Buffer costs $6 per channel a month on Essentials and $12 per channel on Team, or $5 and $10 billed yearly, as of November 12, 2026. The Free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each. A channel is one social account, so the bill grows with every profile you add, and the writing is still yours. Postel charges one plan price instead, from $29/month ($19/month billed yearly), and writes your posts in your voice from what's going viral in your niche before it schedules them to X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Joschua Sünneke·
We make Postel. Buffer facts come from its pricing page, checked on November 12, 2026.
Better value than Buffer
Postel
One plan price instead of a price per channel, and Postel writes the posts in your voice before it schedules them.
Writes in your voice. It learns from your own posts and notes, so drafts read like you wrote them, not like a template.
Finds what's going viral in your niche. It shows the posts doing best for real creators in your niche, then writes your take on one in your voice.
One calendar for X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Write once, get a version for each network, and schedule them all from the same place.
Writes next week for you. On Pro and up, Plan next week fills your free slots with drafts you schedule, edit or skip.
$1 for 7 days. Then from $29 a month. Cancel anytime.
8,000+ people have signed up · $1 for 7 days · Cancel anytime
Source: Buffer pricing, checked on November 12, 2026.
Prices are in US dollars. Yearly billing "saves 2 months", and both paid plans start with a 14-day free trial. If you don't add a card, the account drops to the Free plan when the trial ends.
Buffer's volume pricing
From the eleventh channel on, each channel costs less. Rates per channel on monthly billing:
Channels
Essentials, per channel
Team, per channel
1 to 10
$6
$12
11 to 25
$4
$4
26 to 50
$3
$3
51 and up
$1
$2
Source: Buffer pricing for AI agents, checked on November 12, 2026.
What Buffer costs for a real setup
Buffer's price depends on how many accounts you connect. Postel's doesn't: one plan covers X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Setup
Buffer
Postel
You, on X and LinkedIn
$12/mo ($10/mo yearly) on Essentials
$29/mo ($19/mo yearly) on Starter
You, on all 7 networks Postel posts to
$42/mo ($35/mo yearly) on Essentials
$29/mo ($19/mo yearly) on Starter
3 people on those 7 accounts
$84/mo ($70/mo yearly) on Team
$49/mo ($29/mo yearly) on Pro
On X and LinkedIn, Buffer Essentials is $12 a month for a queue of posts you write yourself. Postel Starter is $29 and writes them.
On all 7 networks, Buffer Essentials is $42 a month, more than Postel Starter's $29, and Postel writes the posts.
For 3 people, Buffer Team is $84 a month, more than Postel Pro's $49, which also writes next week's posts for you to approve.
What each Buffer plan includes
Free: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, 100 ideas, the AI Assistant, 30 days of analytics and 5 AI reply suggestions a week.
Essentials, $6 per channel a month ($5 yearly): unlimited scheduled posts and ideas, advanced analytics and reports, first comment scheduling, channel groups and the hashtag manager. One user.
Team, $12 per channel a month ($10 yearly): everything in Essentials, plus unlimited team members, approval workflows, access levels and branded reports.
Costs that are easy to miss
Your free channels start costing money. When you upgrade, you pay for every channel, including the 3 you had on Free.
"Unlimited" has a cap. Buffer's fair use policy caps scheduled posts at 5,000 per channel.
A second person means Team. Essentials has one user, and Team doubles the price of the first 10 channels.
Approvals are Team only. Essentials has no approval workflows.
Some accounts only get reminders. Instagram personal profiles and Facebook groups can't publish automatically; Buffer sends a reminder to post by hand.
Your voice isn't included. Buffer's AI Assistant creates, refines and repurposes posts from your prompts. Buffer says its AI replies to comments learn your voice; it doesn't say that about writing posts.
What a Postel draft looks like
For You2 of 6Tue 9:12
From your note, Mar 14“Lost Halden in March. Not to a competitor, to an intern with a spreadsheet. They only ever checked weekly pipeline. Now every proposal starts with: which number would you check first?”
SSarah ChenFounder at Brightline · B2B consulting
We lost our biggest client in March.Not to a competitor. To an intern with a spreadsheet.They only ever checked one number: weekly pipeline.Now every proposal starts with one question: which number would you check first?
ScheduleSEditERewriteRSkipX
An example draft in For You, Postel's queue of posts it wrote for you. It comes from a note the writer saved, in their own voice, and says nothing the note doesn't.
Get the posts written, not only scheduled
$1 for 7 days · Cancel anytime
Postel vs Buffer pricing
Postel Starter vs Buffer Essentials at a glance
Postel Starter
Buffer Essentials
Price
$29/mo ($19/mo yearly) for the whole plan
$6 per channel/mo ($5 yearly)
Writes posts in your voice
Yes, learned from your own posts and knowledge base
AI Assistant creates and refines posts from prompts
Finds what's going viral in your niche
Yes, viral post library on every plan
Not listed
Turns videos and articles into posts
Yes
Not listed
Writes next week's posts for you
Pro and up, for you to approve
Not listed
Trial
7-day trial for $1
14 days free
"Not listed" means the vendor's site doesn't mention it, not that it's missing.
Full feature comparison
Postel Starter vs Buffer Essentials, full comparison
Postel Starter
Buffer Essentials
Networks
X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok
12 networks
AI
300 AI credits a month
AI Assistant, unlimited use
Users
1 on Starter, 3 on Pro
1
Approval workflows
Every plan
Team plan only
LinkedIn company pages
Coming soon (submitted for review); personal profiles today
Yes
MCP and Claude
Listed in Claude's directory; drafts in your voice
Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor on every plan
Buffer facts from its pricing page, checked on November 12, 2026.
Buffer charges for the queue, one account at a time. Postel charges once for the writing and the schedule: it learns your voice from your own posts, drafts from your knowledge base, videos and articles, turns viral posts in your niche into your own, and schedules them to X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. TikTok posts go out as Only me from a private account until TikTok finishes reviewing Postel. Pro is $49/month ($29/month billed yearly), with 3 seats, more AI credits and next week's posts written for you to approve. See Postel pricing.
Postel price: $1 for 7 days, then from $29 a month. Cancel anytime.
Is Buffer worth it?
Buffer is a good deal if your posts are already written and you need them sent to many accounts, including Facebook, Pinterest and Google Business Profile. Up to 4 accounts, it's the cheaper queue: $24 a month against Postel Starter's $29, with the writing left to you.
If the blank box is what stops you posting, Buffer leaves that part to you. Postel is built for that: it writes the post in your voice, from your own material or from what's going viral in your niche, then schedules it. See Postel vs Buffer for the full feature comparison.
Write and schedule posts in your own voice
Postel learns how you write, drafts posts for X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok from your notes and links, and posts them on schedule.
8,000+ people have signed up $1 for 7 days · Cancel anytime
Frequently asked questions
Updated Nov 12, 2026.
How much does Buffer cost?
As of November 12, 2026, Buffer Essentials is $6 per channel a month ($5 billed yearly) and Team is $12 per channel ($10 yearly), with lower rates from the eleventh channel. The Free plan is $0 for up to 3 channels.
Is Buffer free?
Buffer has a free plan for up to 3 channels, with 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time and one user. Paid plans add unlimited scheduled posts, advanced analytics and, on Team, more users and approvals.
How does Buffer's per-channel pricing work?
You pay for each social account you connect. An X account and a LinkedIn profile are 2 channels: $12 a month on Essentials. Channels 1 to 10 cost the full rate, and each channel after that costs less.
Does Buffer have a yearly discount?
Yes. Yearly billing "saves 2 months": $5 instead of $6 per channel on Essentials and $10 instead of $12 on Team. Nonprofits get 50% off paid plans.
Does Buffer have an API?
Yes, on every plan, Free included, with 1, 3 or 5 API keys depending on the plan. Postel has an API too, and works from Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor through its MCP server on every plan.
Is Postel cheaper than Buffer?
Up to 4 accounts on monthly billing, Buffer's queue costs less, and you write every post. Postel's price doesn't grow with your accounts: $29/month ($19/month billed yearly) covers X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, against $42 a month for the same 7 channels on Buffer Essentials, and Postel writes the posts in your voice.
Joschua Sünneke