Key takeaways
- Permanent free plans: Buffer, Publer, Metricool and SkedCast. Planable offers a 50-post allowance with no time limit; Adobe Express has a free content scheduler.
- Trial only (no free tier that continues after it): Later, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, SocialBee, SocialPilot and Sendible.
- Free plans differ most in scheduled-post caps (10 per channel or account on Buffer and Publer, 20 a month on Metricool) and in which networks they exclude.
- Publer and Metricool exclude X on Free; Metricool also excludes LinkedIn.
- Always check history and export limits: Publer keeps 24 hours of post history on Free.
What counts as a genuinely free plan?
A permanent tier with no time limit and no card. A free trial that expires is a different thing from a free plan, and a "free" tool that stops working on day 15 is not a substitute for one. The lists below separate the two.
Social media scheduler free plan limits, tool by tool
Read from each vendor's own page on 2026-09-23.
- Buffer: free forever, up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 100 ideas and 1 user; it lists AI assistant, insights and API access on Free. Paid plans are priced per channel. Buffer pricing.
- Publer: free forever, 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts (X cannot be connected on Free), 10 scheduled posts per account, 25 saved drafts and a 24-hour post history. Publer plans.
- Metricool: free forever, 1 brand, up to 20 posts a month in the planner, 30 days of analytics, 5 AI text credits a month, and no LinkedIn or X connection. Metricool free vs paid.
- SkedCast: a permanent Free plan with 2 connected accounts, 1 client, 1 seat and up to 3 posts a day, bulk import up to 50 rows, and no AI credits; each workspace can additionally take one 7-day Studio trial. X posts are billed as an X pass-through with per-plan spend caps, so check pricing before relying on X.
- Planable: its pricing page lists a "Free Trial" of 50 posts in total with no time limit and no card; posts do not reset monthly, and you upgrade when the 50 are used. Effectively a small lifetime allowance rather than a monthly plan. Planable pricing.
- Adobe Express: its Content Scheduler page says you can connect TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Pinterest and LinkedIn for free, with one account per channel and up to 1,000 posts a month; connecting up to three accounts per channel is a Premium feature. Adobe Express Content Scheduler.
Which schedulers only have a free trial?
Only a free trial on their own pricing pages:
- Later: a free trial (14 days). Later pricing.
- Sprout Social: a 30-day free trial, no credit card. Sprout pricing.
- Hootsuite: a free trial (14 days), no credit card. Hootsuite plans.
- SocialBee: a free trial of 14 days, no contracts and a 30-day money-back guarantee. SocialBee pricing.
- SocialPilot: a free trial (14 days), no credit card. SocialPilot pricing.
- Sendible: a free trial (14 days), no card. Sendible pricing.
What should you check in a free plan?
Free plans are designed to be useful but not enough for a business. The limits that bite first:
- Scheduled-post cap: 10 per channel or account on Buffer and Publer means a queue of about ten posts each, refilled as they publish; Metricool caps at 20 posts a month.
- Excluded networks: X and LinkedIn are the usual exclusions, as Publer and Metricool show.
- History and analytics: Publer keeps 24 hours of post history on Free, Metricool 30 days of analytics.
- Team: every free plan here is effectively single-user.
- What is not included: AI credits, approvals, bulk import and client management are typically paid features (SkedCast Free has bulk import up to a small row limit but no AI credits).
Which free plan should you pick?
One brand, a few channels and a modest posting rate: Buffer or Publer suit best (check whether you need X, which Publer excludes on Free). One brand where analytics and competitor tracking matter: Metricool. Several small accounts and you may later need bulk import, client groups or approvals: SkedCast, which is the free plan to try if you expect to grow into an agency workflow. A one-off campaign: Adobe Express or Planable's 50-post allowance. Later, Sprout and Hootsuite need a card or a paid plan after the trial, so use them only after you are sure.
For a table-style view that reads from the same comparison data as the alternatives pages, see schedulers with a free plan (verified dataset).
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
- Which social media schedulers offer a permanent free tier?
- Read from vendor pages, Buffer, Publer, Metricool and SkedCast have permanent free plans. Adobe Express has a free content scheduler, and Planable gives a 50-post allowance with no time limit. Later, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, SocialBee, SocialPilot and Sendible offer free trials only.
- What are the limits of Buffer's free tier?
- Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 100 ideas and 1 user, per Buffer's pricing page.
- Can I schedule to X on a free tier?
- Not on Publer's or Metricool's free plans, both of which exclude X. X charges for API posting, which is why several tools gate it. Check the vendor's page for the network you need.
- Is a free trial the same as a free tier?
- No. A trial expires and usually ends with a required upgrade; a free plan can be used indefinitely, with reduced limits.
- Does SkedCast have a permanent free tier?
- Yes: a permanent Free plan with 2 connected accounts and up to 3 posts a day, no credit card and no expiry. Each workspace can also take one 7-day Studio trial.