Buffer vs Later
Buffer treats every network as a queue to fill and bills per channel, with a free plan for up to three. Later starts from the Instagram grid: a visual calendar, a feed preview, a media library, link in bio and collection of user-generated content. Teams across many networks choose Buffer; brands whose feed is the shop window choose Later.
Hannah ReiterSenior Analyst, Business Applications
Niels Abrahamsen
Sebastiaan SmitsVendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose Buffer ifyou want a free plan or per-channel billing, unlimited scheduled posts on paid plans, and networks such as X, Bluesky or Mastodon alongside the main ones.
Choose Later ifyour brand lives on Instagram, you plan visually and want the grid preview, and you will actually use the media library, link in bio and UGC collection.
Buffer and Later side by side
| Buffer | Later | |
|---|---|---|
| Our social media management rank | #2 of 16 | #3 of 16 |
| Established in | United States | Canada |
| Pricing | Free tier; paid per channel per month, published | Per month by plan, published; 14-day trial |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Essentials: $5 a month per channel, billed yearly at $60; free plan for up to 3 channels | Starter: $18.75 a month, billed yearly |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A small team with many channels and no approval process | A brand where the Instagram grid is the product |
| Not for | An agency with clients who must approve every post | A B2B company posting mostly to LinkedIn |
Both are reviewed in full in our social media management ranking: Buffer and Later.
Where they differ
Buffer 2 · Later 2 · open 1- 01
Planning the Instagram feed
Later was built around Instagram: its visual content calendar and drag-and-drop feed preview show upcoming posts arranged in the grid, so you can rearrange them before anything is published. Buffer offers list and calendar views of scheduled posts and schedules Reels and Stories, which is planning by date, not by how the grid looks. For a brand whose feed is the product, Later wins.
Edge: Later
- 02
Tools around the post
Later bundles a media library fed from uploads, Canva and Dropbox, link in bio on every plan, and user-generated content collection from its Growth plan. Buffer now covers more than scheduling: a link-in-bio Start Page, an AI assistant, a community inbox for replying to comments and scheduled first comments. Later still gives more for visual, Instagram-led work.
Edge: Later
- 03
Meter and plan limits
Buffer has a free plan for up to three channels with 10 scheduled posts each, then Essentials at $5 a month per channel on yearly billing with unlimited scheduled posts. Later has no free plan: Starter is $18.75 a month billed yearly for one social set and 30 posts per profile a month, Growth allows 180, and only Scale is unlimited.
Edge: Buffer
- 04
Networks beyond Instagram
Buffer's pricing page lists twelve networks: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon and Substack. Later's lists eight: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. A team that posts to X, Bluesky or a Google Business Profile finds those named by Buffer; one that needs Snapchat finds it named by Later.
Edge: Buffer
- 05
Approvals and team seats
Buffer's Team plan, $10 a month per channel on yearly billing, adds approval workflows and unlimited team members. Later includes internal and external approvals from Growth at $37.50 a month billed yearly, which has two users; Scale has four. Buffer costs less for a large team on few channels, Later for a small team on many profiles.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If a client or a legal reviewer has to approve every post, approvals are a side feature in both: Buffer keeps them for its Team plan and Later for Growth and above. Planable lets a client approve the post in place, and Loomly is structured around approval chains.
Buffer or Later: questions
4 answersIs Buffer or Later better for Instagram?
Later, if Instagram is the centre of your marketing. Its grid preview, visual calendar, media library, link in bio and UGC collection are all designed around that network. Buffer schedules cleanly to the channels you connect but is not organised around how the feed looks.
Does Buffer or Later have a free plan?
Buffer does: up to three channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel and one user.
Later has no permanent free plan; its paid plans start at $18.75 a month billed yearly and come with a 14-day free trial. Buffer's paid plans also have a 14-day trial.
Which should a B2B company choose, Buffer or Later?
Buffer is the more natural fit. It lists LinkedIn, X and Google Business Profile among its networks and bills per channel, which suits a small team with a few accounts.
Later supports LinkedIn too, but its planning tools are organised around the Instagram feed and X is not on its network list.
How many posts can you schedule on Buffer and Later?
Buffer's free plan holds 10 scheduled posts per channel, and both paid plans are unlimited. Later counts posts per profile each month: 30 on Starter, 180 on Growth and unlimited on Scale. A brand posting daily to one profile would already reach the Starter limit.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- Buffer pricing page: Buffer free plan, per-channel prices, post limits, approval workflows on Team and supported networks.
- Buffer publishing page: calendar view, Start Page link in bio, first comment and AI assistant.
- Later pricing page: Later plan prices, social sets, users, post limits, approvals, no free plan and supported networks.
- Later scheduler page: visual calendar, drag-and-drop feed preview and media library.