Head to head
Maeve Social vs Ordinal
Last updated 3 August 2026
A newer scheduler built around approvals and client review rather than the solo posting queue.
- From
- $20 /mo
- Free plan
Ordinal (formerly Assembly) is built for one specific job: running social for a group of executives or employees. It drafts, schedules, routes for approval, and automates engagement across many personal accounts, and it's priced for companies, not individuals, from $95 a month.
- From
- $95 /mo
- Free plan
Bottom line
Maeve Social is the pick for teams and agencies that approve posts before they go out, and it's the cheaper start, from $20 a month. Ordinal fits companies running executive or founder social programs better, and it adds employee advocacy that Maeve Social leaves out.
Maeve Social starts cheaper, $20 a month against $95 a month for Ordinal. Maeve Social brings social inbox that Ordinal skips, while Ordinal has employee advocacy Maeve Social doesn't.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Maeve Social starts at $20 a month, Ordinal at $95 a month.
- Maeve Social posts to 8 networks, Ordinal to 6.
- Only Maeve Social reaches Pinterest and YouTube.
- Maeve Social has social inbox; Ordinal doesn't.
- Ordinal has employee advocacy; Maeve Social doesn't.
- Ordinal has custom permissions; Maeve Social doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | Maeve Social | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Partial | Not assessed |
| Bulk upload | No | Not assessed |
| Evergreen recycling | Partial | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio | No | Not assessed |
Platforms compared
| Network | Maeve Social | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | No | |
| YouTube | Auto | No |
| Threads | Auto | Auto |
Pricing
Headline prices are for a single unit. Here is the real monthly cost as each tool scales, costed on its own unit so the two stay honest.
No free plan; 3-day trial.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $20/mo
Whole-plan price; it doesn't scale per unit.
No free plan; 14-day trial.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $95/mo
Whole-plan price; it doesn't scale per unit.
Maeve Social
Basic
$20/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 20
- $25/mo, $20 on annual ($240/yr)
- 1 user, 2 workspaces, 20 social connections
- 800 AI credits a month, 20 GB media storage
Standard
Popular$79/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 5
- Accounts
- 50
- $99/mo, $79 on annual ($950/yr)
- 5 users, 5 workspaces, 50 social connections
- Adds approvals, client review links, shareable calendars, and PDF reports
- Public API, CLI, and MCP access; 1,500 AI credits a month
Premium
$158/mo billed annually
- Seats
- Unlimited
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- $199/mo, $158 on annual ($1,900/yr)
- Unlimited users, workspaces, and social connections
- Adds team insights and realtime co-editing
- 3,000 AI credits a month, 100 GB media storage
- Flat, quota-bundled tiers: each plan includes a fixed number of users, workspaces, and social connections, and you move up a plan rather than buying seats one at a time.
- No plan-level post cap. Publishing limits are per connected channel and follow each network's rules, for example 100 posts a month per X account.
- The trial is 3 days on every plan and takes a card up front; annual billing works out to roughly 20% off. AI credit top-ups are available at 50 credits per US dollar, $10 minimum.
Ordinal
Starter
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $95/mo
- Drafting, scheduling, content calendar, approval workflows
- For teams managing multiple executive accounts
Pro
Popular- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $215/mo (about $265 with Ordinal MCP)
- Everything in Starter, plus unlimited seats
- Account analytics, automated engagement (likes, comments, reposts), unlimited scheduled posts
Enterprise
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- Custom pricing
- LinkedIn leads data, API access, custom permissions
- SAML/SSO and prioritised support
- Flat plans aimed at executive and team social programs, not individual scheduling, which is why the entry is $95 a month. Pro at $215 includes unlimited seats; a Pro plan with Ordinal MCP runs around $265.
- There's no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
- Ordinal (formerly Assembly) is built for running many personal/executive accounts together, used by companies like Zapier, Mercury, Clay, and Beehiiv to power their executive social presence.
- Prices are USD from current listings.
Pros and cons
Maeve Social
- Approvals and client review links on Standard and up
- Direct publishing on all eight supported networks
- Media Room, grid planner, and content board on every plan
- Public API, CLI, and MCP server for automation
- No bulk CSV upload or link-in-bio
- Inbox covers Instagram, Facebook, and Threads only
- No X or LinkedIn analytics yet
- Three-day trial is short and takes a card
Ordinal
- Purpose-built for executive and employee social programs
- Drafting, approvals, and analytics across many personal accounts
- Automated engagement to grow those accounts
- Unlimited seats on Pro; SSO and API on Enterprise
- Expensive, and priced for companies not individuals
- Network focus is LinkedIn and X, not visual platforms
- No free plan, recycling, or full engagement inbox
- Young product, lightly documented company
Maeve Social vs Ordinal: FAQ
- Is Maeve Social or Ordinal cheaper?
- Maeve Social is cheaper to start, from $20 against $95 for Ordinal. The unit each one charges by differs, so the real bill depends on how many channels or seats you run.
- Does Maeve Social or Ordinal have a free plan?
- Neither has a free plan. You get a free trial to test things, then you pay.
- Which is better, Maeve Social or Ordinal?
- Maeve Social is the stronger pick for teams and agencies that approve posts before they go out, while Ordinal is the better fit for companies running executive or founder social programs. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.