7 Best Metricool Alternatives in 2026 (Publishing First)
Metricool wins on reporting and loses people on the X add-on, brand-count tiers and a publishing side that trails the analytics. Seven alternatives priced from the vendors' own pages.
Metricool wins people over with reporting: one dashboard for social, web and ads that makes a $20 tool feel like an analytics suite. The reasons people go looking elsewhere are just as specific. Its own pricing page prices by brand count, puts X (Twitter) behind a paid add-on even for paying customers, and hangs a fair-use policy on “unlimited” publishing.
Why people leave Metricool
- The X add-on. Posting to X costs extra on top of a paid plan — the single most-cited surprise on its pricing page.
- Brand-count tiers. Starter runs $20 to $36 and Advanced $53 to $210 depending on how many brands you connect; growth moves you up the ladder automatically.
- Publishing is the second act. The composer, inbox and approval workflows trail the reporting; teams that live in publishing feel it daily.
The seven at a glance
| Tool | Starts at | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Magnum | $24 /mo flat · 10 accounts | 2 accounts, 15 posts /mo | Publishing-first teams; AI agents |
| Buffer | $5 /channel /mo billed yearly | 3 channels | Simple queues, widest networks |
| Later | $18.75 /mo (yearly promo) | Trial only | Instagram-first planning |
| SocialPilot | $20 /mo ($17 yearly) · 5 accounts | Trial only | Budget agencies |
| Publer | $5 /account /mo ($4 yearly) | 3 accounts, no X | Cheap per-account scheduling |
| SocialBee | $29 /mo ($24.20 yearly) · 5 profiles | Trial only | Evergreen recycling |
| Zoho Social | $10 /mo billed annually | 1 brand, limited | Zoho-centric companies |
1 · Social Magnum, the publishing-first counterpart (ours)
Where Metricool is analytics with a planner attached, Social Magnum is the publishing side done whole: unlimited posts on every paid plan, a real approval flow, a unified inbox with comment and DM auto-replies, CSV bulk upload, RSS auto-posting, and AI captions and images included. Pricing is flat: $24 a month for 10 accounts, $59 for 30, $119 for 70 (yearly $19, $47, $95), with a free plan of 2 accounts and 15 posts a month and a 14-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. Analytics cover all eight supported networks honestly, with windows stated per network.
The differentiator none of these tools has: AI agents connect over an MCP server with 26 documented tools and work under approval gates.
Skip it if: you need X, LinkedIn or Google Business publishing (not covered — the same X that costs extra on Metricool is absent here, said plainly), or Metricool-depth web and ads reporting is the actual job.
2 · Buffer, the widest network list
Buffer publishes to eleven channels including X, LinkedIn and Google Business Profile, free for 3 channels and then $5 per channel per month billed yearly. As a Metricool replacement it trades reporting depth for publishing reach.
Skip it if: you run many accounts; per-channel pricing compounds. Our Buffer alternatives guide walks the maths.
3 · Later, for the Instagram half of the job
Later is the visual planner Metricool never tried to be: grid preview, link in bio, Instagram-first workflows. Plans are shown at $18.75 to $82.50 a month on a yearly promotion, count in social sets, and cap posts per profile on the lower tiers.
Skip it if: post caps or multi-brand pricing were your Metricool complaint; Later has its own versions of both. See the best Later alternatives.
4 · SocialPilot, the straight swap for agencies
SocialPilot runs $20 a month ($17 yearly) for 5 accounts to $200 for 40 with unlimited users and white-label reports at Premium. It is the least surprising bill on this list, which for client work is a feature.
Skip it if: you need a free plan or deep analytics.
5 · Publer, the per-account bargain
Publer starts free for 3 accounts and runs from $5 per account a month ($4 yearly) with recycling, RSS and an API on its Business tier. X is paid-only there too — Metricool switchers will recognise the pattern.
Skip it if: account count is exactly what you are consolidating.
6 · SocialBee, the evergreen engine
SocialBee refills your queue from content categories — the recycling workflow Metricool lacks entirely. $29 a month ($24.20 yearly) for 5 profiles, 14-day trial, 30-day money-back guarantee, no free plan.
Skip it if: your feed is timely news rather than a rotating library.
7 · Zoho Social, the CRM-connected pick
Zoho Social costs $10 a month billed annually (Professional $30, Premium $40) with a limited free plan, and its real argument is the wiring into Zoho CRM and Desk.
Skip it if: you are not in the Zoho ecosystem.
How to choose
The short version
- 1
Leaving over the X add-on: Buffer includes X in its per-channel price; note that Social Magnum does not publish to X at all and Publer charges for it too.
- 2
Leaving over publishing depth: Social Magnum (approvals, inbox, unlimited posts) is the direct upgrade.
- 3
Keeping the analytics habit: stay on Metricool for reporting and pair it with a publishing tool; plenty of teams run exactly that split.
- 4
Free plan needed: Social Magnum, Publer or Zoho Social.
- 5
AI agents in your workflow: Social Magnum's MCP server is the only documented agent connection here.
Related reading: the best social media schedulers in 2026, the best Hootsuite alternatives and the best Later alternatives.