Free social media tools · Published 31 January 2026 · Updated 27 September 2026
Best free social media management tools in 2026
Postora is run by the team behind Schedchie, one of the tools compared here.
Buffer's free plan ranks first here: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts each, refilled as they publish (buffer.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27). Publer, Metricool, Pallyy and Zoho Social follow. Later and Hootsuite offer trials, not free plans.
Every free plan has a ceiling. What matters is where it sits: how many accounts, how many posts, and which networks. We read each vendor's pricing page on 2026-09-27 and ranked the five tools that still offer a free plan by those limits.
Three names that often appear on free-tool lists are not free. Later and Hootsuite offer 14-day trials, and Crowdfire no longer lists plans at all. Schedchie has no free plan either; it is covered at the end as the option for when a free plan's ceiling is the problem.
How the ranking works
Ranked by what the free plan lets one person schedule, read only from each vendor's pricing page: the scheduling allowance first (a queue that refills beats a fixed monthly cap, and any allowance beats none), then the number of accounts, then which networks you can connect.
Free plans side by side
| Rank | Tool | Accounts on the free plan | Scheduling allowance | Analytics on the free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffer | any 3 channels | 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, refilled as they publish | 30 days of history |
| 2 | Publer | 3 accounts, X excluded | 10 scheduled posts per account at a time, a slot frees when a post publishes or is deleted | on the paid Business plan, not free |
| 3 | Metricool | 1 brand (one profile per network), LinkedIn and X excluded | up to 20 posts a month | 30 days |
| 4 | Pallyy | 1 social set (one client or brand) | 15 scheduled posts a month, no video or carousels | 30 days |
| 5 | Zoho Social | 1 brand of 6 channels: one each of X, Instagram, Facebook Page, LinkedIn Company Page, LinkedIn Profile, Google Business Profile | scheduling marked not available on Free | reports marked not available on Free |
Sources: buffer.com/pricing, publer.com/pricing, metricool.com/pricing, pallyy.com/pricing, zoho.com/social/pricing.html (plan comparison table), checked 2026-09-27.
1. Buffer: three channels and a queue that refills
Buffer's free plan connects up to 3 channels and holds 10 scheduled posts per channel. When a post publishes, its slot opens again, so the limit is on how far ahead you can queue, not on how much you post in a month. It includes 1 user, 100 saved ideas, the AI Assistant, 30 days of analytics history, a Start Page for link-in-bio, and replies to comments from Buffer's community inbox.
The three channels can be any of the networks Buffer lists: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon and Substack. That choice, X included, is why it ranks first.
What the free plan leaves out: first-comment scheduling, the hashtag manager and channel groups start on Essentials, and approval workflows are on the Team plan. Upgrading is priced per channel. Essentials is $5 per channel per month, billed yearly, and Buffer's FAQ says that after an upgrade you pay for every channel, including the three you had for free (buffer.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27).
Best for one person with up to three accounts who wants to stay a week or so ahead.
2. Publer: three accounts, no X
Publer's free plan gives 1 user and 1 workspace, 3 social accounts with X excluded, and 10 scheduled posts per account; a slot frees when a post publishes or is deleted. It keeps 25 saved drafts, stores published posts for 24 hours, and includes Linkie, Publer's link-in-bio page. On the free plan, Pinterest connects only for accounts with at least 100 followers or a claimed website. You can also try most paid features for free.
The allowance matches Buffer's. It ranks below Buffer for the missing X connection and the 24-hour post history. Paid prices load in the browser and could not be verified; see publer.com/pricing.
Best for three accounts on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok or the other networks Publer lists, when X is not one of them.
3. Metricool: one brand, 20 posts a month
Metricool's free plan manages 1 brand. A brand holds one profile on each network, and the free plan connects every network Metricool lists except LinkedIn and X: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky, Twitch and Google Business Profile. It schedules up to 20 posts a month, keeps 30 days of analytics, analyses 5 competitor profiles and includes Metricool's AI assistant.
The account count is generous; the post count is not. Twenty posts a month across a whole brand is about five a week in total, which is why it ranks third. The analytics are the reason to pick it anyway: Metricool is known for them, and the free plan is a way to try them. The step up is Starter at €16 a month billed annually for up to 5 brands, with unlimited publishing under a fair-use policy (metricool.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27). Metricool's FAQ says a cancelled paid account returns to the free plan.
Best for one brand that posts a few times a week and cares most about the numbers.
4. Pallyy: one set, image posts only
Pallyy's free plan covers 1 social set (one client or brand across its networks), 1 user and 15 scheduled posts a month. Video, carousel and Reels publishing are not on the free plan, so in practice it schedules single images. Analytics are kept for 30 days and media storage is 200MB.
It ranks fourth: 15 posts a month is the smallest scheduling allowance of the four, and there is no video. The paid Pro plan is $25 a month, billed monthly, for 1 social set with unlimited posts, and extra sets are $10 a month each (pallyy.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27).
Best for testing Pallyy's per-client model before paying for it.
5. Zoho Social: six channels, but no scheduling on Free
Zoho Social's free plan covers 1 brand with 6 channels: one X profile, one Instagram profile, one Facebook Page, one LinkedIn Company Page, one LinkedIn profile and one Google Business Profile, for 1 team member, with 24/5 email support and 5 AI credits.
The catch is in Zoho's own plan comparison table. It marks custom scheduling, scheduled posts, the publishing calendar, the bulk scheduler and the reports dashboard as not available on Free. Post preview, Instagram carousels and Instagram Reels are marked available. New accounts start with a 15-day trial of every feature and then move to the free plan, which Zoho describes as having limited features and no end date.
That is why it ranks last on a list about scheduling, even though its six channels include X and Google Business Profile. Paid plans add scheduling and widen a brand to 14 channels, but their prices are filled in by script and could not be verified; see zoho.com/social/pricing.html.
Best for trying Zoho Social during its 15-day trial, if you already use other Zoho apps.
Not free: Later, Hootsuite and SocialBee
These three are sometimes listed as free. Their pricing pages show trials.
- Later: the pricing page reads "Free for 14 days", and every plan starts with a 14-day trial. There is no free plan on the page. After the trial, Starter is $18.75 a month, billed yearly (later.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27).
- Hootsuite: each plan comes with a free 14-day trial, and there is no free plan. The page notes that trial accounts have daily posting limits and no bulk scheduling. After the trial, Standard is $99 per user per month, billed annually (hootsuite.com/plans, checked 2026-09-27).
- SocialBee: a 14-day trial, after which the page says posting stops until you upgrade. Bootstrap is $29 a month, billed monthly (socialbee.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27).
Crowdfire is off the list: its site now says it is becoming a media platform and lists no plans.
When the free caps run out: Schedchie
Schedchie has no free plan. It has a 14-day trial, then the Pro plan at €7.99 a month for unlimited connected accounts and unlimited scheduled posts, billed monthly. That is the lowest price for unlimited accounts and posts among the tools on this page.
It is worth a look when a free plan's ceiling is what hurts: a fourth account on Buffer or Publer, a 21st post in a month on Metricool, a video on Pallyy. For comparison, a fourth Buffer channel means Essentials for all four, 4 × $5 = $20 a month billed yearly, and Metricool Starter is €16 a month billed annually for up to 5 brands (buffer.com/pricing, metricool.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27).
What the €7.99 covers:
- Twelve platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, Google Business Profile and X. X posting is a separate add-on, €4.99 for 30 posts, valid for 30 days.
- One composer for every platform with per-platform text overrides, calendar and list views, and client groups with their own calendars.
- CSV bulk import with media and titles, and recurring posts.
- Instagram Reels, feed posts, carousels and Stories, with music on Reels; TikTok video and photo posts.
- An email with one-click retry when a post fails.
- Analytics for Facebook and Instagram (basic engagement), LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Bluesky and TikTok.
What it does not have: AI writing tools, best-time suggestions, first-comment scheduling, mobile apps or a public API. Its analytics are basic next to Metricool's, and there are no X analytics. Cancellation is self-serve, and access continues to the end of the paid month.
Which free plan to pick
- Up to three accounts on any network, X included: Buffer.
- Three accounts without X, with room for drafts: Publer.
- One brand, analytics first, about five posts a week: Metricool.
- Single-image posts for one client, to try the tool: Pallyy.
- A look at Zoho Social before paying: its 15-day trial, since the free plan it drops to does not schedule.
- More accounts or posts than any of these allow: a paid plan. Price it by your account count before you choose.