Best Planoly alternatives in 2026
By Kumar Gaurav, founder of OctoqueUpdated Facts checked
If you want to stay visual, Later has a grid planner and link in bio, though no X. If you post the same video to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, Octoque auto-posts all of them, each at its own hour, from $15 a month. If budget is everything, Buffer and Publer start at $5–6 per account, and Metricool’s free plan has best times for every network.
Why people look for a Planoly alternative
These come up most in Planoly’s own documentation and in recent public reviews. Each links to where we saw it.
- No refunds: the terms say “Planoly does not provide refunds”, and the trial charges automatically unless you cancel. (Planoly terms of use)
- X is reminder-only: Planoly never auto-posts to X. (Planoly help: posting to X)
- Best Time to Post covers Instagram only, and there’s no approval workflow for teams. (Planoly help: quick schedule)
- Posts that didn’t auto-publish and a glitchy app come up in low Trustpilot reviews (Planoly’s score there is 3.2 from 61 reviews). (Trustpilot reviews of Planoly)
“But it is just incredibly glitchy!”
Planoly also does things well, and it may still be the right tool for you: a visual Instagram grid planner: preview and rearrange your feed before you post; a link-in-bio store for digital products, services and bookings, with no transaction fees, on every plan.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starts at | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Octoque (ours) | One short video to many platforms, each at its own hour | $15/mo for 3 accounts | Reminders only (you post), 3 accounts, 10 posts a month |
| Later | The closest match: grid planner and link in bio (no X) | $25/mo, 1 social set | Limited, not on pricing page |
| Metricool | Best times for every network and a free plan | $25/mo for 5 brands | 1 brand, 20 posts a month |
| Publer | Link in bio, feed preview and X from $5 | From $5/mo per account | 3 accounts, 10 queued each |
| Buffer | A simple free plan with an inbox | $6/mo per channel | 3 channels, 10 queued each |
| Zoho Social | One brand on 14 networks for $15 | $15/mo for 1 brand | 1 brand, 6 channels |
| Iconosquare | Instagram analytics in depth | From €9/mo (yearly) | 2 profiles, 10 posts each |
| SocialBee | Recycling evergreen posts by category | $29/mo for 5 profiles | No |
| Planoly (for reference) | Instagram-first creators who plan the grid visually and sell from a link-in-bio store. | $16/mo, 1 social set | App only, 10 uploads a month |
The alternatives
Octoque (made by us)
Best for: Creators who post one short video to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and more, each at that platform’s own hour.
- Price
- Free: reminders only, you post (3 accounts, 10 posts a month); Starter $15 a month for 3 accounts, posting for you; Creator $29 for 8. Pricing
- Why pick it
- Golden hour on every plan: each platform at its own time, in your audience’s time zone.
- Accounts included in the plan, not billed one by one; approvals from Creator.
- 14-day trial with no card that posts for you (3 accounts, 30 posts), and a full refund within 14 days of any payment, renewals included.
- API and MCP server on every paid plan.
- Watch out for
- New, with no third-party reviews yet. Lighter listening than Brandwatch-class tools (Mentions, on Studio: no web, news or forums); boosts live posts but has no full ads manager; no X comments or DMs in the inbox, and no routing or assignment for teams. The Free plan doesn’t post for you, and there’s no native phone app.
Compared with Planoly: Octoque auto-posts to X, times every platform separately (not just Instagram), has approvals from Creator and refunds any payment within 14 days. Planoly’s grid planner goes deeper, its link in bio is a store, its DM automation is on every paid plan (Octoque’s Auto DM starts on Creator), and it has phone apps. Starter plans cost about the same: $16 for Planoly, $15 for Octoque. Full breakdown: Octoque vs Planoly.
Later
Best for: The closest match: grid planner and link in bio (no X)
- Price
- Starter $25 a month ($18.75 paid yearly): 1 user, 1 social set (one profile on each of 8 networks), 30 posts per profile a month. sourceFree plan: Limited, not on pricing page
- Why pick it
- A visual planner with an Instagram grid preview and a strong Instagram focus. source
- Built-in Link in Bio pages with analytics. source
- Personalised best times from your own data for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. source
- Pinterest and Snapchat publishing, native phone apps, and a social inbox from Growth. source
- Watch out for
- A card is needed for the trial, it turns into a paid plan automatically, and plans are non-refundable. source
Metricool
Best for: Best times for every network and a free plan
- Price
- Starter $25 a month ($20 paid yearly) for up to 5 brands, unlimited posting, link-in-bio, Canva. No team members, approvals or API. sourceFree plan: 1 brand, 20 posts a month
- Why pick it
- A free plan that includes auto-publishing, best times and an MCP server. source
- Deep analytics: up to 100 competitors, PDF reports, ad analytics for Meta, Google and TikTok. source
- An inbox for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Google Business, even on Free. source
- Native iOS and Android apps. source
- Watch out for
- X costs $10 a month per account on every plan, and team members, approvals and the API need Advanced, sold in 15-brand bundles. source
Publer
Best for: Link in bio, feed preview and X from $5
- Price
- Professional $5 a month for 1 account ($4 paid yearly); per Publer’s calculator, each further account is about $4 and each extra member $2. sourceFree plan: 3 accounts, 10 queued each
- Why pick it
- A real free plan and a very low per-account starting price. source
- The widest network list here, including Facebook Groups, Google Business, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram and WordPress. source
- Link in bio, a feed preview, bulk scheduling and Canva on Professional. source
- A 14-day refund on every payment, and a strong Trustpilot score (4.9 from 1,046 reviews). source
- Watch out for
- Approvals, best-time scheduling, analytics, the API and MCP all need Business, at about 1.75 times the Professional price per account; no unified inbox. source
Buffer
Best for: A simple free plan with an inbox
- Price
- Essentials $6 per channel a month ($5 paid yearly), 1 user, unlimited scheduled posts. Cheaper per channel above 10 channels. sourceFree plan: 3 channels, 10 queued each
- Why pick it
- A usable free plan with 3 channels, a community inbox and API access. source
- Networks Octoque doesn’t post to, including Mastodon and Substack. source
- Public API and an official MCP server on every plan, plus Zapier, Make and n8n. source
- Native iOS and Android apps, and unlimited users on Team. source
- Years of track record and many public reviews to read. source
- Watch out for
- Cost grows with every account you add, and approvals need Team at double the per-channel rate: 10 channels with approvals is $120 a month billed monthly. source
Iconosquare
Best for: Instagram analytics in depth
- Price
- Starter from €9 a month paid yearly (3 profiles; €15 for 5): 1 user, 30 posts a month, 1 year of analytics. No X, inbox or approvals. Prices are shown in euros. sourceFree plan: 2 profiles, 10 posts each
- Why pick it
- Analytics first: custom dashboards and up to 2 years of history on Scale. source
- Automated reports from Launch, and white-label reports on Custom. source
- Competitor, hashtag and trend monitoring, plus paid-campaign tracking, from Scale. source
- An inbox for comments, DMs and mentions from Launch, and a free plan. source
- Watch out for
- Monthly post caps on the cheaper plans (30 on Starter, 100 on Launch), no X on Starter, and approvals only from Scale. source
How to choose
- The grid is the point: Later or Planoly. Octoque has a simpler Grid view inside its calendar.
- You post to X: Planoly only sends reminders. Octoque, Buffer, Publer and Metricool (with its add-on) auto-post.
- You sell from your bio link: keep Planoly’s store, or move it first. Most schedulers don’t sell products.
- You work with an editor or a brand: Planoly has no approvals. Octoque (from Creator), Later Growth and Loomly do.
We read each tool’s own pricing page, help centre and terms on 14 October 2026, and linked every price and drawback to its source. Reasons for leaving come from Planoly’s own documentation and recent public reviews, which skew negative by nature. We did not run a long hands-on test of each tool, so this compares published plans and documentation, not day-to-day reliability. We picked tools that solve the problems above, not every scheduler on the market. Corrections to hello@octoque.com.
Questions people ask
What is the best Planoly alternative for TikTok and Reels?
Octoque, Later, Metricool and Buffer all auto-publish Reels, TikTok and Shorts. Octoque times each platform separately in one post.
Can Planoly post to X automatically?
No. Planoly’s help centre says X is reminder-only. Octoque posts to X on every paid plan.
Does Planoly refund?
No. Its terms say “Planoly does not provide refunds”, and the trial charges automatically unless you cancel. Octoque refunds any payment within 14 days.
Which alternative has a free plan on the web?
Planoly’s free plan lives in its phone app. Buffer, Metricool, Publer and Zoho Social have free plans on the web that post for you. Octoque’s free plan is on the web too, but it reminds you to post rather than posting.
Keep reading
More comparisons
Octoque head to head
Alternatives to
Sources
All links checked on 14 October 2026.
- Planoly terms of use
- Planoly help: posting to X
- Planoly help: quick schedule
- Trustpilot reviews of Planoly
- Planoly pricing
- Later pricing
- Later: source for “watch out for”
- Metricool pricing
- Metricool: source for “watch out for”
- Publer pricing
- Publer: source for “watch out for”
- Buffer pricing
- Buffer: source for “watch out for”
- Iconosquare pricing
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SocialBee
Best for: Recycling evergreen posts by category