Short answer
Pick Blotato if you want AI to make the posts as well as send them: unlimited AI writing, AI images and video from monthly credits, and up to 20 accounts on one $29 plan. Pick Buffer if you mostly schedule posts you have already written, want a free plan to start on, or need approvals for a team. At 10 accounts, Blotato Starter costs $29 a month and Buffer Essentials $60 (10 × $6).
At a glance
| Feature | Blotato | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI content tool with cross-posting, a social media API and an MCP serversource | Hosted schedulersource |
| Hosting | Hosted (no self-host option on its pricing page)source | Hosted servicesource |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly plans by connected accounts, each with a monthly allowance of AI creditssource | Per channel per month; channels above 10 cost less eachsource |
| Plans | Starter $29 (20 accounts, 1,250 AI credits), Creator $97 (40 accounts, 5,000 credits), Agency $499 (28,000 credits)source | Essentials $6 and Team $12 per channel/month for channels 1 to 10; $4 each for channels 11 to 25 and $3 each for 26 to 50source |
| Free option | No free plan; a 7-day trial insteadsource | Free plan: 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 1 usersource |
| Trial | 7-day free trial; a card is required. The trial covers the web app but not the API or MCP server, and creating an API key ends the trial and starts the paid plansource | 14-day trial of Essentials and Teamsource |
| Networks | 9: X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Pinterestsource | 12 listed: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon and Substacksource |
| API | Social media API on every paid plan, not during the trial; official n8n and Make nodessource | API keys on every plan, with monthly request limits per channelsource |
| MCP for AI agents | Hosted MCP server with 35 tools on every paid plan, not during the trialsource 1source 2 | MCP server on every plan, including Freesource |
| AI writing | Unlimited AI writing; AI images and videos from monthly credits (1,250 on Starter); AI voiceovers and captionssource | AI Assistant included on every plansource |
| Teams and approvals | Not listed | Unlimited team members and approval workflows on Team; Free and Essentials have 1 usersource |
Cost at 3, 10 and 30 accounts
Buffer charges for each channel, so its price rises with every account you add. Blotato sells flat plans with an account limit, so Starter costs $29 whether you connect 3 accounts or 20. Buffer Essentials is cheaper up to 4 channels (4 × $6 = $24); from 5 channels (5 × $6 = $30) up to 40 accounts, Blotato costs less.
| Accounts | Blotato, per month | Buffer, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | $29 (Starter, 20 accounts)source | $0 / $18 (Free plan (10 scheduled posts per channel), or Essentials at 3 × $6)source |
| 10 | $29 (Starter, 20 accounts)source | $60 (Essentials, 10 × $6 (Team: $120))source |
| 30 | $97 (Creator, 40 accounts)source | $135 (Essentials: 10 × $6 + 15 × $4 + 5 × $3 (Team: $195))source |
Monthly billing, before tax. Each figure is worked out from the plan prices on the linked pricing page.
Where PostDelegate fits
PostDelegate is a lighter alternative to both: a scheduler with flat plans from $19, team members from $29 and the API and MCP server on every plan, with AI on your own assistant or key. It cannot reach Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Reddit yet, because those are waiting on platform approval, and X is not available. Every plan starts with a 7-day trial and no card.
- What it is
- Hosted scheduler built on Postiz, run by Nasida Apps LLCsource
- Price
- 7-day free trial, no card, then from $19/month. 3 accounts: $19 (Starter, 5 channels) · 10 accounts: $29 (Team, 10 channels) · 30 accounts: $39 (Pro, 30 channels). Pricing
- Live today
- 18 networks: YouTube, Bluesky, Mastodon, Google Business Profile, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Tumblr, Lemmy, Nostr, Twitch, Kick, Dribbble, DEV.to, Medium, WordPress, Hashnode, Listmonk (email). Platform status
- Waiting on approval
- Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit. These cannot be connected yet. X is not available.
- API and MCP
- MCP server on every plan, with sign-in (OAuth) or an API keysource
- AI
- Bring your own: AI runs on your own OpenAI key or the assistant you connect over MCP; PostDelegate never charges for AIsource
FAQ
Is Blotato free?
Can I use the API or MCP server during the trial?
Which is cheaper for 30 accounts?
Which networks does each support?
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Blotato and Buffer are trademarks of their owners. PostDelegate is not affiliated with or endorsed by either. Last updated .