1
Echoia
that's us, judge accordinglyPricing: Free plan, then $39/month (Starter, 10 accounts), $79 (Pro), $200 (Agency). Every plan includes unlimited teammates, and posting is not metered. source
Free: 3 connected accounts, unlimited posts, no card.
Where it shines
- Publishing AND the replies: comments and DMs from every platform land in one inbox, with AI sentiment sorting included on all plans.
- Unlimited teammates on every plan, including the free one.
- Competitor ad research and Meta campaign management built in.
- An MCP server on every plan, so Claude or ChatGPT can read your inbox and draft your posts.
Where it doesn't
- Launched in 2026: the shortest track record on this page.
- No link-in-bio tool and no visual grid planner.
- Social listening is a paid add-on ($79/month), not included.
Best for: Brands and small teams who answer people daily and want one flat price for the whole team.
2
Hootsuite
Pricing: $99/user/month (Standard, 10 accounts) to $399/user/month (Advanced), billed annually. Unlimited accounts start at $199/user/month (Professional). source
Free: No free plan; 14-day trial.
Where it shines
- Does almost everything: publishing, inbox, listening from Standard, hundreds of integrations.
- Enterprise credentials: SSO, compliance features, the paperwork procurement asks for.
- Eighteen years of operating history.
Where it doesn't
- Priced per seat, billed annually: three people on Standard is $297 a month, committed for a year.
- Widely reported as more than most small teams use or need.
Best for: Companies with a social media department, a procurement process, and the budget both imply.
Echoia vs Hootsuite, feature by feature →
3
Metricool
Pricing: From €16/month (Starter, 5 brands) to €130/month (Advanced, 50 brands). X/Twitter connectivity is a paid add-on on most tiers. source
Free: 1 brand, 20 posts per month, without LinkedIn or X.
Where it shines
- Excellent analytics for the price, including competitor tracking on every paid plan.
- An inbox for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Google Business on paid tiers.
- Priced in euros, popular with European freelancers and small agencies.
Where it doesn't
- X (Twitter) costs extra on most plans.
- The free plan meters posts (20/month) and excludes two major networks.
- Team features arrive on Advanced tiers.
Best for: European freelancers and small agencies who want strong analytics for a low monthly price.
4
Planable
Pricing: $33/workspace/month (Basic, 60 posts, 4 accounts) to $49/workspace/month (Pro, 150 posts, 10 accounts). Analytics ($12), inbox ($7.50) and listening ($82.50) are add-ons per workspace. source
Free: 50 posts total, unlimited users, no time limit.
Where it shines
- The best approval workflow in the category: built around clients signing off content.
- Unlimited users on every plan, including free.
- A free plan with no clock: 50 posts to try it properly.
Where it doesn't
- Posts are metered per month on every paid plan.
- Analytics and the inbox cost extra, per workspace.
- Priced per workspace: many clients means many workspaces.
Best for: Agencies whose bottleneck is client approval rather than publishing volume.
5
Buffer
Pricing: $5/channel/month (Essentials) or $10/channel/month (Team). Ten channels cost $50 to $100 a month; channels beyond ten cost less per channel. source
Free: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel.
Where it shines
- The calmest, most polished scheduler in the category, refined for over a decade.
- A genuinely useful free plan for light posting on up to 3 channels.
- A mature link-in-bio and start-page tool.
- Supports Mastodon.
Where it doesn't
- The bill multiplies with every channel you add.
- Engagement tools are limited: no unified DM inbox.
- One user only on Essentials; unlimited seats require the $10/channel Team plan.
Best for: Solo creators posting to a handful of channels who want simplicity above all.
Echoia vs Buffer, feature by feature →
6
Postiz
Pricing: $29/month (Standard, 5 channels, no teammates) to $99/month (Ultimate, 100 channels). Team at $39/month covers 10 channels with unlimited team members. source
Free: 7-day trial, or self-host the open-source version for free.
Where it shines
- Open source: read the code, host it yourself, keep your data on your server.
- More than thirty networks, including Reddit, Mastodon, Discord and Telegram.
- AI image and video generation included in paid plans.
- MCP and API included.
Where it doesn't
- Publishing-first: no unified comment or DM inbox.
- No social listening at any price.
- Self-hosting is free in money, not in time: you run the server and the updates.
Best for: Developers and self-hosters, and anyone publishing to niche networks the big tools ignore.
Echoia vs Postiz, feature by feature →