An Ayrshare alternative: Refract
Ayrshare is an API for products that post on behalf of their own customers, with user profiles and 14 social networks. Refract is a scheduling app for teams, with a REST API, MCP server, webhooks and CLI on every plan. Build a product on Ayrshare; run your own or your clients' social media in Refract.
Who each one is for.
Refract is best for
Teams, agencies and developers who want a composer, calendar, approvals and Studio for people, plus an API, MCP server, webhooks and CLI for scripts and AI apps, on the networks Refract supports today.
Ayrshare is best for
SaaS products and platforms that let their own users connect social accounts and post from inside the product, billed per active social profile, on networks such as Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn or Reddit.
Feature by feature.
| Feature | Refract | Ayrshare |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An app (composer, approvals, calendar, Studio) with an API, MCP server, webhooks and CLI | A social media API to embed in your product, with a dashboard for your internal team |
| REST API | Yes, JSON:API documents | Yes |
| Auth model | Per-organization tokens with a role (Editor, Contributor or Viewer) and chosen workspaces; OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for apps that act for one person | An API key, plus a Profile-Key per user profile to act for one of your customers (Business and Enterprise plans) |
| Posting for your own customers (multi-tenant) | Not built for it: workspaces are for your own brands and clients, managed in the app | User profiles created and removed through the API, with a linking page your customers use to connect their accounts |
| MCP server | Yes, https://mcp.refract.social, OAuth sign-in with no key to paste | Yes, https://api.ayrshare.com/mcp, on Business and Enterprise plans |
| Webhooks | Signed events on every plan, with retries | Yes. The webhook docs list them on every plan; the pricing page lists webhook integrations from Launch |
| Networks you can post to today | Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, WordPress, Discord, Tumblr, Slack, Pixelfed and DEV. Coming soon: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Google Business. | Bluesky, Facebook, Google Business Profile, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Telegram, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube (WhatsApp for messages only) |
| Approvals | In the app on Business and up; API tokens and AI apps follow the same rules | An approval step through the API: a post marked requiresApproval waits until it is approved |
| Different text per network | One post with variants per network: text, post fields and which files to leave off | Text and images per network in one API call, with a default for the rest |
| SDKs and CLI | A CLI (@refract/cli); no SDKs, the API is plain HTTP | Official SDKs for Node.js and Python |
| Rate limits | 120 requests a minute per token, 30 uploads a minute | Unlimited API calls and posts on every plan; API rate limits are Standard on Premium, Expanded on Launch and Business, Custom on Enterprise |
| White-label | Your own domain for client pages and for client emails, on Agency and Agency Plus | White-label connect-accounts page; full custom CSS with the Max Pack |
What it costs.
Refract
Creator $12 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly; Business $29 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly; Agency $59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly; Agency Plus $119 a month, or $99 a month billed yearly. Every plan includes the API, the MCP server and webhooks, with a 14-day free trial.
Ayrshare
Premium $149 a month, Launch $299 a month, Business from $599 a month, Enterprise custom. Billed by active social profile, not by seat or API call. Max Pack add-on $300 a month on Launch and Business, included with Enterprise.
Where Ayrshare is stronger
- Ayrshare is built for products that post for their own customers: user profiles through the API and a linking page your customers use. Refract isn't.
- Ayrshare posts to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, X, Google Business, Reddit and Snapchat today. Refract doesn't post to those yet.
- Ayrshare has official SDKs for Node.js and Python; Refract has a CLI but no SDKs.
- Ayrshare covers analytics, comments, direct messages and Facebook ads through one API. Refract's API is about drafting, scheduling and files.
Moving from Ayrshare
- Sign up for Refract and connect the accounts you post to on networks Refract supports today.
- In Settings › API and agents › For developers, create a token with the role and workspaces your script needs.
- Replace Ayrshare post calls with Refract calls: create a draft with
POST /workspaces/{workspace}/posts, then schedule it. - Add a webhook endpoint for
post.publishedandpost.failedwhere you handled Ayrshare webhooks. - Invite your team to review and approve posts in Refract instead of building that review step yourself.
Questions and answers.
Is Refract an Ayrshare replacement for my SaaS product?
Usually not. If your users connect their own social accounts inside your product, Ayrshare's user profiles are built for that. Refract is for your team's own brands and clients.
Does Refract have an MCP server?
Yes. Add
https://mcp.refract.social to Claude, Cursor, VS Code or ChatGPT (Business, Enterprise and Edu) and sign in; you pick the workspaces and whether it can only draft or also publish.Which networks can Refract post to today?
Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, WordPress, Discord, Tumblr, Slack, Pixelfed and DEV. Coming soon: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Google Business.
Are the API, MCP and webhooks extra in Refract?
No. Every plan includes the API, the MCP server and webhooks.
Write it once, native everywhere.
Try Refract free: the app, the API, the MCP server and webhooks, on every plan.