What is the best free social media scheduler?

The best permanent free plans come from Buffer, Metricool and Publer, each with limits on channels, posts or brands. Schedulely is free during early access with every built feature, including posting to 14 networks and a labelled Instagram inbox, but paid plans from $9 a month start later, so it is free today rather than free forever.

Hootsuite, Later and Sprout Social offer trials rather than free plans, and Planable gives a set number of free posts. This page explains each kind of free so you can pick the one that fits.

Start free

Free during early access.

Last checked 30 October 2026

What free means at each scheduler
Tool	Kind of free	What you get
Schedulely	Free during early access	Every built feature on 14 networks; paid plans from $9 a month start later
Buffer	Permanent free plan	Yes, free forever: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user, 100 ideas, 30 day analytics history, 5 AI reply suggestions per week
Metricool	Permanent free plan	Yes, free forever: 1 brand, all networks except LinkedIn and X, 20 scheduled posts per month, 30 days analytics, 5 AI credits per brand/month
Publer	Permanent free plan	Yes, free forever: 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts (no X), 10 scheduled posts per account, 25 drafts, 24 hour post history
Planable	Free posts allowance	No permanent free plan; the first 50 posts are free, with no time limit and no credit card required (50 created posts in total, not reset monthly)
Hootsuite	Trial only	Free 14 day trial on Standard, Professional, Advanced; no credit card required
Later	Trial only	14 day free trial on every plan
Sprout Social	Trial only	30 days, no credit card required

Competitor facts come from each company's own website, checked on 29 and 30 October 2026. Follow the source links for current terms.

What counts as a free social media scheduler?

There are four kinds of free. A permanent free plan stays free with limits. A free trial ends after a set number of days. A free allowance ends after a set number of posts. Early access is free for now, with paid plans announced for later. Schedulely is the fourth kind.

The difference matters more than the headline. A permanent free plan is a safe home for a small account that will stay small. A trial is a way to test a tool you expect to pay for. A posts allowance lets you try a tool at your own pace, but runs out once you are busy. Early access gives you the full product today, on the understanding that plans will start.

Schedulely is honest about which kind it is. During early access nothing is charged and everything built is available. Later, plans cost $9, $39 or $99 a month for 3, 10 or 30 channels, and posting to X becomes a $10 a month add on. Terms will be set out before any plan is charged, and a person answers questions at contact@suresocial.agency.

If you need certainty that you will never pay, choose a permanent free plan and accept its limits.

Which schedulers have a permanent free plan?

Buffer, Metricool and Publer each have a free plan that does not expire. Buffer is the simplest and includes analytics with a short history, Metricool adds an inbox and analytics for one brand, and Publer supports many networks for a few accounts. Each caps channels, posts or history in a different way.

Buffer offers Yes, free forever: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user, 100 ideas, 30 day analytics history, 5 AI reply suggestions per week. It publishes to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), YouTube (Shorts), Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon, Substack. Choose it if you want a calm, simple tool for a few accounts and might upgrade one channel at a time later.

Metricool offers Yes, free forever: 1 brand, all networks except LinkedIn and X, 20 scheduled posts per month, 30 days analytics, 5 AI credits per brand/month. Its free inbox covers Yes; Free: Instagram, Facebook, Google Business Profile, TikTok, YouTube; paid adds LinkedIn; X via add on. Choose it if you want to see how posts performed as well as schedule them, for a single brand.

Publer offers Yes, free forever: 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts (no X), 10 scheduled posts per account, 25 drafts, 24 hour post history. It supports Facebook, Instagram, X (paid only), LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, YouTube, WordPress, TikTok, Telegram, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky. Choose it if you post to many different networks but only a few accounts in each.

Read the limits closely. A cap on scheduled posts per channel suits someone who plans a week ahead, but not someone who loads a month at once. A cap on brands suits a single business, but not a freelancer with three clients. Match the cap to how you actually plan, not to how many accounts you have today.

What does Schedulely include for free during early access?

During early access Schedulely includes everything it has built at no charge: publishing to 14 networks, a week calendar with a row per client, bulk scheduling, Instagram grid preview, a labelled Instagram inbox, approval links, client logins, outreach lists and link in bio pages. There is no feature held back for paid plans today.

Schedulely posts to Instagram, Facebook Pages, X, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business, Bluesky, Mastodon, Tumblr, Telegram and Discord. Each workspace picks the networks it shows, so the screen stays simple.

Highlights that most free plans do not include:

Instagram inbox with comments, DMs and mentions labelled by simple word rules as Complaint, Lead, Question, Praise, Promotions, or Scam and spam, plus private replies, saved replies and keyword automations.
Client tools: approval links clients swipe through without a login, connect links so nobody shares a password, and client logins.
Bulk scheduling from rows pasted out of a spreadsheet, with a Google Drive link for media.

Be clear about the gaps: no Instagram analytics or insights, no automatic comment to DM, no first comment, no LinkedIn Company Pages, and TikTok posts publish as private until TikTok finishes auditing the app. App Store and Google Play apps are coming but not live.

Which schedulers offer only a trial or a free allowance?

Hootsuite, Later and Sprout Social offer free trials of their paid plans rather than free plans, and Planable gives a set number of free posts with no time limit. These are good ways to test a tool you expect to pay for, but none is a free scheduler for the long run.

Hootsuite offers Free 14 day trial on Standard, Professional, Advanced; no credit card required. It is priced Per user per month, prices based on annual billing, excluding taxes.

Later offers 14 day free trial on every plan. It is priced Flat per plan, by social sets (8 profiles each) and users; USD.

Sprout Social offers 30 days, no credit card required. It is priced Per seat per month; $ shown, currency not named.

Planable offers No permanent free plan; the first 50 posts are free, with no time limit and no credit card required (50 created posts in total, not reset monthly). It is priced Per workspace per month, unlimited users on every plan; USD, taxes excluded; yearly billing gives 2 months free.

A trial is worth starting only when you are ready to test properly. Load a real week of posts, invite the people who will use the tool and connect the accounts you actually run. A trial spent clicking through menus tells you little. Note the date the trial ends in your calendar, and decide before then whether the tool earned its price, so you are not charged for a plan you meant to cancel.

These tools are ahead of Schedulely on analytics and mature store apps, and Planable is ahead on detailed approval workflows. If your budget allows for any of them after the trial, they are strong choices for the jobs they focus on.

How do you choose a free scheduler without regretting it later?

Start with the accounts you post to and how far ahead you plan, then check each free option's limits against both. Decide whether you need permanent free or are happy to pay later. Test two tools on the same week of posts, and keep your content in a spreadsheet so moving later is easy.

A short checklist:

Networks. List every account. Telegram, Discord and Tumblr are supported by only some tools; Schedulely covers all three.
Volume. Count posts per month and how far ahead you schedule. Post caps are the most common reason a free plan stops fitting.
People. Many free plans allow 1 user. If a colleague or client needs access, check whether that costs extra.
Comments. If customers ask questions in Instagram comments, an inbox saves more time than a bigger post allowance.
Exit. Keep captions and media links in a spreadsheet. Schedulely's bulk schedule takes pasted rows, and plain text and links can be copied into any tool, so you are never stuck.

Free is a starting point, not a strategy. Pick the tool whose paid plan you would be happy to pay for if you grow, because that is where a good free plan leads.

Who it's for, and who it isn't

A good fit if you

Small businesses and creators who want to schedule posts without paying yet
Freelancers comparing permanent free plans with free early access
Anyone who has outgrown one free plan and wants to know the next option
Instagram led brands that want a free comments and DMs inbox as well as a scheduler

Not the right fit if you

Readers who want a single winner for everyone, which no honest comparison can give
Large teams that need analytics and approvals at scale, who should compare paid plans directly

Questions people ask

Is there a completely free social media scheduler?

Yes, with limits. Buffer, Metricool and Publer have permanent free plans that cap channels, posts or brands. Schedulely is free during early access with every built feature included, but paid plans start later, so it is free today rather than free forever. Hootsuite, Later and Sprout Social offer trials only.

Which free scheduler posts to the most networks?

Schedulely posts to 14 networks during early access: Instagram, Facebook Pages, X, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business, Bluesky, Mastodon, Tumblr, Telegram and Discord. Among permanent free plans, Publer supports Facebook, Instagram, X (paid only), LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, YouTube, WordPress, TikTok, Telegram, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, with limits on accounts. Check that each network you need is covered on the free plan itself, because some tools keep certain networks for paid plans.

Is Schedulely free forever?

No permanent free plan has been announced. Schedulely is free during early access, with nothing charged and every built feature included. Plans start later at $9, $39 and $99 a month for up to 3, 10 and 30 channels, and terms will be set out before any plan is charged.

Which free scheduler is best for Instagram?

For Instagram planning and comments, Schedulely is free during early access and includes Reels, carousels, Stories, a grid preview of the real profile and a labelled comments and DMs inbox. For a permanent free plan with Instagram analytics, Metricool's free plan covers one brand. Buffer's free plan suits simple Instagram scheduling.

Do free schedulers include analytics?

Some do. Buffer's free plan includes analytics with a short history, and Metricool's free plan includes analytics for one brand. Publer keeps advanced analytics for paid plans. Schedulely has no Instagram analytics or insights at all, so it is not the right free choice if performance reports matter most to you.

Can I use a free scheduler for clients?

Yes, but check the limits. Many permanent free plans allow 1 user and a few accounts, which suits one client at most. Schedulely during early access includes approval links, connect links, client logins and a calendar row per client, free for now. Once plans start, client logins and approvals are part of Pro and Agency.

Sources

Every outside fact on this page comes from the source listed here, checked on 30 October 2026. Prices and features change, so check the source before you decide.

Buffer pricing buffer.com/pricing
Metricool pricing metricool.com/pricing/
Publer plans and pricing publer.com/help/en/article/what-are-publers-plans-and-pricing-15h4yqh/
Publer supported networks publer.com/help/en/article/what-social-networks-are-supported-npoun1/
Publer plan comparison publer.com/help/en/article/professional-vs-business-vs-enterprise-plans-1sge3f7/
Planable pricing planable.io/pricing/
Hootsuite plans hootsuite.com/plans
Later pricing later.com/pricing/
Sprout Social pricing sproutsocial.com/pricing/

Start free today

Everything that is built today is free during early access. Plans start later, and we will tell you well before anything is charged.