The best Metricool alternatives in 2026

By Dusan Antonijevic, founder of Refract

The best Metricool alternatives in 2026 are Publer, Buffer, OmniSocials, Schedulin, Postiz, Refract and Nuelink. Each one is built around the posting calendar first, and each posts to Bluesky and Mastodon. Metricool connects only .bsky.social Bluesky handles and does not list Mastodon. Publer suits people who want deep scheduling tools, such as bulk CSV uploads and a threads composer, at a low price per account. Buffer suits people who want a simple scheduler with a free plan and X included in its channel price. OmniSocials suits Bluesky and Mastodon users who want one flat per-seat plan, since it accepts custom-domain Bluesky handles and any Mastodon server. Schedulin suits creators who want many networks and unlimited posts for $5 a month. Postiz suits technical users who want 30+ networks, an API on every plan and the option to self-host. Refract suits people who write their own posts and want a native version for each of its 10 networks, with you approving each one. Nuelink suits businesses that want a queue filled from their blog, store or RSS feed.
The tools side by side
ToolBest forBlueskyMastodonXStarting priceFree plan or trial
PublerBulk and recurring schedulingYes, Bluesky-hosted accountsYes, any serverPaid plans$4 per account a month, billed yearlyFree plan; 7 or 14-day trial
BufferSimple schedulingYes, custom domains tooYes, any serverYes$5 per channel a month, billed yearlyFree plan; 14-day trial
OmniSocialsCustom Bluesky handlesYes, custom domains tooYes, any serverYes; link posts use credits$10 per seat a month, billed yearly14-day trial (card required)
SchedulinLow price, many networksYes, images onlyYesYes$5 a month for 3 accounts7-day trial
PostizAPI and self-hostingYesYes, any serverYes$23 a month, billed yearly7-day trial; free self-hosted
RefractOne note, native versionsYesYesComing soon$10 a month, billed yearly14-day free trial
NuelinkAutomating posts from feedsYesYesYes$16 a month, billed yearly (offer)7-day trial

1. Publer

A social media scheduler that lets you plan, preview and auto-publish posts to many networks from one calendar, priced per social account. It adds bulk scheduling, recycling, RSS automations and a link-in-bio page.

Best for

Creators and small businesses who publish a lot and want scheduling features, not a reporting suite.

Not ideal for

  • X on the free plan: X needs a paid plan.
  • A trial without a card: a card or PayPal account is required for the Business trial.
  • Answering comments and messages in one place: there is no unified inbox; you can reply to comments on published posts from within Publer.
  • Bluesky accounts on a custom server: only accounts hosted directly on Bluesky can be connected.

Networks

Facebook profiles, pages, locations and groups, Instagram Business and Creator, TikTok, X (paid plans), Threads, LinkedIn profiles and pages, Pinterest, Mastodon (all servers), Google Business Profiles, YouTube, Telegram, Bluesky (accounts hosted on Bluesky) and WordPress.

Pricing

Free plan with 3 social accounts (not X) and 10 scheduled posts per account. Professional $5 a month for 1 social account, or $4 billed yearly. Business $10, or $8 billed yearly, with analytics, approvals and API access. The price grows with each extra account and member. 7-day trial on Professional, 14-day trial on Business.

Visit Publer

2. Buffer

A simple social media scheduler with analytics, a comment inbox and an AI writing assistant, priced per connected channel.

Best for

Solo marketers and small teams who want a calm calendar and pay only for the channels they connect.

Not ideal for

  • Long YouTube videos: YouTube publishing is Shorts only.
  • Many channels on a solo budget: the price grows with each channel.
  • Approvals on Essentials: content approval workflows are on the Team plan only.

Networks

Bluesky (custom-domain handles and self-hosted servers too), Facebook pages, Google Business Profiles, Instagram business and creator accounts, LinkedIn pages and profiles, Mastodon (any server), Pinterest, Threads, TikTok business profiles, YouTube Shorts and X.

Pricing

Free plan with up to 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel. Essentials from $6 per channel a month, or $5 billed yearly. Team from $12 per channel a month, or $10 billed yearly. 14-day free trial on paid plans.

Visit Buffer

3. OmniSocials

A social media scheduler with one per-seat plan that posts to 13 networks and includes analytics, a public API, an MCP server and an inbox for 7 of those networks.

Best for

People on Bluesky with their own domain or a self-hosted server, and Mastodon users on any server.

Not ideal for

  • Several accounts on one network for one brand: each workspace connects one account per platform.
  • Lots of X posts with links: an X post with a link costs credits.
  • Replying to Bluesky or Mastodon comments in the app: the inbox covers Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, X and Threads only.
  • Anyone who needs a free plan or a trial without a card: there is no free plan, and the 14-day trial needs a credit card.

Networks

Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn profiles and pages, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, X, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky (including custom-domain handles and self-hosted servers), Mastodon (any server), Google Business, Telegram and Discord.

Pricing

One plan: $10 per seat a month billed annually, or $12 billed monthly, with every feature included. Unlimited scheduled posts. X link posts and X DMs use credits, with 200 free credits to start. 14-day free trial; a credit card is required to start it.

Visit OmniSocials

4. Schedulin

A low-cost hosted social media scheduler for creators and small teams, priced by the number of connected accounts, with an API, an MCP server and AI image and video credits on every plan.

Best for

Creators on a tight budget who post to a long list of networks, blogs included.

Not ideal for

  • Video on Bluesky: Bluesky posts take text and up to four images, not video or GIFs.
  • Bluesky threads: its Bluesky help says scheduling multi-post threads is not part of the current flow.
  • LinkedIn company pages: its LinkedIn page says Company Page posting is not supported yet.

Networks

Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Mastodon, Nostr, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Twitch, Kick, Dribbble, Whop, Google Business Profile, WordPress, DEV.to and Hashnode.

Pricing

Starter $5 a month for 3 accounts, Creator $10 for 12, Pro $20 for 30, with yearly billing giving 2 months free. Unlimited posts on every plan. No free plan; 7-day trial with up to 100 posts.

Visit Schedulin

5. Postiz

A social media scheduler, hosted as Postiz Cloud or self-hosted from its open-source code, where you or an AI agent write and schedule posts from one calendar.

Best for

Developers and AI-first marketers who want an API, webhooks and an open-source option.

Not ideal for

  • Small budgets with several channels: the Standard plan includes 5 channels and no team.
  • Teams that need formal approvals: it has Admin and Member roles, and we found no approval workflow.
  • Self-hosting without technical help: you run installation, updates and backups yourself.

Networks

X, LinkedIn profiles and pages, Facebook Pages, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Bluesky, Mastodon (any server), Lemmy, Farcaster, Nostr, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Google My Business, WordPress, Medium, Dev.to and more.

Pricing

Standard $29 a month or $23 billed yearly (5 channels, solo), Team $39 or $31 (10 channels), Pro $49 or $39, Ultimate $99 or $79. 7-day free trial; no free cloud plan, but the self-hosted edition is free.

Visit Postiz

6. Refract

A social media scheduler where you write one note and an AI agent for each network writes a version that fits it. You approve each version and Refract schedules it. Per-network voice rules learn from your edits, and Studio makes images and video in each network's shape.

Best for

Writers and founders who publish to the networks Refract supports and care more about each post fitting its network than about reports.

Not ideal for

  • Anyone who chose Metricool for analytics: Refract is a scheduler, and we make no claims about analytics depth.
  • Answering comments and messages: there is no social inbox.
  • Anyone who needs a free plan: there is only the 14-day free trial.
  • People who just want to queue the same post everywhere: the AI-first workflow may be more than you need.
  • Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Google Business aren't available yet.

Networks

Posts to 10 networks today: Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, WordPress, Discord, Tumblr, Slack, Pixelfed and DEV. Coming soon: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Google Business.

Pricing

Creator $12 a month ($10 a month billed yearly); Business $29 a month ($24 a month billed yearly); Agency $59 a month ($49 a month billed yearly); Agency Plus $119 a month ($99 a month billed yearly). Unlimited scheduled posts on every plan, a 14-day free trial, and the API, MCP server and webhooks on every plan.

A social media scheduler built around automation: it fills a posting queue from your blog, store, podcast or RSS feed, as well as from posts you write or bulk-upload.

Best for

Shops, blogs and podcasts that want new content shared automatically on 12 networks.

Not ideal for

  • Teams that need approvals now: the approval workflow is marked "Soon".
  • Large queues on the entry plan: Standard holds 365 posts in the queue.
  • Teams on the entry plan: team invites start on Premium.

Networks

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, Google Business, Telegram and Mastodon.

Pricing

Standard $16 a month billed yearly ($192 a year) during a time-limited offer, with 10 channels and 1 member. The page data lists $24 billed monthly. Premium $32 a month billed yearly during the same offer, with 30 channels and 3 members. 7-day free trial; no free plan.

Visit Nuelink

How we evaluated.

This page is for people who use Metricool mainly to publish. Metricool is a planner and analytics tool organized by brands, with one account per network per brand. Its free plan schedules up to 20 posts a month for one brand, and Starter costs $20 a month billed yearly for up to 5 brands. X is a paid add-on at $10 a month per connected account, LinkedIn is not on the free plan, and Bluesky works only with .bsky.social handles. Mastodon is not in its connections list. If its reports are why you use it, keep it; if you mostly schedule, the tools here may fit better.
We judged each tool only from its own pricing, help and integrations pages, checked on October 27, 2026. We weighed three things: scheduling features (bulk uploads, threads, queues, approvals, API), network coverage with a focus on Bluesky handles, Mastodon servers and whether X costs extra, and price for a solo user or a small team.
Publer ranks first for its scheduling depth and low per-account price, with X included on paid plans and Mastodon on any server. Buffer follows for simplicity, a free plan, X in the channel price, custom-domain Bluesky handles and any Mastodon server. OmniSocials also accepts custom Bluesky handles and any Mastodon server, on one flat per-seat plan. Schedulin reaches a long list of networks from $5 a month, but its Bluesky posts are text and images only. Postiz fits technical users, and Nuelink fits feed-driven posting.
Refract sits sixth. It is scheduling-first: you write one note, an AI agent per network writes a native version, you approve each one, and Refract schedules it, with unlimited scheduled posts, bulk import, approvals on the Business plan and up, and the API, MCP server and webhooks on every plan. It posts to Mastodon on any server you enter. It has no social inbox, no free plan, and we make no claims about analytics depth. Several networks are still coming soon (Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Google Business); they are added automatically as they go live. Until then, most tools on this page, Nuelink included, cover more networks; Nuelink sits below Refract because its approvals are not live yet and its entry plan caps the queue.

Questions and answers.

What is a good free Metricool alternative?

Publer and Buffer both have free plans: Publer with 3 social accounts (not X) and Buffer with up to 3 channels, each with 10 scheduled posts per account or channel. The self-hosted edition of Postiz is free if you run your own server. Refract has no free plan, only a 14-day free trial.

Which Metricool alternative includes X without an add-on?

Buffer, Schedulin, Postiz and Nuelink list X among their networks with no separate add-on price. Publer includes X on paid plans. OmniSocials includes X but charges credits for posts with links. Refract: Coming soon.

Which alternatives support Bluesky custom-domain handles?

Buffer and OmniSocials both say custom-domain handles and self-hosted servers work. Publer connects only accounts hosted directly on Bluesky, and Metricool supports only .bsky.social handles. Schedulin, Postiz and Nuelink did not state it on the pages we checked, so test your own handle during a trial. The Bluesky character counter helps with drafts.

Which Metricool alternatives post to Mastodon?

Every tool on this list does. Publer, Buffer, OmniSocials and Postiz say any server works, and Refract posts to any server you enter, counted against that server's own character limit. See the Mastodon page and the Mastodon character counter.

Do I lose analytics if I leave Metricool?

Partly. Publer has analytics on its Business plan, Buffer on every plan, and Schedulin has analytics in beta. If long reporting history matters most, Metricool may still be the better fit. Refract is a scheduler; it makes no claims about analytics depth.

Sources

  1. Metricool pricing
  2. Metricool help: connecting networks
  3. Metricool help: connecting Bluesky
  4. Metricool help: free and paid plans
  5. Publer plans
  6. Publer help: supported networks
  7. Publer help: plans and pricing
  8. Publer help: Professional vs Business vs Enterprise
  9. Publer help: what is included in Business
  10. Publer help: managing Mastodon accounts
  11. Publer help: connecting Bluesky
  12. Publer help: managing comments
  13. Buffer pricing
  14. Buffer pricing (machine-readable)
  15. Buffer help: Mastodon
  16. Buffer help: Bluesky
  17. OmniSocials home page and FAQ
  18. OmniSocials pricing
  19. OmniSocials pricing (machine-readable)
  20. OmniSocials docs: Bluesky
  21. OmniSocials docs: Mastodon
  22. Schedulin home page and FAQ
  23. Schedulin pricing
  24. Schedulin pricing (machine-readable)
  25. Schedulin help: Bluesky
  26. Schedulin: LinkedIn
  27. Schedulin llms.txt (Google Business Profile)
  28. Postiz home page and FAQ
  29. Postiz pricing
  30. Postiz: Mastodon channel
  31. Nuelink home page
  32. Nuelink pricing
  33. Nuelink: Bluesky scheduling
  34. Nuelink: Mastodon scheduling

Related

About the author

Dusan Antonijevicfounder of Refract

Dusan builds Refract, a scheduler that turns one note into a native post for each network. He compares the tools in these guides using each tool's own pages, against the networks Refract posts to.

Write it once, native everywhere.

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