10 Best Social Media Schedulers in 2026
By Anu Verma
The best social media scheduler for running several brands is PostWharf: each brand gets its own workspace with unlimited channels and no per-channel fee, from $15 a month, and the REST API, MCP server, CLI and webhooks come with every plan. The ten schedulers worth a look in 2026 are PostWharf, Metricool, Publer, Postiz, SocialBee, SocialPilot, Buffer, Vista Social, Hootsuite and Sprout Social.
Key takeaways
- The best social media scheduler for running several brands is PostWharf: each brand gets its own workspace with unlimited channels and no per-channel fee, from $15 a month, and the REST API, MCP server, CLI and webhooks come with every plan.
- For two brands with five channels each, the base plans on this page run from $25 a month (Metricool Starter, before its X add-on) to $399 a seat (Sprout Social Professional, month to month).
- X is a paid extra at Metricool, which needs an add-on for each X account, and at Vista Social, which charges $29 a month for X publishing. PostWharf surcharges no network.
- Other picks by need: Postiz if you want open-source code you can host yourself, Buffer for a free plan with three channels, SocialPilot for 15 accounts and three users on one $50 plan, and Sprout Social or Hootsuite for teams that buy by the seat.
If you post for more than one brand, a scheduler's entry price tells you little. What matters is the bill once every brand and every channel is connected, and whether your own automations can reach the queue. The ten schedulers worth a look in 2026 are PostWharf, Metricool, Publer, Postiz, SocialBee, SocialPilot, Buffer, Vista Social, Hootsuite and Sprout Social. This guide prices each one for the same two-brand setup and notes which ones you can drive through an API or an MCP server. PostWharf comes first, for one need: several brands at one flat price per brand, with an API, an MCP server and a command-line tool on every plan.
If you want each brand's posts in its own queue, with a delivery receipt for every post, start PostWharf's seven-day Starter trial; the card is charged when the trial ends, and nothing is charged if you cancel first. If you would rather learn to automate the posting yourself, start learning with the free Automate Basics AI courses.
What several brands really cost
The ten tools here bill in five different ways, and the difference only shows once you add a second or third brand.
- Per channel. Buffer charges for every connected channel, so each new account raises the bill by the same step.
- Per account. Publer prices each social account, at a lower rate per account from three accounts up.
- Per brand or workspace. Metricool sells plans by the number of brands they hold. PostWharf charges per workspace, one workspace per brand, with no limit on the channels inside it.
- Per bundle of profiles. SocialPilot, SocialBee, Vista Social and Postiz sell plans sized by how many profiles or channels you connect, so you pay in steps.
- Per user or seat. Hootsuite and Sprout Social price each person, so a second teammate doubles the plan price.
On top of the plan, watch the add-ons. On this page, X is the network sold as an extra: Metricool bills an add-on for each X account, and Vista Social sells X publishing outside every plan. Also check whether a plan caps scheduled posts per month. PostWharf's plans do, from 200 posts on Starter to 2,500 on Pro.
How we ranked these schedulers
We priced one setup on every tool: two brands, each posting to five networks, so 10 channels in all, with one person scheduling and the plan billed month to month. For each tool we found the cheapest plan that holds that setup and noted its price.
To make the list, a tool had to publish to several networks from one composer, show a self-serve price, and sell a plan that holds the setup. PostWharf is first as our pick for multi-brand posting with API access. The other nine are ordered by the base monthly price of the plan that holds the setup, cheapest first. We used the month-to-month price where the vendor lists one and the yearly rate where it does not (Hootsuite). Add-on fees, such as X, are shown beside each price and do not change the order.
PostWharf's facts come from its own home and pricing pages, read on 16 October 2026. The prices, plans and API or MCP access of Metricool, Publer, Postiz, SocialBee, SocialPilot, Buffer, Hootsuite and Sprout Social come from each vendor's own pricing, feature and help pages, read the same day. Vista Social's prices come from one web search run on 16 October 2026, and its API and MCP access from two more searches across the field. A few details the vendor pages did not give come from third-party guides, which the entry flags as a source's claim, and where the sources disagree, the entry says so. Prices are in US dollars unless a vendor quotes another currency.
The 10 schedulers compared
Prices checked 16 October 2026. "Two brands, 10 channels" is the cheapest plan that holds the setup above, billed month to month unless marked.
| # | Tool | Best for | How it bills | Two brands, 10 channels | API, MCP or CLI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PostWharf | several brands at one flat price per brand | per workspace (brand) | Startup, $29 | REST API, MCP server, CLI and webhooks on every plan |
| 2 | Metricool | up to five brands on one plan | per brand bundle | Starter, $25 plus an X add-on per X account | MCP server on every plan, including Free; REST API on Advanced |
| 3 | Publer | paying only for the accounts you use | per account | Professional, $36 | REST API and MCP server on Business |
| 4 | Postiz | open-source code you can host yourself | per channel bundle | Team, $39 | API, MCP server, CLI and webhooks on every hosted plan |
| 5 | SocialBee | 10 profiles on one plan | per profile bundle | Accelerate, $49 | none on its pages; Zapier, Make and Pabbly |
| 6 | SocialPilot | a small team sharing one plan | per account bundle and users | Standard, $50 | MCP server on every plan; API on Enterprise |
| 7 | Buffer | a few channels, with a free plan to start | per channel | Essentials, $60 | GraphQL API and MCP server on every plan, including Free |
| 8 | Vista Social | 15 profiles with room to add listening | per profile bundle | Professional, $79 plus $29 for X | none found in our searches |
| 9 | Hootsuite | one user with up to 10 accounts | per user | Standard, $99 billed yearly | REST APIs; Perch MCP server saves drafts, does not publish |
| 10 | Sprout Social | larger teams that budget per seat | per seat | Professional, $399 a seat | API on Advanced; MCP server for ChatGPT, TikTok data only |
The 10 schedulers, ranked
1. PostWharf
PostWharf is a social media scheduler that keeps each brand in its own workspace: that brand's channels, drafts, queue and delivery history stay apart from every other brand's. You write a post once, with one caption and one set of hashtags that you can change per network, then publish it now or at a set time to Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky and Telegram.
Price: Starter is $15 a month for one workspace and 200 scheduled posts, Startup is $29 for three workspaces and 400 posts, Plus is $67 for 10 workspaces and 1,000 posts, and Pro is $99 for unlimited workspaces and 2,500 posts. Paying yearly brings them to $10, $23, $54 and $79 a month (PostWharf pricing, read 16 October 2026).
Two brands, 10 channels: Startup at $29 a month, with room for a third brand. Every plan has unlimited channels per workspace, and no network carries a surcharge, X included.
API and automation: a REST API with one key per workspace, an MCP server that works with Claude Code and other MCP clients, the wharf command-line tool installed from npm, and webhooks, all on every plan. Its home page lists Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, n8n, Zapier and Make among the tools it works with, so a workflow such as our n8n and Claude blog-to-social automation could send its captions to the queue through the API instead of a person pasting them in.
Strength: each post is checked again after it publishes, with one delivery row per network, and a failed delivery is retried on its own. When an AI assistant drafts posts for you, nothing is published until you approve it.
Where it falls short: Reddit, Discord, Snapchat and WordPress are on request and cannot be connected yet, every plan caps scheduled posts per month, and its pages do not list analytics reports or a reply inbox.
Pick it if: you run several brands, or post for clients, and want one queue per brand at a flat price, with an API your own tools can call. Start the seven-day Starter trial on PostWharf's pricing page; you are not charged if you cancel before the seven days are up.
2. Metricool
Metricool sells its plans by the number of brands they hold rather than by channel, and its higher plan adds team and client management.
Price: Starter for up to five brands is $25 a month billed monthly, or $20 billed yearly. Starter for up to 10 brands is $36 a month billed yearly. Advanced starts at $53 a month billed yearly, or $67 month to month, for up to 15 brands (Metricool pricing, read 16 October 2026).
Two brands, 10 channels: Starter at $25 a month, plus one X add-on for each X account you connect. Metricool's help centre puts that add-on at $10 (€10) a month per X account, or $120 a year on annual plans, since 13 July 2026.
API and automation: Metricool's MCP server comes with every plan, including Free, and its REST API with Advanced and Custom.
Strength: five brands fit on the Starter plan, so a second or third brand does not change the plan price until you pass five.
Where it falls short: X is billed per account on Starter, and advanced analytics is a separate add-on, from $12 a month on Starter.
Pick it if: you manage up to five brands and X is a small part of your mix, or you are happy to pay for it account by account.
3. Publer
Publer prices each connected social account, and offers a Professional plan and a Business plan above a free tier.
Price: Professional is $5 a month for one social account, $12 for three and $20 for five, and Business is $10, $21 and $35; every 10th account is free, and each extra team member adds $2 a month on Professional or $3 on Business (Publer plans, read 16 October 2026). The free plan covers three social accounts, not counting X.
Two brands, 10 channels: $36 a month on Professional: $4 an account, with the 10th account free.
API and automation: a REST API and an MCP server that works with ChatGPT and Claude, both on the Business and Enterprise plans only.
Strength: a small setup pays only for what it connects.
Where it falls short: the price climbs with every account and every extra team member, and the API and MCP server need Business, so price your exact setup in Publer's calculator before you commit.
Pick it if: you run a handful of accounts and want to pay for those and nothing more.
4. Postiz
Postiz is an open-source scheduler released under the AGPL licence. You can run it on your own server with no subscription, or pay for its hosted plans, which are sized by channel count.
Price (hosted): Standard is $29 a month for 5 channels, Team $39 for 10, Pro $49 for 30 and Ultimate $99 for 100, each with unlimited posts. Each hosted plan starts with a 7-day trial, and there is no permanent hosted free plan (Postiz pricing, read 16 October 2026).
Two brands, 10 channels: Team at $39 a month. Standard's five channels are too few, and Standard includes no team members.
API and automation: every hosted plan includes the public API, webhooks, an MCP server and a command-line tool.
Strength: you can own both the code and the data, and the self-hosted version has no subscription at all.
Where it falls short: hosting it yourself swaps the fee for server upkeep, maintenance, and getting each social network to approve your app.
Pick it if: you have someone technical on hand and would rather run the scheduler than rent it.
5. SocialBee
SocialBee sells plans by the number of social profiles, with agency tiers above them.
Price: Bootstrap is $29 a month for 5 profiles, Accelerate $49 for 10 and Pro $99 for 25; billed yearly they are $290, $490 and $990 a year. The agency tiers Pro50, Pro100 and Pro150 cost $179, $329 and $449 a month. There is no free plan, and each paid plan has a 14-day trial (SocialBee pricing, read 16 October 2026).
Two brands, 10 channels: Accelerate at $49 a month.
API and automation: SocialBee's pages describe no public API or MCP server; its automation runs through Zapier, Make or Pabbly.
Strength: Pro adds five workspaces, three users per workspace and branded report exports.
Where it falls short: the step from 10 to 25 profiles doubles the price from $49 to $99.
Pick it if: your brands fit inside 10 profiles and you want one plan to cover them.
6. SocialPilot
SocialPilot bundles accounts and users into each tier, so a small team can share one plan.
Price: Standard is $50 a month, or $42.50 billed yearly, for 15 accounts and 3 users. Premium is $100 a month, or $85 billed yearly, for 25 accounts and 6 users, and Ultimate is $200 a month for 50 accounts and unlimited users (SocialPilot plans, read 16 October 2026). Each plan has a 14-day trial with no card, and there is no free plan.
Two brands, 10 channels: Standard at $50 a month, with five accounts and two extra users to spare.
API and automation: an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools comes with every plan; API access is only on Enterprise.
Strength: three people can work on one plan without paying per seat.
Where it falls short: the entry plan, Essentials at $30 a month for 7 accounts and one user, has no analytics, social inbox or approvals.
Pick it if: two or three people share the scheduling and you want them on one bill.
7. Buffer
Buffer charges per connected channel and keeps a free plan for small accounts.
Price: Essentials is $6 per channel a month, or $5 billed yearly, for one user. Team is $12 per channel a month, or $10 billed yearly, with unlimited users. The free plan covers three channels, 10 queued posts per channel and one user, and Essentials and Team each have a 14-day trial (Buffer pricing, read 16 October 2026), which needs no card according to NapoleonCat's Buffer pricing breakdown (August 2026).
Two brands, 10 channels: $60 a month on Essentials, or $50 billed yearly.
API and automation: a public GraphQL API and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Perplexity, both on every plan, including Free (Buffer API and Buffer MCP, read 16 October 2026).
Strength: you can start free, and the trial asks for no card.
Where it falls short: paid plans bill every channel, including the ones you connected on the free plan, so the cost rises with each account, and Essentials has room for only one user.
Pick it if: you run a few channels, or want to try scheduling before you pay. Pair it with a month of posts planned in one ChatGPT session and the free plan can carry a small brand for a while.
8. Vista Social
Vista Social sells plans by profile count and sells some networks and features as add-ons.
Price: Professional is $79 a month for 15 profiles, Advanced $149 for 30 and Scale $349 for 70, with Enterprise priced on request. Billed yearly, they come to $758, $1,430 and $3,638 a year (CASRAI's Vista Social pricing guide, prices verified 18 August 2026).
Two brands, 10 channels: Professional at $79 a month, plus $29 a month if you publish to X, which sits outside every plan.
API and automation: our API and MCP searches turned up nothing for Vista Social.
Strength: Professional leaves five profiles spare for this setup, and social listening is available as a $75 a month add-on.
Where it falls short: X costs extra on every plan, and sources disagree on how many users each plan includes.
Pick it if: you want headroom past 10 profiles and may add listening later.
9. Hootsuite
Hootsuite prices each user, with account limits set by plan.
Price: Standard is $99 per user a month, billed yearly, for up to 10 social accounts. Professional, which allows unlimited accounts, is $199 per user a month and Advanced, which adds approval workflows, is $399 per user a month, both billed yearly. Enterprise is priced on request (Hootsuite plans, read 16 October 2026). One source says the free plan was dropped in March 2023.
Two brands, 10 channels: Standard at $99 a month for one user, billed yearly. Hootsuite offers monthly billing, but its plans page shows only the yearly rate.
API and automation: public REST APIs for publishing, inbox and analytics, and MCP servers including Perch, which saves drafts and reads analytics but does not publish directly.
Strength: the 10-account limit on Standard fits this setup exactly.
Where it falls short: a second person doubles the price, and an 11th account means moving up a plan.
Pick it if: one person runs up to 10 accounts and your company already works in Hootsuite.
10. Sprout Social
Sprout Social prices every plan per seat, and its cheaper plans cap the number of profiles.
Price: Essentials is $79 per seat a month billed yearly, or $99 month to month, and Standard is $199, or $249; both stop at five profiles. Professional is $299 per seat a month billed yearly, or $399 month to month, with unlimited profiles. Advanced is $399 billed yearly or $499 month to month. A 30-day trial is available (Sprout Social pricing, read 16 October 2026).
Two brands, 10 channels: Professional at $399 per seat month to month, or $299 billed yearly, because Essentials and Standard hold only five profiles.
API and automation: the Sprout API needs Advanced, and its MCP server works only with ChatGPT and covers only TikTok post insights.
Strength: the 30-day trial gives a team a full month to test it before paying.
Where it falls short: every extra person adds a seat, and one source (Octolens's Sprout Social pricing breakdown) warns that yearly contracts renew on their own with a 30-day window to cancel.
Pick it if: a larger team needs one tool and budgets for it seat by seat.
Which scheduler should you choose?
If you run several brands and want one queue per brand at a flat price, with an API, an MCP server and a CLI on every plan, choose PostWharf: $29 a month covers three brands with unlimited channels, and $15 covers one. If you manage up to five brands and rarely post to X, Metricool's Starter costs $25 a month, with an add-on for each X account. If you want to own the code, Postiz is free to self-host or $39 a month hosted for 10 channels.
For a small team, SocialPilot's Standard puts 15 accounts and three users on one $50 plan. To start free, Buffer's free plan covers three channels. If your company buys software by the seat, Hootsuite's Standard is $99 per user and Sprout Social's Professional is $299 per seat, both billed yearly.
Whichever tool you pick, the queue is only as full as your writing. Turning one blog post into five social posts and turning a voice note into a LinkedIn post are two quick ways to keep it stocked.
Before you choose
Prices change often in this category, so check each tool's own pricing page before you buy; every figure above was read on 16 October 2026. If you want each brand's posts in one queue with a delivery receipt for every post, see PostWharf's plans and start the seven-day Starter trial. If you would rather build the automations around your scheduler yourself, start learning with the free Automate Basics AI courses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best social media scheduler for several brands?
For several brands at one flat price per brand, PostWharf: each brand gets its own workspace with unlimited channels and no per-channel fee, plans run from $15 a month for one brand to $99 for unlimited brands, and the API, MCP server, CLI and webhooks come with every plan.
What is the cheapest social media scheduler for multiple brands?
Among the hosted paid plans on this page, the lowest month-to-month price for two brands and 10 channels with X included is PostWharf's Startup at $29, which also has room for a third brand. Metricool's Starter costs less at $25 a month for up to five brands, but each X account needs a paid add-on. Postiz has no subscription if you host it yourself, though you pay for the server and the upkeep.
Which social media schedulers have an API or MCP server?
PostWharf includes a REST API, an MCP server, a CLI and webhooks on every plan, and Postiz includes the same four on every hosted plan. Buffer's GraphQL API and MCP server come with every plan, including Free; Metricool and SocialPilot include an MCP server on every plan; and Publer's REST API and MCP server need its Business plan, per each vendor's pages on 16 October 2026.
Is there a free social media scheduler?
Buffer's free plan covers three channels with 10 queued posts each, and Publer's free plan covers three accounts, not counting X. Metricool also has a free plan, and Postiz is free to self-host. PostWharf's plans are paid, but Starter begins with seven free days, and its free character counter and caption generator need no account.
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Related guides
10 Best Social Media Schedulers for Agencies in 2026Ten agency schedulers priced at 3, 6 and 10 brands. PostWharf gives each brand its own workspace and queue, channels unlimited; see who has approvals.- 10 Best Metricool Alternatives in 2026Ten Metricool alternatives priced for 1, 3 and 10 brands, with X fees and approvals compared. PostWharf posts to 10 networks per brand from $15/mo.
- 9 Best Social Media Schedulers for Small Business in 2026Nine schedulers priced for one business on five networks, with free plans, Google posting and Canva checked. PostWharf posts to all five for $15 a month.
Tools in this piece
Drafted with AI assistance from our own research, and reviewed by the Automate Basics team before publishing. Tools and prices change; check the linked official source before you act.
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