Prices verified 17 September 2026

Buffer Pricing

Buffer costs $0 to $10 per channel per month: a Free plan, Essentials at $5/month per channel ($60 billed yearly per channel) and Team at $10/month per channel ($120 billed yearly per channel). The number that decides your bill is not the plan, it is the multiplier — Buffer charges per connected channel, so the same plan costs five times more with five channels connected.

See the plans What the same thing costs here

How much does Buffer cost?

Every figure below was read on 17 September 2026 from buffer.com/pricing. Where Buffer does not publish a number, this table says so instead of guessing.

Buffer plans compared

Plan Price Billing What it includes
Free $0 per month
  • 1 user account
  • AI Assistant
  • Insights
  • API access: 1 API key, 3,000 requests per month
  • Community inbox
Essentials $5 per month, per channel ($60 billed yearly per channel)
  • Unlimited scheduled posts per channel
  • Unlimited ideas
  • 1 user
  • AI Assistant
  • Advanced analytics
  • API access: 3 API keys, 7,500 requests per month
  • Hashtag manager
  • First-comment scheduling
Team $10 per month, per channel ($120 billed yearly per channel)
  • Everything in Essentials
  • Unlimited team members
  • API access: 5 API keys, 15,000 requests per month
  • Access levels
  • Content approval workflows

Prices verified 17 September 2026 on buffer.com/pricing. Vendors change prices without notice, so check the source before you buy.

Buffer pricing: the small print

The caveats the price table hides: what the headline number does not cover, and what pushes the bill up.

  • Buffer is priced per channel. Every connected account multiplies the plan price, so the advertised $5 is the cost of one channel, not of your setup.
  • Five channels on Essentials is $25/month; five on Team is $50/month. Ten channels on Team is $100/month. The plan name never changes, only the multiplier.
  • The yearly figures are also per channel: $60/year per channel on Essentials, $120/year per channel on Team.
  • API requests are capped per plan: 3,000/month on Free, 7,500/month on Essentials, 15,000/month on Team. API keys are capped too (1, 3 and 5 respectively).
  • Essentials is a single-user plan. Unlimited team members, access levels and approval workflows only arrive on Team, which doubles the per-channel rate.
  • "Unlimited scheduled posts" on Essentials is per channel — the unlimited part is the posting volume, not the number of channels you can add for free.

What the same thing costs on Upload-Post

One profile is one account on every one of the 22 supported platforms, and the API is included on every plan, Free included.

The per-channel model is the whole story. A creator on 8 channels pays $40/month on Buffer Essentials or $80/month on Team, and adding a ninth account raises the bill again. Upload-Post does not charge per channel: Basic is $24/month ($16/month on annual billing) with unlimited uploads and 5 profiles, where a profile is one account on each of the 22 supported platforms — so a single Basic profile already covers the TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Threads, Pinterest, Reddit and Bluesky accounts of one brand under one price. The Free plan is $0 forever with 10 uploads a month, 2 profiles and full API access, no card, which is a more generous API allowance than Buffer’s 3,000 free requests once you factor in that there is no request ceiling on paid Upload-Post plans. Fair enough to Buffer: its free plan is genuinely usable for one person on a couple of channels, and its editorial and analytics UI is more polished than a pure API. The break-even happens fast once channels stack up.

Upload-Post plan Monthly Annual (per mo) Uploads Profiles
Free $0 $0 10 uploads/mo 2
Basic $24/mo $16/mo Unlimited 5
Professional $50/mo $33/mo Unlimited 25
Advanced $147/mo $118/mo Unlimited 75
Business $438/mo $350/mo Unlimited 225

The Free plan is free forever, no card, with API access included. TikTok posting needs a paid plan.

Keep reading: Upload-Post vs Buffer ·Upload-Post pricing comparison ·The Upload-Post social media API

Buffer pricing FAQ

The questions people actually search for, answered with the numbers above.

How much does Buffer cost per month?

Buffer has a Free plan, Essentials at $5/month per channel ($60 billed yearly per channel) and Team at $10/month per channel ($120 billed yearly per channel). Because it bills per connected channel, your actual monthly cost is the plan rate multiplied by the number of social accounts you connect.

Is there a free Buffer plan?

Yes. Buffer’s Free plan includes 1 user account, the AI Assistant, Insights, the community inbox and API access limited to 1 API key and 3,000 requests per month. Upload-Post’s Free plan is the comparable option on the API side: $0 forever, 10 uploads a month, 2 profiles, no card.

What does Buffer cost for 5 or 10 channels?

On Essentials at $5 per channel, 5 channels is $25/month and 10 channels is $50/month. On Team at $10 per channel, the same setups are $50/month and $100/month. The per-channel multiplier is why Buffer’s headline price and your invoice rarely match.

Does Buffer include API access?

Yes, on every plan, but with request caps: 1 key and 3,000 requests a month on Free, 3 keys and 7,500 requests on Essentials, 5 keys and 15,000 requests on Team. If you are building an integration, check that ceiling against your expected call volume before you pick a tier.

What is the difference between Buffer Essentials and Team?

Team is Essentials plus unlimited team members, access levels and content approval workflows, and a bigger API allowance (5 keys, 15,000 requests). It costs double per channel: $10/month per channel instead of $5.

Is Buffer cheaper than Upload-Post?

For one or two channels, Buffer Essentials is cheaper on paper. From roughly five channels up, the per-channel multiplier overtakes Upload-Post’s flat $24/month Basic plan ($16 annual), which carries unlimited uploads and 5 profiles across 22 platforms with no per-channel fee and no request cap.

Test the full API before paying anything

Upload-Post's Free plan is a real plan, not a trial: 10 uploads a month, forever, with API access to 22 platforms and no credit card. Upgrade when you outgrow it.

Create free account Read the API docs

Buffer prices verified 17 September 2026 on buffer.com/pricing. We do not speak for Buffer; check their page for the current figures.