Overview
What Is Buffer Used For?
Buffer is a social media management tool that has an efficient line-up of scheduling features and a flexible social media calendar dashboard where you can visualize your scheduled posts for all platforms in one quick glance.
If a brand or business is looking for a simple yet effective tool to manage all their social media activities from one place, Buffer is the perfect candidate. Connect all your social media accounts or business pages to this tool and get started on your social media marketing journey.
Buffer supports all the major social channels, including Facebook, Google Business Profile, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Shopify, and TikTok. What differentiates Buffer from its alternatives is that it is the first social media scheduling tool that integrated Mastodon, an up-and-coming social media channel.
Additionally, Buffer offers an analytics dashboard that provides detailed insights into engagement and performance metrics, helping users to optimize their social media strategy.
What Is Agorapulse Used For?
Agorapulse is a social media marketing tool which is a cost-effective option for marketing teams to manage and monitor their social media marketing activities from a streamlined and hassle-free dashboard.
This is the perfect software to get a handle on your branding and social media image on multiple platforms. You can outline your whole content strategy and create posts from scratch right in the scheduler. The platform-specific customizations polish every piece of content to perfection to get the optimum results from the audience.
Agorapulse supports all the major social media platforms like Facebook, Google Business Profile, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, and Tiktok. The hiccups like going to separate native websites to post content and monitor audience reactions become redundant with a scheduling tool like Agorapulse.
The best thing about this software is that it provides all-around social media management at a cost-effective rate that very few Agorapulse alternatives match without compromising on the features provided.
Best Suitable for
Buffer
Start with $6
Professionals and SMBs
Agorapulse
Start with $69
Agency, Small Business, Enterprise
SocialPilot
Start with $30
Marketing Agencies, SMBs, Multi-Location Brands & Professionals
At a Glance
In this section, we will brief you about the summarized rating on the user experience of these tools. Let us see which one of them has impressed the users more.
In overall star rating, Agorapulse is slightly ahead of Buffer. But when we came to ease of usage and the process of setting up, Buffer won, albeit by a slight margin. However, the quality of support in Agorapulse is way better as compared to Buffer.
Let us see all the criteria considered by the users and the scores they gave to compare Buffer vs Agorapulse accurately. We will also see the scores of SocialPilot for extra reference.
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Buffer |
Agorapulse |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Reviews | 1006 | 865 | 814 |
| Overall Star Rating | |||
| Ease of Use | |||
| Quality of Support | |||
| Ease of Setup | |||
| Minimum Pricing | $6/Month | $69/Month | $30/Month |
| Number of Social Accounts | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Number of Team Members | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Scheduling & Publishing |
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| Analytics |
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| Social Inbox |
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| Collaboration |
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| Whitelabel |
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| Best For | Professionals and SMBs | Agency, Small Business, Enterprise | Marketing Agencies, SMBs, Multi-Location Brands & Professionals |
| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
Quick Comparison
Now let us go through all the basic but vital features of both the tools in question, which one has to know before making the right judgment.
It is a known fact that Buffer is a very economical tool, suitable for solopreneurs, small-scale agencies, and businesses, and so is Agorapulse. Buffer allows unlimited users to work from the same profile in its agency plan, but Agorapulse changes its users for each user onboarded in a team.
If we go into further details, you will see that Buffer only allows users to connect 10 social accounts, limiting the number of posts you can schedule. However, SocialPilot, a Buffer alternative, allows 30 social accounts to be linked to one profile and a limitless amount of posts to be scheduled at a lower price!
Note: It’s important to note that SocialPilot provides white-label solutions and an allowance of team members at the cost of 30% less than that of Agorapulse.
Look at the detailed table below to weigh each feature and see whether Buffer or Agorapulse is a more capable tool along with SocialPilot.
|
Buffer |
Agorapulse |
SocialPilot |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Can't Miss to Compare | |||
| Minimum Pricing | $6/Month | $69/Month | $30/Month |
| Number of Accounts | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Number of Team Members | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Number of Posts that Can Be Scheduled | 2000 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Core Capabilities | |||
| Scheduling & Publishing |
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| Analytics |
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| Inbox |
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| Collaboration |
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| Competitor Tracking |
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| Whitelabel |
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| Localization | English & Spanish | German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish | German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Support | FAQs, How-To-Guides, Video Tutorials, Social Media Support & Email Support | Priority Email & Chat Support | Email, Chat, Social Media, Phone |
| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial | |
Reviews
Positive
- The cost-effective pricing of Buffer makes it accessible to a diverse group of users, regardless of their budget.
- It offers a powerful, interactive platform that brings all the necessary features for running successful campaigns in the fast-paced world of social media, all in one centralized location.
- Buffer allows for the customization of posts for each individual platform by enabling users to utilize specific tags and hashtags, which can effectively increase the reach of their posts and increase engagement.
Negative
- Buffer requires an admin within the organization to reconnect unlinked accounts, which can be challenging and time-consuming when the user and admin are not in close proximity to each other.
- A feature lacking in Buffer is a quick chat support option, which would be helpful for users seeking immediate assistance with an issue and were unable to find the answer in the help center.
- The absence of advanced post types and features like optimal posting time suggestions and hashtag research in Buffer can negatively impact the effectiveness of users' social media efforts.
Positive
- Agorapulse is easy to use and navigate. The calendar view allows you to view all items in one place, making it convenient for planning your tasks efficiently.
- Agorapulse serves as a central inbox manager for multiple social media accounts. It effectively organizes all incoming messages, making it easy for users to keep track of their interactions and ensuring nothing is lost in the shuffle.
- The integration of social listening is a major advantage. By monitoring all mentions from one place, Agorapulse streamlines the process of tracking online conversations and helps ensure that no opportunity for interactions is missed.
Negative
- Despite being a good application, Agorapulse’s cost makes it inaccessible to many users, excluding those who can afford the high monthly fee.
- The maximum image size permissible in Agorapulse is very low, limiting the ability for users to upload high-quality images and thereby effectively showcasing their content.
- The lack of ability to save tags/mentions of other organizations in Agorapulse can make it difficult for users to tag and engage with other businesses and profiles efficiently.
Positive
- SocialPilot allows users and clients to collaborate efficiently and save a great deal of time managing social networks.
- You can prevent delays and ensure that everything gets published according to schedule. As a result, with SocialPilot, your consistency on social networks remains uninterrupted.
- SocialPilot's tech support is excellent. Whether the user is facing a technical issue or has a general query, the team is quick to respond and help out.
Negative
- Although the Bitly integration is convenient, you'd like to see all these features built natively within SocialPilot or have automated workflows that create UTM links for all campaigns and other variables.
- Users have expressed a desire for more information on setting up accounts and configurations for approvals. Some have struggled with this aspect and had to face challenges in figuring it out.
- One disadvantage of SocialPilot not offering a social listening feature is that it may not be the best choice for businesses or individuals who require comprehensive social media monitoring and analysis.
Pricing
No comparison is ever complete without a close inspection of pricing. So now we will set the paid plans of both the tools side by side to effectively compare them.
Buffer and Agorapulse both have similar pricing for their agency plans. However, thinking about the solo marketers out there, Buffer has a free plan which Agorapulse does not.
Buffer costs $120 per month with no specific limit on team members to connect 10 social accounts and schedule up to 2000 posts on all the supported social channels. In contrast, Agorapulse charges a fee of $149 for only one user to connect 20 accounts and schedule however many posts they want. You can add users to your account in Agorapulse, but it’ll cost you add-on charges.
These were the biggest plans discussed at length, but for a complete picture, look at the table below, where we have compared Agorapulse and Buffer along with SocialPilot.
|
Buffer |
Agorapulse |
SocialPilot |
|---|---|---|
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Free
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Standard
$69/per month
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Professional
$30/per month
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Essential
$6/per channel
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Professional
$99/per month
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Small Team
$50/per month
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Team
$12/per channel
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Advanced
$149/per month
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Agency
$100/per month
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Agency
$120/per channel
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Enterprise
Custom
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Agency+
$200/per month
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14 Days Free Trial
No Credit Card Required
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30 Days Free Trial
No Credit Card Required
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14 Days Free Trial
No Credit Card Required
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| Learn More | Learn More | Start Your free Trial |
In-depth Scheduling and Publishing Capabilities Comparison
One of the prime requirements users expect from a social media management tool is its content scheduling and publishing capability. So let’s look at the same and see where either one of them wins.
Both Buffer and Agorapulse have all the basic scheduling features, such as advanced queueing, platform-specific customizations, visual post-scheduling, in-app integrations, etc. However, both apps cannot publish Facebook reels, carousel posts, and first comments on posts.
Note: RSS feed automation, a feature of great value to social media scheduling to keep up their consistency on social channels, is absent in Agorapulse, which is a downside for users. SocialPilot is an Agorapulse alternative that provides RSS feed scheduling to its users for a lesser monthly fee than the former tool.
Here is a full picture comparing Agorapulse vs Buffer, showing all the discrepancies in their scheduling and publishing capabilities along with SocialPilot for a better perspective.
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Buffer |
Agorapulse |
SocialPilot |
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| Smart & Advanced Queueing |
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| Customize Post for Each Platform |
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| Post Preview |
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| Canva Integration |
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| Unsplash Integration |
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| Slack Integration |
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| URL Shortener |
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| Visual Post Support (Image, Video, GIF) |
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| UTM Parameters |
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| Cloud Storage |
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| Hashtag Suggestions |
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| Advance Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Save Draft Posts |
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| AI Assistant |
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| Watermark on Images |
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| Bulk Scheduling |
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| Auto publishing from RSS |
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| Social media calendar |
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| Mobile App |
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| Browser Extension |
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| Advance Facebook Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Reel Scheduling |
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| Support Album Posts |
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| Support Carousel Posts |
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| Alternate Text on Image |
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| Support Facebook First Comment |
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| Audience Targeting |
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| Boost Post Scheduling |
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| Support Mention and Hashtags |
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| Advance Twitter Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Location Tagging |
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| Support Mention and Hashtags |
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| Support Multiple Image Posts |
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| Threads Scheduling |
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| Advance Instagram Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Reel Scheduling |
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| Story Scheduling |
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| Tag Profiles on Images |
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| Location Tagging |
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| Support Instagram First Comment |
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| Instagram Grid |
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| Advance LinkedIn Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Audience Targeting |
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| Support LinkedIn First Comment |
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| Advance YouTube Publishing Capabilities | |||
| Shorts Scheduling |
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| Mention of Other YouTube Accounts |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial | |
In-depth Analytics Capability Comparison
Sustaining a successful social media marketing venture depends on how your content performs and what type of results in engagement it generates. For that, the analytical features of a tool are very important. So let’s compare Buffer vs Agorapulse for analytics and reporting.
Both tools have similar capabilities in the analytics department, giving out robust performance and audience insights for all social platforms they support. But when it comes to reporting, Buffer lacks behind.
Note: Buffer does not allow users to email PDF reports of the analytics generated, nor does it schedule these reports to be automatically sent to stakeholders. However, SocialPilot allows the automatic generation and scheduling of branded PDF reports to be sent at dictated times.
Here’s a bird’s eye view of all the analytics and reporting features for these tools along with SocialPilot.
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Buffer |
Agorapulse |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Whitelabel Downloadable Report in PDF Format |
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| Email PDF Report to Client |
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| Auto Schedule Report with Team and Client |
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| Custom Report Builder |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
In-depth Inbox/Listening Capability Comparison
Now we will see how the tools in question perform when it comes to managing all the public engagement on multiple platforms from their integrated dashboard.
It is a bit jarring to know, but neither Buffer nor Agorapulse has much in the name of listening features or social inbox. Agorapulse has the ability for users to reply to messages they get but other than that, not much.
SocialPilot, in comparison, has streamlined social inboxes, which allow users to monitor DMs, reviews, and queries from the audience as well as reply to them.
Here are all features related to social listening, for both our contenders, along with SocialPilot.
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Buffer |
Agorapulse |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Can Reply Message |
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| Can Reply Questions and Reviews |
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| Can Reply on Visitor Posts |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
In-depth Social Media Collaboration Capability Comparison
Social media management tools are used to make the task of marketing teams easier. For that, team and client workflows are crucial for tools like these to have.
Both Buffer and Agorapulse have capable team and client functionalities with higher subscriptions. This includes multi-user collaboration, permission-based access to content, client onboarding, and post-approval.
But where Buffer allows unlimited users in a single profile under its agency plan without extra charges, Agorapulse can be used only by a single user. Users need to pay more if they want to add team members to their profiles.
Here is a brief overview of the collaboration capabilities of Agorapulse and Buffer with SocialPilot.
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Buffer |
Agorapulse |
SocialPilot |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Free Unlimited Client Onboarding |
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| Per Post Multi-User Collaboration |
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| Access Management |
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| Content Approval Workflow |
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| Learn More | Learn More | 14 Days Trial |
