Buffer pricing has a free forever plan and two paid plans priced per channel. Free connects up to 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel. Essentials costs $5 per channel per month billed yearly ($60 a year per channel). Team costs $10 per channel per month billed yearly ($120 a year). Buffer’s FAQ says annual billing includes a 20% discount versus monthly billing.
| Plan | Price shown | Billing note | Channels / users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free forever | No charge | Up to 3 channels; 1 user |
| Essentials | $5 / month per channel | $60 billed yearly per channel | Unlimited scheduled posts; 1 user |
| Team | $10 / month per channel | $120 billed yearly per channel | Unlimited scheduled posts; unlimited team members |
Sources: buffer.com/pricing, fetched October 11, 2026. Prices in USD as shown on yearly billing.
What does Buffer’s free plan include?
Buffer’s Free plan is labeled “Free forever” and connects up to 3 channels. You get 10 scheduled posts per channel that refill anytime as posts go out, 100 ideas, 1 user account, the AI Assistant, insights, a community inbox, world-class customer support, and API access with 1 API key and 3,000 requests a month.
The free plan includes:
- Up to 3 connected channels
- 10 scheduled posts per channel (refill anytime)
- 100 ideas, drafts, templates, board view and browser extension (per the plan comparison)
- AI Assistant, insights and community inbox
- 1 user account
What are the free plan’s limits?
Three channels and 10 queued posts per channel are the hard caps. If you post daily on each channel, you will refill the queue every few days. You also stay on one user account until you move to Team.
How much does Buffer Essentials cost?
Essentials is $5 per channel per month on yearly billing, or $60 per channel per year. A 14-day free trial starts from the pricing page. Essentials removes the scheduled-post cap and adds unlimited ideas, advanced analytics, hashtag manager, first comment scheduling, and API access with 3 keys and 7,500 requests a month.
Three Essentials channels cost $15 a month billed yearly, or $180 a year.
How much does Buffer Team cost?
Team is $10 per channel per month billed yearly, or $120 per channel per year, with a 14-day free trial. It includes everything in Essentials that matters for collaboration, plus unlimited team members and higher API limits (15,000 requests a month in the comparison table).
Three Team channels cost $30 a month billed yearly, or $360 a year.
Which Buffer plan should you choose?
Stay on Free while three channels and a 10-post queue are enough. Upgrade to Essentials when you need unlimited scheduling or advanced analytics on the channels you already use. Choose Team when more than one person needs to publish.
| You need | Plan | Yearly cost example |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 channels, light queue | Free | $0 |
| Unlimited scheduling on a few channels | Essentials | $60 per channel |
| Several teammates on the same channels | Team | $120 per channel |
tools8020 summary of Buffer’s pricing page, October 11, 2026.
How does Buffer pricing compare with Hootsuite and Later?
Buffer is priced per channel with a free forever plan. Hootsuite and Later sell paid plans with free trials, not free forever scheduling plans.
| Attribute | Buffer | Hootsuite | Later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free forever plan | Yes (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts/channel) | No (14-day free trial; no credit card) | No (14-day free trial) |
| Entry paid price | Essentials, $5/channel/mo billed yearly | Standard, $99/user/mo billed annually (FAQ; page also showed INR locally) | Starter, $18.75 USD/mo billed yearly |
| Pricing unit | Per channel | Per user | Per social set / plan tier |
| Next tier | Team, $10/channel/mo billed yearly | Professional, $199/user/mo billed annually (FAQ) | Growth, $37.50 USD/mo billed yearly |
Sources: Buffer, Hootsuite plans, Later pricing, fetched October 11, 2026.
Hootsuite’s plans page FAQ states paid plans start at $99 for Standard, $199 for Professional and $399 for Advanced (per user, annual billing context in the FAQ). Trial accounts have daily posting limits. Later Starter is $18.75 USD per month billed yearly for one social set and one user, with 30 posts per profile per month on Starter.
Pick Buffer if you want a free forever plan or cheap per-channel paid seats. Pick Later if you want an Instagram-oriented visual planner and accept a trial-to-paid path. Pick Hootsuite when you need per-user seats for a larger social team.
Key takeaways
- Buffer Free is free forever for up to 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel.
- Essentials is $5 per channel per month billed yearly ($60 a year per channel).
- Team is $10 per channel per month billed yearly ($120 a year per channel).
- Paid plans include a 14-day free trial.
- Annual billing is discounted 20% versus monthly, per Buffer’s FAQ.
- Hootsuite and Later offer free trials, not free forever plans, in today’s captures.
How we verified this page
Every Buffer price, plan name and free-plan limit on this page was read from Buffer’s pricing page on October 11, 2026. Hootsuite and Later comparison figures come from their official pricing pages fetched the same day. Three-channel yearly totals ($180 and $360) are our own arithmetic from the per-channel yearly prices. Recommendations follow our evaluation methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Is Buffer free?
Yes. Buffer's pricing page lists a Free plan that is free forever for up to 3 channels, with 10 scheduled posts per channel that refill anytime, 100 ideas, 1 user, an AI Assistant, insights, a community inbox and API access (1 API key and 3,000 requests a month).
How much does Buffer Essentials cost?
Essentials costs $5 per channel per month when billed yearly ($60 per channel per year), per Buffer's pricing page on October 11, 2026. It includes unlimited scheduled posts per channel, unlimited ideas, advanced analytics, hashtag manager and first comment scheduling, with a 14-day free trial.
How much does Buffer Team cost?
Team costs $10 per channel per month billed yearly ($120 per channel per year). It adds unlimited team members on top of Essentials features, also with a 14-day free trial.
Does Buffer charge per user or per channel?
Buffer prices Essentials and Team per channel. Free and Essentials include 1 user account; Team includes unlimited team members. Three Essentials channels cost $15 a month billed yearly ($180 a year). Three Team channels cost $30 a month billed yearly ($360 a year).
Is Buffer cheaper than Hootsuite or Later?
For a small brand, yes. Buffer Essentials starts at $5 per channel per month billed yearly. Hootsuite Standard starts at $99 per user per month billed annually, per Hootsuite's plans FAQ. Later Starter is $18.75 USD per month billed yearly for one social set, and Later offers a 14-day free trial rather than a free forever plan.
Does Buffer have a free trial on paid plans?
Yes. Essentials and Team both start with a 14-day free trial from Buffer's pricing page. The Free plan itself is free forever, not a trial.
Sources
- Buffer, Pricing, buffer.com/pricing, captured Oct 11, 2026.
- Hootsuite, Plans, www.hootsuite.com/plans, captured Oct 11, 2026.
- Later, Pricing, later.com/pricing/, captured Oct 11, 2026.