Buffer alternatives
Buffer alternatives for teams that stopped counting channels
Buffer sells a channel as a subscription line. That is fair and predictable until the fifth network, the third teammate or the first automation. This page puts the two pricing models side by side with numbers read from the Buffer pricing page.
Price table
What Buffer and PostSider charge
Buffer prices per connected channel: $5 per channel per month on Essentials and $10 per channel per month on Team, both at annual billing. PostSider prices per tier.
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Buffer Free | $0 | 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user, API with 1 key |
| Buffer Essentials | $5 per channel / month | 1 user, unlimited scheduled posts, API with 3,000 requests per channel |
| Buffer Team | $10 per channel / month | Unlimited users, approvals, access levels, 10,000 requests per channel |
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $20 / month | 5 channels, 1 seat, 400 posts a month, API, MCP, SDK |
| Team | $35 / month | 10 channels, unlimited seats, unlimited posts, approvals |
| Pro | $45 / month | 30 channels, unlimited seats, CSV import, audit log |
| Ultimate | $90 / month | 100 channels, unlimited seats, custom OAuth apps |
Both tables were checked on 30 October 2026. Competitor figures come from the vendor page linked in the caption; PostSider figures come from /pricing/. Prices change: re-read the source before quoting a number in a buying decision.
The arithmetic
What the price actually buys
- Buffer Essentials at five channels is $25 per month for one person. The same five channels on PostSider Standard are $20 with one seat.
- Buffer Team at five channels is $50 per month with unlimited users. PostSider Team is $35 with ten channels and unlimited seats.
- Buffer keeps the API on every tier but caps requests per channel. PostSider includes the REST API, the MCP server and the SDK on the cheapest plan, at 60 requests per minute per organization.
- Buffer publishes its own numbers on buffer.com/open: ARPU around $27.31, roughly 314.8k monthly active users and about $2.3M MRR. That ARPU is the arithmetic of per-channel pricing compounding.
When Buffer is the better choice
- You pay for one or two channels. Buffer Essentials at $5 or $10 beats any PostSider tier.
- You want a free plan with no card. Buffer Free covers three channels, and PostSider has no free tier at all.
- You need a community inbox. Buffer includes one; PostSider deliberately does not read DMs or comments.
- You want the API as a side feature with no MCP or agent surface to learn.
When PostSider is the better choice
- The channel count grows past three. Per-channel pricing turns every new network into a new line item, while a flat tier absorbs it.
- A second or third person joins. PostSider Team at $35 covers unlimited seats; Buffer Team charges per channel and only becomes generous on seats.
- An agent has to publish. PostSider exposes an MCP server, a REST API and signed webhooks on every plan; Buffer has no MCP server.
- You need approvals with a recorded state across several brands, which PostSider models as separate organizations.
- You want one calendar that covers developer networks too, such as Dev.to, Hashnode, Ghost, Mastodon, Bluesky and Nostr.
Straight answers
What PostSider does not do
- There is no DM, comment or mention inbox. Social conversations stay in the platform apps.
- The AI checks and rewrites captions. It does not generate posts, images or video.
- No RSS auto-posting. Content arrives from a person, a CSV import or the API.
- No free plan. The trial runs seven days and does not ask for a card.
Read the plan limits on the pricing page before choosing a tier. Channel counts, seats and posts per month differ per plan, and the comparison above only covers the price model.
FAQ
Buffer alternatives, answered
How much is Buffer per month for five channels?
On annual billing, $25 on Essentials with one user and $50 on Team with unlimited users, read from buffer.com/pricing on 30 October 2026. PostSider Standard is $20 for five channels and one seat; PostSider Team is $35 for ten channels and unlimited seats.
Is Buffer cheaper than PostSider?
For one or two channels, yes. Buffer Essentials at $5 per channel is hard to beat below three channels. The crossover sits around four to five networks, or at two people who both need access.
Does Buffer have an MCP server for AI agents?
No. Buffer publishes an API for partners but no MCP server, so an agent cannot discover publishing tools from Buffer the way it can from PostSider. PostSider ships 19 MCP tools and a hosted server at mcp.postsider.com.
What does PostSider not do that Buffer does?
Buffer includes a community inbox for replies and comments, and a free plan for three channels. PostSider has neither. It is a publishing layer: calendar, approvals, API, MCP and webhooks.
Can I move a Buffer queue to PostSider?
Yes, but reconnecting is the slow part. Export your scheduled posts, reconnect each network through its own OAuth flow in PostSider, then import the calendar as CSV. Expect the reconnect step to take most of the time because every platform asks for permissions again.
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