Buffer alternative: the comparison with the numbers in it
Short answer. Buffer charges $5 per channel, so four networks cost $20/mo. PostWire charges per business: $9 covers three brands and every network. Verified 26 Aug 2026.
Every price on this page was read off buffer.com and postwire.io on 26 August 2026. If they have changed theirs since, trust their page over ours.
What each plan costs, in each company's own units
Buffer prices per channel. PostWire prices per brand: one business with as many networks as it has — TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn for the same business is still one brand. Compare the row that matches your own setup, not the tier names.
Buffer plan
Price / month
Channels included
Notes
Free
$0
3
10 scheduled posts per channel
Essentials
$5
1
per channel/mo, unlimited scheduled posts
Team
$10
1
per channel/mo, unlimited posts, unlimited members
PostWire plan
Price / month
Brands (networks unlimited)
Notes
Free
$0
1
30 posts/mo
Starter
$9
3
300 posts/mo
Pro
$29
10
2,000 posts/mo
Agency
$99
50
15,000 posts/mo
Scale
$299
200
unlimited posts
Free plan: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts each.
The same two setups, priced on both
Tier names hide the thing that decides your bill: what counts as one unit. PostWire counts a brand — one business with every network it uses. Buffer counts a channel. Here is what that does to two setups people actually have.
Your setup
PostWire
Buffer
One business on 4 networks
$9 (Starter, 1 of 3 brands)
$20 (4 channels x $5)
An agency: 10 clients, 5 networks each
$29 (Pro, 10 brands)
$250 (50 channels)
Which one should you actually pick
Choose Buffer if…
You want a mature product with analytics, an engagement inbox, a proper mobile app and a decade of reliability, and you only manage a handful of channels where $5 each is fine.
Choose PostWire if…
You add networks often and do not want the bill to move each time, you want a native caption per network instead of the same text everywhere, or you publish from code or from an AI agent.
Per-channel adds up quietly
Buffer bills $5 per channel per month, so a single business on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn is $20 — and adding Bluesky makes it $25. On PostWire those five networks are one brand: $9, and the fifth network costs nothing extra. The gap widens with clients: fifty channels is around $250 on Buffer and $29 on PostWire's ten-brand plan.
Where Buffer is genuinely ahead
Analytics, a real engagement inbox, ideas and a mobile app — none of which PostWire has. If you want to read and answer comments where you post them, Buffer does that and PostWire does not.
What PostWire does that most of these do not
A native post per network from one idea. Smart Distribute writes the caption each platform rewards — length, hashtags, SEO and format — instead of pasting identical text everywhere.
It refuses posts that are going to fail. TikTok and YouTube reject anything without a video; Instagram rejects text-only. PostWire blocks that combination while you are writing, rather than reporting four errors after you hit publish.
A real MCP server, not just an API. One tool call from Claude, Cursor or any agent — plus n8n templates if you prefer no code.
Platform approvals already granted. TikTok Direct Post and Meta advanced access were approved for PostWire, so connecting is an OAuth click instead of a review queue.
It depends on your setup, and the two tools do not count in the same unit. Buffer prices per channel; PostWire prices per brand — one business with as many networks as it has — from free (1 brand) to $299 (200). The tables on this page list both so you can check your own number rather than trust a headline.
When should I choose Buffer instead of PostWire?
You want a mature product with analytics, an engagement inbox, a proper mobile app and a decade of reliability, and you only manage a handful of channels where $5 each is fine.
When is PostWire the better choice?
You add networks often and do not want the bill to move each time, you want a native caption per network instead of the same text everywhere, or you publish from code or from an AI agent.
Does PostWire have a free plan?
Yes: one brand with all of its networks and 30 posts a month, no card required, TikTok included.
Does Buffer have a free plan?
Free plan: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts each.
Can an AI agent post through PostWire?
Yes. PostWire ships a REST API and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, so Claude, Cursor or any agent can publish with one tool call, and there are n8n templates that do it without code.