octoque
Start free
Comparison

Octoque vs Buffer: which scheduler fits a video creator?

Buffer is the well-known, many-network scheduler with a free plan and phone apps. Octoque is newer and narrower: it times each platform separately and includes accounts in the plan instead of charging per channel.

By Kumar Gaurav, founder of OctoqueUpdated Facts checked

The short version

For 1–2 accounts, Buffer is cheaper ($6 a month per channel) and its free plan posts for you (Octoque’s Free plan only reminds you to post). From about 5 accounts, Octoque’s Creator plan ($29 for up to 8) costs the same or less, and at 10 accounts with approvals it’s clearly cheaper: $35 for two people (Creator plus 2 extra accounts) or $99 for up to five (Studio), vs $120 a month billed monthly. Both now have an inbox. Buffer has native apps and posts to Mastodon and Substack; Octoque schedules each platform at its own golden hour and refunds any payment within 14 days.

Choose Buffer if…
  • you need Mastodon or Substack
  • you want a native iPhone or Android app
  • you want a free plan that posts for you and includes an inbox
  • you run 1 or 2 accounts and want the lowest price
  • you want a tool with years of track record and public reviews
Choose Octoque if…
  • you post the same short video to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and more
  • you want each platform at its own hour, in your audience’s time zone
  • you have 5 or more accounts and don’t want to pay per channel
  • you want approvals without doubling the per-account price
  • you want a refund window on every payment, renewals included

Octoque and Buffer side by side

Checked 14 October 2026. Prices in USD.

Free plan

Buffer: Yes: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, 1 user, community inbox, 1 API key. source

Octoque: Yes, but it doesn’t post for you: plan and schedule for up to 3 accounts and 10 posts a month, and at each post’s time Octoque sends a “Your turn” reminder with the caption and video ready, and you post it yourself. 5 AI caption credits. source

Cheapest paid plan

Buffer: Essentials $6 per channel a month ($5 paid yearly), 1 user, unlimited scheduled posts. Cheaper per channel above 10 channels. source

Octoque: Starter $15 a month ($12 paid yearly): 3 accounts, unlimited scheduling, 30 X posts, API and MCP. source

How it’s priced

Buffer: Per channel (one connected account), with volume discounts above 10 channels. Team is $12 per channel a month with unlimited users. source

Octoque: Per plan, with accounts included (3, 8 or 25). Extra accounts are $3 a month each. source

Trial

Buffer: 14 days of a paid plan; if you never enter payment details you drop to Free, which suggests no card is needed to start. source

Octoque: 14 days, no card: auto-posting to up to 3 accounts, 30 posts in total and 10 X posts. If you don’t pick a plan you move to Free (reminders, you post); nothing is deleted. source

Networks

Buffer: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Google Business Profile, Mastodon, YouTube Shorts (not long videos), Threads, Bluesky, Substack. source

Octoque: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Facebook Pages, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Reddit and Google Business Profile. No Snapchat, Mastodon or Telegram. source

Short video (Reels, TikTok, Shorts)

Buffer: Reels auto-publish for Business and Creator accounts; TikTok auto-publishes (notification for music or polls); Shorts up to 3 minutes auto-publish. source

Octoque: Posts Reels, TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels directly through each platform’s official API. Carousels and Stories on Instagram and Facebook, LinkedIn PDF posts, and threads on X, Threads and Bluesky. source

Best time to post

Buffer: Recommended posting times: set a weekly goal and Buffer adds slots at times based on its own research data. source

Octoque: Golden hour on every plan: each platform gets its own time, in your audience’s time zone (up to three regions). On Free it’s the time of your reminder. source

Caption per platform

Buffer: Yes: one box per network type in the composer (accounts on the same network share a box). source

Octoque: One caption everywhere or a different one per platform, a separate YouTube title, a first comment and live character counters. You can edit a live caption on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit and Google, and on X with Premium within an hour. source

Approvals

Buffer: Team plan only ($12 per channel a month). source

Octoque: Six roles and post approvals from Creator ($29/mo, 2 seats); Studio has 5 seats. The free trial includes them. source

API and MCP

Buffer: Public API on every plan, including Free, and an official remote MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and others. source

Octoque: Public API with scoped keys and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants, on every paid plan. source

Phone app

Buffer: Yes, iOS and Android apps. source

Octoque: No native app yet. Octoque is a phone-first web app that runs in your phone’s browser. source

Refunds

Buffer: Refund within 7 days of starting a monthly plan, or 30 days of starting a yearly plan, by request. source

Octoque: Full refund within 14 days of any payment, renewals included. Cancel in two taps. source

Every cell links to where the fact comes from. Buffer’s prices are from its pricing page, last updated by Buffer in November 2025.

Where Buffer is better

  • Mastodon and Substack. Buffer posts to both. Octoque has 11 networks, including Pinterest, Bluesky, Reddit and Google Business Profile, but not those two.
  • A free plan that posts for you. Buffer Free posts to 3 channels, with 10 posts queued per channel at any time, a community inbox and API access. Octoque Free doesn’t post: it reminds you to post yourself, for 3 accounts and 10 posts a month.
  • Cheaper for one or two accounts. $6 a month for one channel, $12 for two (billed monthly). Octoque’s cheapest paid plan is $15.
  • Phone apps. Native iOS and Android apps. Octoque runs in your phone’s browser. Both let you reply to comments from inside the app.
  • Track record. Buffer has been around for years, with many public reviews. Octoque is new and has none yet.
  • Unlimited users on Team, while Octoque’s Studio has 5 seats.

Where Octoque is better

Each platform at its own hour

Buffer adds recommended slots to your schedule from its own research data. Octoque’s golden hour picks a separate time for each platform in one post, in your audience’s time zone (up to three regions), and switches to your own results once you have some. On every plan; on Free it times your reminders, and you post.

Octoque composer with Each platform at its golden hour selected and TikTok scheduled for 8 PM
One upload, TikTok’s own settings, and each platform at its golden hour.

Problems caught before they go out

Octoque checks each platform’s rules as you write: counters per platform, a missing YouTube title, TikTok’s required settings. If a platform still says no, you get an email within minutes with a one-tap fix. See failed-post alerts.

Octoque new post screen with caption tabs for Everywhere, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Threads, live character counters and a YouTube title field

Pricing that doesn’t grow with every account

Octoque’s plans include 3, 8 or 25 accounts; extras are $3 a month each. Approvals come with Creator and Studio rather than doubling the per-account rate.

Refunds on renewals too

Buffer refunds within 7 days of starting a monthly plan or 30 days of a yearly one. Octoque refunds any payment within 14 days, renewals included. Our refund policy.

What you’d pay

Monthly billing, USD, before tax, checked 14 October 2026.

A solo creator, 5 accounts

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X; one person.

Buffer Essentials
5 × $6 = $30 a month ($25 yearly)
Octoque Creator
$29 a month ($24 yearly), room for 8

Octoque Creator includes 150 X posts a month (X charges apps per post). With 3 accounts, Octoque Starter is $15 vs Buffer’s $18.

A small team, 10 accounts, approvals

Three people, posts approved before they go out.

Buffer Team
10 × $12 = $120 a month ($100 yearly)
Octoque Studio
$99 a month ($82 yearly), up to 25 accounts and 5 seats

Buffer Team has unlimited users; Octoque Studio has 5 seats. For two people, Octoque Creator with 2 extra accounts is $35 a month.

Switching from Buffer

  1. Start the trial
    Sign up for Octoque; 14 days of auto-posting to up to 3 accounts (30 posts), no card. Keep Buffer running for now.
  2. Connect your accounts
    Sign in on each platform’s own page. Connecting to Octoque doesn’t disconnect Buffer.
  3. Set your posting times
    Recreate your Buffer schedule in Octoque’s queue, or let golden hour pick per platform.
  4. Move upcoming posts
    Octoque doesn’t connect to Buffer. Upload your next week or two of videos to the Library, then add the posts by hand or from a spreadsheet (CSV, up to 200 rows, every row checked before anything is created). Pause each one in Buffer as you move it, so nothing posts twice.
  5. Cancel Buffer when you’re sure
    Buffer’s refund window is 7 days from starting a monthly plan or 30 days for a yearly one; check its policy.
How we compared

We compared Buffer’s published pricing, help centre and terms with Octoque’s own plans on 14 October 2026. We did not run a long hands-on test of Buffer, so this page compares what each company documents, not day-to-day reliability. Prices are monthly billing in USD before tax. We recheck every quarter; corrections to hello@octoque.com.

Questions people ask

Is Octoque cheaper than Buffer?

For 1–3 accounts, Buffer is the same or cheaper. From about 5 accounts Octoque Creator ($29 for up to 8) is the same or cheaper, and with approvals at 10 accounts Octoque is $35 for two people or $99 for up to five, vs Buffer Team’s $120 (monthly billing).

Do both auto-post TikTok, Reels and Shorts?

Yes, both publish all three directly. Buffer falls back to a phone notification in some cases (personal Instagram accounts, TikToks with music or polls, Shorts over 3 minutes). In Octoque, videos over 3 minutes need a part chosen for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Does Octoque have a free plan like Buffer?

Not like Buffer’s. Octoque Free doesn’t post for you: it plans up to 10 posts a month for 3 accounts and reminds you to post them yourself. Buffer’s free plan posts for you (10 queued posts per channel) and includes an inbox. To try Octoque’s auto-posting, use the 14-day trial (no card), then Starter at $15.

Can I use an AI assistant with either?

Yes. Buffer has an official MCP server and API on every plan, including Free. Octoque has an MCP server and API on every paid plan. See AI assistants and API.

Is there a Buffer mobile app equivalent?

Not yet. Octoque is a phone-first web app that runs in your phone’s browser; Buffer has native iOS and Android apps.

Keep reading

Buffer alternativesEight options with dated prices.Octoque vs LaterThe other video-first comparison.All comparisonsEvery scheduler in one table.Octoque pricingEvery plan and limit.

More comparisons

Octoque head to head

Alternatives to

Sources

All links checked on 14 October 2026.

  1. Buffer pricing (machine-readable page)
  2. Buffer: supported channels
  3. Buffer: using TikTok with Buffer
  4. Buffer: using YouTube Shorts with Buffer
  5. Buffer: scheduling posts
  6. Buffer: MCP server
  7. Buffer: mobile app
  8. Buffer: refund policy

Your next post could go out at golden hour tonight.

Set it up in three minutes. Free for 14 days, no card needed.

Start free