Publaro compared with Buffer, Hootsuite, Metricool and Postiz

The right scheduler depends on how many accounts you manage and what you need around posting. Below are the facts we checked, where each tool is the better choice, and where Publaro is behind. Other tools' details come from their own public pages, were checked in September 2026, and are linked so you can confirm them: plans change, so read theirs before you decide.

At a glance

Publaro compared with Buffer, Hootsuite, Metricool and Postiz
Feature	Publaro	Buffer	Hootsuite	Metricool	Postiz
Free plan	Free plan with 3 accounts, no time limit, no card	Free plan with 3 channels	No free plan listed	Free plan	Free to self-host
Paid plans	$19 (Creator) and $49 (Team) per month, for several accounts and seats in each plan	$5 per channel per month (Essentials), $10 per channel (Team)	$99, $199 and $399 per user per month; Enterprise on request	From $20 to $36, then $53 to $159 per month	Cloud plans at $29, $39, $49 and $99 per month
Platforms	35 platforms: 34 publish directly, 1 prepared for you to publish	About 12 networks, including Bluesky, Mastodon and Substack	Not checked	Not checked	About 20 to 30 networks
API access	From the Team plan ($49 per month), with an MCP server for AI assistants	On every plan	Not checked	API and MCP on the Advanced plan	API, webhooks and an MCP server
Approvals	From the Team plan, and clients can approve from a private link with no account	On the Team plan	Only on the $399 tier; single sign-on only on Enterprise	Not checked	Not checked

Other tools: checked September 2026 on Buffer, Hootsuite, Metricool, Postiz. "Not checked" means we did not record it, not that the tool lacks it.

Publaro or Buffer?

Buffer is a simple scheduler. What stands out: cheapest per channel when you have only a few; a community inbox.

Choose Buffer if you have a handful of channels, want the lowest price per channel and need nothing beyond the main networks.

Choose Publaro if you post to many platforms (including Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, YouTube, WordPress and more), work with clients who approve posts from a link, want posts never to go out twice, and need the whole app in 16 languages.

Publaro or Hootsuite?

Hootsuite is an enterprise suite. What stands out: an inbox and social listening; a large enterprise feature set.

Choose Hootsuite if you are a large team that needs social listening and a unified inbox for comments and messages, and the per-user price fits.

Publaro or Metricool?

Metricool is a scheduler with analytics. What stands out: competitor analysis; analytics next to scheduling; X is a paid add-on.

Choose Metricool if analytics and competitor tracking matter more to you than the number of platforms you can post to.

Publaro or Postiz?

Postiz is open source (AGPL), with a cloud version. What stands out: you can run it on your own server; RSS auto-posting, AI images and video.

Choose Postiz if you want to host the software yourself and are comfortable maintaining it.

Where Publaro is behind today

We would rather you know before you sign up:

There is no unified inbox for direct messages, and no comment-to-message automation. The inbox covers comments on your own posts.
There is no social listening (tracking mentions and keywords across the web).
There is no competitor analytics, and follower-growth analytics are limited.
Some platforms are held back by the platforms themselves: they review each app (so publishing there starts after approval), or have no public posting API.

Try it on the Free plan

Connect your accounts, schedule a week of posts and see whether it fits. No credit card, no time limit.

Start free: no card