7 Postiz alternatives for scheduling social posts (2026)

Postiz is a capable scheduler with a real following. It is open source under the AGPL licence, supports 30 or more channels, and bundles AI image and video generation. If you like running your own software, you can self-host it for free.

People still go looking for a Postiz alternative, and usually for one of four reasons. There is no free plan. The 7-day trial asks for a card up front. The hosted Standard plan is $29 per month for 5 channels, which is a lot if you only post text to three networks. And self-hosting, while free in licence terms, costs time: server updates, API keys for every network, and nobody to call when a token expires.

This list covers seven alternatives across different price models. Prices are public list prices as of October 2026; check each vendor's site before buying.

Postiz pricing, for reference

• Standard: $29/mo, 5 channels (about $23/mo yearly)
• Team: $39/mo, 10 channels (about $31 yearly)
• Pro: $49/mo, 30 channels (about $39 yearly)
• Ultimate: $99/mo, 100 channels (about $79 yearly)
• Free plan: none. Trial: 7 days, card required.

Keep those numbers in mind as you read. Most of the alternatives below undercut the Standard tier, and a few beat it on channel count too.

Quick comparison

Tool	Starting price	Free plan	Channels at entry	Where it beats Postiz
Buffer	About $5 to $6 per channel	Yes, 3 channels	Pay per channel	Free tier, familiar interface
Publer	Roughly $4 to $5 per account	Check vendor site	Pay per account	Cheap for one or two accounts
Postfree	$19/mo ($15 yearly)	Yes, 3 channels, 15 posts/month	5	Price for 5 to 15 channels, bundled seats, video cross-posting
Later	From $18.75/mo yearly	No	Check vendor site	Instagram visual planning
SocialBee	From $29/mo	Check vendor site	Check vendor site	Category-based evergreen recycling
Post Bridge	$29/mo	Check vendor site	15	Bulk video scheduling, 15 accounts at entry
Hootsuite	From $99 per user/mo	No	Check vendor site	Enterprise listening and compliance

1. Buffer

Buffer is the obvious first stop. Its free plan covers 3 channels with no time limit, which already solves the "no free plan" complaint. Paid plans run about $5 to $6 per channel per month, with a Team tier at $10 to $12 per channel.

Compared with Postiz: cheaper at one to four channels, roughly even at five, more expensive beyond that. Buffer does not do AI video and is not open source.

Pick Buffer if you have a few accounts and want the most polished mainstream option.

2. Publer

Publer charges roughly $4 to $5 per social account and bills extra for team members. For a solo user with two accounts that comes to under $10 a month, well below Postiz Standard.

Compared with Postiz: much cheaper for individuals, but the per-member charges mean a three-person team can end up paying as much as a flat tier. No self-hosting option.

Pick Publer if you work alone and want to pay only for the accounts you actually use.

3. Postfree

Postfree is a flat-tier scheduler built for short-form video creators cross-posting to TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Unlike Postiz it has a free plan (3 channels, 15 posts a month, 1 GB of media, no credit card), and its paid tiers are cheaper and bundle seats and workspaces. Starter is $19 per month ($15 yearly) for 5 channels, unlimited posts, analytics and auto-repost. Growth is $29 ($24 yearly) for 15 channels, 3 team members, 3 brand workspaces and approvals. Agency is $49 ($39 yearly) for 50 channels with unlimited members and workspaces, white-label client previews and priority support. API and MCP access is included on every plan, Free too. Each paid plan can start with a 7-day free trial: card required, $0 charged today, cancel in two clicks before it ends and pay nothing.

Compared with Postiz: at 5 channels, Postfree Starter is $19 against Postiz Standard at $29. At 15 channels, Postfree Growth is $29 against Postiz Pro at $49 (Postiz Team at $39 stops at 10), and Growth includes three seats. Postiz wins on raw network count (30 or more against Postfree's twelve live networks: TikTok and YouTube in beta, X, LinkedIn profiles and pages, Instagram, Facebook Pages, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram channels, Discord and Reddit) and on AI media. Pinterest is coming soon on Postfree.

Both tools handle multi-part threads. Postfree supports them on X, Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads, runs its scheduler every minute, retries transient failures three times, and surfaces the network's own error message if a post still fails.

Pick Postfree if you cross-post short-form video and text to the major networks and want to spend less than $30 a month for a team.

4. Later

Later starts from $18.75 per month on yearly billing, with no free plan. It is built around Instagram: visual feed planning, link-in-bio, and scheduling for image-led brands.

Compared with Postiz: cheaper entry price, but a narrower focus. If your channels are X, Bluesky and Mastodon, Later is the wrong tool. If they are Instagram and Pinterest, it may be the right one.

Pick Later if your brand lives in the Instagram grid.

5. SocialBee

SocialBee starts from $29 per month, the same entry price as Postiz Standard. What you get for that is a different scheduling philosophy: content categories that rotate through time slots, so an evergreen library keeps posting indefinitely.

Compared with Postiz: same price, different strength. Postiz is a straightforward calendar with AI media; SocialBee is a recycling engine. Neither has a free plan that we can confirm; check SocialBee's site for current trial terms.

Pick SocialBee if you have dozens of reusable posts and want them cycling automatically.

6. Post Bridge

Post Bridge's Creator plan is $29 per month for 15 accounts. The Marketer plan at $39 adds API access. The product is deliberately simple: write once, cross-post to every connected account, and bulk-upload video.

Compared with Postiz: same $29 entry price but 15 accounts instead of 5. You lose approvals, workspaces and AI generation. Post Bridge is not open source.

Pick Post Bridge if you are a solo video creator who wants everything everywhere with minimal setup.

7. Hootsuite

Hootsuite starts from $99 per user per month and has no free plan. It is an enterprise suite: social listening, granular permissions, compliance archiving and integrations with CRMs and help desks.

Compared with Postiz: roughly three times the entry price, for a different buyer. Nobody chooses Hootsuite to save money. They choose it because legal or IT has requirements.

Pick Hootsuite if you are a regulated company with a dedicated social team.

When Postiz is still the right choice

An honest list should say where the original wins.

• You want to self-host. None of the seven alternatives above offer a self-hosted option. If data residency or licence philosophy matters, Postiz is the only pick here.
• You need 30 or more networks. Postiz's channel list is one of the longest around.
• You want AI image and video inside the scheduler.
• You manage 100 channels. Postiz Ultimate at $99 (about $79 yearly) is competitive at that scale; Postfree Agency stops at 50 channels.

How to evaluate an alternative

Whichever tool you try, do three things before paying:

1. Connect your real accounts, not a test account. OAuth flows and token refreshes are where schedulers break.
2. Schedule a week of posts, including at least one multi-part thread and one post with images. Watch what happens when a post fails and whether the tool tells you why.
3. Price the plan at your channel count in twelve months, not today. The cheapest entry tier often has the steepest jump to the next one.

FAQ

Is there a free Postiz alternative?

Buffer offers 3 channels free on a permanent free plan, not a trial. Postfree also has a permanent free plan: 3 channels and 15 posts a month, no credit card. Postiz itself has no free plan, though self-hosting the open-source version costs nothing in licence fees.

Which Postiz alternative is cheapest for 5 channels?

As of October 2026: Postfree Starter at $19 per month, then Publer at roughly $20 to $25 for five accounts, then Buffer at roughly $25 to $30. Postiz Standard is $29. SocialBee and Post Bridge also start at $29. Verify on each vendor's pricing page.

Can I self-host any of these alternatives?

No. Postiz is the only open-source, self-hostable tool in this comparison. The alternatives are hosted services.

Which alternatives support Bluesky and Mastodon threads?

Postfree supports multi-part threads on X, Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads. Check Buffer, Publer and the others for current thread support on those two networks, since it varies and changes.

If you want to try the flat-tier option, sign up for the free plan at https://postfree.app/signup (no credit card), or start a 7-day trial of Growth (card required, $0 today) to test approvals and workspaces.