Key takeaways
- Later's pricing page offers a free trial (14 days) on Starter, Growth and Scale rather than a free tier.
- Starter includes one social set (8 profiles), one user and up to 30 posts per profile per month; Growth raises that to 180 posts; Scale is unlimited.
- Approvals and collaboration start on Growth; Starter has neither.
- Later lists Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat; X is not on its list.
- Pricing is per social set (one profile per network) plus per extra user, so compare the unit, not the headline.
Is Later good for social media scheduling if you want a free plan?
No, not for a free plan specifically. Later's pricing page offers a free trial (14 days) on each paid plan, and lists no free tier that continues after it (read 2026-09-23). If you want a free tier to keep after a trial, Buffer, Publer and Metricool each publish one; see which schedulers have a genuinely free plan for the limits.
What does Later cost, and what does each plan include?
Prices below are as shown on Later's pricing page, which quotes them in USD billed yearly (it advertises 25 percent off and three months free on yearly billing). Taxes are extra.
- Starter, from $18.75 a month billed yearly: one social set (8 profiles, one of each network), one user, up to 30 posts per profile per month, 5 AI credits a month, up to 3 months of platform analytics, link in bio. Extra social sets, users and AI credits are not available on this plan.
- Growth, from $37.50 a month billed yearly: two social sets (16 profiles), two users, up to 180 posts per profile per month, 50 AI credits, up to 1 year of analytics, internal and external collaboration and approvals, a social inbox, UGC collection, and configurable roles and permissions. Extra social sets are listed at $11.25 a month each, extra users at $3.75 a month.
- Scale, from $82.50 a month billed yearly: six social sets (48 profiles), four users, unlimited posts, 100 AI credits, up to 2 years of analytics, Meta Ads analytics, custom analytics, competitive benchmarking and brand-health and mentions tools.
What is Later good at?
Later is built around a visual planner: you drag media or text posts onto one calendar that spans every connected network, and see the plan at a glance. Its pricing page also highlights best-time-to-post guidance for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, an Instagram Reels audio tool, a link-in-bio page and a mobile app for iOS and Android.
Auto-publishing is listed for Instagram business and creator accounts, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest and LinkedIn, with scheduled content types including Instagram posts, Stories and Reels, Facebook posts and Reels, TikTok posts, Threads posts, Pinterest Pins, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn posts, and Snapchat Spotlight and Stories.
Where does Later fall short?
Four things to check before you buy, all from the pricing page.
- Platform list: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. X, Bluesky and Telegram are not listed, so a team that posts there needs another tool alongside it.
- Post caps: 30 posts per profile per month on Starter and 180 on Growth. An active account posting daily is near the Starter cap.
- Social sets: a social set holds one profile from each supported network, so a second Instagram account needs a second social set (Growth and Scale list extra sets at $11.25 a month each).
- Collaboration: approvals and team features start on Growth, and Starter has one user with no extra seats available.
- Bulk import: the pricing page does not list a bulk CSV import, so if you need to load hundreds of posts at once, ask Later or check its help centre before assuming it is there.
Who should choose Later?
Later is a strong shortlist candidate if you are one brand or creator, plan content visually, and your audience is on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest or LinkedIn. The Starter plan is enough for a single brand posting a few times a week per profile; move to Growth when you need approvals, a second user or higher post caps.
Who should look elsewhere, and where?
If you need X or Bluesky, if you manage many clients, or if you want a permanent free plan, look at other tools. The honest short list, each from its own pages:
- Buffer: a free plan for up to 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel, and paid plans priced per channel; it lists X, Bluesky, Mastodon and many more. Buffer pricing.
- Metricool: a free plan (one brand, up to 20 posts a month) and per-brand paid plans, with analytics as its centre of gravity. Metricool plans.
- Planable: built around collaboration and approvals, priced per workspace. Planable pricing.
- SkedCast: 10 platforms including X, Bluesky and Telegram, bulk import up to 2,500 rows per upload on Agency, client groups with per-client approval, and a permanent Free plan. SkedCast does not have a unified social inbox for replying to comments and messages. SkedCast does not offer social listening or brand-mention monitoring. Later's visual planner and Instagram-first tools are its own strengths, and SkedCast is a better fit mainly when you manage many accounts or clients.
- Hootsuite or Sprout Social: if a unified inbox and social listening are part of the job. Hootsuite plans, Sprout pricing.
How should you decide?
Count your profiles per network, not your total accounts, because the social set is the billing unit. Check the post cap against your real posting rate. List the networks you must publish to and confirm each is on Later's list. Then use the trial (14 days) to test the visual planner with a real content calendar rather than the sample data.
Sources and how this was checked
Last reviewed 2026-09-23. Every statement about another vendor's product was read from the vendor's own page listed here on that date; where a page did not say something, this article says "not stated" rather than guessing. Vendors change plans and prices without notice, so confirm on their page before you buy. Statements about SkedCast were checked against the product's code and docs.
FAQ
- Is Later free to use?
- No. Later's pricing page offers a free trial (14 days) on its paid plans and lists no free tier that continues after it. Buffer, Publer and Metricool each publish a permanent free tier.
- How much does Later cost?
- As shown on Later's pricing page when checked, Starter is from $18.75 a month billed yearly, Growth from $37.50 and Scale from $82.50, each with a free trial (14 days). Extra social sets and users cost more on Growth and Scale. Confirm current prices on Later's page.
- Does Later support X (Twitter)?
- Not on its pricing page's supported list, which names Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. If you need X, use a tool that lists it.
- Does Later have approval workflows?
- Its pricing page lists internal and external collaboration and approvals from the Growth plan; the Starter plan does not include them.
- Is Later good for agencies?
- It can suit a small agency on Scale (six social sets, four users), but its unit is the social set and per-profile post caps rather than clients, so compare it against tools built around client groups and bulk import, including SkedCast, before deciding.