For the agency setup below, the four qualifying configurations we priced cost $67 to $365 USD per month on monthly billing, before tax. The difference comes from client-access features, the billing unit and reporting add-ons. A tool's entry price rarely answers this question.
The calculation below uses one defined workload for every tool. For broader workflow comparisons, start with our social media scheduler guide for agencies.
The same shopping list for every tool
Our agency needs:
- Five clients, each with one Instagram Business account, one Facebook Page and one LinkedIn Company Page: 15 connected profiles.
- Three internal users in total, including the owner, plus one reviewer for each client.
- Client-scoped access through workspaces, brands or profile permissions, so clients review their own work.
- A client sign-off step for submitted content. We do not require sequential legal review or an approval system that even account administrators cannot override.
- A monthly downloadable or shareable performance report covering the three networks. Standard account and post metrics are enough; custom BI dashboards, social listening and paid-ad attribution are outside scope.
- Around 20 posts per profile per month: 60 platform-specific posts per client, or 300 across the agency. Cross-posting counts separately in this workload.
All prices below are USD list prices. Taxes, promotional offers and negotiated discounts are excluded. Annual equivalents describe a yearly subscription, not a monthly payment option.
The calculated bill
Scroll sideways to compare every column.
| Configuration | Monthly payment | Cost of 12 monthly payments | Annual subscription total | Annual monthly equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metricool Advanced, up to 15 brands | $67 | $804 | $636 | $53 |
| SocialPilot Premium | $100 | $1,200 | $1,020 | $85 |
| Sendible Premium | $199 | $2,388 | Exact annual charge unverified | $169 advertised |
| Planable: five Pro workspaces, each with Analytics | $365 | $4,380 | $3,650 | $304.17 |
Calculation sources: Metricool pricing and billing explanation; SocialPilot pricing; Sendible's published prices and plan inclusions; Planable's exact monthly and yearly tariffs.
Sendible publishes a $169 annual-billing monthly equivalent. The exact annual invoice remains unconfirmed, so confirm the yearly charge before buying.
Metricool Advanced: $67 monthly, or $636 annually
The minimum Advanced package allows 15 brands, although we need only five. Each client fits into one brand because it contains one profile per network. Advanced includes unlimited team members and unlocks client management and approvals; Starter's five-brand capacity alone does not satisfy the collaboration requirement. Official pricing and brand definition.
The calculation is one $67 subscription, or $53 × 12 = $636 annually. No seat or profile add-on is needed. Allocated evenly, monthly billing costs $13.40 per client.
Standard PDF/PPT reports cover this brief. Metricool's separate Advanced Analytics add-on expands Studio, campaign dashboards and day-by-day post analysis; it is not required for ordinary monthly reports. If that deeper analysis matters, recalculate before buying. Reporting guide and add-on scope.
Read our Metricool review.
SocialPilot Premium: $100 monthly, or $1,020 annually
Standard has exactly 15 accounts and three users, which makes it look like the answer. However, client management and client approval workflows start at Premium. Premium includes 25 accounts, six internal users, unlimited client seats and client-ready reporting. Our three staff and five reviewers therefore need no extra seats. Official plan breakdown.
The bill is $100 monthly, or $85 × 12 = $1,020 annually. Monthly billing allocates to $20 per client.
There is a workflow qualification: SocialPilot documents that a manager can choose whether to send a post to the client. This fits our operational sign-off process, but agencies requiring an unavoidable client gate should test that requirement separately. Approval documentation.
Read our SocialPilot review.
Sendible Premium: $199 monthly; annual invoice needs confirmation
Sendible's current Premium package provides seven workspaces, 42 profiles and unlimited users. It includes approvals and custom branded reports, giving this agency five client workspaces with spare capacity. No add-on is necessary for the configuration shown. Current plans.
At the published $199 monthly price, 12 monthly payments total $2,388, or $39.80 per client per month. The advertised annual equivalent is $169 monthly; confirm the exact yearly payment before committing.
Premium is one complete package that meets the requirements. Plus includes only three workspaces, and extra workspace-bundle prices remain unconfirmed. A quote for those add-ons could change which configuration costs least. Workspace and add-on explanation.
Read our Sendible review.
Planable Pro plus Analytics: $365 monthly, or $3,650 annually
Use one workspace per client. Pro provides required approval, unlimited users and 150 posts per workspace per month, comfortably above our 60-post workload. Analytics is a separate purchase for every workspace needing reports. Plan features and reporting capabilities.
Using the exact help-center tariffs:
- Monthly: 5 × ($59 Pro + $14 Analytics) = $365
- Annual: 5 × ($590 Pro + $140 Analytics) = $3,650
- Annual monthly equivalent: $3,650 ÷ 12 = $304.17
Monthly billing allocates to $73 per client. We use exact annual tariffs because the pricing cards round their monthly equivalents. Planable also advertises volume discounts for five or more workspaces; the discount is quote-based and is excluded here. Official pricing detail.
Read our Planable review.
What about Buffer Team?
Buffer's 15-channel Team price is $140 monthly, calculated as (10 × $12) + (5 × $4). Annual pricing is (10 × $120) + (5 × $40) = $1,400, or $116.67 monthly equivalent. Volume pricing makes a straight 15 × headline-price calculation wrong. Buffer payment terms explicitly establish U.S. dollars. Buffer's tariff table.
We have kept it outside the qualifying table because its agency documentation flags a client-separation caveat: organization users can see tagged posts from channels they otherwise cannot access. Client approvers also receive full posting access. If those trade-offs are acceptable, evaluate it alongside the others; do not assume it behaves like five isolated workspaces. Buffer's agency guidance and our Buffer review.
How to choose before paying annually
Run one client through a controlled trial: invite a reviewer, request a revision, approve disposable content and export a report. Check the reviewer cannot see another client's work. Repeat from a non-owner staff login, because administrator privileges can hide workflow restrictions. Keep publishing disabled until the workflow is understood.
Planable's Analytics trial requires an active paid base plan, so its 50-post free trial alone cannot complete the reporting check. Include that cost in your evaluation. Planable pricing, pricing detail.
Then compare time as well as subscription cost. For example, saving one hour per client each month is five agency hours. Multiply those hours by your own internal cost; do not assume a higher subscription automatically saves them. Compare the account-free client approval workflows before choosing a review process.
Frequently asked questions
Does “three teammates” mean three seats or four?
Here it means three internal users total. If you mean yourself plus three colleagues, that is four. Our selected packages still have enough internal-user capacity, but the definition matters when comparing other plans.
Is annual billing always better value?
It lowers the stated subscription cost for the verified annual configurations. It also means buying a year. Trial the approval and reporting workflow first, and check renewal, cancellation and refund terms before paying.
Can I leave reporting out to save money?
Yes, if it is outside your client service. For example, removing Analytics from all five Planable Pro workspaces changes the total to $295 monthly or $2,950 annually. You would then need another reporting process, so it would be a different comparison.
Are these the cheapest possible agency plans?
No. These configurations match this particular workload. Negotiated discounts, different approval requirements, additional networks and alternative products can change the answer.