Free Social Media Management Tools: 8 Real Free Plans

Buffer, Publer, Metricool, Pallyy, Typefully, Planable and SociaHive have a permanent free plan that schedules posts, and Meta Business Suite is free for Facebook and Instagram only. Hootsuite, Later and SocialBee offer only a trial, and Zoho Social's free plan does not list scheduling.

Every limit below comes from the tool's own pricing page, read in October 2026.

Free social media management tools compared

The table shows what you get at $0, with no trial clock. The scheduled-post limit decides whether a free plan is usable. A cap of 10 per account is a queue limit, while a cap of 20 or 30 is a monthly one.

Tool	Accounts on free	Scheduled posts on free	Platforms	Main limit
Buffer	3 channels, 1 user	10 per channel at a time	Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, X, Threads and more	No first-comment scheduling or hashtag manager
SociaHive	Up to 3 accounts	30 per month	All but X	No Stories or Reels scheduling
Publer	3 accounts, 1 user	10 per account at a time	All but X	Posts kept 24 hours after publishing
Metricool	1 brand	20 per month	All but LinkedIn and X	Only 30 days of analytics
Pallyy	1 social set, 1 user	15 per month	Up to 11 accounts per set	Image posts only
Meta Business Suite	Facebook and Instagram	No limit stated	Facebook, Instagram	Nothing else
Typefully	1 social set, 1 user	10 per month	X, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Threads, Mastodon, Substack	No Instagram or Facebook
Planable	Unlimited users	First 50 posts, no time limit	Multi-network	A post count, not a monthly refill

How we chose these tools

A tool made the list only if its pricing page shows a free plan with no expiry, and that plan can schedule a post to at least one network. Free trials do not count, and neither do plans that only measure or listen. The order is not a ranking.

The free plans in detail

Buffer

Buffer's free plan connects 3 channels and holds 10 scheduled posts per channel, refilled as posts go out. It includes a visual calendar, a queue, 100 saved ideas, the AI assistant and 30 days of insights history. It also sends a mobile reminder for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube so you can finish the post in the native app. The catch: first-comment scheduling and the hashtag manager start at $5 per channel per month on the paid plan, billed yearly.

SociaHive

SociaHive's free plan allows 3 connected accounts and 30 scheduled posts a month across every platform except X, which is paid-only. One content calendar covers Instagram feed posts and carousels, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn personal profiles, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky and Pinterest. It does not schedule Instagram Stories or Reels, Facebook Stories or Groups, or LinkedIn company Pages.

Publer

Publer's free plan covers 3 social accounts and 10 scheduled posts per account, plus 25 saved drafts. X accounts need a paid plan. Published posts stay in your history for only 24 hours on free, which matters if you look back at old captions. Publer's page says X needs a paid plan because of X's API cost.

Metricool

Metricool's free plan manages 1 brand with up to 20 scheduled posts a month, 5 competitor profiles and 30 days of analytics. It excludes LinkedIn and X, which need a paid plan or add-on. Pick it if you want analytics and scheduling together for one brand and do not post on LinkedIn. If you outgrow it, compare the Metricool alternatives.

Pallyy

Pallyy's free plan gives 1 social set, 15 scheduled posts a month and 30 days of analytics. Video, carousel and Reels scheduling are paid features, so the free plan only suits image posts. The Pro plan is $25 a month.

Meta Business Suite

Meta Business Suite lets you schedule feed posts and stories for Facebook and Instagram, and Metricool's guide to the tool states it is free. It is the only option here that schedules stories without a paid plan. It does not cover LinkedIn, TikTok, X or YouTube, so it works only if Facebook and Instagram are all you use.

Typefully

Typefully's free plan allows 1 social set, 1 user and 10 posts a month. It is built for text networks: the page lists X, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Threads, Mastodon and Substack. If your main channel is X, this is the free tool to try, because most others lock X behind a paid plan.

Planable

Planable gives your first 50 posts free with no time limit and no credit card, with unlimited users. That is a lifetime allowance rather than a monthly one, so it suits a small test or a one-off project better than steady posting. Its paid Basic plan is $33 per workspace per month for 60 posts a month and 4 social pages.

Tools that look free but are not

Three popular names no longer have a free plan that schedules. Later and Hootsuite list only a 14-day trial, with Later's Starter at $18.75 a month billed yearly and Hootsuite's Standard at $99 a month billed yearly. Zoho Social has a free plan, but its feature list puts content scheduling under the paid Standard plan. Our guide to Hootsuite alternatives lists the paid and free replacements.

SocialBee also offers a 14-day trial only. Some roundups still list Later as free; its own page lists a trial.

Which free plan to pick

Match the plan to the one limit that would hurt you most. If you would rather run the software on your own server, see our list of open source social media tools.

• Facebook and Instagram only: Meta Business Suite, because it is free and schedules stories.
• Several networks, light posting: Buffer or Publer, which both cap at 10 queued posts per account.
• More than 10 posts per account a month: a monthly cap such as Metricool's 20 fits better than a queue cap.
• X and text posts: Typefully.
• One client project with approvals: Planable's first 50 posts.

The social media calendar tool helps you plan a month before you choose. For Instagram alone, the free Instagram scheduling apps comparison goes deeper, and how to automate social media posts covers what comes after a free plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when I reach the free post limit?

It depends on the type of limit. Buffer and Publer free a slot as soon as a scheduled post publishes or is deleted, so the cap applies to the queue. Monthly caps such as Metricool's 20 or Pallyy's 15 reset each month, and you cannot schedule more until then.

Is there a free AI social media manager?

Not a full one. Buffer's free plan includes its AI assistant, and Metricool and Zoho Social each list 5 AI credits on their free plans. These help with captions and ideas. None of them plans, publishes and replies on its own.

Can I schedule X posts for free?

On few tools. Typefully lists X on its free plan, and Buffer's free plan connects channels from a list that includes X. Publer says X needs a paid plan because of X's API cost, and Metricool sells X as an add-on.

Can more than one person use a free plan?

Mostly no. Buffer, Publer and Typefully free plans are limited to 1 user, and Pallyy's is too. Planable is the exception with unlimited users, but only for your first 50 posts. A team usually needs a paid plan with seats.

Sources

1. Buffer, Pricing
2. Publer, Pricing
3. Metricool, Pricing
4. Pallyy, Pricing
5. Typefully, Pricing
6. Planable, Pricing
7. Meta, Meta Business Suite
8. Metricool, Meta Business Suite tutorial