Skip to content
SkedCast
Start free

Interactive dataset — checked 23 Sep 2026

Social media management tool pricing: per seat vs per channel

Social media management tool pricing per seat, per channel or per workspace: three ways schedulers charge, and what each one costs as an agency adds clients and teammates.

Social media management tool pricing: the three models

Per seat

You pay for each teammate with a login.

How cost grows
Cost climbs every time you hire, and is unaffected by how many client accounts you connect.
Best for
A very small team managing a large number of accounts.
Watch out for
Occasional collaborators (a designer, a client approver) can each cost a full seat.
Example
Hootsuite prices by user; its own comparison page describes paid tiers that climb as seats are added.

Per channel

You pay for each connected social account.

How cost grows
Cost climbs with every client account you add, and is unaffected by team size.
Best for
A solo operator or small brand with a handful of accounts.
Watch out for
It is the model that scales fastest for an agency: ten clients on four networks is forty channels.
Example
Buffer prices per connected channel, with a free tier for a small number of channels.

Per workspace (bundled tiers)

You pay one flat price for a tier that bundles a fixed number of accounts and seats.

How cost grows
Cost is flat inside a tier and steps up only when you outgrow its account or seat limit.
Best for
An agency whose accounts and team both grow, since neither is metered separately.
Watch out for
You pay for the tier, not the usage: a half-empty tier costs the same as a full one.
Example
SkedCast prices this way; every tier bundles accounts and seats (see the calculator below).

Sources for the vendor examples: Buffer’s Buffer vs Hootsuite comparison and Later’s scheduler comparison, read 23 Sep 2026. Vendors change pricing; confirm on their own pricing pages.

Cost at scale calculator

Enter your scale and the rates you were quoted. SkedCast's figure comes from the live plan catalog.

Every channel across every client you manage.

Everyone who needs a login, including you.

Example figure — replace it with the rate a per-seat vendor actually quoted you.

Example figure — replace it with the rate a per-channel vendor actually quoted you.

Monthly cost at your scale

  • Per-seat vendor$100

    Seats multiplied by the per-seat rate you were quoted. Grows with every teammate you add.

  • Per-channel vendor$150

    Connected accounts multiplied by the per-channel rate you were quoted. Grows with every client account you add.

  • SkedCast (bundled tiers)$49

    Studio: covers up to 50 accounts and 5 seats at one flat price.

SkedCast’s figure is read from the live plan catalog. The other two rows use only the rates you type, so they are as accurate as your quotes.

Pricing models: FAQ

Which pricing model is cheapest for an agency?
It depends on your ratio of accounts to teammates. Per-channel pricing scales with client accounts, per-seat pricing scales with headcount, and a bundled tier is flat until you cross its limit. The calculator on this page shows all three for your numbers.
Why does this page not list competitor prices?
Vendor prices change without notice, and a stale number about a named competitor is worse than none. The calculator takes the rate you were actually quoted instead, and the page only states which unit each vendor charges by.
Where does SkedCast’s side of the calculator come from?
Directly from the same plan catalog the billing system and the pricing page use, so it cannot show a price or limit that the product itself disagrees with.
Does SkedCast charge per seat or per channel on top of the tier price?
No. Each tier bundles a fixed number of accounts and seats into one price. Going past a tier’s limit means moving to the next tier, not paying per extra unit.
What happens when I outgrow the largest self-serve tier?
The calculator shows a quote instead of a price. The largest tier is sales-assisted, because there is no self-serve price to check out with.
Are the vendor examples on this page current?
They describe the unit each vendor charges by, checked on 23 Sep 2026 against their own comparison pages. Always confirm the current rate on the vendor’s own pricing page before you decide.

Ready to broadcast everywhere?

Sign up free — no credit card. You land on the Free plan, and you can start a one-time 7-day Studio trial from your workspace whenever you are ready. Connect your first accounts, import a batch, and watch one post fan out across every platform.

Start freeLog in to your console