Social Media Scheduler Pricing Compared (2026)

Ask six social media schedulers what they cost and you will get six answers in six different units: per channel, per user, per seat, per social set, per bundled account block. The headline price is close to meaningless until you convert it to the same thing: the total monthly bill for the number of accounts you actually manage.

So that is what this post does. Below is what OneUp, Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Later, and SocialPilot really cost at 10, 30, and 80 social accounts, using each vendor's published pricing (checked November 2026, annual billing where offered, one user unless the plan forces otherwise).

Quick verdict

At 10 accounts, SocialPilot ($34/mo) and Later ($37.50/mo) are the cheapest paid options, with OneUp close at $40; at 80 accounts, OneUp Business ($240/mo) is the cheapest full-featured option in this comparison.

OneUp: $40/mo at 10 accounts, $84 at 30, $240 at 80 on annual billing — a flat plan plus $5/$3/$1 per extra account by tier, with team members included
Buffer: $50 / $150 / $400 at 10 / 30 / 80 accounts on Essentials — per-channel billing, though a free plan covers up to 3 channels
Sprout Social and Hootsuite: $299 per seat (Professional) and $199 per user (Professional) at these account counts — per-seat pricing multiplies with every teammate you add
Later is a few dollars cheaper than OneUp at 10–30 profiles, but it doesn't support X or Google Business Profile at any price

Why the sticker prices mislead

Per channel (Buffer): every connected account adds a fixed fee. Cheap for two accounts, expensive for forty.
Per user or per seat (Hootsuite, Sprout Social): the account count barely matters; your headcount does.
Per social set (Later): accounts come in bundles of one profile per platform, whether or not you use every platform in the set.
Bundled accounts with paid extras (SocialPilot, OneUp): a flat plan includes a block of accounts, and extras cost a few dollars each.

None of these models is dishonest. But comparing a $5 headline (Buffer, per channel) with a $79 headline (Sprout, per seat) tells you nothing. The table below fixes that.

The real cost at 10, 30, and 80 accounts

Monthly cost on annual billing, for one user, on the cheapest plan that fits each account count:

Tool	10 accounts	30 accounts	80 accounts	How it bills
OneUp	$40	$84	$240	Flat plan plus $5/$3/$1 per extra account by tier
Later	$37.50	$82.50	~$127.50	Per social set (8 profiles per set)
SocialPilot	$34	$125	$330	Bundled accounts, extras $4/month each
Buffer	$50	$150	$400	Per channel (Essentials); volume discounts apply above 10 channels
Hootsuite	$99	$199	$199	Per user; Standard caps at 10 accounts, Professional is unlimited
Sprout Social	$299	$299	$299	Per seat; unlimited profiles start on Professional

How each number was calculated:

OneUp: 10 accounts = Basic ($15, 5 included) + 5 extra at $5 = $40. 30 accounts = Growth at $84. 80 accounts = Business at $240.
Later: prices by social set. 10 profiles needs Growth ($37.50, 2 sets, 16 profiles). 30 profiles fits Scale ($82.50, 6 sets, 48 profiles). 80 profiles is Scale plus 4 extra sets at $11.25 each, about $127.50. Note that Later does not support X or Google Business Profile, so if you need either, it is not an option at any price.
SocialPilot: 10 accounts = Standard at $34. 30 accounts = Premium ($85, 20 included) + 10 extra at $4 = $125. 80 accounts = Ultimate ($170, 40 included) + 40 extra at $4 = $330.
Buffer: Essentials at $5 per channel on annual billing gives $50 / $150 / $400. Buffer reduces the per-channel rate above 10 channels, so real bills at 30 and 80 accounts come in lower than this straight line; its Team plan (needed for approval workflows) doubles the per-channel rate to $10.
Hootsuite: Standard is $99 per user and caps at 10 accounts, so 10 accounts cost $99 for one user. Beyond 10 accounts you need Professional at $199 per user. Every additional team member pays the full per-user price again.
Sprout Social: Essentials ($79/seat) and Standard ($199/seat) both cap at 5 profiles. Ten or more profiles means Professional at $299 per seat, and every teammate is another $299.

For context on features at these prices, our roundup of the best social media scheduling tools covers what each tool does well.

The multipliers nobody puts on the pricing page

Seats. For a team of four, multiply the Hootsuite and Sprout numbers above by four: Sprout Professional becomes $1,196/month, Hootsuite Professional $796/month. OneUp's Growth plan includes up to 8 additional team members and Business includes 20, so the account-based price is the team price too.

Add-ons. Sprout Social sells Listening and Premium Analytics as separate add-ons. SocialPilot holds back client approvals and white-label reports until Premium. Buffer charges double per channel on its Team plan to unlock approvals. Price the plan that has your must-have feature, not the plan on the banner.

Platform gaps. A cheap plan that cannot post where you need to post is not cheap. Later has no X or Google Business Profile support. Buffer has no Snapchat, Reddit, or Discord. OneUp covers all of those plus personal Facebook Profiles and multi-location Google Business posting.

Automation access. If you want to schedule through an API or an AI assistant, check which tier unlocks it. SocialPilot reserves API access for its Enterprise plan. OneUp includes its API, MCP server, and CLI on every plan, including Basic, as do the tools compared in our list of social media schedulers with an MCP server.

Where the other tools win

Buffer has a free plan for up to 3 channels. If your total footprint is three accounts, the cheapest scheduler is Buffer at $0, full stop.
Later is genuinely a few dollars cheaper than OneUp at 10 to 30 profiles, and its visual planner is excellent for Instagram-first brands. If you live inside its eight supported platforms and its social-set bundles match how you work, it is a fair deal.
Hootsuite and Sprout Social earn their per-seat pricing for some buyers: large organizations that need deep listening, enterprise reporting, and formal support structures are buying more than scheduling.
SocialPilot undercuts OneUp at 10 accounts ($34 vs. $40) and is a solid budget pick at small scale, though its extras make it the priciest option here by 80 accounts.

FAQ

What is the cheapest social media scheduler?
For three or fewer accounts, Buffer's free plan at $0. Among paid tools at 10 accounts, SocialPilot Standard ($34) and Later Growth ($37.50) are the cheapest, with OneUp at $40. At 30 accounts OneUp Growth ($84) and Later Scale ($82.50) lead, and at 80 accounts OneUp Business ($240) is the cheapest full-featured option in this comparison.

Why do Hootsuite and Sprout Social cost so much more?
They bill per user rather than per account, and they are built for larger organizations: social listening, customer care workflows, and enterprise reporting are bundled into the seat price. If you only need scheduling and publishing, you are paying for a suite you will not use.

Does annual billing really save money?
Yes, typically 15-25%. Every figure above uses annual billing. Buffer's per-channel rate drops from $6 to $5, SocialPilot takes 15% off, and OneUp's Basic drops from $25 monthly to $15.

What will my scheduler cost as I grow?
That depends on the billing unit. Per-channel and per-seat tools grow linearly or worse. Flat plans with cheap extra accounts grow in steps: on OneUp, going from 30 to 80 accounts moves you from $84 to $240, and extra accounts on Business cost $1/month each.

The bottom line

There is no single cheapest scheduler; there is a cheapest scheduler at your account count, with your team size, on your platforms. Run your own numbers through the table above before you commit to a year of anything.

If your count is anywhere from 5 to 80 accounts and you want predictable math as you grow, try OneUp free for 7 days, connect your real accounts, and check the bill against this table. If you cancel within a week of the trial ending, you get a full refund, so the comparison costs you nothing.