Edit: After writing this article, I stumbled on Plann, which I was originally a beta tester for. They’ve done growed up, and they’re amazing for everything I need. They make it possible to schedule posts, stories, reels, TikTok, Facebook posts, and more, and they make it possible for you to fine-tune your strategy right there on your calendar dashboard. The best part is, they’re only $7/month right now, and they’ll only be raising prices to $9/month later this year. I am absolutely using them from here on out, and you can check them out here. They do give you a free trial, too, in case you’re looking for that. But yeah…check out the rest if you’re curious about what else is out there.
So awhile ago, I got really sick of my social media scheduler because of some small issue or another, and I went on a bit of a bender, testing the tech behind some of the best brands out there. I shit you not, I probably blazed through ten or eleven different platforms, read about ten times as many articles, to try to find the best solution for me, and I wound up back with my original choice. It was a terrible experience and I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone.
So I am here to save you. You’re welcome.
Before I go into it, I want to point out that none of these are perfect; unfortunately, between a perfect mix of features and accessible pricing, it seems to you can only ever have one. That said, I almost ripped my hair out with how many articles didn’t seem to speak to solopreneurs and small teams. They all either suggest platforms that are wildly cost-prohibitive (SproutSocial is PRICED FOR ENTERPRISE, GODDAMMIT), or haven’t updated their information to point out that certain platforms no longer offer free plans (Hootsuite, for example).
So hopefully this helps you in some way, if you’re like me. Without further ado, here are the schedulers I suggest, dependent on what you’re looking for.
Best overall – CoSchedule
Head’s up, in case you care: the link above is my referral link.
This is the scheduler I left and eventually returned to. By the time I’d come back, I sounded like a a girlfriend who couldn’t understand why she’d ever left.
“Ooh! Their customer service is so responsive!”
“OMG I can group a project together with its social campaign?? UGH. YES.”
“It’s just automatically posting at my projected best time. This is…this is just amazing. Why did I ever leave?”
I mean…I left for a few reasons. For one, CoSchedule struggles with videos and gifs, especially when it comes to auto-posting those to Instagram and Twitter. These problems often come without warning or reason, and it can be a real pain to have to suddenly go in on your own to post something that was supposed to go out on its own two hours ago. That, and CoSchedule’s price can be a bit much for smaller teams at about $39/month, depending on what your business budget is.
That said, at the time I was running multiple platforms for two different brands, and the ease with with I could schedule my social and never have to think about it again was magic. And, as mentioned, Coschedule is amazing for launching campaigns and products, as it groups together all relevant links, docs, and social campaign messages in one easy spot. This works wonders for blogging, too. I have also never waited longer than an hour for customer service to respond to a question. They’re top notch and I will always suggest them, even if/when I switch from them.
Free Trial: No
Free Plan: Yes
Cost: $39/mo, $348/yr (equal to $29/month)
Pros:
- Excellent customer service
- Usable with Facebook, Facebook Groups, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn
- Integrates with multiple apps including Dropbox and WordPress
- Automatically posts at optimal times
- Incredibly easy to use
Cons:
- Can be expensive
- The free plan is extremely limited — you can only schedule 5 messages at a time, and can only use two social profiles at once
- Video functionality is spotty
- No inbox for audience engagement
- No available in-platform analytics
Best for the price – Later
Later has been around for a while — I even used them when they were responsible solely for posting to Instagram (she says, as she pulls. her shawl around her shoulders and sucks on a Werther’s candy). Since then, they’ve expanded their capabilities to include Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
Later is mostly famous for their visual planning system, which allows you to see exactly what things will look like when they go live. They also integrate with Dropbox and Google Dive, and they offer a pretty decent command center, with an inbox and an analytics dashboard. They’re also the pioneers of the whole “link in bio” thing, a visual link access that people can put into their Instagram bios to make finding content easier.
That said, I didn’t stay with because I needed Facebook groups capabilities, which they don’t offer, and when you start an account, you only get one “social set” that you can’t customize — which means that if you have two Instagram accounts and don’t need LinkedIn access, tough shit — you’ll have to pay for a whole new social set to be able to post to that extra Instagram account.
That said, there’s a high chance that I may return to Later sometime in the future myself, because I’m only really focusing on Instagram and Pinterest as time goes, and this platform is a very good one for its price tag.
Free Trial: No
Free Plan: Yes
Cost: $8 – 40/mo (though it doesn’t really start becoming worth it until the $15/mo plan), $80.04-$399.96/year
Pros:
- Visual planning makes the process much easier
- Comprehensive dashboard with analytics and inbox
- Best posting time suggestions from mid-tier plan up
- Works with the most popular platforms
Cons:
- Social sets aren’t customizable, meaning you could be paying for accounts you won’t even use.
- Certain important features, like engagement inbox, analytics for other platforms, and hashtag analytics are only available when you pay for the higher tier accounts
- Depending on where you look, customer service has a number of complaints about their level of responsiveness. I didn’t personally have too many problems, but I also simply asked them to cancel my account, so maybe it’s worse when you’re looking for more in-depth help.
Best for free – Facebook’s native scheduler
Don’t look at me like that. I used this for a time, and I have to say, there were some legit things to enjoy about this.
For one, I say this (unfortunately) with experience: Facebook is greedy, especially with Instagram’s algorithm. Due to this, they get super bitchy sometimes regarding Instagram’s API (if you’re not sure what that is, think of it as a token that says the platform will allow you to post there), and they have a tendency to just block or disable accounts who dare to post to Instagram with a scheduler they haven’t approved. So, using Facebook to auto-post to Instagram removes that concern.
For another, Instagram doesn’t allow any third party schedulers (that I know of) to post carousel, or multi-image, posts automatically. Pretty much everyone is only allowed to upload your media and then alert you on your phone to when you have to post yourself. But, because you’re using Facebook to post to its own platform, posting carousel images is a breeze because the native scheduler will auto-publish those for you.
That said, the UI is still very clunky, and the last time I tried to schedule stories ahead of time, that functionality didn’t work and continued to not work for weeks. Also, for the most bizarre reasons that only exist in Mark Zuckerberg’s motherboards, this thing doesn’t auto-resize photos or videos in home, and it also doesn’t adjust post structure for the chosen platform. Meaning that if you write your Instagram caption with hashtags, you then have to go back and copy-paste the caption without the hashtags to post to Facebook, because hashtags are like a mole on Facebook’s butt and mean nothing. It’s highly inefficient — weirdly so for something that is supposed to belong to the platform itself.
There are also in-platform schedulers for Twitter and Pinterest, so it might be worth it to check those out as well if you’re wanting to keep things free.
Cost: Free
Pros:
- No worries about twitchy algorithms or sudden account blocks
- Certain kinds of posts are much easier to complete
- Inbox/comment conversations are built right in
Cons:
- UI is ugly and clunky; certain functions just won’t work
- Any post design that is beyond basic has to be done elsewhere
- Inefficient captioning between Facebook and Instagram
- Facebook’s dashboard analytics blow chunks; good luck figuring out best days/times to post
Best for Instagram – Planoly
Planoly is another that I may look into again, as it really is great if your focuses are mostly on Instagram and Pinterest. Its analytics are fantastic, it offers a visual planning option, and it’s extremely user friendly.
The main issue I had with it at the time is how limited its functionality is outside of Instagram and Pinterest. If you want to post anything to Facebook or Twitter, you can’t; all that you have option to do is repost what you’re scheduling to those two platforms. Also, for eCommerce clients, Planoly charges extra to link merch from within the grid, and that can get pretty pricey.
Free Trial: Yes
Free Plan: Yes
Cost: $11-$35/mo, $120-$336/year
Pros:
- Best time to post is available for all paid accounts
- Visual planning
- Important things like analytics, inbox, and auto-post 1st comment are available to all paid accounts
- Very user-friendly
- Cost is quite fair
Cons:
- Only really worth it for those who are focusing on Instagram and Pinterest
- Free plan will only allow 30 posts/mo, which kind of forces you to pay if you want to post to Pinterest with the best frequency
- Gets pricey for eCommerce clients
Best for Pinterest- Tailwind
There’s another referral link up there, just so’s ya know.
I am actually now using Tailwind for my Instagram and Pinterest, and for the latter, there is nothing like it.
Not only does Tailwind keep track of your best times to post for you, but it also will post your pins to multiple boards at intervals, so that your content gets max engagement. Its Chrome extension is awesome for pinning things that you just happen to find while browsing, and its analytics are awesome, not only sharing with you each pin’s stats, but also ranking their performance from best to worst, so you don’t have to.
Tailwind has also recently added a design studio of sorts for your pins. It allows you to add your brand’s color palette, the link for your content, and your website and logos, and then it will automatically add these things to a gallery of pre-made designs that you may then select and schedule. It’s good for time, though I find that some of the designs are a little ugly, but that’s just a matter of taste.
For Instagram, Tailwind has a number of very handy features. Based on what your brand does, they can suggest on a handy grid what kind of posts you should schedule. That grid also gives you a good look into what things will look like once its live, and writing captions is surprisingly easy, with it suggesting hashtags for you as you write. It also will suggest posting times for you based on the days and times, and how many times you’d like to post a day.
The downside? That grid isn’t standard at this time. In fact, Tailwind is kind of going through some growing pains right now, and things aren’t as user-friendly as they once were. Without the grid, planning for Instagram is a pain in the ass, and the visual grids are hard to find for your Pinterest posts. Their “communities” feature is okay, but a lot of communities are inactive, and the larger ones are hard to get into.
Customer service is very responsive, though, and after I vented my frustrations with the lack of a visible grid, someone was kind enough to update my dashboard to show it perpetually, which made a huge difference. The agent was also sure to tell me that the grid is set to become a standard part of the dashboard again in the near future. Tailwind can be a great Planoly competitor, but it’s got some work to do first.
Free Trial: Yes
Free Plan: Yes
Cost: $20-$80/month, $119.88 – 479.88/year
Pros:
- Pinterest scheduling is unparalleled and easy
- Analytics are great and easy to understand
- Instagram grid is very handy, once available
- Customer service is very responsive
Cons:
- They’re making a bunch of changes, so if you don’t like yelling “HOW THE HELL DO I FIND THIS THING?” you might want to get on the Tailwind train a little later.
And there you have it. I hope this helps you out a little more, but if you need more information, feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to answer.
Did you wind up using any of these? Let me know in the comments how it’s working for ya!
Oh…by the way…did you know we could work together? If you’re looking to elevate your social media by better understanding it and walking out with a comprehensive posting plan, check out what I do. Already sure you want to work together? Get on my schedule!
