Postiz vs Buffer
Buffer does not charge per user, it charges per channel. Essentials is $5 per channel per month billed yearly and Team is $10, so the bill multiplies by every profile you connect, and a landing page counts as a channel too. Postiz schedules to X, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Mastodon and more, is open source, and runs on your own server for a flat $15/mo with unlimited channels.
Postiz vs Buffer: The Verdict
Buffer is the better on-ramp and its free plan is genuinely useful: three channels, ten queued posts each, nothing to run. It is also the more polished product, with analytics, an engagement inbox and a start page, and it handles the messy platform API relationships for you. The pricing is where it turns. Buffer bills per channel rather than per person, at $5 each on Essentials and $10 each on Team when billed yearly, so a brand running eight profiles pays $40 to $80 a month for scheduling, and every new network you add raises the bill again. Postiz is $15/mo flat on one pod, unlimited channels and unlimited teammates, with your posts and schedule in a PostgreSQL database you own. The honest catch is setup: you register your own developer app with each social network and paste the OAuth client ID and secret into your pod, and some networks put write access behind an app review or a paid API tier. Budget an afternoon of admin. If you post to three channels and never will, stay on Buffer free. Past five or six channels, the maths stops being close.
Last updated: 2026-08-07Quick Comparison
| Feature | Buffer | Postiz |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per channel, not per user | Per pod. Flat |
| Price, 8 channels | $40/mo on Essentials, $80/mo on Team, billed yearly | $15/mo flat |
| Price, 3 channels | Free, with 10 queued posts per channel | $15/mo flat |
| Free plan | Yes: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel | The software is free. You pay for the server |
| Queue depth on the free plan | 10 scheduled posts per channel | Unlimited |
| Teammates | Not what you are billed on, but seats vary by plan | Unlimited, at no extra cost |
| What counts as a channel | Each connected profile, and a Start Page counts too | Nothing is counted |
| Billing terms | $5 and $10 rates are the yearly-billed prices. Monthly costs more | $15/mo, no annual commitment |
| Platform API setup | Handled for you | You register a developer app per network and add the keys yourself |
| AI post generation | AI assistant included on paid plans | Bring your own OpenAI key, nothing metered |
| Analytics and engagement inbox | Yes, on paid plans | Basic. This is not what Postiz is for |
| Where your content lives | Buffer cloud | PostgreSQL on a pod you own |
| License | Proprietary subscription | AGPL-3.0, about 34,000 GitHub stars |
Where Buffer Gets Expensive
Trade-offs to weigh before committing.
The Bill Multiplies by Profiles
Essentials is $5 per channel per month and Team is $10, billed yearly. One brand posting to X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Bluesky is eight channels, which is $40 or $80 a month for a scheduler.
A Landing Page Counts as a Channel
Buffer's Start Page, its link-in-bio product, counts towards your channel allowance the same way a social profile does. It is a small thing that quietly moves you up a step.
Ten Queued Posts per Channel on Free
The free plan connects three channels but caps you at ten scheduled posts per channel at a time. That is fine for testing and awkward for anyone who batches a month of content in one sitting.
The Headline Rates Assume an Annual Commitment
The $5 and $10 figures are the yearly-billed prices, which Buffer describes as saving two months. Paying month to month costs more per channel, so the cheap number and the flexible number are not the same number.
Why Self-Host with Postiz?
What you get when you pick this stack.
Connect as Many Accounts as You Like
One $15/mo Grow pod covers every channel you can authenticate and every teammate you invite. Adding a ninth profile or a second brand changes nothing about the bill.
Your Own OpenAI Key, Not Metered Credits
Postiz can draft posts and generate images with AI. You supply your own OpenAI key as a pod environment variable, so you pay the model provider directly at cost rather than buying an assistant from a scheduling vendor.
The Schedule and the History Are Yours
Posts, queues and connected accounts live in a PostgreSQL database on your pod, with SSH access and backups included. Nothing about your publishing history disappears when a subscription lapses.
Everything It Needs, Already Bundled
The InstaPods image ships Postiz with PostgreSQL and Redis configured on the $15/mo Grow plan (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB storage). First boot takes two to three minutes while the databases initialise, then you create your admin account and set DISABLE_REGISTRATION to true so nobody else can sign up on your instance.
Real Cost Comparison
One brand publishing to eight social profiles, with two people scheduling.
- Buffer Essentials: $5 per channel per month, billed yearly
- 8 channels: $40/mo
- Team plan instead, at $10 per channel: $80/mo
- Every new network you add raises the bill again
- InstaPods Grow plan: $15/mo
- Postiz: free (open source, AGPL-3.0)
- Unlimited channels and teammates
- PostgreSQL and Redis bundled, HTTPS and backups included
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Buffer cost in 2026?
Buffer has a free plan covering 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel. Essentials is $5 per channel per month and Team is $10 per channel per month, both at the yearly-billed rate, which Buffer describes as saving two months against monthly billing. A Start Page counts as a channel towards your plan. Prices read from buffer.com on 7 August 2026.
When does Postiz actually become cheaper?
At four channels on Team, or seven on Essentials. Three channels are free on Buffer and $15/mo self-hosted, so Buffer wins there and this page is not going to argue otherwise. Eight channels is $40/mo on Essentials or $80/mo on Team, against a flat $15/mo pod, and the gap widens with every profile and every brand you add.
Is Postiz a real Buffer alternative?
For scheduling and publishing, yes. Postiz gives you a content calendar, per-network previews, AI-assisted drafting, multiple connected accounts and team access, which is what most people use a scheduler for. It is weaker on analytics and on engagement, where Buffer has a proper inbox and reporting. If your week is spent replying to comments and reading reports, Buffer earns its price.
What is the catch with self-hosting Postiz?
Platform access. Buffer holds commercial API relationships with the networks, so connecting an account is two clicks. With Postiz you register your own developer app on each network and paste its client ID and secret into your pod as environment variables. Some networks put write access behind an app review or a paid API tier. It is a one-time afternoon of admin per network, but it is real work and worth knowing before you switch.
Which networks does Postiz support?
X, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest and more, with the list growing upstream. Each one connects with its own OAuth credentials that you add to the pod.
What does Postiz need to run?
PostgreSQL and Redis alongside the app, which is why it starts on the $15/mo Grow plan: 2 vCPU, 4 GB of RAM and 50 GB of storage. The InstaPods image bundles all of it, so there is nothing external to provision. First boot takes two to three minutes while the databases initialise.
Run your own social scheduler for $15/mo
Instant launch with PostgreSQL, Redis, HTTPS and backups already set up. Unlimited channels and teammates on one flat bill.
Deploy Postiz