Top 3 Free Social Media Post Scheduling Tools

By Mixbrigade

Back in the days, when there was a cash crunch, I was looking for a free social media scheduling tool. I came across many blogs, which listed free social media tools in their title. I spent hours reading those blogs, just to know that all the tools listed had a free limited trial which would turn into a paid subscription. It became very frustrating how blogs are written for click bait and not for actual information. Although I ended up finding the right tool after days of research, I would not want you to go through the same.

So, here is it is, the list of the top 3 social media tools which are absolutely free to use. These are perfect for a startup or a freelance to get at least the basic social media content scheduling with no cost. I have a special trick for you, which can make your scheduling absolutely free! no matter how many posts you want to schedule.

#1 Hootsuite

hootsuite social media planner
On their main website pages, Hootsuite does not mention this free to use option. Even when you go to their pricing page, it mentions 30 day trial and then starting with minimum USD 39/ month after the trial ends. However, you can still use the free version month on month. With the below link you can sign up for an absolutely free account. There are some limitations but it does the job.

Below is the link where you can sign up for free and the tool with limited number of profiles and posts/month.

Monthly core features of the free account are
  1. One user access
  2. 2 x social media accounts
  3. 5 x Scheduled messages

Trick to overcome this limited schedule is you keep your draft post in the planner and post them manually. This way at least your social media calendar is all organised.

#2 Later

later.com social media planner

We all love Later.com for its ability to create links to the Instagram posts with its Linkin.bio feature. But Later does have a social media scheduling tool that too with a free plan. The free plan offers 1 social set, which means you can add 1 account of each social media platform i.e Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tiktok and Linkedin.

social media accounts

For each account you have a limited quota per month.

  1. 10 posts/account (before it used to be 30 posts/account)
  2. Schedule photos
  3. Upload unlimited images to their Media Library,
  4. See your basic Instagram analytics(Instagram Analytics Lite)
  5. Can search and repost user-generated content.

The Free Plan only displays 2 weeks of past posts, to access older past content and other features, upgrade is required starting at just $8 per month. Check out their pricing plans

#3 Buffer

Buffer Social media scheduling tool

Buffer is as simple as it gets. You link your social media accounts, then schedule content. Buffer offers its services across multiple social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Linkedin.

Buffer offers a free basic plan. Similar to Later.com, Buffer apart from offering a social media scheduling tool also offers other services in its free plan i.e landing page builder and link shortener.
  • For each account you have a limited quota per month.

    1. 3 social media channels
    2. 10 scheduled posts/channel
    3. No. of users 1

Conclusion:

All these platforms almost offer the same features in their free plans. It all depends on the number of channels you are managing and the frequency of posts you are scheduling. To me Later.com takes the lead, as it offers more channels at the same time offers other services like the Linkin.bio feature. I would suggest to try all of the above mentioned tools and see which one works best for you.

The Secret Tip

Now that you have come all the way to the bottom of the article, I am going to let you know of the secret tip that would make you social media post scheduling absolutely free! If you are posting everyday of the month, of course none of the tools individually will work for you. The tip is sign up with all the above tools, integrate your social media platforms with it. For example, schedule the first 10 posts of the month with Later.com. The next 10 posts with Buffer and the rest with Hootsuite. This way you can cover the whole month of social posting without paying a single cent. How about that!? Try it out and please follow my blog and help me create more such content.

Disclaimer: Please note that my comments in this blog are strictly my own experiences and opinion on using these platforms. I am in no way sponsored by any of the brands mentioned.

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Mixbrigade has a wide experience in digital marketing for many international brands, across multiple B2B and B2C industries and shares his knowledge to help other digital marketers. Please subscribe to the blog.