The best Postiz alternatives in 2026
Quick answer
The best Postiz alternatives in 2026 are Mixpost, Buffer and PostEverywhere. Mixpost suits people who want to self-host with a one-time license instead of AGPL code; Buffer suits people who want a hosted scheduler with a free plan that includes the API and MCP server; PostEverywhere suits small teams who want a low-cost hosted plan with an API, an MCP server and approvals an AI agent can request.
Postiz is an open-source scheduler under the AGPL-3.0 license, with a hosted cloud, a public API and an MCP server on every plan. The alternatives below cover the same ground in different ways: one more tool you can host yourself, hosted schedulers with an API and an MCP server, and posting APIs for developers who build their own app.
| Tool | Best for | Networks | AI writing | Free plan | Price from | API | MCP server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixpost | Self-hosting with a one-time license | 12 self-hosted; 11 on Cloud (no X) | Yes, AI Assistant | Lite, self-hosted (3 networks) | $29 a month flat, billed monthly (Cloud); Pro $299 once | Pro, or Cloud from $49 | Yes, OAuth or token |
| Buffer | A hosted queue with a free plan | 12, incl. Bluesky and Mastodon | Yes, all plans | Yes, 3 channels | $6 per channel a month, billed monthly | Yes, GraphQL, all plans | Yes, OAuth, all plans |
| PostEverywhere | Low-cost hosted plan for AI agents | 13 | Yes, AI Studio (credits) | No; 7-day trial | $9 a month flat, billed monthly | Yes, REST, all plans | Yes, OAuth or key, all plans |
| Publer | Many networks at a low per-account price | 13 | Yes, AI Assist | Yes, 3 accounts (no X) | $5 per account a month, billed monthly | Business and up | Business and up, OAuth |
| Refract | Approvals for AI-agent posts | 12 live | Yes, a version per network | No; 14-day free trial | $12 a month flat, billed monthly | Yes, REST, all plans | Yes, OAuth, with approvals |
| Zernio | Developers, usage-based | 15, plus blogs | Not stated | Yes, 2 accounts | $6 per account a month after 2 free, billed monthly | Yes, REST | Yes, OAuth or key |
| Upload-Post | Video uploads through an API | 22 (its count) | Yes, captions from video | Yes, 10 uploads a month | $24 a month flat, billed monthly | Yes, REST, all plans | Yes, OAuth or key |
| Ayrshare | SaaS products posting for users | 14 | Not stated | None listed | $149 a month (billing not stated) | Yes, REST | Yes, API key only |
Why people look for Postiz alternatives
- Self-hosting takes work. The self-hosted edition is free, but it needs Postgres, Redis, file storage and Temporal, and you create your own developer app on each network and get it approved. Postiz says approvals from Meta, YouTube and TikTok can take weeks; the cloud uses its own pre-approved apps.
- The license is AGPL-3.0. Postiz's code is under the GNU Affero General Public License, which asks anyone who runs a changed version as a network service to offer its source to that service's users. Teams that plan to change the code should check what that means for them.
- The entry cloud plan is for one person. There is no free hosted plan, only a 7-day trial. Standard costs $29 a month billed monthly for 5 channels and includes no team members; team members start on Team at $39 a month.
- Approval is a comment link. You share a draft's preview link and the client comments without an account. Postiz's docs say there is no "approved" flag that blocks publishing, so a person moves the draft to scheduled.
- The API has an hourly cap. On the cloud, the create-post endpoint allows 100 requests an hour (one request can hold several posts).
1. Mixpost
What it is
A social media scheduler you can install on your own server or use as a hosted cloud. Lite is free and open source under the MIT license; Pro and Enterprise are commercial, source-available licenses you install yourself. It has an AI assistant, approvals, an API, webhooks and an MCP server.
Best for
Agencies and technical teams who want to self-host, pay once instead of monthly, and keep unlimited users and accounts.
What stands out
- Pro is a one-time $299 license with unlimited users, accounts and workspaces, and every license includes a perpetual fallback license.
- Enterprise ($1,199 one-time) lets you resell Mixpost as your own SaaS, with billing and white-label.
- Its MCP server signs in with OAuth in ChatGPT and Claude, or with a personal access token, on the cloud and on a self-hosted Pro install.
Limits
- Free self-hosting on many networks: Lite publishes only to Facebook Pages, X and Mastodon.
- X on the hosted cloud: Mixpost Cloud lists 11 networks without X.
- API and MCP on the cheapest cloud plan: they start on Momentum ($49 a month).
- Updates without renewing: a self-hosted license includes 1 year of updates.
- Self-hosting without setup: you need PHP 8.3+, MySQL and Redis (or Docker), and your own app approvals on TikTok, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Networks
Self-hosted Pro and Enterprise: Facebook Pages, Instagram, X, LinkedIn (profiles and company pages), YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, Pixelfed and Google Business Profile. The cloud lists the same networks without X.
Price from
Cloud Spark is $29 a month billed monthly, flat, with 1 team member, 1 brand and 100 scheduled posts a month (prices exclude VAT; the page doesn't state Spark's channel count). Momentum is $49 a month and adds the API, MCP and webhooks. Self-hosted: Lite is free, Pro is $299 one-time, Enterprise is $1,199 one-time. 7-day cloud trial with a card; 14-day money-back guarantee on self-hosted licenses.
Website
2. Buffer
What it is
A hosted social media scheduler with a calendar, analytics, a comment inbox and an AI assistant, priced per connected channel. It has a public GraphQL API and an official hosted MCP server.
Best for
Solo creators and small teams who want a simple hosted queue, with API and AI-app access even on the free plan.
What stands out
- The free plan includes 3 channels, the AI Assistant and 1 API key.
- Its MCP server can save posts as drafts, add them to the queue or send a reminder notification instead of publishing.
- Team includes unlimited team members, priced per channel rather than per seat.
Limits
- Self-hosting or open source: Buffer is hosted only.
- Many channels on a small budget: the price rises with each channel.
- Approvals on Essentials: content approval is on Team only.
- Instagram personal profiles and Facebook groups: these are reminder-only.
Networks
Bluesky, Facebook pages (groups as reminders), Google Business Profile, Instagram business and creator, LinkedIn pages and profiles, Mastodon, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok business profiles, YouTube Shorts, X and Start Page.
Price from
Free plan for up to 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel. Essentials is $6 per channel a month billed monthly, with lower per-channel prices from the 11th channel; Team is $12 per channel a month billed monthly. Yearly billing costs less. 14-day free trial of the paid plans.
Website
3. PostEverywhere
What it is
A hosted scheduler with AI Studio for posts, images and short videos, a Brand Kit for your voice, a REST API, webhooks, a CLI and an official MCP server on every plan.
Best for
Small teams and solo marketers who want Postiz-style AI-agent access without running a server.
What stands out
- Its MCP server can save a draft, request approval, approve a post or ask for changes, and approving doesn't publish.
- It is listed in the official MCP Registry as
ai.posteverywhere/mcp. - The API allows 60 requests a minute and 1,000 an hour, with no posting cap.
Limits
- Self-hosting or open source: the app is hosted only (its MCP server package is MIT).
- Several accounts on the cheapest plan: Lite has 2 social accounts and 1 user.
- A free plan: there is a 7-day trial, and it needs a card.
- Reddit or Mastodon: neither is listed.
Networks
Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, Telegram, Discord, YouTube, Pinterest, WordPress and Google Business Profile.
Price from
Lite is $9 a month billed monthly, flat, with 2 accounts, 1 user and 10 AI credits. Starter is $19 (5 accounts, 2 members), Growth $29 and Scale $39. Extra members are $5 a month each. No free plan; 7-day trial with a card.
Website
4. Publer
What it is
A hosted scheduler priced per social account, with bulk scheduling, an AI assistant with brand voices, a public API and an official MCP server.
Best for
Creators and small teams who post a lot to many networks and want low per-account prices.
What stands out
- Extra members cost $2 to $3 a month each, and every 10th account and member is free.
- Its MCP server can create drafts for you to review or schedule posts, and API-key scopes limit what it may do.
Limits
- Self-hosting or open source: Publer is hosted only.
- API or MCP on the cheaper plan: both are on Business and Enterprise only.
- X on the free plan: X needs a paid plan.
- A fixed price: the bill grows with each account and member.
Networks
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (paid plans), Threads, LinkedIn (profiles and pages), Pinterest, YouTube, Mastodon, Bluesky, Google Business, WordPress and Telegram.
Price from
Free plan with 3 accounts (not X) and 10 scheduled posts per account. Professional is $5 a month billed monthly for 1 account, plus $4 per extra account; Business is $10 a month billed monthly for 1 account, plus $7 per extra account, and adds the API and MCP. Prices exclude VAT.
Website
5. Refract
Refract is our product.
What it is
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
Teams and agencies who want a hosted app with a REST API, webhooks and an OAuth MCP server, where posts from AI tools can be made to wait for a person's approval, on the networks Refract supports today.
What stands out
- When you connect an AI tool you choose "Draft and send for approval" or "Schedule and publish", and a workspace can require approval for every post from AI tools (approvals start on Business).
- Its MCP server is in the official MCP Registry as
social.refract/refract, and the API, MCP server and webhooks are on every plan. - You write one note and Refract writes a version for each network; agencies get client connect links and white-label on the Agency plans.
Limits
- Self-hosting or open source: Refract is hosted only.
- Anyone who needs a network other than TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, WordPress, Discord, Tumblr, Slack, Pixelfed and DEV today: pick another tool on this list.
- A free plan: Refract has a 14-day free trial only.
- Approvals on Creator: approval rules start on Business.
- Instagram, Facebook, Threads and X aren't available yet.
Networks
Posts to 12 networks today: TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, WordPress, Discord, Tumblr, Slack, Pixelfed and DEV. Coming soon: Instagram, Facebook, Threads and X.
Price from
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.
Website
6. Zernio
What it is
A hosted social media API for developers, with posting, DMs, comments, analytics and ads behind one API, and an official MCP server.
Best for
Developers building their own app or automation who pay per connected account rather than per plan.
What stands out
- The first 2 connected accounts are free, with no card, and every feature is included.
- Its MCP server is in the official MCP Registry as
com.zernio/zernio.
Limits
- A scheduling app for people: it is a developer API, with no AI writing or approval workflow on its pages.
- Cheap X posting: X calls are billed at X's rates, for example $0.20 for a post with a link.
- Self-hosting: none is offered on its site.
Networks
TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Google Business, Telegram, Snapchat, Discord and Slack, plus blog posts to WordPress, Shopify, Wix and Webflow.
Price from
No plans. The first 2 connected accounts are free; accounts 3 to 10 cost $6 a month each, 11 to 100 cost $3 each and 101 and up $1 each, billed monthly per connected account. X API calls cost extra.
Website
7. Upload-Post
What it is
A hosted posting API with a video and FFmpeg API, an AI tool that writes titles and captions from your short videos, and an official MCP server whose source is MIT-licensed.
Best for
Developers and video creators who automate uploads to TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and others.
What stands out
- TikTok posts can go straight to the profile or into TikTok as a draft.
- The free plan includes the full API and MCP server.
- Its MCP server is in the official MCP Registry as
com.upload-post/mcp.
Limits
- TikTok on the free plan: it needs a paid plan.
- Several seats on the entry plan: Basic has 1 seat.
- Links in X posts: they cost an extra $19 a month.
- An approval step: none is stated.
Networks
22 networks by its own count, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn (profiles and pages), Facebook, X, Threads, Pinterest, Reddit, Bluesky, Discord, Telegram, Google Business Profile, Mastodon and WordPress.
Price from
Free plan with 10 uploads a month and 2 profiles, no TikTok. Basic is $24 a month billed monthly, flat, for 5 profiles and 1 seat; Professional is $50. No trial; 15-day money-back guarantee.
Website
8. Ayrshare
What it is
A hosted social media API for products that post on behalf of their customers, billed per social profile, with analytics, comments and DMs in the same API and an MCP server.
Best for
Software companies that embed social posting for many end users.
What stands out
- 14 networks, including Snapchat, WhatsApp and Telegram.
- Per-profile billing fits products with many customers, each with their own accounts.
Limits
- A low entry price: plans start at $149 a month for a single user.
- OAuth sign-in for AI apps: its MCP server takes an API key only.
- X without your own keys: since March 31, 2026, X needs your own X API keys.
- Self-hosting or open source: it is a hosted API only.
Networks
Bluesky, Facebook, Google Business Profile, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Telegram, Threads, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and YouTube.
Price from
Premium is $149 a month for one business, up to 14 social accounts and 1 user; the pricing page doesn't say how it is billed. Launch is $299 a month with unlimited team members and a 28-day free trial. No free plan is listed.
Website
How we chose.
We started from what Postiz offers on its own pages (an open-source, self-hostable code base, a hosted cloud, a public API and an MCP server on every plan) and looked for tools that keep one or more of those while changing what makes people leave: the effort of self-hosting, the AGPL license, the solo entry plan and the lack of a blocking approval step. Every fact about another tool comes from its own pricing page, docs or repository, listed under sources, checked on November 3, 2026. We also checked each MCP server against the official MCP Registry.
Mixpost ranks first because it is the only other tool here that you can host yourself, with an MIT-licensed free edition and a one-time Pro license, plus a cloud, approvals and an MCP server. Buffer and PostEverywhere follow as hosted schedulers with an API and an MCP server on every plan: Buffer for its free plan, PostEverywhere for its low price and approval tools. Publer comes fourth for its wide network list at a low per-account price, held back by API and MCP access on Business only.
Refract sits fifth. It is hosted, not open source, and has no free plan, but its MCP server lets you make every post from an AI tool wait for approval, and the API, MCP server and webhooks are on every plan. Its network list is shorter than Postiz's. Zernio, Upload-Post and Ayrshare close the list as posting APIs for developers rather than scheduling apps.
We left out tools that don't fit this reader. SocialBee says it has no public API, and its integrations list shows no MCP server. Typefully and Statuz post only to text-first networks such as X, Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn, with no TikTok or Instagram.
Questions and answers.
Is Postiz free?
The self-hosted edition is free and open source under AGPL-3.0; you pay for your own servers. The hosted cloud has a 7-day trial, then plans start at $29 a month billed monthly (Standard, 5 channels, no team members).
What is the best open-source alternative to Postiz?
Mixpost. Its Lite edition is free and MIT-licensed but posts only to Facebook Pages, X and Mastodon. Its Pro edition ($299 one-time) covers 12 networks with unlimited users, but it is a commercial, source-available license rather than open source.
Which Postiz alternatives have an MCP server?
All eight on this list. Buffer, PostEverywhere and Refract include theirs on every plan; Publer on Business and up; Mixpost on self-hosted Pro and on Cloud from Momentum. Zernio and Upload-Post sign in with OAuth or an API key, while Ayrshare's takes an API key only. See the best social media MCP servers for how each one works.
Which alternative has a real approval step?
Mixpost (Pro and Cloud), PostEverywhere (plans with 2 or more members), Buffer (Team), Publer (with team members) and Refract (Business and up) list approvals. Postiz uses a comment link on a draft instead, with no flag that blocks publishing.
Can I self-host Refract?
No. Refract is hosted only and isn't open source. If self-hosting is the reason you chose Postiz, look at Mixpost.
Sources
- Postiz pricing
- Postiz MCP
- Postiz docs: public API
- Postiz docs: approvals
- Postiz docs: Docker Compose install
- Postiz on GitHub (README and license)
- GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
- Mixpost pricing (self-hosted)
- Mixpost Cloud
- Mixpost MCP
- Mixpost docs: MCP
- Mixpost Lite on GitHub
- Buffer pricing
- Buffer AI Assistant
- Buffer developers
- Buffer developers: MCP
- PostEverywhere pricing
- PostEverywhere docs: MCP
- PostEverywhere docs: rate limits
- Publer plans
- Publer AI Assist
- Publer API quickstart
- Publer: set up the MCP server
- Zernio pricing
- Zernio llms.txt
- Zernio docs: MCP
- Upload-Post pricing
- Upload-Post docs index
- Upload-Post docs: MCP server
- Ayrshare pricing
- Ayrshare API overview
- Ayrshare: connect the MCP server
- Official MCP Registry
- SocialBee: public API and white-labeling
- SocialBee integrations
- Typefully pricing
- Statuz