Buying guidePubler alternatives for queues, recurring posts and API access
Buffer offers a free queue, SocialBee handles evergreen content, Postiz supports hosted or self-hosted publishing, and Influence prepares posts with an assistant.
Facts checked:
Publer: The short answer
Publer Professional includes scheduling and RSS automation. Business adds AI, analytics, API/MCP access and recycling. Buffer is an option for a light queue, SocialBee for recurring content, and Influence for individually reviewed drafts and schedules. Publer remains useful when its existing automations save you work.
Reasons to keep your current tool
Keep Publer when its queue, recurring-content rules, RSS feeds, integrations or supported formats fit the way you publish. Replacing automated recurring work with manual schedules may increase your effort even if the subscription is cheaper.
Our recommendations
AI and API access are required
Publer Business includes AI and API/MCP access. Influence also supports assistant and API publishing with review and confirmation.
Inspect Influence’s developer interfacesEvergreen rotation does most of the work
Publer and SocialBee are the closer choices for recurring evergreen content.
Compare automation-led toolsYou review each new post yourself
Buffer suits a small queue; Influence suits preparing and scheduling posts across a business’s accounts.
Compare individual publishing costsCompare Professional and Business at the same size
For five accounts and the included owner, Publer’s monthly selector shows $20 for Professional and $35 for Business. API access and AI are Business features, so a buyer who needs them would pay $35 for this setup.
At ten accounts, the volume rule charges for nine. Additional members are counted separately from the owner. The current annual calculator applies a twenty-percent discount to the full-year total.
A queue and a saved schedule solve different problems
A queue chooses the next available slot from a reusable timetable. An RSS rule can add new items from a feed. A recurring rule can reuse an existing item. An individually saved schedule commits a particular draft to a particular time.
Individual schedules work for posts you review one by one. Evergreen rotation or RSS-based publishing needs a tool that supports those rules, such as Publer or SocialBee. Moving draft text to another scheduler will not transfer the rules.
Publer: Which tool suits you?
| Tool | Best suited to | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Publer | Existing scheduling, RSS or recycling automations. | Professional and Business differ materially; accounts and additional members both affect cost. |
| Buffer | Channel-based publishing with a free queue and assistant access. | The paid total grows with channels, and formal approvals require Team. |
| SocialBee | Category-based evergreen posts and recurring content. | Choose the plan matching accounts, workspaces, people and report depth. |
| Postiz | Developers choosing hosted or self-hosted publishing. | Self-hosting adds infrastructure, maintenance and provider setup costs. |
| Influence | Preparing posts in an assistant or workspace, then reviewing and scheduling them. | RSS and recycling rules need separate setup; moving a post does not transfer its automation. |
Publishing prices for your accounts
One account means one profile or Page. Posting an announcement to five accounts counts as five publications.
These plans cover publishing. Inbox, reporting and approval features differ by plan.
Some plans charge per account, person, brand or social set. A social set can limit how many accounts you can connect on each network. Posts are split evenly across accounts in these examples. Posting more often to one account may require a higher plan.
Standard US prices, excluding taxes, promotions and optional extras. Required extras are included where their prices are available.
Amounts use your selected currency, fixed comparison exchange rates and rounded local prices. Annual totals are the full-year bill.
Publishing price comparison: 1 connected accounts · 12 publications each month · Monthly billing
- Publer$5Professional
- Buffer$6Essentials
- SocialBee$29Bootstrap
- Postiz$29Standard
- Influence$19Starter
The table shows priced plans with enough publishing capacity for these accounts and posts. Features such as team approvals may require a higher tier. Free plans are covered below.
| Matching plan | Total for the billing period | What the plan includes |
|---|---|---|
| PublerProfessional | $5billed each month | People in base plan: 1 US price calculation: ($5 + 0 × $2) = $5 Plan source |
| BufferEssentials | $6billed each month | People in base plan: 1 US price calculation: 1 × $6 = $6 Plan source |
| SocialBeeBootstrap | $29billed each month | Accounts in base plan: 5 · People in base plan: 1 US price calculation: Base price: $29 Plan source |
| PostizStandard | $29billed each month | Accounts in base plan: 5 · People in base plan: 1 US price calculation: Base price: $29 Plan source |
| InfluenceStarter | $19billed each month | Monthly publications included: 50Plan source |
Prices for three common setups
US monthly prices. Each column uses the same accounts, people and number of posts for every tool.
Example 1
- Connected accounts
- 1
- Publications each month
- 12
- People using the tool
- 1
- Businesses or brands
- 1
- Most accounts on one network
- 1
- X accounts within that total
- 0
Example 2
- Connected accounts
- 5
- Publications each month
- 60
- People using the tool
- 1
- Businesses or brands
- 1
- Most accounts on one network
- 1
- X accounts within that total
- 0
Example 3
- Connected accounts
- 10
- Publications each month
- 120
- People using the tool
- 2
- Businesses or brands
- 1
- Most accounts on one network
- 2
- X accounts within that total
- 0
| Matching plan | Example 1 · USD | Example 2 · USD | Example 3 · USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publer | $5Professional | $20Professional | $38Professional |
| Buffer | $6Essentials | $30Essentials | $120Team |
| SocialBee | $29Bootstrap | $29Bootstrap | $99Pro |
| Postiz | $29Standard | $29Standard | $39Team |
| Influence | $19Starter | $39Growth | Price unavailable |
Publer Business adds features including AI and API/MCP access. Professional and Business are shown separately.
| Publer | Example 1 · USD | Example 2 · USD | Example 3 · USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | $5 | $20 | $38 |
| Business | $10 | $35 | $66 |
Publer / Influence: The differences that matter
| What you need to do | Publer | Influence |
|---|---|---|
| Connected accounts | Paid pricing depends on accounts; each tenth account is free under the published volume rule. | Choose a publication allowance for the business’s output. |
| Additional people | The owner is included; additional members have their own charge and volume rule. | The price examples cover one person managing one business. |
| Free queue | Free includes three accounts excluding X and ten queued posts per account. | Paid plans with a seven-day trial; a card is required. |
| RSS and recurrence | Professional lists RSS automation; Business adds recycling features. | Individual post schedules in this guide. Existing RSS and recurring rules need separate setup. |
| AI and analytics | Business includes AI prompts and analytics rather than treating them as Professional features. | Use source facts and inspect the generated drafts. |
| API and MCP | API and MCP access are included in Business. | Machine publishing actions require the documented confirmation process. |
Prices and plan details were checked on the date above. The linked sources list each provider’s current terms. Sources and pricing
Example: announce a freshly published resource
The example uses a published article and approved artwork to prepare an individually scheduled post.
- 1
Select the source
Confirm the article is public, accurate and useful to the intended audience.
Field Guide publishes an equipment-care checklist on 22 October at 08:00 Bangkok time. It supplies the final article URL and approved cover image. This is one new item, not an RSS rule.
- 2
Prepare destination drafts
Write a relevant introduction for each selected account and attach authorized media.
LinkedIn
Field Guide’s new equipment-care checklist is available. Keep it handy alongside your equipment’s instructions.
Facebook
Keep your equipment-care checklist handy. Field Guide’s new article brings the steps together; always follow your equipment’s own instructions.
- 3
Review the result
Check the link, claim, format and image crop. Remove wording that overstates what the resource contains.
Check the final link, cover and selected accounts. Disable any duplicate planned item in the old tool; do not assume an RSS rule was migrated.
- 4
Save a specific schedule
Choose the account and publication time. Do not also leave an RSS rule scheduled to create a duplicate item.
Scheduled for 22 October 2026, 09:00 Asia/Bangkok (02:00 UTC), with one post for each selected account.
- 5
Check later delivery
Read the status and inspect the destination. Treat an uncertain result as a review task before any resend.
At 09:05, the first account shows Published and the second shows Needs review. Check the second account’s existing result before sending again to avoid a duplicate.
See the steps in Influence
Screenshots from an example workspace with fictional data. The interface is shown in English.
1. Edit the text and check the preview
Edit the text beside the selected account’s preview. Saving a draft leaves it available for more changes.
Open full-size screenshot (new tab)
2. Review before approving
The review brings the account, post, date, time and time zone together. Confirm schedule saves this version for the chosen time.
Open full-size screenshot (new tab)
3. Find the scheduled post
The calendar shows when each post is due. Its status changes as publishing progresses; Activity shows the later delivery result.
Open full-size screenshot (new tab)
What carries over when you switch?
Feed rules, recurring posts and queue slots need separate setup when you move your future posts.
- List RSS feeds, recurring rules, queue slots and future posts.
- Decide which rules remain necessary and where they will run.
- Recreate one draft on a permitted account and verify its format and time zone.
- Disable or remove only the duplicate future item in its old owner.
- Confirm delivery before moving more schedules or retiring automation.
Queue rules, RSS configuration, recycling history, analytics and stored post history do not automatically transfer.
See the publishing workflow
The current signup requires a card before the seven-day trial. Charging starts after the trial under the selected plan's terms.
Questions before you switch
Is Publer API access included in Professional?
No. Publer lists API and MCP access under Business.
Does every tenth account cost nothing?
The pricing page says each tenth social account is free. It applies a separate equivalent rule to additional members; the owner does not count as an additional member.
Is self-hosted Postiz the same as a free hosted service?
No. Self-hosting also needs infrastructure, upgrades, security, backups and provider credentials. Those costs sit outside the software license.
Publer: Sources and pricing
Prices and plan details were checked on the date above. The linked sources list each provider’s current terms.
- Publer: Pricing and plan details ·
- Buffer: Pricing and plan details ·
- SocialBee: Pricing and plan details ·
- Postiz: Pricing and plan details ·
Compare other tools
Related alternatives and their prices, features and switching considerations.