Buffer Pricing 2026
Every Buffer plan, what each limit actually means, and what you pay in practice. Read from the official pricing page on September 3, 2026; prices change, so the source is linked.
Buffer pricing starts free (3 channels, 1 user, 10 scheduled posts per channel) and moves to $6 per channel per month on Essentials or $12 per channel per month on Team, with roughly 20% off on annual billing and volume discounts once you pass 10 channels.
The catch is the unit. Buffer bills per connected channel, so a brand on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pays three times the headline price, and an agency with 30 client channels is into the hundreds per month before anyone has made a single video.
Buffer plans and prices
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | Limits | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free | 3 channels, 1 user, 10 scheduled posts per channel | AI Assistant ideas, basic 30-day analytics, community inbox, 1 API key |
| Essentials | $6 per channel | $5 per channel | Per connected channel, 1 user; volume discounts past 10 channels | Unlimited scheduled posts, advanced analytics, hashtag manager, first-comment scheduling, 3 API keys |
| Team | $12 per channel | $10 per channel | Per connected channel, unlimited seats | Everything in Essentials plus approval workflows, custom permissions, branded reports, 5 API keys |
Free plan: Yes: 3 social channels, 1 user, 10 scheduled posts per channel, basic 30-day analytics, AI caption assistant. Paid plans also get a 14-day trial.. Source: Buffer pricing page, read September 3, 2026.
What the price does not tell you
- Analytics are too basic for campaign or ROI analysis; building a real report means exporting data and doing it elsewhere, and there is no social listening. (G2 reviews)
- Scheduled posts sometimes fail silently or do not sync, with Instagram direct publishing and Stories flagged as unreliable. (Trustpilot)
- Per-channel pricing gets expensive quickly for agencies and teams with many accounts. (Capterra)
- Support response times and billing communication are recurring complaints, including difficulty removing a channel from the free plan. (Trustpilot)
Buffer vs Fastlane pricing
| Fastlane plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No credit card, Access to Blitz (Tinder mode), 10 AI Studio credits, Limited content, Browse features |
| Starter | $29/ month | 20 content saves, 250 AI studio credits, TikTok, Instagram + YT, 1 workspace, 25 AI UGC characters, Blitz mode |
| Growth | $49/ month | 100 content saves, 500 AI studio credits, Unlimited socials, 3 workspaces, 500+ AI UGC characters, 100 human UGC videos, Blitz mode |
| Pro | $149/ month | Unlimited content saves, 2000 AI studio credits, Unlimited scheduling, 10 workspaces, 2000+ human UGC videos, Early access to new features, Multi-language content |
| Warmed accounts | $100 / mo per account | Real TikTok or Instagram accounts created and warmed by humans in your niche, plus $1.50 per post upload |
Buffer solves the upload problem. Fastlane solves the supply problem and the upload problem in one place: paste your website URL, generate AI UGC videos, slideshows, hook + demo videos and memes, approve them in Blitz mode, and publish natively to TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts from the same calendar.
Fastlane also closes the loop Buffer leaves open: unified analytics attribute signups and sales to individual posts, so you know which video earned revenue rather than which one got likes. The Growth plan at $49 per month includes unlimited social accounts, so the per-channel meter never runs.
Both have a free plan with no credit card. The difference is what is on the calendar the morning after you sign up.
Buffer pricing: frequently asked questions
How much does Buffer cost per month?
Free for 3 channels, then $6 per channel per month on Essentials or $12 per channel per month on Team when billed monthly. Annual billing takes about 20% off.
Is Buffer priced per user or per channel?
Per channel. Essentials includes 1 user; Team includes unlimited users. Every connected social account is a channel and adds to the bill.
Does Buffer offer volume discounts?
Yes. Past 10 channels the per-channel rate steps down, dropping to roughly a dollar or two per channel once you pass 50.
How does Buffer pricing compare to Fastlane?
Fastlane's Growth plan is $49 per month flat with unlimited social accounts and includes the content generation Buffer does not have. Both have free plans with no credit card.