- Metricool is one of the best value options for analytics and competitor tracking.
- Moonya creates the posts from your website and waits for your approval before publishing.
- Hootsuite and Vista Social add bigger inboxes, listening and team workflows at higher prices.
- Publer and Buffer are simpler schedulers with free plans.
- If your problem is an empty calendar, more analytics will not fix it.
How we chose these tools
Metricool combines a planner with analytics, reports and competitor tracking, organized by brands. People search for a Metricool alternative when they want help making the content, need features like LinkedIn on a free plan, want bigger team inbox tools, or simply look at numbers they do not have time to act on.
For this list we looked at what matters to a small business owner with limited time:
- Who makes the content. Some tools schedule posts you already made. Others help you write and design them, and a few create them for you.
- Networks you actually use. Check that Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn or Google Business are covered on the plan you would pay for.
- Price at your size. Tools charge per channel, per user, per workspace or per brand. Do the math for your own accounts.
- Free plan or trial. Useful for testing, but read the limits.
- Extras you need. Inbox, analytics, approvals, link in bio, DM automation.
Every price and plan detail below comes from each company's own pricing page, checked on October 29, 2026. Prices change, so confirm before you buy.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moonya | If you want posts created for you | No ($1 7-day trial) | $29/month |
| Hootsuite | Listening and larger teams | No (14-day trial) | From $99 per user/month |
| Vista Social | All-in-one for engagement | No (14-day trial) | $99/month |
| Publer | Budget scheduler | Yes | From $5/month (1 account) |
| Buffer | Simple scheduler | Yes | $5/month per channel |
| SocialBee | Content categories | No (14-day trial) | $29/month |
1. Moonya: best if you want posts created for you
What it is. Moonya is a social media autopilot for small businesses. Its Brand Brain reads several pages of your website and learns your offer, voice, audience and brand colors in a few minutes. Then it creates carousels, single image posts, Stories and Reels in your brand colors and fonts.
What it does well. You set rules like "a carousel every Monday at 9 am" and drafts appear on their own. Every post waits for your approval: approve, edit or skip. Nothing is published without you. It publishes to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest and Google Business (X is a paid add-on), with a caption fitted to each network and no more than 5 hashtags on Instagram, the current limit there. It also runs comment-to-DM automations for Instagram and Facebook (1 on Starter, 10 on Pro, up to 1,000 on Agency) and has a unified inbox.
Things to consider. There is no free plan and no social listening. Starter is $29/month (3 social channels, 1,000 AI credits), Pro is $79/month (15 channels, 4,000 credits) and Agency is $199/month (30 channels, 12,000 credits, 10 workspaces), each after a 7-day trial for $1. See Moonya pricing and the full Moonya vs Metricool comparison.
2. Hootsuite: best for listening and larger teams
What it is. A long established platform for scheduling, inbox, analytics and social listening.
What it does well. The Standard plan on Hootsuite's plans page includes 10 social accounts, unlimited scheduling, AI post generation, one inbox, analytics with competitor benchmarking and brand monitoring. Higher plans add inbox automation, content approvals and team routing.
Things to consider. Plans are sold per user, and the FAQ says paid plans start at $99 for Standard. There is a 14-day trial, no free plan. For a solo owner it is a lot of tool. See Moonya vs Hootsuite.
3. Vista Social: best all-in-one for engagement
What it is. A social media management platform with publishing, inbox, reviews, reporting and DM automations.
What it does well. Vista Social's pricing page lists Professional at $99/month with 15 social profiles, a social inbox, review monitoring for Facebook and Google Business, single-stage approvals and DM automations. Advanced ($199/month, 30 profiles) adds multi-stage approvals and more review sites.
Things to consider. No free plan (14-day trial). Listening across the web and news is a paid add-on. It is built for people who manage social media every day. See Moonya vs Vista Social.
4. Publer: best budget scheduler
What it is. A feature-rich scheduler with a free plan and paid plans priced by account.
What it does well. According to Publer's plans and pricing page, the free plan includes 1 user and up to 3 social accounts (excluding X/Twitter), with up to 10 scheduled posts at a time per account. Professional starts at $5/month and Business at $10/month for one account, the price grows as you add accounts and members, and yearly billing is 20% cheaper. Business adds AI Assist without a prompt cap, best times to post, competitor analysis, post recycling, recurring posts and approval workflows.
Things to consider. The free plan keeps only 24 hours of published post history, and many features sit on Business. You still create the posts yourself. See Moonya vs Publer.
5. Buffer: best simple scheduler
What it is. A clean, simple scheduler priced per channel.
What it does well. Buffer's pricing page lists a free plan for up to 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel. Essentials is $5/month per channel and Team is $10/month per channel, with content approvals on Team. It supports 12 networks, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky and Mastodon, and every plan includes an AI Assistant and a community inbox.
Things to consider. Pricing is per channel, so the total grows with each account you add. Buffer publishes what you prepare; making the posts is still your job. See Moonya vs Buffer.
6. SocialBee: best for content categories
What it is. A scheduler built around content categories and recycling evergreen posts.
What it does well. SocialBee's pricing page lists Bootstrap at $29/month (5 social profiles, 10 content categories), Accelerate at $49/month (10 profiles, 50 categories) and Pro at $99/month (25 profiles). Unlimited AI content generation is listed on the standard plans, along with an inbox for comments, mentions and DMs on Facebook and Instagram, plus comments and mentions on networks such as LinkedIn and Threads.
Things to consider. No free plan; each plan has a 14-day trial with no credit card required. You set up the categories and the content mix yourself. See Moonya vs SocialBee.
When Metricool is still the right choice
Metricool is a strong choice. Its pricing page lists a free plan for 1 brand with up to 20 scheduled posts per month, 5 competitor profiles and 30 days of analytics. The Starter plan starts from $25/month on monthly billing and adds unlimited publishing under a fair use policy, LinkedIn connection, more competitors and reports. Post approval is listed on the Advanced plan.
Stay with Metricool if you or your clients live in reports and competitor data. Switch when the numbers are clear but nobody has time to make the next posts.
Tip: Before you switch, list your channels, how many posts you publish per week and who makes them. Then price each tool at that exact size. The cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest for you.
How to switch from Metricool
- List what you really use. Write down the Metricool features you used last month, your channels and how many posts go out each week.
- Run one real week in a trial. Connect your accounts and schedule the posts you would publish anyway, not test posts.
- Overlap for a short time. Let posts already queued in Metricool go out while the new tool handles the weeks after.
- Cancel last. Only cancel once the new tool has published reliably for at least a week.
Keep reading
Comparing more tools? See our best Hootsuite alternatives and best Vista Social alternatives. To turn insight into posts, read how often to post on Instagram and the best time to post on Instagram.
By industry: see how this works for social media agencies, real estate agents and dental clinics, or browse all industry playbooks.
FAQ
Is Moonya a good Metricool alternative?
If your bottleneck is making posts, yes. Metricool measures your social media; Moonya creates the posts, publishes them after your approval and uses results to shape the next ones. If deep reports are the main need, Metricool is stronger.
Is there a free alternative to Metricool?
Buffer and Publer both list free plans with limits. Metricool itself also has a free plan for 1 brand.
Which Metricool alternative has the best analytics?
Hootsuite offers analytics with competitor benchmarking and brand monitoring on its Standard plan, at a higher, per user price.
Does Moonya have analytics?
Yes. Moonya shows results for your published posts and uses them to shape future drafts, but it is not a dedicated reporting tool like Metricool.
Does Moonya have a free plan?
No. Every Moonya plan starts with a 7-day trial for $1, then Starter is $29/month. You can cancel anytime.
Does Moonya publish without my approval?
No. Every post waits in an approval queue. You approve, edit or skip it, and nothing goes out without your decision.
Sources
- Metricool pricing page (checked October 29, 2026)
- Hootsuite plans page (checked October 29, 2026)
- Vista Social pricing page (checked October 29, 2026)
- Publer plans and pricing (help center) (checked October 29, 2026)
- Buffer pricing page (checked October 29, 2026)
- SocialBee pricing page (checked October 29, 2026)