Later vs Buffer
Side-by-side comparison of Later and Buffer.
Visual social media scheduler built for Instagram
Schedule social posts across every major platform
What they are
Later
Later is a social media scheduling platform focused on visual content, particularly Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Facebook. Creators, small businesses, and social media managers use it to plan, schedule, and auto-publish posts from a drag-and-drop content calendar. The visual grid preview for Instagram is genuinely useful, though teams needing deep analytics or broad platform coverage may find it limiting.
Buffer
Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that lets creators and small teams queue posts for Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and more from a single dashboard. It suits solo creators, freelancers, and small businesses who want a straightforward publishing workflow without a steep learning curve. The analytics cover the basics but stop short of the depth that larger teams or agencies typically need.
if you need scheduling and analytics. Starts at 18.75/mo.
- +Visual Instagram grid preview helps plan feed aesthetics before publishing
- +Auto-publish to Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Facebook without manual intervention
- +Linkin.bio feature turns your Instagram profile link into a clickable landing page
if you need scheduling. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +Free plan supports 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each
- +Clean, minimal interface with a short onboarding curve
- +Paid plans start at $5 per channel/month (when billed annually)
Which to choose
Later and Buffer both cover scheduling, so this is a real either-or for some teams. The right pick depends on which one's wider feature set and pricing fit how you work.
Read the full reviews for Later and Buffer.
Pricing checked 3 Jun 2026.