Best Later Alternatives: Free & Cheaper Schedulers
Quick compare
9 tools · starting price, free plan and watermark at a glance. Tap a tool for its full page.
Short answer: Later has no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and Starter is $18.75/mo billed yearly. If you want to start free, use Buffer (3 channels, 10 queued posts each) or Metricool (1 brand, 20 posts a month). If you want a visual planner like Later, try Planoly. For open source, look at Postiz or Mixpost.
How we picked: we compared each alternative on four things from its own pricing page: whether there is a free plan, whether free exports or posts carry a watermark or branding, the lowest listed paid price, and fit for TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. See our methodology.
What Later gives you
Later is a visual scheduler with a calendar, link-in-bio and analytics for Instagram, TikTok and other networks. Starter is $18.75/mo billed yearly for 1 social set (8 profiles), 30 posts per profile and 1 user. Growth is $37.50/mo billed yearly for 2 sets, 180 posts per profile and 2 users. Scale is $82.50/mo billed yearly for 6 sets, unlimited posts and 4 users. Later does not show monthly-billing prices. People leave because there is no free plan and Starter caps you at 30 posts per profile.
The best Later alternatives
Buffer: best free start
Free covers up to 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel, refilled anytime. Essentials is $5/mo per channel ($60 per channel billed yearly) with unlimited posts (5,000 fair use). Team is $10/mo per channel. Paid plans have a 14-day trial. The catch: you pay for every channel you connect.
Metricool: free plan with analytics
Free covers 1 brand, 20 scheduled posts a month and 30 days of analytics, but not LinkedIn or X. Starter is from $20/mo billed yearly ($25 monthly) for 5 brands, unlimited posts (fair use) and unlimited analytics history. Competitor tracking is included. Prices exclude VAT.
Publer: low-cost per account
Publer has a free plan, but you cannot connect X on it, and published posts are stored for only 24 hours. Paid plans start from $5 per account, with a 14-day trial.
Planoly: closest visual planner
Like Later, Planoly is a visual planner priced by social set. Its free plan is on the mobile app only and includes 10 uploads a month. Paid plans start from $14/mo; check current pricing for the billing period. All paid plans have a 14-day trial, and billing info is required.
Postiz: open source, unlimited posts
Hosted Standard is $29/mo ($23/mo billed yearly) for 5 channels with unlimited posts. Team is $39/mo ($31/mo billed yearly) for 10 channels. There is a 7-day trial and no free cloud plan. The code is open source (AGPL), so you can host it yourself, but you then need your own app approval from each social network.
Mixpost: pay once
Mixpost Lite is free and self-hosted. Pro is $299 one time. Pick it if you would rather pay once than pay every month, and you are happy to run your own server.
Meta Business Suite: free for Instagram only
Meta's own tool is free and schedules Reels and posts to Instagram and Facebook. It does not cover TikTok or YouTube. If you only post on Instagram, it may be all you need.
Team suites
Hootsuite has no free plan, only a 14-day trial with no card. Standard starts at $99 per user seat for up to 10 social accounts. It is built for teams, not solo creators. See Hootsuite alternatives.
Free plan and price compared
| Tool | Starts at | Free plan | Post limit on entry plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Later | $18.75/mo yearly | No, 14-day trial | 30 per profile | Baseline |
| Buffer | $5/channel/mo | 3 channels, 10 queued each | Unlimited (5,000 fair use) | Starting free |
| Metricool | $20/mo yearly | 1 brand, 20/mo | Unlimited (fair use) | Analytics |
| Publer | $5/account | Yes (no X) | Unlimited scheduling | Low cost |
| Planoly | $14/mo | Mobile app, 10 uploads/mo | Unlimited uploads | Visual planning |
| Postiz | $23/mo yearly | Self-host only | Unlimited | Open source |
| Mixpost | $299 once | Lite (self-hosted) | Unlimited posts (Pro) | One-time payment |
| Meta Business Suite | Free | Yes | Not stated | Instagram and Facebook only |
Which to pick
- Stay on Later if you plan Instagram on a visual grid, use its link-in-bio, and 30 posts per profile a month is enough.
- Pick Buffer if you want to start at $0. For TikTok, Shorts and Instagram, Essentials is $15/mo ($5 x 3).
- Pick Metricool if you care about analytics and competitor tracking.
- Pick Planoly if you like Later's visual grid but want a free plan to test.
- Pick Postiz if you post a lot and want no post caps.
Related: Buffer vs Later, Buffer alternatives, free social media schedulers, schedule Instagram Reels and schedule TikTok posts.
Questions
Does Later have a free plan?
No free plan is listed. Later offers a 14-day free trial, and you may need to enter billing info to start it.
What is the best free alternative to Later?
Buffer for TikTok, YouTube and Instagram on one free plan. Metricool if you also want analytics.
Is Buffer cheaper than Later?
For 3 channels, yes: Buffer Essentials is $15/mo, and Later Starter is $18.75/mo billed yearly. Later covers up to 8 profiles, so with many profiles it can work out cheaper.
Is there a visual planner like Later with a free plan?
Planoly. Its free plan runs on the mobile app and includes 10 uploads a month.
Sources: Later pricing; Later terms; Buffer pricing; Metricool pricing; Publer plans; Planoly pricing; Postiz pricing; Mixpost pricing; Hootsuite plans. Checked on 15 October 2026. Based on published plans, not a hands-on test.