Publer vs Buffer, both free tiers read
Publer vs Buffer for a 1 to 3 person shop
Publer and Buffer are the two cheap schedulers a small local business compares first, and both keep a permanent free plan that does not write the posts. Every figure below was read from publer.com/plans and buffer.com/pricing on 17 September 2026.
The two vendors print their prices in different units and formats, so every figure below carries its billing mode, and each one links back to the page it was read from.
On 17 September 2026, Publer's cheapest paid plan was $5.00 a month or $4.00 a month billed yearly, and Buffer's cheapest paid plan was $6 a month per channel billed monthly, or $5 a month per channel with the year prepaid, both above a free plan that never expires.
Publer is the scheduler that also sells AI images and a recycling queue on its pricier tier; Buffer is the queue that keeps its AI limited to rewriting words you supply.
For a one to three person local service business the question is whether you will pay for the extra production Publer offers, or stay with Buffer's cheaper, word-only queue, and neither one writes the posts from your website.
Where every number came from
Publer
- The plans page carried a Monthly/Yearly toggle labelled "2 months free" and listed Professional at $5.00 a month or $4.00 a month billed yearly, and Business at $10.00 a month or $8.00 a month billed yearly, with Enterprise as "Billed yearly, Custom, Get a quote". Above the cards sat a social accounts and additional members stepper whose note read that every tenth social account and every tenth additional member is free. publer.com/plans, read 17 September 2026
- The Free plan was listed at $0 as "Free forever" with 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts except X, 10 scheduled posts per account, 25 saved drafts and a 24-hour post history, and it also read "You cannot connect Twitter / X accounts in the free version." publer.com/plans, read 17 September 2026
- The plans page listed an AI Assistant under "Included In All", described as generating content with ease, completing text and creating photos, and the Business plan listed "Unlimited AI prompts: generate as much AI-content as you need, both text and images, at no additional cost." publer.com/plans, read 17 September 2026
- Approval workflows were listed under the page's "Paid Features", described as creating approval workflows with real-time notifications and notes for a team or external clients. The Free plan was a single user, and additional members were added through the stepper above the cards. publer.com/plans, read 17 September 2026
- The page's support section listed self-serve access to a Help Center, live chat with human agents and email support, and the Enterprise plan listed "1:1 onboarding", "Prioritized support" and "Expedited feature requests" among its inclusions. publer.com/plans, read 17 September 2026
Buffer
- The pricing page opened with the yearly billing toggle already selected and labelled the saving "save 2 months". Billed monthly it listed Free at $0, Essentials at $6 a month per channel and Team at $12 a month per channel. Billed yearly the same plans read $5 and $10 a month per channel, charged as $60 and $120 a year per channel. buffer.com/pricing, read 17 September 2026
- The Free plan was listed at $0 forever for up to 3 channels, with 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user account, and those caps did not move when the billing toggle did. buffer.com/pricing, read 17 September 2026
- The pricing page listed the AI Assistant on all three plans, Free included, described as "Refine and repurpose your content using AI" with "Unlimited credits". No plan metered it. buffer.com/pricing, read 17 September 2026
- The pricing page listed no image or video generation allowance on any plan. Its one video feature was custom video covers, which pick a frame from a video you supply. buffer.com/pricing, read 17 September 2026
- The feature table put content approval workflows, access levels, branded reports and custom access and permissions on the Team plan only. buffer.com/pricing, read 17 September 2026
Publer vs Buffer, side by side
Every cell above was read on 17 September 2026 from publer.com/plans and buffer.com/pricing, and the full quotations with links sit in the section above. Publer prices a plan in two modes, billed monthly or billed yearly, and Buffer prices per channel in two modes, its page opening on the yearly one.
| What to compare | Publer | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Price at one seat | $5.00 a month, or $4.00 a month billed yearly (Professional) | $6 a month per channel billed monthly, or $5 a month per channel with the year prepaid (Essentials) |
| Number of social accounts | 3 on Free, except X; paid plans scale through the accounts stepper | 3 channels on Free, any number paid per channel |
| Scheduling limits | 10 scheduled posts per account on Free, unlimited on paid | 10 scheduled posts per channel on Free, unlimited on paid |
| AI writing | AI Assistant on all plans; unlimited text and image prompts on Business | AI Assistant refines and repurposes words, unlimited credits, no image generation |
| Approval flow | Listed under paid features, not on the single-user Free plan | Team plan only |
| Analytics | 24-hour post history on Free; reports and competitor analysis on Business | 30-day Insights on Free, advanced analytics and reports on paid |
| Support | Self-serve Help Center, live chat and email; Enterprise adds 1:1 onboarding | Email support on every plan |
| Free tier | Free forever, 3 accounts except X, 10 scheduled posts each, 25 drafts | Free forever, 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts each |
Source: publer.com/plans and buffer.com/pricing, read 17 September 2026
What actually decides the purchase
Price: two cheap ladders in different units
Publer's Professional was $5.00 a month or $4.00 a month billed yearly, and its Business plan $10.00 a month or $8.00 a month billed yearly, with an accounts stepper above the cards. Buffer's Essentials was $6 a month per channel billed monthly, or $5 a month per channel with the year prepaid, and Team $12 a month per channel billed monthly, or $10 a month per channel with the year prepaid. Publer's bill climbs per account and member, Buffer's per channel.
What the AI actually produces
Publer's AI Assistant sits on every plan to help write captions, and its Business tier adds unlimited prompts for text and images. Buffer's AI Assistant refines and repurposes words you already wrote, with unlimited credits on all plans, Free included, and the pricing page listed no image or video generation at any price. If images are the missing piece, only Publer sells them, and only on its top paid tier.
The free plans and what each blocks
Publer's Free plan covers 3 social accounts except X, holds 10 scheduled posts per account and 25 drafts, and its own page says free accounts cannot connect Twitter or X. Buffer's Free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel and no blocked network. Both are permanent, so the free tier is a real home, not a clock.
Approval and team machinery
Publer lists approval workflows under its paid features, and its Free plan is a single user with members added through a stepper. Buffer puts content approval workflows, access levels and branded reports on its Team plan only. For a one to three person shop an approval chain is machinery you may never use; for a client-facing agency it is the whole point, and Publer's per-account pricing is built for that case.
Analytics depth
Publer keeps a 24-hour post history on Free and moves reports, best times to post, competitor analysis and hashtag analytics to its Business tier. Buffer gives Free a 30-day Insights history and moves advanced analytics, performance overview and report exports to paid plans. Neither free tier is where the numbers live.
What changed recently
On 17 September 2026, Publer's plans page printed fixed list prices for the first time in this site's records: $5.00 a month for Professional and $10.00 a month for Business. The Publer comparison elsewhere on this site, checked 18 August 2026, had recorded only calculator placeholders with no printed price.
Buffer's pricing page was unchanged from this site's 28 August 2026 read: Essentials and Team still open on the yearly toggle, at the same per-channel figures in both billing modes.
Both vendors reprice and reshuffle features without notice. Treat the figures on this page as correct for the date printed, and open the two linked pages before any number decides a purchase.
When neither scheduler makes the posts
Publer and Buffer are both queues for content that already exists. Publer adds AI text and image generation and a recycling queue on its Business tier, while Buffer's AI only rewrites words you supply and generates no media at any price. Neither turns your website into a week of finished posts.
That gap is where SpeedRun Social sits. It reads your website into a brand kit and generates the caption, image and short video for each post, then publishes after you approve. The free plan is 300 credits a month refilled forever, one free campaign a week (3 posts, 1 video, 1 cross-post), no card, watermarked media on free. Paid plans are $49.99, $99.99 and $199.99 a month, flat per workspace and not per user or per channel, with image and video generation included on every tier.
We are new and have very few customers, so treat this as a pricing and feature comparison, not a recommendation backed by a large installed base. The links above exist so you can check both vendors, and the signup link exists so you can check ours.
Publer vs Buffer, answered
publer vs buffer: which should a small business pick?
It depends on what you need beyond a queue. On 17 September 2026 Publer's Professional plan was $5.00 a month or $4.00 a month billed yearly, and Buffer's Essentials was $6 a month per channel billed monthly, or $5 a month per channel with the year prepaid. If you want a cheap queue and may later want AI images and recycling, Publer's Business tier sells them. If you only need a reliable queue for posts you write, Buffer's per-channel price is simpler. If you need the posts made at all, neither tool does that.
Is Publer cheaper than Buffer?
At the entry they are within a few dollars. Publer's Professional was $5.00 a month or $4.00 a month billed yearly, and Buffer's Essentials was $6 a month per channel or $5 a month per channel with the year prepaid. Buffer's price climbs per channel, so a two or three channel roster may cost more than Publer's single plan, but the units differ and the cheap tiers buy different extras.
Does Publer have a free plan?
Yes. On 17 September 2026 Publer's Free plan was listed at $0 as "Free forever" with 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts except X, 10 scheduled posts per account and 25 saved drafts. It cannot connect Twitter or X accounts.
Does Buffer have a free plan?
Yes. On 17 September 2026 Buffer's Free plan was listed at $0 forever for up to 3 channels, with 10 scheduled posts per channel and 1 user account, and the AI Assistant was included with unlimited credits.
Can Publer or Buffer generate images with AI?
Publer can, on its Business tier, which listed unlimited AI prompts for text and images at no additional cost. Buffer listed no image or video generation on any plan; its AI Assistant only refines and repurposes words you supply, and its one video feature picks a cover frame from a video you already have.
Which one has approval workflows?
Both gate them to a paid tier. Publer lists approval workflows under its paid features and its Free plan is a single user, while Buffer puts content approval workflows, access levels and branded reports on its Team plan only. A solo owner or a two person shop is unlikely to use either.
How many social accounts can I connect on each?
Publer's Free plan covers 3 social accounts except X, and its paid plans scale through the accounts stepper, with every tenth account free. Buffer's Free plan covers 3 channels and its paid plans charge per channel, so you connect as many as you pay for.
Let the two free plans settle it
Count your profiles, then open both pricing pages. Publer prices a plan in two billing modes, Buffer prices per channel in two modes, and the two links above are there so you can re-read both before deciding.
Every figure on this page was read on 17 September 2026 from publer.com/plans and buffer.com/pricing. Prices move; the links exist so you can check theirs and ours.