Social media scheduling tools compared on price: 14 tools, 5 team sizes
What Zernio, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, Postiz, Blotato, Publer, Metricool and more actually cost for 1 to 50 brands — list prices checked on 27 October 2026.
- 12×cheaper than Sprout Social20 ecosystems (180 channels, 10 people), annual billing
- 8×+cheaper than Hootsuiteannual billing; monthly costs more
- 38%less than Zernio20 ecosystems (180 channels, 10 people)
Most social media tools publish a price, but it rarely answers the question you have: what will it cost for my team and my accounts? A per-seat tool looks cheap until you add people; a per-channel tool looks cheap until you add networks. So we priced the same five setups on every tool, from one small brand to fifty.
How we compared
- Prices are each vendor's own published list prices on 27 October 2026, billed monthly, before tax. Each tool links to its pricing page in the table.
- For each setup we took the cheapest self-serve plan that fits both the number of channels and the number of people.
- A brand, centre or project (an "ecosystem") is counted as 9 channels: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X, Bluesky, Tumblr and Telegram. A Publishing Studio ecosystem includes all 19 of our networks for the same price; we only count these 9 because not every tool supports the rest.
- Features differ between tools. This compares price for the same setup, not identical plans.
The prices
- Publishing Studio
- Zernio
- Buffer
- Sprout Social
| Tool | 1 brand9 channels · 1 person | 3 brands27 channels · 3 people | 10 brands90 channels · 5 people | 20 brands180 channels · 10 people | 50 brands450 channels · 10 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publishing Studio | $19 | $49 | $134 | $244 | $454 |
| Zernio | $42 | $99 | $288 | $398 | $668 |
| Postiz | $39 | $49 | $99 | Sales only past 100 channels | Sales only past 100 channels |
| Metricool | $35 | $97 | $167 | $307 | $710 |
| Blotato | $29 | $97 | $499 | Arranged with sales past 100 accounts | Arranged with sales past 100 accounts |
| Later | $25 | $70 | $175 | $350 | $800 |
| Publer | $36 | $104 | $332 | $666 | $1,638 |
| Buffer | $54 | $186 | $335 | $515 | $1,055 |
| SocialPilot | $38 | $98 | $360 | $720 | $1,800 |
| Sendible | $99 | $199 | $299 | $750 | Not published past 300 profiles |
| Agorapulse | $99 | $297 | from $1,095 | from $2,190 | from $6,240 |
| Hootsuite | from $99 | from $597 | from $995 | from $1,990 | from $1,990 |
| Sprout Social | from $299 | from $897 | from $1,495 | from $2,990 | from $2,990 |
| Sprinklr | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
What the numbers say
- The cheapest tool depends on your size. For 1 ecosystem (9 channels, 1 person) the lowest price is Publishing Studio at $19; for 10 ecosystems (90 channels, 5 people) it's Postiz at $99; for 50 ecosystems (450 channels, 10 people) it's Publishing Studio at $454.
- Per-seat pricing is where costs explode. Even on annual billing, Sprout Social costs at least $2,990 a month for 20 ecosystems (180 channels, 10 people), and Hootsuite at least $1,990 — over 12× and 8× Publishing Studio's $244.
- Per-account pricing grows with every network. Zernio's $398 for 180 channels is 38% more than our price for the same setup, because we charge per ecosystem, not per account.
- Some tools stop at 100 channels. Postiz and Blotato don't sell self-serve plans past 100 accounts; past that you talk to sales.
- Sprinklr doesn't publish prices — you have to ask for a demo to find out.
Where Publishing Studio fits
We price per ecosystem: $19 for the first, then $15, $11 and $7 as you add more, with 10 people included and $3 for each one after — or $799 a month for unlimited ecosystems and people. An ecosystem costs the same with one network or nineteen. That makes us much cheaper than per-seat and per-account tools for organisations with many centres. In the setups above we have the lowest published price except for Postiz at 10 ecosystems ($99 against our $134). Tools with free plans (Buffer, Metricool, Publer, and Zernio for 2 accounts) cost less still if their free limits are enough for you.