12 Best Social Media Scheduling Tools for Marketers [Free & Paid]

Social media has been in turmoil for the past few years.  Twitter is now X, AI is omnipresent, Bluesky is a thing, and TikTok may be outlawed soon. 

Even though social media is one of the most effective tools available to modern organizations.  You may use it to attract new consumers, boost traffic to your website, and remain in touch with existing customers to keep them interested in your company.  However, with all of the drama, the tools you use to keep track of things are more crucial than ever.

With social media much more fragmented than it was before, if you’re not cautious, you may waste a lot of time trying to manage several inboxes across five different applications, publish the same things on all of the different platforms, and keep track of everything else.  It’s next to impossible to use ordinary consumer apps.  A social media management app is required to complete this task correctly.

The top social media management solutions allow you to manage your whole social media presence with a single app. You can automate, monitor, and manage social media accounts, allowing you to focus on creating content that your target audience enjoys. I tested approximately 70 social media management tools this year, and these are the seven best.

How to Choose the Right Social Media Scheduling Tool

Before I start explaining, here are five questions that I ask myself:

1. Can it be used with Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, and YouTube?

2. How easy is it to understand?

3. Does it support team/agency roles, approvals, and workflows?

4. Cost and Free Trial – Does it fit your budget and offer a free trial?

5. Does it facilitate performance tracking, content curation, and AI-powered scheduling in addition to uploading?

Tool	Best For	Starting Price	Free Plan
Buffer	Beginners & small businesses	$6/mo	✅ Yes
Hootsuite	Enterprises & agencies	$99/mo	❌ No
Later	Visual planning for Instagram/TikTok	$25/mo	✅ Yes
SocialBee	Content repurposing & freelancers	$29/mo	✅ Yes
Sprout Social	Analytics & big teams	$249/mo	❌ No
Metricool	Analytics-focused creators	$22/mo	✅ Yes
CoSchedule	Content marketers	$29/mo	❌ No
Loomly	Brand collaboration	$26/mo	✅ Yes
Publer	Budget-friendly all-in-one	$12/mo	✅ Yes
Sendible	Agencies managing clients	$29/mo	❌ No
Statusbrew	Agencies with advanced workflows	$69/mo	❌ No
MeetEdgar	Evergreen content automation	$29/mo	❌ No

The 12 Best Social Media Scheduling Tools Today

Here’s our curated list, with consistent, in-depth details for each tool.

1. Buffer – Best for Beginners & Small Businesses

Price: $6/month; free plan.

Features:

• Clean and simple dashboard.

• Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok scheduling.

• AI Caption Assistant

• Bio-link tool included.

Advantage: It is cheap, easy to use, and robust free plan.

Disadvantage: It limited analytics compared to paid options.

Applications in real life: A solo entrepreneur uses Buffer to plan two weeks of LinkedIn and Instagram content without hassle.

2. Hootsuite – Best for Enterprises & Agencies

Pricing: $99/month.

Key features include 

• Robust analytics dashboards.

• Social surveillance

• Features for team workflows and approval

• Ad management integration

Advantage: Enterprise-grade features; 35+ networks supported.

Disadvantages: Expensive for individuals and small teams.

A global agency utilizes Hootsuite to handle over 50 client accounts, track trends, and provide analytics reports for clients.

3. Later – Best for Visual Planning (Instagram/TikTok)

Pricing: $25/month; free plan available.

• The drag-and-drop visual planner is a key feature.

• TikTok Scheduling and Instagram Reels

• Link-in.bio.

• Features geared toward creators

Benefits: Perfect for user-friendly design and visual brands.

Cons: It has limited X and LinkedIn analytics.

Real-world illustration: Later is used by a fashion e-commerce company to schedule TikTok ads and visually organize its Instagram grid.

4. SocialBee – Best for Content Repurposing

Cost: $29/month, with a free trial available.

Key Feature:

• The content classification system

• Recycling of evergreen content

• Integration with Canva

• AI Post-Generator

Benefits: It provides excellent automation and content repurposing.

Cons: The user interface seems a little outdated.

Use case in the real world: A freelancer automatically recycles blog posts into LinkedIn and Twitter threads using SocialBee.

5. Sprout Social – Best for Teams & Analytics

Cost: $249 per month; there is no free plan.

Features.

• Advanced analytics and reporting

• Tools for Social Listening

• Workflows for Team Collaboration

• Integration of CRM

Benefits: The industry’s best analytics, perfect for businesses.

Cons: For independent creators, the price is high.

Real-world example: The marketing department of a SaaS company uses Sprout Social to track brand mentions and generate executive-level reports.

6. Metricool – Best for Analytics-Focused Creators

Pricing: Free plan available; starts at $22/month.

These are important features.

• The analytics dashboard and content scheduling

• Analysis of competitors

• Monitoring of paid advertisements

• Tracking performance in real time.

Benefits include affordable prices and robust analytics.

Cons: Compared to Later or Buffer, the interface is less contemporary.

To find out which video promos do best on TikTok, Instagram, and X, a YouTuber uses Metricool.

7. CoSchedule – Best for Content Marketers

Pricing: $29/month.

Key Features:

• Calendar of Marketing

• Tool for Headline Analysis

• Integration of social media and blogs

• Management of workflow

Benefits: Perfect for marketers who prioritize content.

Cons: Not ideal for creators who only focus on social media.

CoSchedule is used by B2B marketers to plan LinkedIn promotions and blog entries.

8. Loomly – Best for Brand Collaboration

Pricing: $26 per month; free trial offered.

Key features include

• Brand standards and teamwork.

• Approval workflows

• Post ideas and inspiration engine.

• Supports advertisements and organic posts.

Benefits: It is suitable for groups in charge of maintaining brand coherence.

Cons: It possesses fewer integrations with Hootsuite.

Real-world use case: Loomly is used by a mid-sized agency to assist clients who require clearance before posting.

9. Publer – Best Budget-Friendly All-in-One

Pricing: $12/mo, Free plan available

Key Features:

• Unlimited scheduling
  
• Built-in photo editor
  
• Watermark automation
  
• Hashtag suggestions
  

Advantages: Rich in features and reasonably priced

Cons: Not as polished as Sprout or Later

Real Use Case: To schedule Instagram and Facebook posts without going over budget, a small café uses Publer.

10. Sendible – Best for Agencies with Multiple Clients

Pricing: No free plan, starting at $29/month

Important features include 

• Client-facing white-label reports.

• CRM and integrations

• Tools for team collaboration

• Recommendations for intelligent content

Advantages: Excellent client reporting and built for agencies

Cons: In comparison to more recent tools, the user interface feels outdated.

Real Use Case: Sendible is used by a digital agency to deliver branded reports to fifteen distinct client companies.

11. Statusbrew – Best for Agencies & Advanced Workflows

Cost: $69/month, no free plan

Important aspects include; 

• Teamwork.

• Listening to others

• Workflows for advanced approval

• Unified inbox

Advantages: Designed for big groups and businesses

Cons: For smaller users, the price might be too high.

Real Use Case: Statusbrew is used by a corporate PR team to track discussions about brand crises and manage approvals.

12. MeetEdgar – Best for Evergreen Content Automation

Pricing: No free plan, starting at $29 per month

Important attributes include 

• Recycling of evergreen content.

• Variations that are automatically generated

• AI-driven classification

• Quick Adds browser extension

Advantages: Saves time and automates content reuse

Cons: Less flexibility in real-time

Real Use Case: MeetEdgar is used by a solopreneur to maintain their LinkedIn and Twitter accounts without posting every day.

Conclusion: Which Tool Should You Choose?

Your unique needs will determine which social media scheduling tool is best for you:

Individual Creators → Buffer, Publer, or SocialBee; 

Agencies → Sendible, Statusbrew, or Hootsuite; 

Visual Brands → Later or Loomly 👉 Pro tip: Before making a long-term commitment, start with a free trial to see how well the tool fits your workflow. You can save hours every week, stay consistent, and increase your social presence without burning out if you choose the correct tool.