Head to head
Agorapulse vs Buffer
Last updated 13 October 2026
Agorapulse combines publishing across ten networks with a shared inbox and ROI reporting. Paid self-service plans start at $79 per user/month annually; X access and additional profiles cost extra. Mobile-notification publishing covers some Instagram/TikTok formats.
- From
- Free
- Free scheduling
- Yes
Buffer offers a free three-channel plan with ten queued posts per channel, plus per-channel paid plans. It suits a solo publishing routine; teams should check its client-access limitations before using one organization for separate clients.
- From
- Free
- Free scheduling
- Yes
Bottom line
Buffer is the pick for solo creators. Agorapulse fits teams that spend more time on engagement than on posting better.
Agorapulse has a free plan and paid plans from $79 per user a month, billed yearly, and Buffer has a free plan and paid plans from $5 per channel a month, billed yearly. They bill on different units, so the real gap depends on how much you run.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Paid plans start at $5 per channel a month, billed yearly on Buffer and $79 per user a month, billed yearly on Agorapulse.
- Agorapulse posts to 10 networks, Buffer to 12.
- Only Buffer reaches Mastodon.
Features compared
| Feature | Agorapulse | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | Partial |
| Bulk upload | Yes | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | Partial | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio | Yes | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | Agorapulse | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | Auto | Auto |
| Threads | Auto | Auto |
| Bluesky | Auto | Auto |
| Google Business | Auto | Auto |
| Mastodon | No | Auto |
| Substack Notes | Not assessed | Auto |
Pricing
Prices use each tool’s billing unit. Annual equivalents are labeled as billed yearly; scaling rows show monthly costs and available annual rates.
Free plan available.
- 1 seat · Standard
- $99/mo~$79/mo annual
- 3 seats · StandardTypical
- $297/mo~$237/mo annual
Lowest priced plan at each shown workload. Check the plan's included features before choosing it.
Free plan available.
- 1 channel · Essentials
- $6/mo~$5/mo annual
- 9 channels · EssentialsTypical
- $54/mo~$45/mo annual
Lowest priced plan at each shown workload. Check the plan's included features before choosing it.
Agorapulse
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 3
- Scheduled posts
- 10
- 3 social profiles, 1 user
- 10 scheduled posts, 100 inbox items per month
- Permanent free plan, no card required
Standard
$79 per user a month billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $79 per user/mo on annual, $99 monthly
- 10 social profiles, unlimited scheduling
- All-in-one inbox, basic reports, white-label exports
- 6-month data retention
Professional
Popular$119 per user a month billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $119 per user/mo on annual, $149 monthly
- Adds link in bio, Instagram product tagging, grid preview, calendar notes
- Ad-comment moderation, post and inbox assignments
- Team performance reports, 12-month retention
Advanced
$149 per user a month billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $149 per user/mo on annual, $199 monthly
- Adds labels, saved replies, automated moderation rules, bulk actions
- Shared calendars, publishing queues, scheduled report emails
- Advanced and ROI reporting, competitor benchmarking, 24-month retention
Custom
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Tailored pricing for large teams
- Unlimited social profiles, AI reply suggestions
- SSO, custom roles, multi-step approval workflows
- Historical data import, Reports open API, sentiment analysis
- Dedicated Customer Success Manager and onboarding
- Paid list prices are per seat; annual rates are monthly equivalents of an annual commitment.
- Paid self-service plans include 10 social profiles. The official pricing PDF distinguishes additional profiles at $10/month on annual billing and $15/month on monthly billing; confirm the current checkout quote. X profiles are separately purchased and do not consume this profile allowance.
- There's a permanent free plan (3 profiles, 1 user, 10 scheduled posts, 100 inbox items a month) alongside a 30-day trial of Advanced features, no card required.
- Standard, Professional and Advanced annual rates are $79, $119 and $149 per user/month, versus $99, $149 and $199 monthly. Savings differ by tier.
- Current X documentation lists X Lite at $29 and X Plus at $69 per connected X profile/month (also quoted in EUR). Lite covers publishing; Plus adds inbox/reporting and starts collecting data when activated. Older official pricing PDFs show superseded X terms.
- Advanced Listening, Advocacy (employee advocacy), and Competitive Benchmarking are separate add-ons billed on quote with a demo required, not included in the base plans.
- USD base-plan rates are corroborated by the official pricing PDF. Confirm the current checkout quote; current help takes priority for conflicting X add-on details.
What it really costs
Monthly cost by seat count. Per-unit tiers grow with usage; flat tiers keep their whole-plan price within the published allowance, with the 3-seat row marked as a realistic setup.
| seats | Standard | Professional | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $99/mo | $149/mo | $199/mo |
| 3Typical | $297/mo | $447/mo | $597/mo |
| 5 | $495/mo | $745/mo | $995/mo |
| 10 | $990/mo | $1,490/mo | $1,990/mo |
| 25 | $2,475/mo | $3,725/mo | $4,975/mo |
| 50 | $4,950/mo | $7,450/mo | $9,950/mo |
Monthly billing.
Buffer
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 3
- Scheduled posts
- 10
- 3 connected channels
- 10 scheduled posts waiting per channel, replenished after publication
- One user; unlimited drafts
Essentials
Popular$5 per channel a month billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 1
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $6 per channel/mo, $5 on annual
- Analytics
- Engagement tools
Team
$10 per channel a month billed annually
- Seats
- Unlimited
- Accounts
- 1
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $12 per channel/mo, $10 on annual
- Unlimited team members
- Approvals
- Free has three channels and ten queued posts per channel at a time. It is not a ten-post monthly allowance.
- Paid plans charge for every connected channel, including the original free three. Rates above ten channels are marginal volume bands.
- The annual figures are monthly equivalents of annual channel tariffs; the yearly Essentials rate for channels 51+ is $20, not twelve times its $1 monthly rate.
- Paid scheduling is subject to a 5,000 queued-post fair-use ceiling per channel. Prices exclude applicable taxes.
What it really costs
Monthly cost by channel count. Per-unit tiers grow with usage; flat tiers keep their whole-plan price within the published allowance, with the 9-channel row marked as a realistic setup.
| channels | Essentials | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6/mo | $12/mo |
| 3 | $18/mo | $36/mo |
| 5 | $30/mo | $60/mo |
| 9Typical | $54/mo | $108/mo |
| 10 | $60/mo | $120/mo |
| 25 | $120/mo | $180/mo |
| 50 | $195/mo | $255/mo |
Monthly billing. Volume discounts lower the per-channel rate at higher counts. Annual billing takes about 2 months off.
Pros and cons
Agorapulse
- Unified inbox for comments, DMs, mentions, reviews, and ad comments, built around inbox zero
- ROI reporting that ties posts and conversations to traffic, leads, and sales via Google Analytics
- Direct publishing to ten networks, Instagram Stories included
- Genuinely free plan plus a 30-day trial of the top tier
- Per-user billing and separate profile/X charges increase total cost
- Some listening, advocacy and reporting capabilities require additional entitlements
- Native audio and interactive formats can require mobile completion
- Approval and reporting limits depend on the plan
Buffer
- Free three-channel plan with replenishing queues
- Wide network coverage including Substack Notes
- Paid plan volume bands and Team approvals
- API/MCP and automation integrations
- Per-channel pricing adds up quickly
- CSV import supports text and single images; create videos and carousels in the composer
- No evergreen recycling
- Analytics are basic
Agorapulse vs Buffer: FAQ
- Is Agorapulse or Buffer cheaper?
- Both Agorapulse and Buffer have a free entry plan. Compare their account allowances, publishing limits and any paid features you need.
- Does Agorapulse or Buffer have a free plan?
- Both have a free plan, so you can try either one before paying.
- Which is better, Agorapulse or Buffer?
- Agorapulse is the stronger pick for teams that spend more time on engagement than on posting, while Buffer is the better fit for solo creators. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.