Buffer

About Buffer

Buffer is an intuitive, streamlined social media management platform trusted by brands, businesses, agencies, and individuals to help drive meaningful engagement and results on social media.With Buffer, users can manage multiple social media profiles, plan and schedule posts in advance, collaborate with multiple team members, and analyze social media performance. Buffer is keen to constantly introduce new, useful features such as their suggested media feature, our Instagram direct scheduling feature, and more. Native iOS and Android mobile apps give users the flexibility to schedule content on the go.

Other important features include a social media calendar and RSS feed, social analytics, plus a video and GIF uploader and Pablo image creator.


Key benefits of Buffer

  • Connect multiple social media profiles on the various social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+).
  • Schedule up to 2,000 posts for each social media account.
  • Use a posting schedule to save the hassle of selecting a time and date for every single post.
  • Share from anywhere with the Buffer browser extension and mobile apps.
  • Add team members to accounts to scale marketing efforts.
  • Get analytics and reports to improve social media results.

  • Images

    Buffer Software - Buffer web and mobile apps
    Buffer Software - The Buffer dashboard
    Buffer Software - View scheduled posts as a list or on a calendar
    Buffer Software - Create custom posting schedule
    Buffer Software - Customize message for each social media platform
    Buffer Software - Use our browser extension to share from anywhere on the web
    Buffer Software - Improve and report on social media results with analytics
    View 8 more
    Buffer video
    Buffer Software - Buffer web and mobile apps
    Buffer Software - The Buffer dashboard
    Buffer Software - View scheduled posts as a list or on a calendar
    Buffer Software - Create custom posting schedule
    Buffer Software - Customize message for each social media platform
    Buffer Software - Use our browser extension to share from anywhere on the web
    Buffer Software - Improve and report on social media results with analytics

    Not sure about Buffer? Compare with a popular alternative

    Buffer

    4.5 (1,459)
    VS.

    Starting Price

    US$6.00
    month
    £61.00
    month

    Pricing Options

    Free version
    Free trial
    Free version
    Free trial

    Features

    29
    427

    Integrations

    38
    43

    Ease of Use

    4.6 (1,459)
    3.9 (796)

    Value for Money

    4.4 (1,459)
    4.2 (796)

    Customer Service

    4.4 (1,459)
    3.9 (796)

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    Reviews

    Overall rating

    4.5 /5
    (1,459)
    Value for Money
    4.4/5
    Features
    4.3/5
    Ease of Use
    4.6/5
    Customer Support
    4.4/5

    Already have Buffer?

    Software buyers need your help! Product reviews help the rest of us make great decisions.

    Showing 5 reviews of 1,459
    Elizabeth
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Online Media
    • Company size: Self Employed
    • Used Daily for 2+ years
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Ease of Use
    • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

    Easy to use and essential for my business

    Reviewed on 10/02/2021

    Buffer is one of the more inexpensive social media scheduling and tracking sites. I really like...

    Buffer is one of the more inexpensive social media scheduling and tracking sites. I really like how easy it is to link all my different social media accounts and schedule my posts ahead of time. It also makes it really easy to post to all my social media accounts at once. I like the browser extension that allows me to buffer an image, website, or page on the fly. I also use their app on my smartphone. It gives me all the tools I need for only about $8 per month. I also like that it offers analytics and tracking information on my posts. You can also republish an old post. Another feature I love is the ability to see all your post comments and comment back from Buffer.

    Pros

    The ability to link to all different social media accounts.
    The extension for the web browser is amazing and easy to use.
    The app for the smartphone is also very easy to use.
    The free version also has a lot of features. If you do not have a lot of social accounts, the free version works perfectly.
    You can track the engagement and analytics of your posts.
    You can actually comment and engage on your posts from the website or app!
    It's very inexpensive.

    Cons

    Nothing really. Sometimes a post gets blocked because of the link, but that's an issue with the social media site and not Buffer directly.

    Alternatives Considered

    Hootsuite

    Reasons for Switching to Buffer

    I started out with the free version of Buffer and liked it, so I ended up upgrading to the paid version. It's also much cheaper than Hootsuite.
    Darien
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Religious Institutions
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used for 1+ year
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

    One of the best social media management platforms with a high price for teams

    Reviewed on 14/01/2020

    Overall, Buffer is an excellent platform that offers incredible features - but due to the high...

    Overall, Buffer is an excellent platform that offers incredible features - but due to the high price for simple features like team management & multiple users, it is not for me. While our social media team was just me, I found it to be the very best platform for social media management - offering a simple UI & high quality features for the free & low-tier accounts - as our team grew, we rapidly outgrew Buffer simply due to pricing, and found that there were similar products at a lower price point that would fit our needs.

    Pros

    Buffer is perhaps one of the simplest & easiest social media platforms on the market today; offering comprehensive and crucial features for managing your social media streams. This platform allows for the easy management of multiple social media accounts, allowing you to customize post-times & days, and then schedule posts quickly via the Queue only for those days. It offers built in analytics, direct posting to Instagram & Instagram stories, team management features & more - assuming you are willing to pay for those features.

    Overall, Buffer was probably my favorite social media management platform due to its simplicity & base features, yet it suffers in a few key areas.

    Cons

    I loved using Buffer for the period of time that I actually used it, but quickly discovered that the platform could not suite my needs because of one insurmountable obstacle - price. As a non-profit youth organization, having a low overhead cost for platforms such as this is extremely important, and I quickly found myself unable to continue using Buffer as my social media team grew simply because I could not afford their $65 CAD/month just to be able to have a second user (without admin privileges). The added features like direct Instagram Story & first comment seem interesting for me, but not at the cost $663/annually when there are alternatives (be it, with less features) out there that offer a lower overhead cost AND non-profit discounts.

    Furthermore, while the platform itself is extremely simple to use, I found their pricing structure & different brand building products to be quite confusing - with products such as "Reply", "Publish" and "Analyze" featuring little to no immediately accessible descriptions, and each one carrying a different pricing structure & subscription requirement.

    Lastly, one feature I've found on other social media platforms (but not on buffer) that I wish were available is the ability to draft a single post that can be queued in multiple social media channels, and customized for each channel. With buffer, you would need to recreate each post - which can take added time dependent on your social media channels.

    Tracy
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Design
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used Daily for 1+ year
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Customer Support
    • Likelihood to recommend 3.0 /10

    The first content scheduler I used

    Reviewed on 22/08/2022

    Buffer was a great tool to start learning how to plan and schedule content to social media ahead of...

    Buffer was a great tool to start learning how to plan and schedule content to social media ahead of time. Its very easy to use and even my not so tech savvy clients managed to use it and enjoy using it.

    Pros

    At the time f using Buffer – there weren’t many social media content schedulers on the market. Buffer was inexpensive and easy to use. It was easy to integrate Buffer with Facebook and Instagram and Twitter. The most impactful feature was how easy it was to use and that you could schedule multiple posts to go out automatically which is a huge time saver.

    Cons

    Buffer was extremely glitchy. There were periods of time that it would not post the content and you wouldn’t know unless you checked. Once this had happened a few times I started to not trust it anymore. As I publish a lot of content at once for multiple businesses it was no longer sustainable to keep checking if posts were going out or not.

    Jack
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Nonprofit Organization Management
    • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
    • Used Daily for 1+ year
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

    Buffer gives bang for bucks for small orgs

    Reviewed on 06/09/2023

    Overall Buffer has been a joy to work with and has revolutionised the way we work.

    Overall Buffer has been a joy to work with and has revolutionised the way we work.

    Pros

    Buffer is super simple to use and for us - with a small budget for software - it was perfect. We have the Teams account set up giving us unlimited users and the ability to have multiple levels of access.The key thing for us was the approval process - it gives users the comfort and safety of being able to draft and edit content without fear of accidentally publishing. While it gives those responsible for publishing a better overview of what people are putting together.

    Cons

    The mobile app could be better - but I really am picking at straws. Ultimately for the price point for us it's great. The price does significantly increase if you need to manage 10 or more platforms though.

    Alternatives Considered

    Hootsuite

    Reasons for Switching to Buffer

    It came down to cost per platform for us.
    Amber
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used Weekly for 2+ years
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

    Stay Ahead on Social Media Easily with Buffer

    Reviewed on 14/10/2019

    Buffer helps our clients manage their social media profiles and schedule out their social media...

    Buffer helps our clients manage their social media profiles and schedule out their social media messages according to our strategy ahead of time. This tool makes it easy to work ahead and streamline your scheduling process.

    The free plan is quite nice as well, as you can connect 3 accounts and schedule out 10 messages ahead of time. This is nice for clients that are just starting to utilize social media management tools!

    While the pricing structure seems a bit odd, the frustrations I have with Instagram and social media scheduling apps will exist no matter which app you use!

    Pros

    Buffer makes it easy to schedule out your social media posts ahead of time and you can also manage multiple different accounts from one place.

    At our marketing company, it's also easy for clients to understand and use on their own time whether they're on their phone or computer.

    Cons

    Using Instagram with any social media scheduling app can be a pain and Buffer is no exception to this rule. Some IG posts have to be scheduled manually which defeats the purpose if you're just using Buffer to control IG accounts.

    Their pricing structure is also confusing with different prices for publishing, analyzing and replying. It can make it difficult for potential clients to understand exactly what they're paying for.

    Alternatives Considered

    Hootsuite

    Reasons for Switching to Buffer

    We typically recommend either Buffer or Hootsuite to our clients that need help with social media scheduling! Most of our smaller clients normally choose the Buffer Pro Publish package, simply based on price, since 100 messages scheduled ahead of time is more than enough!
    Showing 5 reviews of 1,459 Read all reviews

    Buffer FAQs

    Below are some frequently asked questions for Buffer.

    Buffer offers the following pricing plans:

    • Starting from: US$6.00/month
    • Pricing model: Free Version, Subscription
    • Free Trial: Available

    Free plan: Free forever Pro plan: $15 per month Small business plan: $99 per month Medium business plan: $199 per month Large business plan: $399 per month Enterprise: Get in touch ([email protected]) A 14-day free trial is available. All plans can be paid on either a monthly or yearly basis. If users choose to pay yearly, users would receive a 15% discount, which works out at approximately two months free per year. All Buffer plans are 50% off for nonprofits.

    Buffer has the following typical customers:

    Self Employed, 2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000

    Buffer supports the following languages:

    English

    Buffer supports the following devices:

    Android (Mobile), iPhone (Mobile), iPad (Mobile)

    Buffer integrates with the following applications:

    123FormBuilder, Azendoo, Bottlenose, CoSchedule Marketing Suite, Crate, Curata, Cyfe, Databox, Determ, Eventbrite, Evernote Teams, Feedly, FluidSurveys, Google Calendar, Google Drive, HipChat, IFTTT, Instagram, LinkedIn for Business, Mailchimp, Maintenance Care, MeisterTask, Mention, Meta for Business, Process Street, PromoRepublic, Rebrandly, ReviewPush, Scoop.it, Slack, Sniply, Trello, Twitter/X, Typeform, WordPress, Wufoo, Yammer, Zapier

    Buffer offers the following support options:

    Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Chat

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