The year 2023 has seen many changes in social networking. Recently, Meta announced the launch of its new Threads app, to compete with Twitter, which has since reached 100 million daily users! Also, with the incoming of Mastodon platform, users started to consider it after Twitter changes.
So all of these, make a changing market of social media, and it is very important to stay updated with the news as the main focus is to reach and target certain audiences. That makes it a high priority for internal marketers, but it has also become a priority for agencies, marketing freelancers, and independent consultants.
That’s why social media management tools are a must to manage all these platforms in one place. Today we will conduct a comparative analysis for Buffer vs. Publer. Moreover, today’s article includes the following:
- Features
- Pricing and Plans
- Ease of setup
- Ease of use
- Quality of support
- Platform availability
- Reviews
Let’s get started!
What is Buffer?
Buffer is a multi-purpose social media marketing software tool. Its core feature is the ability to draft and schedule posts for sharing across multiple social networks including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Mastodon.
Buffer has five main features:
- Buffer Publishing: This is the core functionality of Buffer, where you can schedule social media posts on different platforms.
- Buffer Analytics: Their social media reporting suite. Hereβs where you can see how your social media posts are performing. You can analyze each platform one-by-one or get all of your social media performance data combined.
- Buffer Engagement: This feature, designed for larger companies, monitors conversations about their brand happening on Instagram and responds to people who need help.
- Start Page: Or so called “linkin.bio”, you can share everything you need on all your social profiles.
- AI Assistant: You can generate ideas and repurpose your existing content many times.
- Pricing: No free plan. Paid plan starts at $99/month.
- Ease of setup: 9.2/10
- Ease of use: 9.2/10
- Quality of support: 8.5/10
- Platform availability: Desktop and mobile (iOS & Android)
- Reviews: 4.3 out of 5 in G2.
Why Look for a Buffer Alternative?
Listing its features, its evident why Buffer is highly favored. However, it may not be the ideal choice for all businesses, particularly for small and mid-sized businesses. Here are some reasons why you should choose a better alternative than Buffer.
Not So Affordable
While the “Essentials” plan starts at $6 per month, it is important to note that this price only covers a single channel.
This plan may not be the most cost-effective option for individuals such as freelancers or influencers who typically have three or more social media accounts (additional channels incur an extra cost of $6). The “Team” plan offers additional collaboration options for $12 per month, but always for a single social network.
Last, Buffer provides an “Agency” plan suited for midsize businesses, which includes 10 social networks for $120 per month. Compared to competitors like Publer, this makes Buffer one of the pricier solutions available.
No Analytical Support for all Social Media Channels
An effective way to manage your social networks is also to track and analyze the performance of your posts by monitoring certain metrics such as conversion rate, engagement, impressions, etc.
In other words, your social network management software should provide you with analytical tools to find out whether your marketing campaign is working or not.
This is where Buffer suffers in comparison with its competitors. In fact, Buffer only offers analytics tools for:
- Facebook Pages
- Instagram business accounts
- Twitter profiles
- LinkedIn Pages
- Shopify stores
Buffer, unlike Publer, does not provide analytical data on Facebook Groups, LinkedIn Profiles, Pinterest business accounts, TikTok business accounts, and Google business profiles. Also, Buffer does not support YouTube, which means you can not integrate your YouTube channel with Buffer, unlike Publer.
No Live Chat Support
Finally, Buffer does not offer live chat support. In the event of a problem, users have to wade through an FAQ or contact support on social media via Twitter and Facebook or by e-mail, which may take time to respond on time.
In contrast, Publer offers premium support, available 24/5, even for the free plan. This means you can quickly resolve any issues and get on with your work without unnecessary delays.
Get to Know Publer
If you are seeking a user-friendly and cost-effective social media automation software then it’s time to try Publer.
Publer is a social media tool that lets you collaborate, schedule & analyze your posts for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google My Business, YouTube, WordPress & Telegram. (Soon Mastodon).
- Pricing: Free plan available. The professional plan starts at $12/month.
- Ease of setup: 9.4/10
- Ease of use: 9.5/10
- Quality of support: 9.5/10
- Platform availability: Desktop and mobile (iOS & Android)
- Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 in G2.
Join the 220K+ freelancers, entrepreneurs, and marketing agencies growing their online brand via Publer.
Buffer Vs. Publer
Here is an in depth comparison about the pricing plan and features, which platforms are supported per each tool and so on.
| Buffer | Publer | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Mastodon. | Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google My Business, YouTube, WordPress & Telegram. (Soon Mastodon) |
| Free Plan | Forever Free plan. β’ 3 social accounts β’ Planning & publishing tools β’ Landing page builder β’ AI Assistant | Forever Free plan. β’ OpenAI integration β’ 3 social accounts (except Twitter) β’ Create and schedule from mobile app β’ Import from Drive, Unsplash, etc β’ Bult-in photo editor β’ Design with Canva β’ Live chat support |
| For Freelancers, Influencers, Entrepreneurs | Starting at $6/month β’Β 1 social account β’Β Engagement tools β’Β Analytics report | Starting at $12/month β’ 3 social accounts (customizable) each social account costs 4 more. β’ Twitter integration β’ 0 additional members β’ Unlimited scheduling & drafts β’ Unlimited workspaces β’ Bulk scheduling (500 posts at once) β’ Live chat support |
| For Agencies | Starting at $120/month β’Β 10 channels β’Β Custom access & permissions β’Β Agency-friendly pricing | Starting at $21/month β’ Unlimited AI prompts β’ Analytics reports β’ Best times to post and insights β’ Hashtag suggestions β’ Recycle evergreen content β’ Design videos with VistaCreate β’ Live chat support |
Why Switch to Publer?
Publer is a social media tool designed to handle everything from scheduling to managing all your social media channels in one place. Overall our tool offers a wide range of options that are comparable to those of Buffer.
Both Buffer and Publer offer free plans with similar features. However, the main contrast lies in their paid plans, where Publer provides more features.
Starting at $12 per month, Publer offers users the advantage of beginning with 3 social networks (customizable), whereas Buffer does not offer this feature. Furthermore, users can add additional social networks to Publer’s Professional plan for an extra $4 per month.
Lastly, for marketing agencies and medium-sized businesses, Publer’s Business plan ($21 per month) proves to be more cost-effective compared to Buffer’s Agency plan ($120 per month). Publer equips companies with robust marketing tools, including best time to post, workspaces, AI-generated compelling content, and many more.
Another noteworthy aspect is Publerβs live customer service, which which Buffer don’t have one. They only support through emails and social media support such as Twitter and Facebook.
On Publer, if you experience any issues with integrating your social media channels or encounter problems with the application itself, you can directly contact us through live chat support. Our team will promptly address your concerns and provide assistance to resolve the issue youβre facing.
For more information, do not miss this guide to manage your social media with Publer.
You can start using Publer for free today and then choose which plan suits you the best!
Denisa Lamaj
