Buffer

Buffer is a queue with a comment room next to it. You connect accounts, drop posts in, and they go out later. One Instagram plus one LinkedIn plus one TikTok is three channels. The weekly loop is: batch the posts, then after they go live, answer comments in Community. Some days Instagram will not finish from a computer, so you use the phone.

It is for a show that already has the pictures and the words and wants ten quiet minutes a day. Free is three channels and ten scheduled posts on each. When a post goes out, that slot frees up. Paid is per channel. If you upgrade, you pay for every connected channel, including the three that were free. It is not for an agency that wants one flat bill for fifty profiles. People who only needed a queue stay. People who needed a newsroom leave.

The appeal is keeping scheduled posts in one place. Count every connected channel when comparing plans and confirm whether each destination supports direct publishing or needs a phone reminder. Check analytics retention before relying on it for long-term reporting.

Instagram is the gotcha that eats a week. Business accounts can auto-post when the file fits. Personal cannot. The wrong size, music, or stickers turns the post into a reminder until you tap the phone. Videos go out as Reels. You cannot set a custom cover in Buffer. Links in a Reel caption often fail, so put them in the first comment or the bio. First comment is a paid feature. Carousels cap at ten images.

Logins die. A password change means you reconnect. The queue stays. Failed posts do not retry by themselves. You put those back. Facebook needs the Page admin. Instagram needs the business account. Skip a permission and a feature just vanishes.

Buffer is a posting desk, not a design tool. The per-channel bill and the Instagram reminder fork are the deal. If you will batch, reconnect when it asks, and answer comments, it holds. If you need one price for every profile, people already do that math on a different logo.