Best Social Media Scheduling Tools: Reviews Of Metricool, Buffer & Hootsuite

What Exactly Is a Post Scheduler?

Traditionally, when you post on social media, you have to go into each platform, let’s say Instagram, and upload your content manually. Maybe it’s an Instagram Reel, and when you post it, it goes out immediately to all your followers. That’s basically how it works.

A post scheduler lets you do two key things. First, using a third-party tool, let’s use Metricool as an example, you can select all the social media platforms where you want your content to appear. That could be Instagram Reels, Facebook posts, or even YouTube Shorts. From this one centralized spot, you can post everything at once. You can either post immediately or schedule a future date and time for your posts to go live.

The Benefits Are Clear:

You can post from one central location and it goes out everywhere.
You don’t have to log in to each platform every time — just set your schedule and your content is sent automatically.

Scheduling tools are especially useful for omni channel posting, helping you stay consistent across multiple platforms without the extra effort. Omni channel means delivering your content or message across multiple platforms at the same time in a coordinated and consistent way.

1. Metricool: Easy, Free, and Efficient Scheduling for Creators and Small Businesses

It’s really easy to learn. You don’t need any coding knowledge. Metricool offers a free version and three different paid plans.

Free Version Highlights:

Post up to 50 posts per month. One post shared across multiple platforms still counts as 1 post.
Access analytics for the last 3 months. But you can make reports every three months and at the end of the year create 1-year report of social media.
User-friendly and perfect for creators or small businesses on a budget.

Starter Package:

Starts at $18 per month.
Unlimited posts
Free connection to LinkedIn and X
Analysis of 100 competitor profiles.
Downloadable reports, in PDF and PPT.
Utilize the AI Social Media Assistant.

Advanced Plan:

Starts at $45 per month.
Ideal for marketing agencies
Supports multiple users managing multiple social accounts

Who Needs Metricool?

Content creators looking for a free, easy-to-use guide
Small businesses posting a few times per week
Anyone who wants centralized social media management without extra hassle

Getting Started

Signing up is simple — you just need your email. When registering, you’ll need to link your social media channels. Note: to connect Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, these must be business accounts. For Facebook, this is a Facebook Page; for Instagram and TikTok, you can switch to a creator or business accounts, all free and easy to set up.

You can also link your website (WordPress is the easiest) to publish blogs or other content.

It’s really easy to learn. You don’t need any coding knowledge. Metricool offers a free version and three different paid plans.

Every social platform has its own character limit — and knowing them helps you write smarter captions.
Here’s a quick overview:

Features & Tools:

Best posting time recommendations based on when your audience is online
Analytics dashboard: track followers, click-through rate, and audience demographics
Free version shows last 3 months of data
Inbox management: toggle between platforms to answer messages and comments efficiently
Helps you engage with your community faster and grow your following

Why It Saves Time

Metricool lets you post from one centralized spot, schedule content ahead, and manage multiple platforms without logging in separately. Everything runs smoothly, which means more time to focus on creating content and growing your business. The whole process is very comfortable and smooth, and the main thing is that it saves you time.

2. Buffer: Broad Platform Reach with Smart Scheduling Features

Buffer is unique because it offers more platform connections than any other scheduler we’re reviewing today. It supports all major social media platforms, plus LinkedIn, Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky, making it ideal for creators who want to reach audiences everywhere.

However, it’s not as user-friendly as Metricool. It takes a bit more time to learn the system and get used to its layout.

Buffer offers three paid versions and a free plan:

Free Version Highlights:

Schedule up to 30 posts per month.
You can connect up to only 3 social media accounts.
Even though it has many platform options, this limitation makes the free version better for small-scale users.
If you want to work smart and save money, you can connect to Mastodon and Bluesky, and combine Buffer with another scheduling tool for broader coverage.

Essentials Plan:

Costs $5 per channel per month.
Includes unlimited posts and extra features.
Recommended for individual creators or small business owners.

Team Plan:

Starts at $15 per month.
Perfect for marketing agencies managing up to 10 social media channels.
Allows multiple people to manage multiple accounts simultaneously.

Who Needs Buffer?

Content creators who want to share content across every platform possible.
Small businesses or marketers who need advanced scheduling and analytics tools.
Agencies managing several accounts and platforms at once.

Getting Started

Signing up for Buffer is free, just add your email and get started. Buffer gives clear instructions for connecting each platform. To connect Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, you’ll need to use business or creator accounts (for Facebook, this means a Facebook Page). Changing your personal accounts to business ones is easy and free.

Features & Tools:

Post Planner Calendar – See all your scheduled content, current posts, and future plans in one view.
AI Assistant – Helps you create hashtags automatically while writing your posts.
Posting Requirements Checker – Buffer reminds you of each platform’s content rules; if your post doesn’t meet the requirements, it won’t publish.
Best Time to Post – Buffer recommends optimal posting times based on when your audience is most active.
Analytics Dashboard – Shows all your linked accounts, followers, top-performing posts, click-through rate, engagement, and audience demographics.
Free version lets you view data for the last 3 months.
Inbox Management Box – Has a simple interface with filters to view unread messages. Engaging with followers right after posting is crucial, and Buffer makes that easy.

Start Page Feature

Buffer also offers a tool called Start Page, where you can add all your social media platforms into one centralized link. When someone visits your page, they can connect to all your channels easily.

However, Start Page is available only in paid plans, and customization is somewhat limited.

Same feature tool but free is Linktree, TikTok recently partnered with Linktree to bring more audience to different content creators and its one centralized hub, when someone can navigate

To and connect to all your different social media platforms.

Why It Saves Time

Buffer lets you plan, schedule, and publish across multiple platforms — all from one dashboard. With its built-in AI assistant, calendar view, and analytics, you can manage your social media efficiently without switching between apps. Once you get used to its interface, Buffer becomes a powerful time-saving tool that helps you focus more on content creation and growth.

3. Hootsuite: The All-in-One Tool for Agencies and Teams

Hootsuite supports all major social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more. It has everything Metricool and Buffer offer, except Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky which are available only on Buffer.

The biggest difference between these three tools is user experience. Hootsuite is the most user-friendly of them all. It’s intuitive, quick to use, and has tons of tutorials online that walk you through every step.

Hootsuite offers three main packages, but unlike Metricool and Buffer, it doesn’t have a free version.

Standard Plan:

1 user
10 social media accounts
Unlimited posts
Best time to post recommendations

Advanced Plan:

3 users
Unlimited social accounts

Enterprise Custom Plan:

Designed for large marketing companies
More than 5 users and 50+ social media accounts
You’ll need to contact Hootsuite for a custom pricing package

Hootsuite is best suited for marketing agencies or large enterprises with a bigger budget.

It costs around $100 per month, which is expensive, but you’re paying for advanced features, fast performance, and professional support.

Hootsuite has excellent tech support, and the platform itself is smooth and reliable. It’s the quickest among the three when it comes to uploading and posting content.

Getting Started

Registration is simple, you only need your email to sign up. To connect Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, you’ll need to use business or creator accounts. Setting those up is free and quick, just like with the other tools.

Features & Tools:

Smart Post Composer – Hootsuite makes it easy to manage different character limits for each platform. You can write one long post, tag all the social media platforms you want, and then toggle between them to adjust content like text length, videos, pictures, or hashtags.
Advanced Scheduling – Set custom dates and times for posts. Even if posts differ slightly for each platform, Hootsuite schedules them all correctly. This feature is a huge time saver.
Best Time to Post Recommendations – Just like Buffer, Hootsuite suggests the optimal posting times based on audience activity.
However, it does not recommend hashtags.
Post-Performance Scanner – Hootsuite analyzes your old posts to see which ones performed best. You can then easily remodel those posts, tweak the text, and schedule them again for future publishing.
All-in-One Inbox – You can reply to messages, comments, and manage conversations across all connected platforms in one place.
Fast and Reliable – Connecting accounts, scheduling posts, and switching between platforms all work smoothly and efficiently.

Who Needs Hootsuite?

Marketing agencies managing multiple clients and accounts
Large enterprises with a dedicated social media team
Creators who want advanced tools and faster posting workflows

Why It Saves Time

Hootsuite’s ability to handle multiple platforms with unique post requirements makes it a real productivity booster. You can manage your entire content creation, posting, and engagement process from one dashboard without needing to jump between apps. Once you master it, there’s no going back.

If you’re just starting out, go with Metricool first. It’s free, easy to use, and helps you understand how scheduling really works. Once you get the hang of it and need to post on more platforms like LinkedIn or Threads, switch to Buffer as it gives you more reach while still being affordable.

And when you’re ready to scale up, manage multiple accounts, or need faster performance, try Hootsuite. It’s built for bigger goals and will save you even more time as your brand grows.

Before your scheduled posts go live, don’t forget to warm up your feed first. Scroll, like, comment, and act like a real user a day or two before posting. It helps your content reach more people and keeps your page active instead of looking cold or spammy. We’ve explained this process step by step in my other blog: “How to Warm Up Your Social Media Feed and Grow Organically.”

What Exactly Is a Post Scheduler?

The Benefits Are Clear:

1. Metricool: Easy, Free, and Efficient Scheduling for Creators and Small Businesses

Free Version Highlights:

Starter Package:

Advanced Plan:

Who Needs Metricool?

Getting Started

Features & Tools:

Why It Saves Time

2. Buffer: Broad Platform Reach with Smart Scheduling Features

Free Version Highlights:

Essentials Plan:

Team Plan:

Who Needs Buffer?

Getting Started

Features & Tools:

Start Page Feature

Why It Saves Time

3. Hootsuite: The All-in-One Tool for Agencies and Teams

Standard Plan:

Advanced Plan:

Enterprise Custom Plan:

Getting Started

Features & Tools:

Who Needs Hootsuite?

Why It Saves Time

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