Metricool vs Buffer: per-brand or per-channel pricing in 2026

Metricool vs Buffer is, before anything else, a comparison between two ways of charging. Buffer charges per channel: each social account you connect adds about $6 USD a month. Metricool charges by brand: Starter covers 5 brands from $20 a month billed yearly, and each brand groups the networks of one business. Both have a free plan and a free MCP. Below we run the numbers on concrete cases and look at what each one does with your comments, using data checked on September 25, 2026.

Metricool vs Buffer at a glance

The first column is HeyMark, the tool we make. Use it as a reference and compare the other two.

Metricool or Buffer? Do the math by channel

On Buffer, each channel costs about $6 USD a month, so 4 channels come to about $24. On Metricool, Starter costs $20 USD a month billed yearly ($25 month to month) for up to 5 brands, and $36 ($45) for 10, with each brand’s networks included. X is the exception: Metricool charges for it separately, $10 a month per account since July 2026 (it used to be $5).

Three concrete cases:

The rule that falls out of the table: if a free plan covers you, either one works. Once you’re paying, a few channels favor Buffer and several brands favor Metricool. Around 4 channels, they cost about the same. Every Metricool plan is broken down in Metricool pricing.

Free plans: what each one includes

Metricool’s free plan includes 1 brand, 20 posts a month and 30 days of analytics, without LinkedIn or X. It used to be 50 posts and 3 months of history; Metricool cut it between late 2025 and early 2026. Its MCP is available on the free plan too.

Buffer’s has channel and post limits (check the current numbers on its pricing page) and comes with 5 AI reply suggestions a week. Its MCP and API have been on every plan since May 2026.

If your brand doesn’t use LinkedIn or X and you post up to 20 times a month, Metricool’s free plan may be all you need. If you need LinkedIn without paying, Metricool’s won’t work, so look at Buffer’s limits.

Comments: Buffer suggests, Metricool replies with fixed texts

The two handle comments differently, and neither documents AI replies that go out on their own.

Buffer suggests AI replies that learn your voice, inside its Community feature. The free plan gets 5 suggestions a week. It saves you the writing, but you still review and send each reply yourself.

Metricool doesn’t document AI replies in its inbox; its assistant drafts copy with 5 to 35 credits per brand a month. Since September 1, 2026 it has Flows: when someone comments a keyword, it replies with up to 3 fixed texts, on Instagram and TikTok, with one automation per post. On Instagram it requires a linked Facebook Page. It’s free for a limited time and will become a paid add-on. Its inbox also can’t hide or delete comments, although on TikTok, Flows does hide comments with banned words.

In short: Buffer helps you write each reply, and Metricool automates fixed replies by keyword.

MCP and API: both have MCP, with different reach

Buffer has had MCP and an API on every plan since May 2026. Its MCP covers posts, ideas and metrics, with no comment or DM tools.

Metricool has MCP on every plan, with official connectors in Claude and ChatGPT since September 10, 2026. It documents 27 tools: 25 that read and 2 that write, for scheduling posts and editing scheduled ones. Its API is only on Advanced and Custom.

If you want to schedule from Claude or ChatGPT, either one works. If you’re a developer who needs an API without paying for a high tier, Buffer includes one on every plan. If you want your assistant to answer comments too, neither MCP documents that. There’s more detail in the best social media MCP servers.

The third option: HeyMark, when nobody’s answering

If what got you comparing is that comments go unanswered, the question stops being Metricool or Buffer. HeyMark replies to comments and DMs with AI in your brand’s voice, with your approval, and hands off to your team the conversations that need a person. Keyword automations (a public reply plus a DM on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok) come with every plan and don’t use credits. Here’s how AI comment replies work.

HeyMark doesn’t charge per channel either: each brand includes one account per network across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. The coffee shop from the table fits on Creator, $12 USD a month ($10 billed yearly), with all 4 networks and 500 AI credits. If the team grows, Company is $30 a month with 3 brands and 5 people.

Its MCP schedules and replies. With HeyMark connected to Claude or ChatGPT, you can ask for both in the same conversation:

Schedule the Reel I have in drafts for Thursday at 7 p.m. on Instagram, and duplicate it for TikTok with the same caption.

Then go through the comments on my latest Reel and draft replies in the brand's voice. Show them to me before posting.

Scheduling runs right away. Replying on the platform asks for your confirmation with a preview first.

What HeyMark doesn’t have: a free plan (there’s a 14-day trial), posting to X, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky or Google Business Profile, or ad management. If you need X, Threads or Bluesky, Buffer and Metricool cover them; for Pinterest, Google Business Profile or ads, Metricool.

Which one fits your case

Buffer, if…

• You run a few channels and want scheduling with no fuss.
• You need X, Threads or Bluesky, or an API on every plan.
• You’d rather have an AI suggestion at hand and answer each comment yourself.

If you’re already on Buffer and something’s missing, see Buffer alternatives.

Metricool, if…

• You manage several brands: 5 from $20 USD a month billed yearly.
• Analytics, reports and ads matter more to you than the inbox.
• You want a free plan with 20 posts a month.

HeyMark, if…

• Comments and DMs are a big part of the job and you want them answered with AI, with your approval.
• You want keyword automations without paying for a separate add-on.
• You work on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

How to get started with HeyMark

1. Create your account

   Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.

2. Connect your networks

   HeyMark pulls in what you’ve already posted and lays it out on the calendar, so you don’t start from zero. Anything a teammate posts straight from Instagram shows up on its own too.

   

3. Turn on replies

   Set up AI for your brand’s DMs, or create a keyword rule on a post. You can also ask Mark to build it for you.