Loomly Alternatives: 11 Social Media Tools Compared for 2026
Loomly Alternatives: 11 Options Compared for 2026
Short answer: Planable if approvals are why you picked Loomly, Buffer if you mostly schedule, Later for Instagram and TikTok-first brands, SocialPilot or Pallyy if you're an agency outgrowing Loomly's 12-account Starter plan, Metricool if analytics matter more than workflow, and Postiz or Mixpost if you'd rather self-host.
Loomly's pricing has two steps and a cliff between them. Starter is $49/month billed yearly ($65 monthly) and covers 12 social accounts and 3 users. Beyond is $249/month billed yearly ($332 monthly) for 60 accounts and unlimited users. There's nothing in the middle.
So picture a small agency with 4 clients on 4 networks each. That's 16 accounts. You've just crossed Starter's limit, and the next plan is $2,988 a year instead of $588. That jump is the most common reason people go looking.
Every price below comes from the vendor's own pricing page, checked October 2026.
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TL;DR: Quick Picks for 2026
| Need | Top pick | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Approvals with unlimited users | Planable | From $33/workspace/mo |
| Simple, cheap scheduling | Buffer | Free, then $5/channel/mo |
| Instagram and TikTok-first brands | Later | From $18.75/mo (yearly, promo) |
| Evergreen content queues | SocialBee | From $29/mo |
| Agencies billing per client brand | Pallyy | Free plan, Pro $25/mo |
| Inbox, reporting and reviews in one | Vista Social | From $99/mo |
| Agency features on a budget | SocialPilot | From $17/mo (yearly) |
| Analytics and competitor tracking | Metricool | Free, paid from $20/mo (yearly) |
| A deeper inbox | Agorapulse | From $79/user/mo (yearly) |
| Open source, self-hosted | Postiz / Mixpost | Free self-host, paid options |
| Client dashboards as your product | Build it | $131+ one-time |
What Loomly Actually Does Well
Loomly's calendar and approval flow are the reasons people stick with it. Approval workflows and roles come on the entry plan, which isn't true of every tool here. Posts move from draft to approved to scheduled in a way clients understand.
Starter also includes more than you'd expect for $49: advanced analytics, report export, and an inbox where you can reply, use saved replies and assign conversations. Unlimited calendars on both plans make it easy to split work by client or campaign.
If you're under 12 accounts and 3 users, Loomly is fair value. Most alternatives win on what happens after that.
When to Leave Loomly
- You're past 12 accounts. The next plan is roughly 5x the price.
- You need a 4th user on Starter. Unlimited users only come with Beyond.
- You want scheduled reports. They're Beyond-only.
- You need deeper analytics or competitor benchmarks. Loomly's analytics are solid for your own posts, but analytics-first tools go further.
1. Planable
The closest match for teams that chose Loomly for approvals.
Strengths:
- Priced per workspace with unlimited users, so clients and reviewers are free
- Posts preview exactly as they'll look, and reviewers comment directly on them
- Pro adds required approvals, a Grid view, and a Public API and MCP Connector
- Your first 50 posts are free, with no time limit and no card
Weaknesses:
- Analytics, inbox and listening are paid add-ons per workspace
- Post caps: 60 per workspace per month on Basic, 150 on Pro
- Basic covers only 4 social pages per workspace (10 on Pro)
Pricing: Basic $33/workspace/month, Pro $49/workspace/month, Enterprise custom. Yearly billing gives 2 months free.
Best for: Agencies whose bottleneck is client sign-off.
2. Buffer
The simplest swap if you mostly schedule and rarely touch the inbox.
Strengths:
- Clean scheduling UX that new team members pick up fast
- Team plan includes unlimited members, approval workflows and branded reports
- Free plan covers 3 channels
- API keys on every plan (3 on Essentials, 5 on Team)
Weaknesses:
- Per-channel pricing climbs with every client network you add
- Essentials is 1 user with no approvals
- No real competitor analytics
Pricing: Free for 3 channels. Essentials $5/channel/month and Team $10/channel/month ($60 and $120 per channel per year). Buffer says channels past 10 cost less but doesn't list the rate.
Best for: Small teams with a handful of channels. More options in our Buffer alternatives roundup.
3. Later
Built for visual brands that live on Instagram and TikTok.
Strengths:
- Priced by social set (one of each network), so multi-platform brands don't pay per channel
- Link in Bio on every plan
- Growth adds internal and external approvals, the social inbox and custom roles
- Scale adds competitive benchmarking and Meta Ads analytics
Weaknesses:
- Starter is 1 user, 1 social set and 30 posts per profile, with no inbox
- Extra users and sets cost more on Growth and Scale
- Prices shown are a yearly promotion, so renewals may cost more
Pricing: Starter $18.75/month, Growth $37.50/month, Scale $82.50/month, billed yearly with a 25% off promotion shown at the time we checked. Extra social sets are $11.25/month and extra users $3.75/month on Growth and Scale.
Best for: Creators and brands where Instagram and TikTok drive results. See our Later alternatives guide for its rivals.
4. SocialBee
An evergreen content engine with clear agency tiers.
Strengths:
- Category queues that recycle evergreen posts on a schedule
- Flat pricing by profile count, never per channel
- Pro covers 25 profiles, 5 workspaces and 3 users per workspace
- Agency plans go up to 150 profiles and 30 workspaces
Weaknesses:
- Bootstrap and Accelerate are 1 user only
- Analytics are lighter than Loomly's
- Approvals aren't the focus
Pricing: Bootstrap $29/month ($290/year), Accelerate $49 ($490/year), Pro $99 ($990/year). Agency: Pro50 $179/month ($149 billed yearly), Pro100 $329 ($274), Pro150 $449 ($374).
Best for: Teams posting lots of recurring content across several brands.
5. Pallyy
Priced the way agencies bill clients: per brand.
Strengths:
- Priced per social set, so a client on six networks costs the same as one on two
- Social inbox on every paid plan
- Free plan to test the workflow
Weaknesses:
- Pro is 1 user, and you can't add more
- Free plan is image posts only, 15 a month
- Reporting is lighter than the analytics-first tools
Pricing: Pro $25/month (1 social set, $10 per extra). Agency $99/month (10 sets, 3 users, $10 per extra set or user). Scale $199/month (30 sets, 10 users). Yearly billing saves up to 25%.
Best for: Agencies with many small clients who'd hit Loomly's 12-account limit fast.
6. Vista Social
A broader all-in-one than Loomly at a similar mid-tier price.
Strengths:
- Publishing, inbox, reporting and review management in one product
- Professional covers 15 profiles, more than Loomly Starter's 12
- Listening across social, web and news as a $75/month add-on
- 14-day free trial, no card
Weaknesses:
- X (Twitter) costs an extra $29/month
- The plan table lists 2 to 4 users per plan (the FAQ quotes higher numbers, so confirm)
- No free plan
Pricing: Professional $99/month or $950/year (15 profiles), Advanced $199/month or $1,910/year (30 profiles), Scale $449/month or $4,310/year (70 profiles).
Best for: Teams that want more than scheduling and approvals in one bill.
7. SocialPilot
The budget agency tool, and the most direct answer to Loomly's pricing cliff.
Strengths:
- Tiers step up gradually: 5, 10, 20 and 40 accounts
- Premium adds client management, client approval workflows and white-label reports
- Unlimited client seats on Premium and Ultimate
- Social inbox from Standard
Weaknesses:
- Essentials is 1 user with no inbox
- Client approvals start on Premium
- Account caps are tighter than per-brand tools
Pricing: Essentials $20/month ($17 billed yearly, 5 accounts), Standard $40 ($34, 10 accounts, 3 users), Premium $100 ($85, 20 accounts, 6 users), Ultimate $200 ($170, 40 accounts, unlimited users).
Best for: Small agencies that need white-label reports and client approvals without paying $249/month.
8. Metricool
Swap here if analytics, more than workflow, is what you need.
Strengths:
- Free plan: 1 brand, 20 posts a month, 30 days of analytics, 5 competitor profiles
- Starter analyzes up to 100 competitors and exports PDF and PowerPoint reports
- Priced by brand, and each brand covers one profile per network
- Advanced adds team and client management, a Data Studio connector and the Metricool API
Weaknesses:
- Team and client management start on Advanced
- White label is a contact-sales add-on
- The pricing page doesn't list user limits per plan
Pricing: Starter $20/month billed yearly for 5 brands ($25 monthly), or $36 for 10 brands ($45). Advanced $53/month billed yearly for 15 brands ($67 monthly), up to $159 for 50 brands ($210).
Best for: Small agencies that care about competitor benchmarks and reports.
9. Agorapulse
Pick it if the inbox matters more to you than the calendar.
Strengths:
- A shared inbox with assignment and moderation rules on every plan
- White-label reporting from Standard
- Ads, ROI and cross-network reports on Advanced
Weaknesses:
- Per-user pricing, with 10 social profiles per plan before extra charges
- Approvals start on Advanced
- Listening is a separate add-on
Pricing: Standard $79, Professional $119, Advanced $149 per user per month billed yearly ($99, $149 and $199 monthly).
Best for: Community-heavy teams who clear comments and DMs all day. We compared its rivals in Agorapulse alternatives.
10. Postiz or Mixpost (Open Source)
For teams that would rather own the tool and stop paying per account.
Strengths:
- Postiz: open source, self-hostable, with a hosted cloud if you'd rather skip servers. Team and higher cloud plans include unlimited members
- Mixpost: Lite is free and open source. Pro ($299 one-time) adds all platforms, workspaces, an approval flow, an engagement inbox, advanced analytics, and an API with webhooks
- No per-seat fees
Weaknesses:
- Mixpost Lite only publishes to Facebook Pages, Mastodon and X
- Mixpost Pro and Enterprise are source-available paid licenses with 1 year of updates
- Self-hosting means you own API tokens, upgrades and uptime
Pricing: Postiz cloud: Standard $29/month (5 channels, no team), Team $39 (10 channels), Pro $49 (30), Ultimate $99 (100), about 20% less billed yearly. Mixpost Lite free, Pro $299 one-time, Enterprise $1,199 one-time.
Best for: Technical teams comfortable running a server. Our Hootsuite alternatives guide covers self-hosting in more depth.
11. Build Your Own Social Dashboard
Sometimes the client report turns into a client portal, and the portal becomes something you sell. No rented tool lets you own that UX or the data model behind it.
What that looks like:
- Your backend pulls posts and metrics from platform APIs, or pairs with Mixpost or Postiz for publishing
- The Social Media Dashboard Kit supplies the frontend: 35+ screens covering multi-platform analytics, a drag-and-drop content calendar, a post composer, audience insights, competitor tracking, a unified social inbox and a report builder with PDF and CSV export
- Next.js 16, Tailwind CSS v4 and shadcn/ui, themed with tokens so each client portal can carry its own brand
- One-time $131 solo
Be realistic: the kit is UI only. API work, publishing and hosting are on you. It pays off when reporting is part of what you sell. Try the demo or browse Best Social Media Dashboard Templates.
Recommendation by Profile
| You | Pick |
|---|---|
| Approvals are the bottleneck | Planable |
| Mostly scheduling, few channels | Buffer |
| Instagram and TikTok first | Later |
| Lots of evergreen content | SocialBee |
| Many small clients | Pallyy |
| Want inbox, reports and reviews together | Vista Social |
| Agency on a budget, need white label | SocialPilot |
| Analytics and competitor reports | Metricool |
| Inbox volume is high | Agorapulse |
| Want to self-host | Postiz or Mixpost |
| Client dashboards are your product | Build it |
Pricing at a Glance (3 Users, About 16 Accounts, Billed Yearly)
| Product | Setup that fits | ~Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Loomly (Beyond) | 60 accounts, unlimited users | $2,988 |
| Agorapulse (Standard) | $79/user x 3, 10 profiles + extras | $2,844 + extra profiles |
| Buffer (Team) | 16 channels x $120 | Up to $1,920 |
| Vista Social (Advanced) | 30 profiles | $1,910 (+$348 for X) |
| Pallyy (Agency) | 10 brands, 3 users | ~$891 to $1,188 |
| SocialPilot (Premium) | 20 accounts, 6 users | $1,020 |
| SocialBee (Pro) | 25 profiles, 3 users | $990 |
| Planable (Pro, 2 workspaces) | 10 pages each, 2 months free | ~$980 + add-ons |
| Metricool (Advanced) | 15 brands | $636 |
| Postiz (Pro cloud) | 30 channels, unlimited members | ~$468 (or free self-hosted) |
| Mixpost (Pro) | Self-hosted | $299 one-time + hosting |
| Social Media Dashboard Kit | Build path | $131+ one-time + API work |
These are directional numbers from list prices. Loomly Starter ($588 a year) would cover this team if it stayed at 12 accounts. Past that, almost every tool here costs less than Beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Loomly cost?
Starter is $49/month billed yearly ($65 monthly) for 12 social accounts and 3 users. Beyond is $249/month billed yearly ($332 monthly) for 60 accounts and unlimited users. Enterprise (61+ accounts) is custom.
What is the cheapest Loomly alternative?
Buffer and Metricool both have free plans, and so does Pallyy. For paid team plans, SocialPilot Standard is $34/month billed yearly with 3 users and 10 accounts, and self-hosted Postiz or Mixpost Lite cost nothing beyond hosting.
Which Loomly alternative is best for client approvals?
Planable, because reviewers get unlimited free seats and comment on post previews. SocialPilot Premium and Later Growth also include client or external approvals.
Does Loomly have a free plan?
Loomly offers a free trial with no credit card, but it doesn't list a free plan. Buffer, Metricool and Pallyy all have free plans if you want to start at $0.
Is Loomly better than Buffer?
Loomly includes approvals, analytics and an inbox on its entry plan. Buffer is cheaper for a few channels and simpler to use, but approvals and unlimited members need its Team plan at $10 per channel per month.
The Honest Take
Loomly is good software with an awkward price ladder. Under 12 accounts and 3 users, it's hard to beat for approvals plus a calendar.
The trouble starts with account 13 or user 4. Planable fixes approvals without seat costs. SocialPilot and Pallyy fix the agency math. Metricool covers analytics for less. Buffer and Later win for simpler or more visual setups. Postiz and Mixpost hand you the keys.
Pick the job that broke for you on Loomly and buy for that. And if client reporting is really your product, build the dashboard yourself.
Want it shipped without hiring a developer?
The build path above assumes you have engineers. If you don't, the team behind thefrontkit does done-for-you launches: we deploy the kit, apply your branding, and wire it to your stack. Fixed quotes, most builds ship in 2-4 weeks, from $1999.
