Best Metricool alternatives in 2026
Metricool is a social media scheduler and analytics tool priced per brand rather than per channel or seat. It has a free plan, competitor tracking on every plan, connections to Google, Facebook and TikTok ad accounts, and a 4.1 on Trustpilot across 691 reviews. If you run several brands without X and like doing the posting yourself, it is hard to beat on price.
Read on 4 November 2026: Free is $0 for 1 brand and 20 posts a month, without LinkedIn or X. Starter is $25 a month, or $20 billed annually, for up to 5 brands. Advanced is $67, or $53 billed annually, for up to 15 brands, and it is where team and client management, role management and post approval begin. X is extra on every paid plan: since 13 July 2026 it costs $10 a month per connected account, up from $5.
People look elsewhere for three reasons: the X add-on, approvals locked behind Advanced, and a planner that sits empty because nobody has time to write the posts. If writing is the problem, our pick is AgentCeres, a team of AI specialists that writes the posts for you to approve, for a flat $15–$99 a month. If you only want a simpler scheduler, pick Buffer; for the lowest entry price, Publer. We make AgentCeres, so weigh our ranking with that in mind.
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The shortlist
AgentCeres
Top pickAgentCeres — the AI Growth Officer — is a team of AI specialists rather than a scheduler. Its social media agent writes the posts and puts them on a calendar for you to edit and approve, and the same team builds your website, works on SEO and AI search, makes images and video, and manages Google Ads.
- Growth Officer
- Research agent
- SEO agent
- Social media agent
- Ads agent
- Influencer agent
- Launch & PR agent
- GEO agent
- Community agent
- Sales agent
Pros- Replaces the writing as well as the tool: the planner drafts next week's posts for X, LinkedIn, Facebook Pages, Instagram and Pinterest. YouTube uploads show on the same calendar, and TikTok videos go to your TikTok drafts once you approve
- A flat $15–$99 a month including AI credits, with no charge per channel or per X account
- Posts wait for your approval by default on every plan, where Metricool keeps post approval for Advanced
- The Free plan has no cap on posts and includes X and LinkedIn, where Metricool's stops at 20 a month without either (our AI work draws on monthly credits)
- One workspace for social, website, SEO, AI search, images and video, so other subscriptions can go too
- Already on Metricool? Connect it, and agents can schedule TikTok and other posts into your planner, with those posts on our calendar, while you move over
Cons- You can't type a post straight into the calendar: you ask the agent, then edit and approve
- Video isn't scheduled on the calendar: a YouTube upload, Reel or TikTok goes through its own approval card, and a TikTok lands in your drafts for you to post. We don't post to Threads, Bluesky or Google Business Profile directly
- No built-in competitor tracking or comment inbox
- Pricing:
- Free plan; $15–$99/mo flat (annual $10–$69); 14-day trial, no card
- Best for:
- Owners whose planner sits empty because nobody has time to write the posts
Buffer
The simplest swap. You keep writing the posts, but X is billed as one channel like any other, and the free plan is usable.
Pros- X costs what any channel costs: $6 a month, or $5 on yearly billing, against Metricool's $10 add-on on top of a plan
- Free plan: 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel, refilled as posts publish
- The Team plan adds approval workflows from $12 per channel, or $10 on yearly billing
- Also covers Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, Google Business Profile, TikTok and YouTube Shorts
Cons- Per-channel pricing adds up across many brands, even with its lower rates from 11 channels
- Its pricing page lists no competitor analysis, which Metricool has on every plan
- You still write the posts, with its AI tool helping
- Pricing:
- Free; Essentials from $6/channel/mo ($5 yearly); Team from $12 ($10 yearly)
- Best for:
- Owners with a few channels who want a simpler scheduler and will keep writing
Publer
The closest like-for-like: priced per account from $5, with a free plan, an AI assistant and competitor analysis, across 13 networks including WordPress and Telegram.
Pros- The lowest entry price here: Professional starts at $5 a month for 1 account, and we found no separate X charge
- Approval workflows come with Business, which starts at $10 a month
- Lists competitor analysis for Facebook, Instagram and X
- Every 10th account or team member is free
Cons- The free plan excludes X and keeps only 24 hours of published-post history
- Daily posting limits apply, though it says it can waive them on a paid plan
- The bill grows with each account and each extra team member
- Pricing:
- Free (3 accounts, no X); Professional from $5/mo; Business from $10/mo
- Best for:
- Solo operators who want Metricool's kind of tool at a lower entry price
SocialBee
A scheduler built around content categories and recycling, so older posts keep going out. Plans are fixed by profile count, and X counts like any other profile.
Pros- Content recycling on every plan
- Post approval from Accelerate at $49 a month, or $40.83 on annual billing, below Metricool's Advanced
- AI Copilot generates a social media strategy with ready-to-use posts, on every plan
- 14-day trial with no card, and a 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons- No free plan, and Bootstrap has 1 user and 5 profiles
- Its pricing page lists no competitor analysis
- Social only, so your website, SEO and ads tools stay
- Pricing:
- Bootstrap $29/mo, Accelerate $49, Pro $99 ($24.17, $40.83, $82.50 on annual billing)
- Best for:
- Teams with a library of evergreen posts they want recycled
Agorapulse
The step up for teams: a social inbox on every plan, with approvals and deeper reporting, priced per user rather than per brand.
Pros- All-in-one social inbox on every plan, including replies to Google Business reviews
- 10 profiles included, across TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky and Google Business
- A 30-day trial with no card, and a free plan afterwards
Cons- $99 per user a month, or $79 on annual billing, against $25 or $20 for Metricool's Starter
- Approvals need Professional ($149, or $119 annually), and multi-step approvals need Custom
- Its pricing page lists X Lite and X Plus add-ons with no price, so ask how X is charged
- Pricing:
- Standard $99/user/mo ($79 annual); Professional $149 ($119); Advanced $199 ($149)
- Best for:
- Teams whose day is answering comments and messages across accounts
Side-by-side
| Dimension | AgentCeres | Buffer | Publer | SocialBee | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who writes the posts | Its social media agent; you approve | You, with its AI tool | You, with its AI assistant | You, with AI Copilot | You, with its AI assistant |
| How it charges | Flat, by plan | Per channel | Per account and member | By plan and profile count | Per user |
| One brand on X, LinkedIn and Instagram, billed monthly (Metricool: $35) | $15 | $18 | From $5 for the first account, more per account | $29 | $99 per user; ask how X is charged |
| Free plan | Yes, after a 14-day trial, with no post cap | Yes, 3 channels | Yes, 3 accounts, no X | No; 14-day trial | Yes, after a 30-day trial |
| Post approval starts on | Every plan | Team | Business | Accelerate | Professional |
| TikTok and YouTube | Yes, through an approval card; TikTok lands in your drafts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Competitor tracking | No | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Advanced plan |
The sum people run. One brand on X, LinkedIn and Instagram costs $35 a month on Metricool: Starter at $25 plus the $10 X add-on, because the free plan has neither X nor LinkedIn. Annual billing brings Starter to $20, but the add-on stays at $120 a year, so it comes to $30. Per-brand pricing stays cheap until X is in the picture: two brands with X cost $45 a month, against $39 for our Pro plan (2 projects), and five cost $75, or $70 on annual billing, against $99 or $69 for Business (5 projects), with the writing included. Add-ons bought before July 2026 keep the old $5 rate, as long as you don't remove all of them.
What a cheaper scheduler doesn't change. Metricool, Buffer, Publer, SocialBee and Agorapulse all publish what someone wrote or prompted. If the planner is empty on Sunday night, a new scheduler gives you the same empty planner at a different price. That is the job AgentCeres's social media agent is for: it drafts the week, and you edit and approve.
What we have seen from running both. AgentCeres connects to Metricool, so we have read its planner through that connection on our own test brand. It shows each post's status per network, with a reason when one fails, such as a failed photo pull or an authentication failure. It also accepted posts for a network the brand had not connected, and those failed only at publish time, so our connector refuses them up front. Check the status rather than assuming a scheduled post went out; one recent Trustpilot reviewer says posts showed as published and never appeared. Our calendar fails the other way: an unapproved draft never goes out and no error appears, so a workspace where nobody looks at the drafts simply posts nothing. That is why we show a count of waiting drafts, and why an owner can opt in to Auto mode.
When to stay. Stay on Metricool if you run several client brands without X and like writing the posts yourself: 5 brands for $20 is then the cheaper bill. Stay too if you rely on Threads, Bluesky or Google Business Profile, or on competitor reports. If you are not ready to cancel, connect your Metricool account to AgentCeres: agents schedule into its planner, each post waits for your approval by default, and its posts and numbers appear on our calendar. We have tested that on TikTok and Instagram with a one-brand account. For bigger suites, Hootsuite starts from $99 per user on annual billing; see Hootsuite alternatives, Buffer alternatives and Later alternatives. Our plans are on the pricing page.
How we checked. Read on 4 November 2026: metricool.com/pricing and its help articles on plans and the X add-on; its Trustpilot page; buffer.com/pricing; publer.com/plans and its help pages; socialbee.com/pricing; agorapulse.com/pricing; hootsuite.com/plans. Metricool's pricing page does not label which price is annual, so we took the lower one because the gap matches its "save up to 24%". Its prices exclude VAT. We have not run side-by-side tests of the other schedulers.
What AgentCeres does for you
Four jobs your team takes off your plate.
Builds and hosts your website
Describe your business and it builds the site, publishes it, and changes it whenever you ask.
See the AI website builder →FacebookMon 9:00 
The rust herringbone throw is back on the loom. Pure wool, woven here in the studio.
LinkedInTue 12:00 
Gifting clients this year? We weave wool throws and ship them for you, each one wrapped by hand.
Plans and posts your social media
Posts and images about your business on one calendar. Each one waits for your approval, unless you turn on Auto mode.
See the AI social media manager →Runs your Google ads
It finds the searches your buyers make, writes the ads, and runs the campaign once you approve the plan and it passes our review.
See the AI ads manager →
Makes your images and videos
Pick a template or describe what you need, and it makes images and short videos for your business.
See Content Studio →
Describe your business. Your growth team takes over.
Paste your website or write a single sentence. In two minutes, your AI team analyzes your market, automates daily growth work, and delivers morning briefings with ready-to-approve drafts.
- 0:00Describe your businessA single sentence or your website URL.
- 2 minutesWorkspace & team deployA Growth Officer and dedicated specialists in your private workspace.
- 5 minutesFirst market intelligenceMarket analysis and competitor findings, cited with sources.
- Next morning, 8:00Your first daily briefBy email: performance changes, key insights, and next actions.
FAQ
- How much does Metricool cost?
- Read on metricool.com on 4 November 2026: Free is $0 for 1 brand and 20 posts a month, without LinkedIn or X. Starter is $25 a month, or $20 billed annually, for 5 brands, and $45 or $36 for 10. Advanced is $67, or $53 billed annually, for 15 brands, rising to $210 or $159 for 50. Custom is by quote. X costs $10 a month per connected account on top. Prices exclude VAT.
- How much is Metricool's X (Twitter) add-on?
- $10 a month or $120 a year per connected X account since 13 July 2026, on Starter or higher. Each add-on covers one X account per brand. Add-ons bought before July 2026 keep the old $5 a month or $60 a year, as long as you don't remove all of them. The free plan can't connect X.
- What is the best Metricool alternative?
- It depends on what is wrong. If nobody has time to write the posts, AgentCeres writes them for your approval, for a flat $15–$99 a month. For a simpler scheduler with X at the normal channel rate, Buffer. For the lowest entry price, Publer from $5. For recycling evergreen posts, SocialBee. For a team working through a social inbox, Agorapulse. If you run several client brands without X and write your own posts, Metricool at $20 for 5 brands is the cheaper bill.
- Is there a free alternative to Metricool?
- Buffer's free plan has 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel. Publer's has 3 accounts but excludes X. Metricool's own has 1 brand and 20 posts a month, without LinkedIn or X. AgentCeres moves you to a Free plan after its 14-day trial, with X and LinkedIn and no cap on posts; its AI work draws on monthly credits.
- Can I use AgentCeres with Metricool instead of replacing it?
- Yes. Connect your Metricool account and agents can read its analytics and schedule posts into its planner, each one waiting for your approval by default. Those posts and their numbers appear on the AgentCeres calendar. We have tested this on TikTok and Instagram with a one-brand account; other networks and accounts with several brands are untested.
Try AgentCeres for Metricool alternatives
14-day free trial. From $15/month. Cancel anytime.