Later vs Buffer

by Gralio Feb 27, 2025

Later and Buffer are both social media management platforms, but they cater to different needs. Later excels in visual planning and affordability, while Buffer offers stronger analytics and broader platform support. Mid-sized businesses focused on value and customer service might find Later's visual calendar and lower cost appealing, while those prioritizing detailed performance analysis and seamless Instagram integration may prefer Buffer.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 2827 reviews and 60 websites, saving 16 hours, 12 minutes of reading.

Later

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Buffer

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

Later is a social media management platform designed to streamline your online presence. It allows you to schedule posts across various platforms like Instagram and TikTok, analyze performance data, and even turn posts into shoppable links. Later aims to save you time and help you understand what content resonates with your audience. They offer different plans, including a free trial, to fit various needs.

Buffer is a software tool that helps you manage your company's social media. Schedule posts across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all in one place. You can also track how your posts perform and get insights to improve your strategy. Buffer is designed to be user-friendly for teams of all sizes.

Summary

Main difference

Later is a more affordable option with a visual content calendar, making it better for visually-driven social media strategies. Buffer offers more robust analytics and broader platform support, including superior Instagram integration, which is preferable for data-driven marketers and businesses heavily reliant on Instagram.

Relative strengths of Later (compared to Buffer)

Strong visual content calendar for planning and previewing Instagram feeds.
More affordable pricing plans, especially for smaller businesses and individuals.
User-friendly interface with drag-and-drop scheduling and hashtag suggestions.

Relative weaknesses of Later (compared to Buffer)

Limited Instagram Story customization and direct publishing capabilities (only push notifications).
Significant price jump between free and paid versions.
Occasional posting delays, bugs, and API connection issues reported by users.

Who should use Later VS. Buffer

Later is a user-friendly social media management platform perfect for visually planning and scheduling content, especially on Instagram. Users praise its intuitive interface and hashtag features, while some note limitations with Instagram Stories and pricing. It's a great choice for those focused on visual content and efficient scheduling.

Buffer helps manage social media content across various platforms. Users praise its intuitive interface and analytics but note occasional issues with Instagram integration and pricing. Best for businesses seeking streamlined scheduling and performance tracking.

Ideal for freelancers, small businesses, and agencies seeking streamlined social media management.
Best for marketing and advertising, particularly for visually-driven businesses.

Ideal for businesses and marketing professionals seeking streamlined social media management.
Suitable for various sectors, including healthcare, finance, e-commerce, and more.

Later and Buffer features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Social Media Publishing

Supported

Later allows planning, creating, and scheduling social media posts across multiple platforms from a central dashboard.

Supported

Buffer allows planning, creating, and scheduling social media posts across multiple platforms.
Influencer marketing

Supported

Later supports influencer discovery, management, and collaborations.

Supported

Buffer supports influencer discovery, management, and performance analysis.
Social media management

Supported

Later allows planning, scheduling, and automatic publishing of social media posts.

Supported

Buffer allows planning, scheduling, and automatic publishing of social media posts, streamlining workflows and improving results.
Social media bio link

Supported

Later supports creating a social media bio link with a mobile-optimized landing page.

Supported

Buffer supports bio links with customizable landing pages for multiple websites and mobile optimization.
Twitter integration

Supported

Later allows scheduling various posts to Twitter (now X).

Supported

Buffer fully supports Twitter integration and allows users to schedule both individual tweets and Twitter threads.
Instagram integration

Supported

Later allows scheduling posts to Instagram Business and Creator accounts.

Supported

Buffer supports scheduling posts to both Instagram business and creator accounts, including the ability to schedule stories and reels. It also integrates well with other tools like Zapier for automation.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment

No data
Customer Service

No data

No data
Ease of Use

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

No data
Reliability and Performance

No data

No data
Ease of Implementation

No data

No data
Scalability

No data

No data

Later and Buffer Pricing

Later Social offers 5 pricing tiers for individuals, small teams, growing teams, agencies and large businesses. All plans include a 14-day free trial and a 33% discount on annual billing. Extra social sets, users and AI credits can be purchased for an additional monthly fee.

Plans

User sentiment

Rather positive

+0.33

See full Pricing page

All plans have access to various integrations such as Canva, Unsplash, Dropbox, Google Drive and Photos, One Drive, Zapier, IFTTT, WordPress, Feedly, Pocket, and Bitly. A 14-day free trial is available for the Essentials and Team plans.

Plans

See full Pricing page

Later and Buffer review insights

305 reviews analysed from

Users love

Visual Instagram feed planner and grid preview.
User-friendly interface and drag-and-drop scheduling.
Hashtag suggestions and analytics.
Linkin.bio feature for driving traffic from Instagram.
Time-saving automation and bulk scheduling capabilities.

Easy to use and schedule posts across multiple platforms.
The interface is clean and intuitive.
The free plan offers a good amount of features for basic needs.
Helpful analytics and insights to track post performance.

Users dislike

No direct publishing for Instagram Stories and multi-photo posts, only push notifications.
Limited story customization options, such as stickers or tagging.
Free version limitations on post quantity and features.
Occasional delays in posting, bugs, and API connection issues.
Steep price jump between the free and paid versions.

Instagram functionality is lacking, with issues connecting accounts and scheduling stories.
Posts sometimes fail to publish with no notification or explanation.
Pricing is high, especially for additional users and features.
The mobile app can be buggy and less user-friendly than the web version.

Later and Buffer Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(307)

G2

4.3/5

(1008)
Capterra

4.5/5

(1475)
TrustPilot

2.2/5

(40)
Glassdoor

3.9/5

(25)

Company health

Employee growth

No data

23% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No data

5% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

No data

March 2017 - $4M

How do Later and Buffer compare in Instagram story scheduling reliability?

Later users report occasional delays and bugs, and it only offers push notifications for Instagram Stories, not direct publishing. Buffer users also report reliability issues with Instagram Stories, with posts sometimes failing to publish without notification. Neither platform appears to offer particularly strong reliability for Instagram Story scheduling.

Which platform, Later or Buffer, offers better analytics for link-in-bio performance?

Later's "Linkin.bio" feature is specifically designed for driving traffic from Instagram and offers analytics on link clicks, providing insights into which links are performing best. While Buffer has general social media analytics, it doesn't have a dedicated link-in-bio analytics feature like Later, making Later better for assessing link-in-bio performance.

What are the advantages of Later?

Later offers a visual content calendar with drag-and-drop scheduling and a feed preview, which is advantageous for visual planning. Users appreciate Later's user-friendly interface and its linkin.bio feature for driving traffic from Instagram. While both platforms offer similar core functionalities, Later appears to be more focused on visual planning and Instagram marketing.

What are the disadvantages of Later?

Based on user reviews, Later's disadvantages include limitations in Instagram story customization and direct publishing for stories and multi-photo posts. Users also mention occasional posting delays, bugs, and API connection issues. The significant price jump between the free and paid versions is another common complaint.

Alternatives to Later and Buffer

Loomly

Loomly is a social media management platform designed to streamline your online presence. It offers tools to create, schedule, and track content across various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Loomly helps manage brand assets, provides post ideas, and offers analytics to measure performance. It simplifies team collaboration with approval workflows and a unified inbox for community management. Loomly is a good fit for marketing teams who want to improve their social media efficiency.

Zoho Social

Zoho Social is a social media management platform designed for businesses of all sizes and agencies. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools to manage multiple social media accounts across various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. With Zoho Social, you can schedule posts, track brand mentions, analyze performance with detailed reports, and manage social media activities effectively from a single dashboard. The platform also offers collaboration features, making it easy for teams to work together on social media campaigns. Zoho Social integrates seamlessly with other Zoho products like Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk, providing a unified platform to manage customer interactions and generate leads.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management tool that lets companies schedule posts across various platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It offers tools to manage content, track customer conversations, gain social media insights, and analyze data to improve social media strategies. Hootsuite is used by businesses of all sizes and is known for its user-friendly dashboard that consolidates multiple social media functions in one place.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a social media management platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a suite of tools to manage social media interactions, schedule posts, analyze performance, and listen to what customers are saying online. Sprout Social aims to streamline social media activities, provide data-driven insights, and help businesses maximize the impact of their social media presence.

RADAAR

RADAAR is a social media management platform designed to streamline your online presence. It allows you to schedule and publish content, monitor social media activity, engage with your audience, and analyze your performance, all from one central location. RADAAR offers solutions for businesses of all sizes, from small businesses and agencies to large enterprises. It supports a wide array of social media platforms and provides tools to improve efficiency and collaboration.

Post Planner

Post Planner is a social media management tool that helps businesses schedule and optimize content for various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It stands out by offering content curation features, allowing users to discover and share trending content in their niche. Post Planner aims to simplify social media management, saving time and improving engagement with a user-friendly interface and automation features. It offers various pricing plans, including a free option.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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