts get the most shares.

Do the Instagram algorithms prefer videos?

No. Instagram ranks every post by how each user usually engages — not by format. If someone often watches and shares videos, they'll see more videos. If they tap on photos, they'll see more photos. Videos sometimes reach farther overall because people tend to watch and share them, not because Instagram gives them extra weight. In our analysis of more than 4 million Instagram posts, reels got 36% more reach than carousels, but carousels got 12% more engagement than reels.

Does posting too frequently impact ranking?

It might. Dumping several posts in a row can cause Instagram to hide some of them to keep feeds balanced. Give each post room to breathe — schedule them a few hours apart or on different days — so every update can earn its own likes, comments, and shares. You can schedule Instagram posts to appear at different times and days throughout the week to avoid spamming users' feeds. Instagram suggests spreading out your posts rather than publishing several back-to-back.

Are business, creator, and personal accounts ranked differently by the algorithm?

Your content's reach depends on engagement and relevance, not account type. As reported by TechCrunch: "Instagram doesn't give extra feed presence to personal accounts or business accounts, so switching won't help your reach."

Will posting Instagram Stories or live videos affect ranking?

Creating Instagram Stories or live broadcasting on Instagram won't affect how your content ranks within the feed, but experimenting with a wide variety of content means it's far more likely that your content will appear in more places on the app.

How do I reset my Instagram algorithm?

Go to Settings and activity, then Content preferences, then Reset suggested content. For lighter tweaks, edit your topics in Your algorithm or tap Not interested. Learn more in our guide to resetting your Instagram algorithm.

What is the 5-3-1 rule on Instagram?

The 5-3-1 rule on Instagram is a way to make your Instagram activity feel more human and more connected. For every post you share, you interact with others by liking 5 posts, commenting on 3 posts, and following 1 new account.

It's a small routine that encourages thoughtful engagement and helps more people discover your brand.

What is the 4-1-1 rule on Instagram?

The 4-1-1 rule is a content-mix rule of thumb, not an Instagram rule. For every six posts, share four that educate or entertain, one soft promotion, and one direct promotion. It keeps your feed from turning into a stream of sales pitches. 

What is the 3-second rule on Instagram?

The 3-second rule on Instagram is about keeping users 'hooked' to your reel. Those first three seconds decide whether someone keeps watching or scrolls away. A clear hook helps people understand what they're about to get. This could be a quick headline, a striking visual, or a question or statement that sets the tone. When that opening lands, your video has a better chance of holding someone's attention.

I don't just work at Buffer; I've been using it as a marketer for more than 12 years!

Which is why I'm so excited about Buffer Insights, the new analytics suite. It tracks follower growth, engagement, and impressions across Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Substack Notes, Bluesky, YouTube, and Mastodon, lets you compare performance across date ranges, channels, and post types, and exports reports as PNG, PDF, CSV, or Markdown.

I thought an, ahem, insight into how I personally use analytics in Buffer might be useful for anyone getting started with it. So these are my top four Insights features that I can't live without.

1. Claude Connector

I pretty much live inside Claude these days, especially when I'm thinking about social content. I don't use it to write posts, but I do use it to plan them.

I typically start each month by working on a rough content plan. Because Buffer has an MCP that connects to Claude, ChatGPT, and others, I can easily pull my social data into a conversation and get suggestions for what topics and post types have been performing best. Here's the prompt I use:

Plan a month's worth of content for my LinkedIn and Threads profiles. Start by pulling my Buffer data from the past year and tell me what's resonating the most

From there, Claude helps me put together a rough plan for the month.

This has become the way I plan almost all of my social content, and I reckon it saves me a few hours every week. It also reduces the mental load of having to think about content all the time.

2. Weekly Pulse

Even though I like to plan content over a month, I still need to keep track of how things are going, and I tend to make a lot of adjustments on the fly. Social media moves lightning fast, and there are usually some trending topics or new products that I want to post about.

The Weekly Pulse shows me where I'm at for the week, including how many posts I've shared, how follower growth is tracking, and how much engagement I'm getting. I'm working hard on improving my comment score as I know that replying to comments is a great way to boost post visibility.

3. Tags

There are tons of ways you can use Tags in Buffer, but I primarily use them to capture results for product launches and announcements. The setup takes two steps: add a tag to each post when you schedule it, then filter by that tag in Insights to see how those posts performed as a group

For example, we recently launched support for Substack Notes in Buffer, and every launch post is tagged so I can see the results in one place. So far, so good — those six posts on launch day drew 254 engagements and 17,000 impressions!

Because each launch gets its own tag, I can also compare launches with one another. That’s handy when you’re working out which launch metrics are actually worth tracking.

4. Reports

If a tree falls in a forest but no one hears it, did it really fall? I feel the same way about social content. If you don't communicate the results, whether to a client or a teammate, you might as well not have posted at all.

Buffer's reporting features aren't just handy for agencies — I use them all the time to show our product and leadership team how our product marketing campaigns are performing.

There are a few report export options, including CSV, Markdown, and PDF. I use PNG snapshots most often, as they're the fastest and simplest way to highlight a win in Slack.

Using these features together

Each feature covers a different part of my month:

• At the start, I plan with the Claude connector.
• As I go, I check the Weekly Pulse and adjust.
• For launches, I use tags so I can measure each one as a group.
• At the end, I share the results through reports.

Buffer Insights is available on every plan, including the free one. If you’ve found a smarter way to use any of these (or any of Buffer’s other features!), I’d love to hear it, so come find me on LinkedIn and tell me about it!

LinkedIn has become a mainstay platform for our content team. That’s probably inevitable when: A, you work at Buffer; B, you’re trying to post consistently; and C, the obvious place to start practicing is something you’re already doing every day: work. And along the way, several of us have built up sizable audiences.

Kirsti Lang has 16K followers, Sabreen Haziq has just over 36K, and I have just over 25K. And that doesn’t count Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. We’ve all been taking brand deals since 2025 across platforms, and so whenever teammates reach out for advice, as Hailley Griffis, Director of Communications and Content at Buffer, did, those of us who have been at it for a while have a ton to share.

Hailley got her first inbound request and asked in Slack what to charge, and while troubleshooting, we all thought, “This would make a great blog post.”

Because, really, how do you charge as a creator? None of us would call ourselves influencers, but between us, we’ve worked with more than 50 brands, and each of us determines our rates in vastly different ways. And we all did a lot of trial and error on our own to reach this point, benefiting from the generosity of other creators’ transparency. To pay it forward, we put together this article.

I’ll caveat that we’re all mid-size creators in pretty SaaS and tech that historically pay well, with experience, time, and research behind us. But I still think the knowledge shared in this article can work for any type of creator.

So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Key takeaways

1. As of October 2026, the three of us charge $500–$1,000 for a sponsored LinkedIn text or single-image post. A short video costs $900–$4,000, depending on how much production goes into it.
2. Follower count doesn’t work well as a pricing formula. At $10 per 1,000 followers, my 25K LinkedIn following would put a post at $250. I start at $650.
3. Format determines the price more than anything else. Brands mostly ask for video, and video takes longer to make. Kirsti’s short videos take about 11 hours each, which works out to roughly $80–$110 an hour.
4. Charge separately for usage rights, exclusivity and extra revisions. Between the four of us, letting a brand run your post as an ad adds about 30% to 60% to the base rate.
5. Keep discounts for long-term partnerships, where they save you admin and negotiation time. Don’t discount a one-off deal in the hope of more work.
6. Raise your rates when you have proof: a brand’s own performance data, strong engagement on your first posts, or brands coming back to book you again.
7. Before you quote, ask which platforms the brand wants, whether they’ll run the post as an ad, what exclusivity they need, and the timeline, deliverables and budget flexibility.

Jump to a section

How much we charge for sponsored posts

Here are our rates as of October 2026, in US dollars.

Of course, these rates are not set in stone (I’m personally looking for bigger and bigger deals every time), but they should give a good baseline for how you can think about your own pricing.

Kirsti prices for her time

Kirsti makes content about home office setups and productivity tools. She got her first LinkedIn brand partnership in 2025 and has worked with around 10 brands since. Most of her requests come through Passionfroot, a creator storefront, but her best-fit partnerships are usually direct. Lately she's been reaching out to brands she loves herself, and she's been surprised by how well that works.

“I’m becoming more selective about who I work with now,” she says.

She's clear about what she's pricing: “My time, for sure. I’m a mom, and I only have 4-5 hours a week to spend on content creation. Most of that has to go to my organic content. So that doesn’t leave time for more than a single sponsored post a month, really.”

“Now, I charge what the time is worth to me, rather than what is the ‘going rate.’ … I’m fortunate enough to have a full-time gig at Buffer that I have no interest in leaving! I have no doubt that would be different if creator work was my primary income source.”

When I asked how long one short-form video takes, she broke it down: about two hours of admin, two hours of scripting, an hour of setup plus hair and makeup, two hours of filming, three hours of editing, and an hour of revisions. Then she adds: “Wait, that is crazy!”

And it is. Because that's 11 hours and at $900 to $1,200 per video, it works out to roughly $80 to $110 an hour.

The most she's been paid is about $2,400 for a high-production YouTube video plus a Short with perpetual usage rights. She went in higher than she felt comfortable and was glad she did, because it was a lot of work. And her reason for pricing at the higher end for her audience size hasn't changed since our Slack thread: it “weeds out the poor-fit brands.”

Sabreen prices the production behind each post

Sabreen writes about the creator economy, marketing, and the AI tools changing how marketers work. Since May 2025, she's worked with close to 40 brands on roughly 100 sponsored pieces, and several of those brands have booked her six to 10 times.

Almost all of that happens on LinkedIn. Her Instagram and YouTube are for a different kind of content (self-improvement and cultural unlearning), and while brands do push for Instagram, it's never part of her standard bundle.

“The audiences follow me for different reasons on different channels, and I protect that,” she says.

Her short video range is wide on purpose. A straightforward talking-head video sits at the $1,500 to $2500 range. One where she builds animations separately, hand-draws elements, or films from a point of view that complicates the edit sits closer to $4,000. Her biggest deal, around $7,000, was an in-person event: a pre-event post, a recap video, an interview video, and ad boost rights, priced for her days on site as well as the deliverables.

Her lowest was about a year ago: “I accepted $500 for a video post. I was new to the space and hadn’t yet understood what my production was worth.”

She prices production first and audience second, with one caveat about LinkedIn: “I've had strong posts sit flat for days and then pick up, so I try not to over-index on reach and impressions in a quote. I price the work based on production value, and I report on performance honestly afterward, with added context.”

And she’s careful about what she puts her name behind: “I push back on product teams quite a bit. If a demo isn’t producing the outcome I’m supposed to show on camera, I’ve ask teams to rework things before I film, because I’d rather do more work on both sides than put my name behind a claim the product can’t support.”

Tami (that’s me!) started at $150, and now I mostly take agency rates

I started out posting about my career on LinkedIn: looking for remote work, landing my first remote content marketing job, and eventually joining Buffer. I have just over 25K followers there and a little over 3K on Instagram, which is where most of my energy has gone this year.

My first deal was $150. I'd pitched an AI writing tool, so I priced it low to make it worth their while, even though I had nearly 20K followers at the time. They said yes without hesitating, and that gave me the confidence to quote $350 to a video call app I was talking to at the same time. Within four months, I was at $500, which felt like the sweet spot.

Since then, most of my deals have come in through agencies and the occasional DM. And because running a deal myself is a lot of extra work, I tend to take whatever rate the agency shares.

That's how I ended up with $1,000 for a single-image post with a workspace app and $2,000 for two videos with a video production tool. Side by side, those are a bit unbalanced. By the rates I'd quote today, the image post came in above what I'd charge and the videos came in under, especially since one of them took a full day of vlog footage plus a voiceover.

So that's what I want to change in 2027: getting the most value out of each deal, for me and for the brand.

6 guidelines for setting your rates as a creator

None of the three of us uses any specific formula, but I found that similar patterns, which I’ve categorized into rules, come up in how we each set our rates.

1. Price by format, not by follower count

Follower count is no longer used to gauge what a sponsored post is worth. By that metric, if you priced a partnership at, say, $10 per 1,000 LinkedIn followers, that would put my paid content at $250. I start at $650 for one text post.

Nowadays, though, brands want to know how far your posts travel compared with your follower count. “Your rate is relative to meaningful engagement,” says Sabreen. Favikon's 2026 B2B pricing guide puts it the same way: “Follower count sets a floor, not a price.”

Sabreen’s test comes from the brand’s side: “Your success as a creator comes down to whether they get better value from you than from putting the same money into an awareness marketing ads.”

Format, on the other hand, changed our numbers a lot. Kirsti goes from $500–$700 for text to $900–$1,200 for a short video. Sabreen goes from $600–$1,000 to $1,500–$4,000, and I go from $650–$750 to $1,250–$1,500. Brands mostly ask all three of us for video, and video takes longer to make, so it costs more.

“Being a video creator on LinkedIn is a real advantage right now, because the supply of creators who can produce it well is still thin,” Sabreen says.

⚡ Pro tip: Time one deal from the first email to the final revision, then divide your rate by the hours.

2. Charge separately for usage rights and exclusivity

If a brand wants to run your sponsored post as an ad, charge for that separately. Kirsti adds about 50% for usage rights, depending on how long the brand wants them. Sabreen adds about 35% for 90 days and 50% for six months, or a flat rate of around $400 a month on long retainers.

Exclusivity is the one I'm firmest on. I always charge for it, or I won't sign. Most of my deals are with software companies, and so many tools overlap that a competitor clause can block a lot more than you'd expect.

Sabreen learned that the hard way. A 30-day competitor blackout on either side of a monthly post turns into a year of exclusivity if the deal runs for a year. She now prices exclusivity on what it blocks her from taking, and asks for the narrowest window the brand can live with.

Revisions are worth a line in the agreement too. Kirsti and Sabreen both cap revisions at the script stage and won't reshoot, because changing one moment usually means refilming the whole video to match the lighting and outfit and on and on. Sabreen shares, “Brands get two rounds on the script, and script sign-off is the point of no return.” I just add a line item for any extras, but that hasn’t come up yet.

3. Decide whether your rate card shows your top price or your starting price

Kirsti and Sabreen publish their rates in opposite ways. Kirsti's rate card shows the top of her range, because “folks will always want to negotiate down, no matter where you are priced.” Sabreen's Passionfroot storefront prices sit at the low end as an entry point, and she quotes each deal once she knows the deliverables, timeline, usage, and how much production it needs.

“My actual quotes change constantly, since I don’t believe pricing is one-size-fits-all,” Sabreen says.

Sabreen also doesn't believe in the “it never hurts to ask for more” mentality, and her first deals with a new brand run slightly lower before she moves them up. I don't think either approach is wrong. I think they suit different volumes: Kirsti has room for about one sponsored post a month, and Sabreen has brands rebooking her six to 10 times, so that’s an incentive to keep them coming back.

I keep a rate card in Notion (it does need updating), but I treat each deal as its own thing.

4. Save discounts for long-term deals

Kirsti and Sabreen both discount retainers, because a long-term deal saves them hours of negotiation and admin. A one-off discount in the hope of more work is a different story.

Kirsti took $700 for a cross-platform video she'd usually price around $1,200, because it was a big brand she really wanted to work with long term. In her words from the Slack thread: “Alas, it was not to be!” She currently has a retainer with another tech brand she loves, which is the kind of long-term partnership she prefers: $600 a carousel and $900 a video, about one post every two months.

Sabreen has been there too: “Earlier on, I was a bit of a pushover when a brand came in under my number. Now I turn those deals down, because a budget that far below market rates won’t materialize into a healthy, meaningful long-term partnership. If a brand is out of touch with market rates, it’s usually also out of touch with the brand equity a creator brings by putting their name behind a campaign.”

Sabreen describes what she gets for the retainer discount as “a booked calendar, a brand team that already trusts my judgment, one round of negotiation instead of twelve.” She thinks of it as hours back rather than money off, and Kirsti used almost the same phrase. Sabreen keeps that discount small, though, because the production time doesn't shrink.

In Kirsti’s words: “All of the admin and negotiation that comes with kicking off a deal is time consuming. With a long-term partnership, you usually only have to do that once. So I see this as getting hours ‘back,’ if that makes sense?”

My first deal was a discount too: $150, because I was the one pitching. It worked out in a roundabout way, since the quick yes gave me the confidence to quote $350 to the next brand. But on discounting to win more work, Kirsti's take is the one I'd pass on: “This is a recipe for burnout. Quality will always bet better than quantity, for you and your audience!”

5. Raise your rates when the results back you up

Sabreen raised her rates the same day she learned that a brand's own data showed she'd delivered the best cost per acquisition on its campaign.

Two things happened around the same time. She was on a call with a creator who had fewer followers and was charging close to double her rate for the same deliverable. Then she found out a brand she'd worked with had shown that creator which creators performed best, and it was her, with a note that she should be charging more.

She shares, “Hearing it from the buyer's own numbers, rather than from another creator's encouragement, is what moved me. I reset my rate card the same day.”

“I took the slower route, built long-term relationships, and proved to brands over time that I’m worth investing more in. The rate followed the proof,” she adds.

My version of this experience was smaller, but it followed the same logic. I went from $150 to $350 to $500 in under four months, and each jump came after some proof: a brand saying yes without hesitating, then how those first posts performed. My first brand report showed 4.5K+ reach and 3.72% engagement. Looking back, I wish I'd factored my engagement rate into my pricing a lot sooner.

6. Ask these questions before you send a number

Before quoting, the three of us ask some version of the same questions:

1. Which platforms do you want this on?
2. Do you want to run it as an ad, and for how long?
3. Do you need exclusivity, and how wide?
4. What's the timeline, and how many deliverables?
5. What do you want to see in the post, and do you have examples of what good looks like?
6. Is the rate flexible?

Then there's the question we ask ourselves: does this fit my niche? None of us takes work outside it, because the post would underperform. As Kirsti put it, “There's nothing worse than sharing a sponsored post's performance when it has tanked.”

Kirsti learned that one early: “In my second or third brand deal, they requested that I change the sequence of the shots so that the product was in the very first frame. I knew that would be a terrible hook and for some reason I felt weird about pushing back? I wish I had because the post performed terribly.”

I turn deals down all the time when they don't fit my values or my audience. Sometimes I suggest a different angle on the brief, and sometimes it's just a no.

So, what did Hailley put on her rate card?

Hailley built a sponsored post page on her site, listed her rates, and sent it to the interested company. They ended up coming back with a much smaller budget, which she chose not to move forward with.

Hailley ended up going with slightly higher rates than she initially researched, because she knew any post would be a big time investment for her and she wanted to get the production of it right. At the time of writing this post, her rates are:

• $700 for a LinkedIn text or single-image post
• $900 for a carousel
• $1,800 for three posts over four to six weeks
• $200 to add a mention in her newsletter

On top of that, she charges 30% more for six months of brand-owned use, 60% more for 30 days of whitelisting or Thought Leader Ads, and 50% more for three months of category exclusivity. She doesn't offer perpetual rights at all. Her audience stats come into the page through Buffer's API, so a brand always sees current numbers.

I have a feeling the next deal will be a firm YES.

Once the deal is signed, the posts still have to get made, scheduled, and reported back to the brand. We can help with that: **Get started for free.**

Managing social media with more people means… more tools. And, often, a lot of red thread to connect the dots between them all. Feedback comes in emails, Slack, sometimes a DM from someone on Instagram.

This new Buffer feature will put an end to all that (and save you some red thread!).

What's new

Mention your teammates. Type @ and a teammate's name to mention them in a note. They'll know exactly which post needs their eyes and what you need from them.

Get notified. When you're mentioned, or when someone adds a note to a post you created, you'll get an email right away, so feedback reaches you whether or not you're in the app.

See the conversation happen live. New notes appear in the thread as they're written; no refresh needed. If you and a collaborator are both looking at a post, you can hash it out on the spot and settle the question in one sitting.

Format your notes. Notes now recognize Markdown, so you can add links, lists, and headings to keep longer feedback readable.

React with an emoji. When a thumbs up covers it, you can react to a note instead of adding a reply.

Notes are now available on every plan, including Free. Even working solo, it's a handy spot to leave yourself context on a post, like a reminder to update the copy before it goes out.

A discussion about discussions

Some behind-the-scenes from the project: we nearly renamed this feature to Discussions.

When the team scoped the revamp, a debate kicked off in Slack about whether "Notes" still fit. The case for renaming it Discussions was pretty solid, since with mentions and live replies the feature now hosts full back-and-forth conversations, and a few of us felt the old name undersold that. Conversations was a on the table too, along with some creative alternatives once we realised we'd already used most of the good collaborative words elsewhere in Buffer.

We landed on keeping Notes because it matches how people naturally talk. Saying "I left you a note" sounds like something a colleague would say, whereas "I started a discussion with you" does not. If Notes keeps growing into a bigger home for team conversations in Buffer, we may revisit the name down the track, and we'll keep you posted if we do.

Built for teams of two or twenty

If you're an agency juggling client feedback, Notes gives you one place where approvals and revisions happen, with a record of every decision that anyone on the team can find later. If you're a small business that recently added a second person to the social workload, Buffer starts working as a shared space where you can plan and review posts together.

We've been using it ourselves too. Our remote team works across time zones and leans on Notes for handovers, leaving context on a post so the next person can pick up exactly where things left off.

And there's more collaboration work on the way. Real-time notes are the groundwork for much of what we're building next, so if working on social as a team is central to how you use Buffer, keep an eye on this space over the coming months.

Try it out

Open any post in Buffer, add a note, and mention a teammate. If you don't have teammates in Buffer yet, you can invite collaborators on the Team plan.

Get started for free

I don’t know about you, but my earworms are pretty much exclusively trending songs from TikTok at this point. (Even the non-music sounds from TikTok tend to get stuck in my head, but I digress…)

The catchiness of these tunes is incredibly powerful for creators and brands on the social media platform to tap into, because not only do users remember the song; chances are, videos that featured the track will probably stick in their minds, too.

Beyond memorability, of course, is the algorithmic effect of being right on the cusp of a trending TikTok song. And who would say no to a little boost for the content they worked so hard on?

In this post, I’ll share the most viral songs and sounds on TikTok in October 2026 — and how to use them to boost your content.

Why trending TikTok sounds matter

Since you’re here, I probably don’t need to tell you that using a hot sound on TikTok can increase your chances of landing on the For You page, especially if you’re early to the trend.

TikTok’s algorithm often prioritizes familiarity and repeatability, so when a song is on the rise, jumping on it can give your post more visibility.

For example, if I’m scrolling through my FYP and watch a video with a particular audio, the TikTok algorithm will likely test the waters with another video that uses the same sound a couple of videos later. The algorithm wants to understand exactly why I lingered on the first video. Was it the music?

If yes, boy, does the FYP have more where that came from.

The right TikTok sounds or songs can instantly set the tone, spark emotion, or cue a punchline for your audience, particularly if the sound, like many of the ones below, has been used in a specific way.

The songs or sounds that become so viral they turn into a moment in internet culture are the really special ones.

All that said: you don't need to spend hours scrolling to find the best audio for your next post. Here are the most popular TikTok songs and audio right now, updated in 2026. We’ll keep this list regularly updated, so do be sure to bookmark this page and come back if you need more inspiration!

How to find trending songs on TikTok

• Browse TikTok’s Creative Center: Visit the Creative Center to see top trending songs by region and time period (above). It’s TikTok’s built-in trend tracker for sounds, creators, and hashtags. Note: TikTok Creative Center trends lists are currently undergoing some changes, and no trending audio is available for now. Watch this space for updates.
• Use TikTok’s search bar: Search phrases like “viral sound” in the TikTok app, tap the Sounds tab, and scroll through the most-used tracks labeled popular.
• Get personalized recommendations from TikTok: When you upload a video, TikTok will suggest music that matches your content, a great shortcut for finding relevant sounds.
• Discover playlists curated by TikTok: Tap Add Music > Discover more sounds to browse playlists by genre, category, or what’s hot in your region.
• Check out Tokchart: Tokchart shows the fastest-rising TikTok sounds from the past 24 hours, updated in real time. You'll need a paid account to get all the details.
• Look for trending audio on Instagram: Instagram Reels often feature songs that cross over to TikTok. Tap the music icon in the reels editor and check the Trending tab for current hits.

💡 Bonus tip: Always preview how a sound is being used. Tap the sound name on TikTok to watch example videos — this gives you the context you need to ride (or remix) the trend.

13 trending TikTok songs and sounds

Updated October 2026

1. Ramalama (Bang Bang)

The ‘Ramalama costume walk’ trend is back for spooky season, and it's fairly simple to swagger to. Strut to Ramalama by Róisín Murphy as the camera pans up from your feet to reveal your full Halloween get-up.

🎧 Get the song

2. original sound by Nileyna Garcia

Let your face do the talking: Pick a topic from your niche, rank your options using facial expressions and hand gestures, and let viewers see what you really think.

🎧 Get the sound

3. original sound by Harvey Guillén

Apologize for being a little dramatic, only for friends or family to reply, “It’s OK, I’m used to it.” The music switches to Poker Face by Lady Gaga for a perfectly timed punchline: looking personally offended by this response.

🎧 Get the sound

4. alkuperäinen ääni

If you're feeling some main character energy this month, this trending TikTok sound uses Drake’s “October is all about me” line with simple videos and on-screen text to celebrate numero uno.

🎧 Get the song

5. sonido original

Upside Down by Diana Ross is soundtracking a quick and easy transition trend on TikTok. Creators sync their hand gestures to the lyrics, then reveal their finished look.

🎧 Get the song

6. pll purposes only ty

This trend borrows the ominous text messages of Pretty Little Liars, where a mysterious villain known as “A” sends threatening messages to the main characters. Creators are using the show’s sound and on-screen text that ends with “-A” as a (somewhat creepy) narration of their everyday moments.

🎧 Get the sound

7. Wyw my sweetie #JerseyClub - Slowed

The “Find the Beat” challenge uses a slowed Jersey Club track to test someone's dance-floor instincts. One person knows the moves, while their partner has to find the beat on the spot. Try it with a partner, coworker, friend, gym buddy, or anyone who’s a good sport.

🎧 Get the song

8. Spooky, Scary Skeletons (House VIP Remix)

'Tis the season of the skeleton. This fun song is an added bone-us (sorry) for any Halloween content. A lot of creators are using it for recipes of themed treats.

🎧 Get the song

9. original sound by 𑣲sydney

Set to The Reason by Hoobastank (I may or may not have been played this song after a break-up in high school), creators share a confession, then act out the lyric “I’m not a perfect person”.

🎧 Get the song

10. son original - 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢

This creepy TikTok trend pairs this eerie clip with a strange "fact" on screen. Museums, history accounts, and true-crime creators can use it to share spooky stories from their own niche.

🎧 Get the sound

11. original sound by EDCapCut

The Step Brothers "Wipe Me Down" dance trend has creators using a CapCut template to put their own faces into a synchronized dance clip. Use the CapCut template to cast yourself, your friends, or your favourite characters in the ridiculous dance.

🎧 Get the song

12. Be OK

Cheerfully dance through whatever life is throwing at you with Ingrid Michaelson’s Be OK. Add an on-screen confession about work stress, money worries, personal drama, or a very specific industry headache, then let the upbeat chorus deliver the punchline.

🎧 Get the song

13. original sound by Navy (Taylor's Version)

This sound clip uses Taylor Swift’s Cleveland! as the perfect song for romantic wedding-day reflections: "Now I'm wearing white, so hate all you'd like. This is the love of my life".

🎧 Get the sound

⚡Pro tip: For business use on TikTok, only use songs from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library or tracks you have a royalty-free/commercial license for. Using personal-use music in ads or branded content can get your videos muted or removed, so always double-check the license before posting.

Found a track for your next TikTok?

When you're creating content for your business or personal brand, staying on top of TikTok's audio trends can help you reach new audiences and keep your content fresh.

Start with one or two of the methods we discussed to find popular sounds, and don't forget to save your favorites for later.

If you've created a TikTok post with audio from this list, we'd love to see it. Tag @bufferapp on TikTok so we can find you!

Later is a strong tool for visual-first creators and social media managers. It supports a whole bunch of social channels, but where it really shines is with Instagram.

You get a polished grid preview and plenty of Instagram-specific features (think: tag products and scheduling collab posts), plus a creator marketplace to monetize your social media presence. If your content is heavily Instagram-driven, Later could be a great choice for you.

Brands also get an influencer platform for finding creators and running campaigns.

But it comes with some constraints that start to matter as you grow:

• Post volume: monthly caps per social media channel that bite for high-output creators or anyone managing several active channels
• AI access: capped credits per month on every plan, with paid top-ups available once you hit the ceiling
• Analytics history: limited data going back on lower tiers, and no analytics for LinkedIn company pages
• Add-on costs: extra social sets come at a notable premium per month
• Bulk upload: no CSV bulk upload, which makes scheduling large campaigns a manual affair
• No X/Twitter support: if X is part of your social strategy, you need a way to schedule tweets outside Later
• Limited free plan: limited to 12 posts per channel, the link in bio page, plus access to the media library and creator marketplace with no unified inbox or analytics and reporting (you may not realize the free plan exists because it's not listed on the pricing page, but it does.)

If any of those feel familiar, the seven Later alternatives below may help.

Key takeaways

• Best overall swap: Buffer removes the posting caps, AI credit limits for publishing, and bulk upload restrictions that push most Later users to upgrade — and it has a real free plan.
• Best free option: Meta Business Suite covers Instagram, Facebook, and Threads scheduling at no cost, and it's strong for users already managing paid ads there.
• Best for influencer-driven brands: Sprout Social's influencer marketing platform is the closest match to Later's for creator partnerships.
• Best for enterprise teams: Hootsuite brings social listening, industry benchmarking, and 100+ integrations to large marketing teams.
• Best for social and paid ads teams: Agorapulse pulls ad comments into the same inbox as organic posts, making it the standout for teams running both channels side by side.
• Best for creator monetization: Planoly's Creator Store lets creators sell products, digital downloads, and services directly through a link in bio tool.
• Best for video content: RecurPost provides an Instagram feature set that rivals Later's and goes deep on publishing controls for TikTok and YouTube.

Later alternatives at a glance

Paid plan prices reflect each tool's entry-level plan, billed monthly. See each tool's section for detail. Last reviewed and pricing verified: October 2026

1. Buffer

Best for creators and teams who want a flexible, affordable social media management tool.

I'll be upfront: I've tested a lot of scheduling tools both as a creator and someone who works in marketing. There are some solid social media tools out there that handle everything from publishing posts to analyzing your social presence. And I always find myself using Buffer.

Why? It's an easy to use, affordable tool that helps me manage and grow my social media presence across many platforms, Instagram included.

Buffer offers creators two options — the Free and Essentials plans — for social media management, and a solid set of tools for creators and teams that focus on Instagram:

• Add music to your Instagram Reels: Search and preview music from Instagram and attach it directly to your reel while scheduling in Buffer.
• Tag collaborators on your posts: You can add up to three Instagram accounts to share a collab post, reel, or carousel.
• Schedule Trial Reels: Test your content — and reach new Instagram accounts — by posting a reel to accounts that don't follow you before it reaches your followers.
• Post several stories in one go: Add multiple photos or videos (or both) to one Instagram Story post, and Buffer will schedule it as a sequence.
• Use your Instagram bio link to sell things: Shop Grid turns your Instagram bio into a shoppable landing page where every scheduled post links out to a custom URL, with UTM tracking. Grid Preview shows you how your feed will look before anything goes live.

That's just Instagram. Here's everything you can do with the Free plan across multiple channels:

• Choose from 12 social media platforms: You can post on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, and Threads, plus Bluesky, Substack, Google Business Profile, Twitter/X, and Mastodon, all of which Later doesn't support.
• Schedule across three platforms with no monthly posting cap: There's no ceiling on how many posts you can publish. You keep up to 10 posts queued per channel at a time, and slots open up again when posts are published. If you're posting the same content to multiple platforms, you can write once and adapt the copy for each from the same composer, rather than building each post separately.
• Use Buffer's AI Assistant as much as you want: There's no credit limit on any plan, including free. You can draft posts, repurpose old content, generate ideas, write alt text, or test hooks without watching a counter or being nudged to upgrade.
• See everything in one calendar: All your scheduled posts and drafts across every connected channel show up in one view. You can drag things around to reschedule without having to open each post individually.
• Get data that comes with recommendations: Insights tracks your metrics, and the AI-powered takeaways tell you what to do with them, so you're not staring at a graph trying to figure out what it means.
• Engage with your audience without switching apps: The Community inbox brings comments and mentions into one place. You don't have to check Instagram, then LinkedIn, then Facebook... it's all here, with AI-suggested replies if you want them (five per week on free, unlimited on paid).
• Save ideas before they get lost: Create Space holds up to 100 ideas that you can tag, organize in Kanban view, and develop into drafted posts without leaving Buffer. There's also a template library, pre-made and custom, for when you need a starting point.
• Connect Buffer to other tools, or build on top of it: You get a read-write API on every plan, including free, plus an MCP that connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Cursor, and Raycast, among other tools.

If you need more than three channels or want features like analytics exports, advanced analytics, unlimited post scheduling, and CSV upload, the Essentials plan starts at $6/channel per month for one user.

If you’re not ready to commit, Buffer offers a 14-day free trial on all paid plans. You can test every part of the publishing workflow and see for yourself how it feels to use.

Buffer's team collaboration features are designed to help small to medium marketing teams and growing agencies work smoothly together.

The Team plan starts at $12/channel per month. Here's what it adds:

• Unlimited users at no extra cost: There's no extra charge whether you have three team members or 30. You can add as many clients or new teammates as you like without boosting your monthly bill.
• Set permission levels by channel: Each team member can have full publishing access, a needs-approval status, or no access at all — set independently for every connected channel.
• Run an approval workflow: Team members who need sign-off submit posts before they publish. Nothing goes out without the right person seeing it first.
• Collaborate on content ideas: Create Space is shared across the whole team, so you can develop, tag, and refine up to 5,000 ideas together before anything hits the schedule. That can comfortably cover as many social accounts, campaigns, and clients as you need.
• Leave notes directly on posts: Add comments to drafts and pending posts — anyone with publishing access can read and reply, keeping feedback in Buffer rather than a separate thread or DM.

2. Meta Business Suite

Best for businesses and creators who work entirely within Facebook and Instagram.

Meta Business Suite is the most direct option if you're looking for a free Later alternative. It covers Instagram, Facebook, and Threads (to a limited extent), and it's built specifically around that scope.

You'll get publishing workflows of course, and perks like being able to add a story directly to Instagram Highlights without opening the Instagram app — a small thing, but one of those details that adds up over time.

Meta Business Suite also connects directly to Ads Manager, so you can create and boost posts, run AI-optimized ad campaigns, and see organic vs. paid performance in the same dashboard. If you're running Meta ads alongside your organic calendar, having them both in one native interface saves meaningful context-switching every week.

It sounds like a no-brainer because it's a Meta-owned platform — like Instagram, Facebook, and Threads — and it's free. And if your focus is on just these platforms, it's a solid option for creators and teams alike.

If you're active on LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, or anywhere that isn't a Meta platform, you'd either need another social media management tool to complement or have to post on those platforms directly.

3. Sprout Social

Best for brands that run influencer campaigns alongside their organic social content.

If influencer marketing is a big part of your social strategy, Sprout Social is the most natural Later alternative from this list.

With Sprout Social's influencer marketing features, you get discovery, campaign management, and performance tracking in one place, not as a third-party plugin or integration.

Like Later, Sprout Social offers influencer marketing tools at a cost that's separate from its social media management tools. And at $249/user per month for teams, or $99/month for solopreneurs, Sprout is already a meaningful investment.

It's also one of the best-known social media management tools on this list. It earns its place for brands where influencer campaigns, advanced social listening, unified social inbox, and advanced analytics and reporting are core to the strategy — not peripheral features being explored for the first time.

4. Hootsuite

Best for enterprise teams that need advanced features like social listening and industry benchmarking.

Hootsuite shares some ground with Later on social listening — both tools offer brand monitoring and trend tracking — so it's a logical move for teams that want to keep that capability while gaining a more enterprise-grade platform underneath.

Beyond listening, Hootsuite brings bulk scheduling, industry benchmarking, customizable reports, employee advocacy, and a library of over 100 app integrations.

At $149/user per month, it's a significant jump in price compared to many tools here and closest to Sprout Social. That cost makes sense for teams with enterprise needs, and it's worth the steep learning curve for all the power it brings.

5. Agorapulse

Best for teams that want social inbox management for organic and paid post comments.

Agorapulse is a good option for teams that want to manage comments, DMs, mentions, and ad comments in a unified inbox.

Where Later's Social Inbox supports Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, Agorapulse supports eight social channels — plus comments on boosted posts as well. If you're running paid social alongside organic, Agorapulse closes a gap that tools like Later leave open.

It also includes comment assignment, inbox moderation, message sentiment, collision detection (so two team members don't accidentally respond to the same message), and CRM integrations with HubSpot and Salesforce. That's a really solid toolkit for teams where audience engagement takes place across a wide range of platforms and ways to interact.

Agorapulse also goes deep on bulk scheduling via a CSV file — something Later doesn't offer — and offers advanced analytics and reporting, including for your Meta and LinkedIn ad campaigns.

6. Planoly

Best for creators who want to sell products or services directly through their social profiles.

Planoly is a Later alternative that takes a different approach to creator monetization: it gives creators the tools to sell directly to their audience.

The Creator Store is Planoly's standout feature, and it goes further than a standard link-in-bio tool. You get a URL to add to any platform's bio, which functions as a full storefront: physical products like merch (which you can also design through the store) and digital products like courses, ebooks, memberships, and consultations.

Hook up your Stripe or PayPal account, and you're ready to make money on Instagram, TikTok, or wherever you live on socials. There's a dashboard to track your products, orders, customers, and earnings.

For creators just getting started, Planoly offers free Canva-integrated templates you fully customize instead of starting from scratch. You can also set up automated DMs to send the right products to your followers when they comment on your posts.

One caveat to know before you sign up: although Planoly covers Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, and TikTok for scheduling, it doesn't have a social inbox for replying to comments or DMs across your channels.

If actively responding to your audience is a regular part of how you work, you'd want to pair Planoly with another tool for that. Buffer covers it if you're on multiple platforms; Meta Business Suite works if you're primarily Facebook and Instagram.

7. RecurPost

Best for video creators who want deep per-platform publishing controls.

If you post heavily to Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, RecurPost's per-platform publishing controls are worth exploring.

The Instagram feature set here is more complete than you'd expect for $9/month. From the composer, you can post trial reels, add licensed audio, tag products and collaborators, boost posts, and set up automated DMs that trigger the moment a specific post goes live.

On YouTube, RecurPost lets you add custom thumbnails, set the video's privacy, add it to a playlist, and tag it as made for kids. For TikTok, you can set privacy per post, turn off comments, and enable duets and stitches right from the scheduling flow.

These video platforms aren't the only ones RecurPost supports. Like most of the tools on this list, it also supports Facebook, Pinterest, X/Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile.

Which is the best Later alternative?

There's no single "best" alternative to Later. Which one is best — and right for you — depends on how you work, what you're managing, and what you actually need from a tool.

Most tools on this list have a free tier or trial. Narrow it down to a few that piqued your interest, then sign up and use them for yourself to see which one suits you best.

Here are a few questions worth thinking through to help you make a shortlist:

• What's your budget? Buffer's affordable, flexible pricing (plans from $6/channel/month, with a free plan to start) and Meta Business Suite (free, Facebook and Instagram only) are the two lowest-cost entry points.
• How many channels are you managing, and which ones? If you're entirely on Instagram and Facebook, Meta Business Suite covers that natively. If you have multiple social media accounts on platforms that aren't Meta-owned, you'll need one of the other options.
• Are you managing a team? Buffer's Team plan includes unlimited users, approval workflows, and per-channel permissions. Agorapulse adds collision detection and CRM sync for teams where inbox management is the priority.
• Do you run paid ads alongside organic? Agorapulse pulls ad comments into the same inbox as your organic social posts, and lets you track LinkedIn ad performance. Meta Business Suite connects directly to Ads Manager.
• Is influencer marketing central to your strategy? Sprout Social's influencer platform handles discovery, campaign management, and performance tracking in one place.
• Do you want to sell directly through your social profiles? Planoly's Creator Store lets you sell products, digital downloads, and services through a link-in-bio storefront.
• Do you post heavily to Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok? RecurPost's per-platform publishing controls — trial reels, licensed audio, TikTok privacy settings, full YouTube uploads — are worth a look.

If Buffer ends up being the right fit, we'd love to have you. And if it's not, I hope this helped you find the one that is.

FAQs about Later alternatives

Is there a free version of Later Social?

Yes, Later does have a free plan, although it isn't listed on the pricing page or promoted anywhere on the website. The most reliable way to end up on it is for your trial to expire and your account to downgrade automatically. The free tier gives you 12 posts per channel and the link-in-bio page, plus access to the creator marketplace and media library, but there's no social inbox or basic analytics available.

What is the best alternative to Later?

The best Later alternative depends on your goals, budget, and which platforms you're active on. There's no single right answer. The tools in this list cover a range of use cases, from flexible, multi-platform publishing to creator monetization to enterprise-level inbox management, so the right pick will come down to how you work and what you need from a switch.

Is there a free alternative to Later?

Yes. Buffer's free tier includes three channels, 10 social posts per channel queued at a time (refillable as they publish), unlimited AI Assistant, Create Space, and a Community inbox. It's a genuine free plan with no strings attached. Meta Business Suite is entirely free with no paid tier, though it covers Instagram, Facebook, and Threads only.

Which is better, Later or Buffer?

It depends on how you work. Later is a strong tool for visual-first creators — particularly those whose content is heavily Instagram-driven — with a polished grid preview, Instagram-specific publishing features, an influencer marketing platform, and a creator marketplace. Buffer is a better fit if you're managing multiple channels (including X/Twitter, Bluesky, or Mastodon, which Later doesn't support), want unlimited AI on every plan, or need to scale a team without per-seat fees. Our full Buffer vs. Later comparison goes deeper if you want to see how the two tools stack up across pricing, features, and use cases.

Can I switch from Later without losing my content?

Your published posts and social accounts live on the platforms themselves, so you won't lose them. What you'll need to rebuild are any scheduled posts queued inside Later. Most tools here let you reconnect your social accounts in a few minutes and start scheduling right away. If historical analytics matter to you, some tools (including Buffer) can pull in past post data on connection, though how far back they sync depends on what each platform's API makes available.

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