Publishly vs Buffer
Buffer earned its brand recognition: a polished consumer UX and a free tier that helped a generation of teams start scheduling. The comparison is about what happens past channel 30 — and past the moment a post fails.
Buffer’s published Team plan bills $12 per channel on monthly billing — $360 at 30 channels and $1,200 at 100. Publishly’s plans are sized by post volume with unlimited connected accounts, so 100 brand or client accounts fit the $99/mo Growth plan, and every failed post carries a reason plus a signed webhook.
The per-channel tax.
Buffer’s published rate is simple, which makes the account math simple too.
At Buffer’s published monthly Team rate of $12 per channel, 30 channels cost $360 and 100 channels cost $1,200. Annual billing lowers the rate to $10 per channel.
Per-channel pricing is fine at consumer scale. At agency scale it becomes a tax on every brand, client, and location you win — the bill compounds with the roster.
Publishly meters posts, not accounts: $99/mo Growth covers 15,000 posts across unlimited connected accounts. The 100th channel costs the same as the 6th — nothing.
Side by side.
| Feature | Publishly | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat plans sized by post volume | Per-channel — Team is $12/channel monthly or $10/channel annually |
| Cost at 100 brand or client accounts | $99/mo Growth (unlimited accounts, 15k posts) | $1,200/mo at 100 channels ($360/mo at 30) on monthly billing |
| Account cap | Unlimited on every paid plan | No cap published — each added channel is billed |
| Failure alerts | In-app alert plus signed event for your own software | Optional failure email; no public posting-failure webhook found |
| Delivery receipts | Confirmed-live history plus the public post link | Sent history; Buffer says “Sent” does not always mean the post is live |
| Automatic retries | Temporary problems retry safely without posting twice | Buffer says failed posts are not retried automatically after reconnection |
| Connection warnings | Warnings before known expiry plus reconnect alerts | Channel-connection email updates and disconnect alerts |
| API access | Included on every plan | Included on every plan with request limits by tier |
Competitor pricing & features last checked: 2026-08-11
An honest split.
Buffer is genuinely good at what it was built for — the split is about what you’re running.
Choose Buffer if…
- You want a polished consumer UX for a small number of channels.
- You want a free tier to start scheduling today.
- Brand recognition matters — Buffer is a name your whole team already knows.
Choose Publishly if…
- You run many brands, clients, or locations and per-channel billing punishes the roster.
- You want your posting cost to follow successful volume, not the number of channels you connect.
- You need to know when a post fails: a receipt per destination, a reason, and an automatic retry.
The key difference happens after “send.”
Buffer can email you when a post fails. Publishly also tells your software, decides whether a retry is safe, and does not call a post successful until it has confirmed the public result.
Common questions
How much does Buffer cost for 100 channels?
At Buffer’s published monthly Team rate of $12 per channel, 100 channels cost $1,200 and 30 channels cost $360. Annual billing lowers that to $10 per channel. Publishly Growth is $99 a month with unlimited connected accounts and 15,000 successful posts (checked 2026-08-11).
Does Buffer charge per channel?
Yes. Buffer’s published Team pricing is $12 per channel on monthly billing or $10 when billed annually, so the total changes with every connected channel. Publishly prices by monthly successful-post volume instead; connected accounts are unlimited on every paid plan.
Is Publishly a Buffer alternative for agencies?
For agencies and multi-brand teams that want an API, per-post delivery receipts, and a webhook on every failure, yes — that’s the case Publishly is built for. If you run a small number of channels and want a polished consumer app with a free tier, Buffer is a fine choice.
Keep the roster. Drop the channel tax.
Flat plans based on successful posts, a confirmed result for every account, and a clear next step when something fails.