Which social media scheduling tool is cheapest for an agency?

It depends on account count. Buffer's per-channel pricing and Hootsuite/Sprout Social's per-seat pricing both climb fast as you add clients. SkedCast prices by connected account with no per-seat tax, which usually costs less at agency scale — see the full comparisons for a like-for-like read.

Which tool has the best bulk import?

SkedCast's bulk import has no fixed low cap — up to 2,500 posts per upload on Agency — with inline validation. Buffer and Hootsuite cap bulk import in the low hundreds of posts per batch.

How the top social media scheduling tools compare in 2026

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By The SkedCast Team · Updated 21 September 2026 · 8 min read

This article compares other products. Their prices, plan limits and features were last checked on 21 September 2026, against each vendor’s own published pricing page. Vendors change their plans, so check with them before deciding.

Key takeaways

Buffer bills per channel; Hootsuite and Sprout Social bill per seat; SkedCast prices by connected account.
Hootsuite and Sprout Social require a paid plan or trial. SkedCast has a permanent free tier.
SkedCast imports up to 2,500 posts per upload on Agency; Buffer caps bulk import around 100 posts per batch.
Later caps posts per profile and does not support X; the others don't cap by profile.

Pricing model

Buffer: per channel, from $5/channel/mo (Essentials)
Hootsuite: per user, from $99/user/mo (Standard, billed annually)
Sprout Social: per seat, from $199/seat/mo (Standard)
Later: per social set, from $25/mo (Starter), capped at 30 posts per profile
SkedCast: by connected account, free to start, then from $15/mo, no per-seat tax

Free plan

Buffer has a permanent free tier (3 channels, 10 posts per channel). Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Later do not — Hootsuite and Sprout Social require a paid plan or trial, and Later's cheapest tier is a paid Starter plan. SkedCast has a permanent Free plan as well — 2 connected accounts and up to 3 posts a day, no card and no time limit — and each workspace can additionally take one 7-day Studio trial.

Bulk import

SkedCast imports up to 2,500 posts per upload on Agency, and up to 25,000 on Enterprise from CSV, Google Sheets or AI, with inline validation before anything is scheduled. Buffer's bulk import is capped around 100 posts per batch. Hootsuite's bulk composer caps around 350 posts on its Advanced plan. Sprout Social and Later do not lead with bulk import as a feature.

Multi-account fan-out and agency features

SkedCast composes once and fans out across a whole client roster, with per-client RBAC, approvals and tenant-isolated workspaces at every paid tier. Hootsuite gates approvals and unlimited accounts behind its quote-only Enterprise tier. Buffer and Later have no equivalent multi-client workspace model; each channel or profile is managed individually.

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FAQ

Which social media scheduling tool is cheapest for an agency?: It depends on account count. Buffer's per-channel pricing and Hootsuite/Sprout Social's per-seat pricing both climb fast as you add clients. SkedCast prices by connected account with no per-seat tax, which usually costs less at agency scale — see the full comparisons for a like-for-like read.
Which tool has a real free plan?: Buffer has a permanent free tier (3 channels, 10 posts per channel). Hootsuite and Sprout Social do not; Later's entry tier is a paid plan. SkedCast has a permanent Free plan as well — 2 connected accounts and up to 3 posts a day, no card and no time limit — and each workspace can additionally take one 7-day Studio trial.
Which tool has the best bulk import?: SkedCast's bulk import has no fixed low cap — up to 2,500 posts per upload on Agency — with inline validation. Buffer and Hootsuite cap bulk import in the low hundreds of posts per batch.