Social media tool pricing in 2026: 13 tools compared for one brand on Instagram, TikTok and X

You are trying to answer a simple question: what will a social media tool cost a small business with one brand and three networks? The pricing pages make that hard, because every vendor counts something different: channels, users, workspaces, "social sets" or brands. We opened 13 pricing pages on 31 Oct 2026, wrote down the list prices and turned them into one comparable monthly figure for a single brand on Instagram, TikTok and X. Where a page hid a price or contradicted itself, we say so.

Disclosure: Feedhand publishes this page and sells one of the 13 products listed, so we are not neutral. Every competitor price below comes from that vendor's own pricing page or help center on 31 Oct 2026, linked where it appears. Prices change often; if you spot one that has moved, write to hello@feedhand.com and we will correct it.

What does a social media tool cost for one brand on Instagram, TikTok and X?

A scheduler for one brand on those three networks costs $0 to $128 a month at list price, and most land between $15 and $35. The table picks, for each tool, the cheapest plan that can publish to all three networks (or says it cannot), with the price as the pricing page shows it, checked 31 Oct 2026.

Sources for each row: Buffer, Later, FeedHive, SocialBee, Ocoya, Metricool, Planable, Predis.ai, Sprout Social, Hootsuite plans and Hootsuite TikTok, Vista Social, Publer's help center, and the Feedhand pricing section. All checked 31 Oct 2026.

Three caveats on the table. Publer's pricing page builds the price in the browser, and its help article (updated 15 Sep 2026) only gives the one-account starting price, so we do not quote a three-account total. Sprout Social's page links to X, Instagram and TikTok integrations but does not say which plan includes which network. Hootsuite's TikTok page says it can "schedule and publish TikTok videos" without naming a plan.

Why are social media tool prices so hard to compare?

They are hard to compare because each vendor sells a different unit, so the same headline price buys very different things. A "$5" plan and a "$99" plan can both be the cheapest option for someone; it depends on how many channels, people and brands you have.

So for one person, one brand and three networks, per-channel and flat plans are cheapest. For a team of three, per-user pricing multiplies: three seats on Hootsuite Standard are $297 a month on yearly billing before any add-on. For an agency with ten small clients, per-brand tiers such as Metricool's often win. Work out your own numbers in those three units before you look at the headline price.

Which tools charge extra for X (Twitter)?

Several tools now charge separately for X or limit it, and some do not support it at all. On the pages we checked:

• Metricool: X is not on the free plan and is a "Twitter/X Add-on" at $10 a month per connected account on paid plans.
• Vista Social: X is an add-on at $29 a month, "publishing, boosting, automations and analytics", on all plans.
• Publer: X is excluded from the free plan; the pricing page says "Due to the Twitter / X Enterprise API cost, we can only support Twitter / X accounts on a paid subscription basis."
• Planable: the Basic plan allows "1 tweet published/24h"; Pro and Enterprise are unlimited, and the free trial does not include X publishing.
• Later: X is not among the networks in a social set (Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and Snapchat).

Publer's sentence explains the pattern: tools pay X for API access, and some pass the cost on. If X matters to you, add its fee before comparing totals. If X is a minor channel for you, a tool without it may still be the cheapest choice. Our guide to which platforms let tools post automatically covers what each official API allows.

How much AI do you get for the price?

Most plans include some AI writing help, but the allowances differ by a factor of 100 or more, and only some tools make images or videos. A low AI cap is the most common reason a cheap plan turns into a more expensive one after the first month.

Credits are not comparable between vendors: Predis.ai's own FAQ says each type of content and model has a different credit cost. What you can compare is the job. Text-only assistants help you write a caption. Predis.ai and Ocoya generate creative. Feedhand plans the month and makes the posts from your photos. If you are deciding whether to do the creative work yourself with ChatGPT or similar tools, our breakdown of what AI costs per post, measured on a 150-post month puts real numbers on it.

Is yearly billing worth it for a social media tool?

Yearly billing saves 15% to 25% on most of these tools, but only pay yearly once a month of real use has shown the tool fits. Here is what each page claims, and where its own numbers disagree.

Two pages, Buffer's and FeedHive's, show a yearly total that equals twelve times the monthly figure on the same card, which contradicts their stated discount. The likely reading is that the card shows the yearly-equivalent monthly price, but we could not confirm it from the page text, so check the checkout before paying. A yearly plan also locks in a tool before you know whether your posting rhythm fits its limits, such as Later Starter's 30 posts per profile a month or Planable Basic's 60 posts per workspace.

What do free plans and trials actually include?

Only three tools on the list have a permanent free plan you can run a small account on: Buffer, Metricool and Publer. Everyone else offers a time-limited trial, and two of them take a card first.

• Buffer Free: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 user, AI Assistant.
• Metricool Free: 1 brand, 20 posts a month, 30 days of analytics; no LinkedIn and no X.
• Publer Free: up to 3 social accounts excluding X, 10 scheduled posts at a time per account, 1 user.
• Planable: no time limit, 50 free posts in total, no card, X publishing excluded.
• Trials without a card: Sprout Social (30 days), SocialBee and Vista Social (14 days).
• Trials with a card: Predis.ai (3 days, charged when day 3 ends) and Ocoya (7 days).
• Other trials: Buffer, Hootsuite and Later (14 days), FeedHive (7 days), Publer (7 days on Professional, 14 on Business).

Feedhand has no free plan; it has a free preview with no card: a short brand summary and 3 first-draft posts about a minute after you answer a few questions. That shows you the output before any payment, which is the part a scheduler's trial cannot show, because a scheduler has no output of its own.

What does each price actually buy: a scheduler or the content?

Ten of the 13 tools on the list are schedulers and management suites: they publish, measure and reply, and you supply the posts. Predis.ai and Ocoya add AI-generated creative on top. That is why they can cost $15 a month. The content itself, meaning the plan, the photos and videos, the captions and the timing, is the expensive part, and you either do it yourself or pay someone.

Feedhand's four plans for one brand on Instagram, TikTok and X are Photo $69 (no video), Starter $139 (16 Reels or TikTok videos), Growth $349 and Pro $549 a month, 15% off yearly, with each platform priced separately. Its honest limit: auto-posting is coming soon, so today each approved post arrives as a ready package you share in one tap, and Reddit is always a manual package. If you already enjoy making your own content, a $15 scheduler is the better buy. If nobody has time to make it, compare the AI rows with a freelancer or an agency on cost, and see what an AI social media manager does day to day.

How do you pick the right tool for your budget?

Pick by the unit that matches your situation, then check the three costs that do not show on the plan card. A short routine:

1. Count your units: brands, networks per brand, people who need a login.
2. Price X separately: add Metricool's $10, Vista Social's $29, or Planable's Pro upgrade if you post on X more than once a day.
3. Check the post cap: Later Starter allows 30 posts per profile a month, Planable Basic 60 per workspace, FeedHive Creator 30 scheduled posts.
4. Check the AI allowance against how many captions or images you need a month.
5. Run a month on monthly billing, then switch to yearly if the tool fits.
6. Decide who makes the content. If the answer is "nobody", the scheduler's price is not your real cost.

For two head-to-head views, see Feedhand vs Buffer and Feedhand vs Hootsuite.

See what the content side looks like for your brand

A scheduler's price only matters once you have posts to schedule. If the posts are the missing part, paste your website or app link into Feedhand: the free preview shows a brand summary and 3 first-draft posts about a minute after a few questions, with no credit card.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest social media scheduler for Instagram, TikTok and X?

Buffer is the cheapest on our list: its free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each, and Essentials is $5 per channel a month on yearly billing, so $15 for three. FeedHive Creator (€15 a month for 4 accounts) is close. Prices checked 31 Oct 2026.

How much does Hootsuite cost for a small business?

Hootsuite's plans page lists Standard at $99 per user a month on yearly billing, with 10 social accounts, Professional at $199 and Advanced at $399. Monthly billing is available at a higher rate that the page does not state. A one-person business pays $99 a month; each extra user adds another seat.

Why do some tools charge extra for X?

Because access to X's API costs the tool money, and some pass that on. Metricool charges $10 a month per X account, Vista Social $29 a month, Publer supports X only on paid plans and names the X API cost as the reason, and Planable's Basic plan allows one X post per 24 hours.

Are the prices on this page monthly or yearly?

Both appear, and the table labels each one. Many vendors show the yearly-billed price per month by default, which is lower than paying month to month. Where a page shows only one figure, we say which billing it is, and where its own numbers conflict, we say that too.

Is Feedhand a cheaper alternative to these tools?

No. Feedhand costs more than a scheduler because it plans and creates the posts, starting at $69 a month for one brand on Instagram, TikTok and X. If you already make your own content, a scheduler from this table is the cheaper and better fit.

Keep going — related questions

• How much social media costs with AI: a 150-post month, measured
• Social media manager vs agency vs AI: the honest cost comparison
• Which social networks let tools post automatically
• Feedhand vs FeedHive: honest comparison
• Can an AI social media manager post to Instagram automatically?

Sources: official pricing pages of Buffer, Hootsuite (plans and TikTok pages), Later, Sprout Social, Metricool, Planable, FeedHive, Predis.ai, Ocoya, Publer (pricing page and help center), SocialBee and Vista Social, and Feedhand's own plan list; all checked 31 Oct 2026.