The best social media schedulers, tested and ranked

Loomly came first of six with 3 out of 5. 42 of our 60 posts went out on time and in the right format, but 18 still needed attention. A week of posts took 28 minutes to schedule, though the approval round passed only 7 of our 10 checks.

Loomly is a social media scheduler built around a content calendar. You plan posts in the calendar, send them through approval steps so the right people can sign off, and then publish them to your connected accounts. It also has analytics and an AI assistant for drafting ideas. It works in a web browser. It's aimed at teams and agencies rather than solo creators. Approval workflows and user roles come on every plan, and there are only two self-serve plans: Starter for 12 accounts and Beyond for 60. Loomly simplified its plans to these two tiers in 2025, and prices went up.

It scored 3 on all five parts. Starter costs $65 a month for 12 accounts and 3 users, more than most of our lineup for a modest lead in results. Users are split. On Trustpilot, checked November 3, 2026, Loomly has 3.8 out of 5 from 107 reviews, labelled Great, with 82 recent reviews. Ratings sit at the extremes: 51% give 5 stars and 33% give 1 star.

Metricool came second of six with 3 out of 5. Only 41 of our 60 posts went out on time and in the right format, leaving 19 that needed attention. A week of posts took 33 minutes to schedule, and the approval round passed 7 of our 10 checks.

Metricool is a tool for planning, publishing and reporting on social media posts from one calendar. It works with networks including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, with X as a paid add-on. You can use it on the web and through iOS and Android apps. What sets it apart is how you pay. Metricool charges per brand, not per user, so a small team running a few brands can share one plan. A free plan covers one brand with 20 scheduled posts a month and 30 days of analytics.

It scored 3 on all five parts. There's a free plan and Starter is $25 a month for up to 5 brands, but the publishing misses take some shine off that price. Users are mostly positive. On Trustpilot, checked November 3, 2026, Metricool has 4.1 out of 5 from 691 reviews, labelled Great, with 82% giving 5 stars and 12% giving 1 star. Trustpilot notes the company hasn't recently invited reviews. On G2 it has 4.5 out of 5 from 98 reviews, and on Capterra 4.4 out of 5, both checked the same day.

Publer came third of six with 2.5 out of 5. A week of posts took 30 minutes to schedule, and the approval round passed 7 of our 10 checks. There's a free plan and Professional starts at $5 a month for one account, which is cheap even with the publishing misses.

Publer is a tool for scheduling posts and sharing the same post across several social networks at once. It supports a long list of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, WordPress and Google Business. It works on the web and through iOS and Android apps. Pricing works differently from most tools. Instead of fixed bundles, you pay per social account and per extra team member, so the bill grows with your setup. There is a free forever plan for one user and three accounts, and Publer says it has more than 500,000 users.

Its weakest part was features, at 2. It posts to many networks and has an API, but the free plan is tight and some tools, such as the API, sit on Business and above. Users are very positive. On Trustpilot, checked November 3, 2026, Publer has 4.9 out of 5 from 1,058 reviews, labelled Excellent, with 245 recent reviews. 90% give 5 stars and 8% give 4 stars.

SocialPilot came fourth of six with 2.5 out of 5. 20 of the 30 figures we compared matched the networks' own insights, level with the best in our group. A week of posts took 37 minutes to schedule, and the approval round passed only 6 of our 10 checks.

SocialPilot is a tool for scheduling and publishing posts to the main social networks, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. It has a content calendar, analytics and team tools, and works on the web and through iOS and Android apps. It's aimed at agencies and small businesses. Plans are priced by how many social accounts you connect and how many team members (seats) you need. From the Standard plan up, you can upload many posts at once from a CSV file, and Premium adds client approvals that clients can give without logging in.

Its weakest part was reliability, at 2. Only 33 of our 60 posts went out on time and in the right format, the result that cost it most. User ratings are good but mixed underneath. On Trustpilot, checked November 3, 2026, SocialPilot has 4.1 out of 5 from 58 reviews, labelled Great, with 26 in the last 12 months. Oddly, the breakdown shows 43% 5-star and 50% 1-star, which doesn't fit the recent praise on the page. On G2 it has 4.5 out of 5 from 847 reviews, and on Capterra 4.4 out of 5.

SocialBu came fifth of six with 2 out of 5. Its figures matched each platform's own insights on 19 of 30 checks, so about a third of numbers were off. Posting, listening, an inbox and automation sit in one tool, but the inbox is only on Growth and Agency.

SocialBu is a social media scheduler. You connect your accounts, write or plan your posts, and it publishes them for you at the times you choose. It supports 12 networks, including Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Mastodon, Bluesky and Google Business Profile. On top of scheduling, SocialBu adds a social inbox, keyword listening, content curation, analytics and automation that can post from RSS feeds, use webhooks and send auto replies. It is run by Glaxosoft LLC, founded in 2018 in Lewes, Delaware, and says it serves 18,000+ businesses in 72+ countries.

Its weakest part was value for money, at 2. Starter at $29 a month billed monthly is fair on paper, but missed posts cost you time to fix. Users are much happier than our test results. On Trustpilot, checked November 3, 2026, SocialBu has 4.4 out of 5 from 45 reviews, labelled Excellent, with 11 recent ones. 89% give 5 stars and 7% give 1 star.

Vista Social came sixth of six with 2 out of 5. 39 of our 60 posts went out on time and in the right format, which left 21 that needed attention. Professional costs $99 a month for 15 profiles and 2 users, a lot to pay for the results we saw, though the profile count is generous.

Vista Social is a social media tool that covers planning, publishing, engagement and reporting across many networks, including Bluesky and Threads. Alongside scheduling, it has an inbox for replies, automated direct messages, AI-written replies and an AI assistant called Ask Vista. Plans are priced by how many social profiles and users you get, from 15 profiles and 2 users on Professional up to 70 profiles and 4 users on Scale. That makes it aimed at small teams and agencies juggling many profiles. Agencies on Scale also get white labelling, so clients see their own branding.

Its weakest part was features, at 2. It has an inbox, DM automation and an AI assistant, but X costs extra and several useful tools sit on pricier plans. User ratings come with a warning. On Trustpilot, checked November 3, 2026, Vista Social's score is hidden after Trustpilot removed fake reviews. It shows 78 reviews, 26 of them recent, with 79% at 5 stars and 17% at 1 star. On Capterra, it has 4.9 out of 5 from 892 reviews, also checked November 3, 2026.