Buffer is a popular tool among those planning content across social media channels. This can, in part, be attributed to its freemium version that allows for publishing and managing your posts, as well as giving you some other features. This basic version allows for effective content planning and basic social media management that is user-friendly, which is why some small businesses without much of a social media presence may opt for it. 

However, this social media tool may not be right for every user and, for many, there may be a need to search for a Buffer alternative, especially as your social media presence grows. In this article, we will go over some of the reasons that you may want to look for an alternative to Buffer. We will then present the top Buffer alternatives that you may want to consider. 

Why you might be looking for an Alternative to Buffer

To begin, let’s go over why people may be looking for an alternative to Buffer. While Buffer may be immediately appealing if you are looking for a free social media tool, you should look into whether it is right for you as your social media presence grows. For a social media manager who needs to publish content on multiple accounts, conduct competitor research, manage a community of followers, and provide progress reports with interesting insights to management, you may be interested in exploring Buffer alternatives. 

So what are some of the reasons why you may be looking for an alternative to Buffer? Let’s find out below.  

Additional Costs

It is probably helpful to start with Buffer’s pricing plan. Many social media managers may be drawn to this social media tool, especially if they are starting to build their companies social media presence from scratch. This is because there are free and low-cost versions of the tool available, which makes Buffer a low-risk choice.

It is clear that upselling is a part of many business models. However, as your social media presence expands, and you want to track more profiles or add additional team members to your plan, the cost of the Buffer tool can grow quickly. The number of profiles you can track is limited according to what subscription package you end up choosing. Even for the Agency package, you have to pay extra for profiles you add after the first 10. For larger companies and agencies, this can get expensive since you are paying for extra profiles to track. So, when you are thinking about a Buffer alternative, be sure to carefully consider how many profiles you ultimately want to track with your tool.

Analytics

Teamwork Limitations for Publishing

Even though Buffer is known as a tool that can effectively used for publishing across social media channels, there are some limitations related to effectively letting teams work together. This mostly has to do with the fact that larger teams may have to use external tools such as Slack in order to coordinate ideas for posts, assign tasks, or decide how to best implement their post strategy. While Buffer may be perfectly suitable for a company that has a single social media manager, you may find it lacking when it comes to enabling team communication, especially when it comes to brainstorming post ideas.

Alternatives to Buffer: Who are Competitors you need to Know

So what about the competitors to Buffer? Below, we will detail some of the apps like Buffer currently on the market that you should check out.

Fanpage Karma: Social Media Management, Made Easy

As an Alternative for Buffer, Fanpage Karma really shines. Larger companies, social media agencies, and those looking to analyze many profiles with an all-in-one social media tool solution will find Fanpage Karma to be a very attractive option. This is because Fanpage Karma allows for unlimited profile tracking. In all, Fanpage Karma offers its users advanced functionalities for their analytic, publishing, monitoring, and discovery activities.

Below are some of the primary benefits of Fanpage Karma:

✅ Track an Unlimited Number of Profiles

With Fanpage Karma, you never have to worry about limits on competitor analysis or benchmarking your accounts against others. With the ability to track an unlimited number of profiles across all channels, social media managers can gain deep insights into their own profiles as well as their competitors.

✅ Transparent Pricing Plans

Fanpage Karma believes that you should get what you pay for, and that is why the pricing plans don’t have hidden costs or create free offers with the intent to upsell you on paid subscriptions later. 

✅ Dynamic Sharing, Feedback, and Reports

Fanpage Karma gives its users the option of creating public dashboards so that those not using the tool can keep updated on the progress of social media activities. Additionally, external sharing features allow social media managers to receive insight and feedback by those not using the tool such as colleagues or even clients alike. Reporting can also be exported and shared or shared with a link to anyone who needs access.

✅ Comprehensive Post Scheduling Functionality

Never worry about losing features when scheduling social media posts with Fanpage Karma. The tool has AI-integrations for caption writing and image generation to help companies create engaging posts.

✅ Powerful Engagement Features

Fanpage Karma offers many tools automating these processes such as automation capabilities, AI- generated email responses, and other organizational helpers such as tagging and assigning tickets to your colleagues.

✅ Social Media Monitoring

Fanpage Karma offers an effective social media monitoring tool which helps what is being said about your brand or business.

Hootsuite

As a Buffer app alternative, Hootsuite probably is a social media tool that many may think of. Hootsuite offers all the core functions that one can think of when searching for an all-in-one social media tool. These include analytical, community management, and publishing features to help you manage your social media activities.   

The major downsides have to do with the relatively high starting costs of its plans, especially when it comes to competitor analysis. This means you will have to pay more to track profiles that go above the limit of your paid plan if you want to track possibly hundreds of competitor profiles.

Sprout Social

If you really are looking for a social media tool that provides excellent analytical capabilities, then Sprout Social may be for you. Of course, this tool has a whole host of other features that came with it that help with social media management. 

The downside of this tool is that it comes at a high price point, even for their cheaper plans, so it might not be the right option for everyone. This is especially true of small businesses who are looking for a cheap entry point into social media management. Moreover, you should read what comes with each plan carefully, as the exact functions you will get various from plan to plan.

Swat.io

Swat.io may not be the first tool that comes to mind as an alternative to Buffer, but it does provide a very functional tool that gives you a lot of flexibility on pricing depending on the number of profiles you want to track and users you want to add to your plan. It does all of the basic stuff well and is especially strong in publishing. 

However, with its cheaper plans there is limited functionality when it comes to features such as analytic insights with additional features are only available on more expensive plans. Moreover, if you are looking to track several profiles, the cost of this tool can spiral since more profiles to manage and/or track means more costs. 

SocialPilot

SocialPilot can be a great alternative to Buffer if you are looking for a tool that excels in social media publishing. It even has Canva integrated into its interface, which makes it perfect for taking the design of your posts to another level. In addition, its interface is very easy to navigate, which makes it ideal if you are just starting out in the world of social networking.

Keep in mind that SocialPilot has specific limitations when it comes to community management with its cheapest plan. Moreover, you are limited to a certain number of profiles that you can add for analysis depending on the subscription you choose. This can be an issue, especially for agencies that are managing many clients’ social media accounts.

Loomly

Loomly interface is highly intuitive and has been designed with this minimalist style to make it easier to navigate and use. The content organization and posting features from Loomly is its strength, and it works great for big and small teams alike.

However, if you are looking for competitor analysis, then Loomly may not the best Buffer alternative for you. Similar to other social media tools, you need to pay attention to how many profiles you can track based on your subscription.

Brandwatch

One of the main appeals of Brandwatch is that it is more than just a social media management tool. In fact, it offers various tools and solutions for entire marketing and sales teams. For this reason, Brandwatch can be a good choice for those companies that are looking for more than social media management.  

However, when we discuss Brandwatch, we need to talk about pricing. Their pricing plans are not clearly displayed on their website, and you would need to schedule a demo to learn more. Additionally, you may find it difficult to navigate all the choices there are for marketing tools. 

HubSpot

With a great integrated content management system, HubSpot is considered one of the best Buffer competitors if you are looking features beyond social media management. If budget is an issue, and you want to try HubSpot, it offers some free basic tools. 

Despite its free tools, HubSpot is a relatively expensive solution when it comes to its paid plans, since it comes with other marketing features that you may not need. This may make it unsuitable for some small businesses.