Buffer vs Instagram

Hootsuite

Meta for Business

Twitter/X

Snapchat for Business

Sprout Social

Later

Compare Buffer and Instagram based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

Hootsuite helps brands manage social media better, from the smallest businesses to the largest enterprises across CPG, finance, healthcare, tech, higher-ed, and government services.

Later is a web-based marketing platform, designed to help businesses plan and schedule posts across social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The drag and drop calendar tool allows users to plan social posts for the week ahead and monitor engagement in real time.

Sprout Social is a social media management tool created to help businesses find new customers & grow their social media presence.

Buffer helps users manage multiple social media accounts at once as well as quickly schedule content from anywhere on the web, collaborate with team members, and analyze rich statistics on how posts perform

@mentions

Alerts/Notifications

Automated Publishing

Automated Scheduling

Calendar Management

Campaign Management

Collaboration Tools

Content Library

Content Management

Data Import/Export

Data Visualization

Multi-Account Management

Multi-Channel Campaigns

Performance Metrics

Post Scheduling

Reporting & Statistics

Reporting/Analytics

Social Media Integration

Social Media Monitoring

Social Promotion

Tagging

Third-Party Integrations

Buffer

Android

Web-based

iPad

iPhone

Marketing Manager

The scheduling was great and the reports are probably the best out there. It also has a great mobile app which never crashed on me.

Video Editor and Social Media Content Creator

Just choose the option that fits your needs. Another Buffer feature I love is the ability to share the same post to multiple platforms with the appropriate variations.

Company Director

It's great to help clients who have never used a scheduling platform before, it's quite easy to use and reliable.

author

I love social media schedulers, and this is a good one. I like that it's relatively inexpensive, and easy to connect with social media accounts.

Owner

Buffer has been one of the only platforms I've had trouble with when it comes to failed posts. It didn't happen that frequently, but it happened often enough that it was a pain point.

Good platform for scheduling you SOME posts, very easy to use and a big help for people with multiple SOME channels.

Its free  as well so you can try it out until you want to take its premium membership. Easy to set up, easy to connect and their customer support is also great.

Designer

If you're an avid social media user/manager with multiple accounts, it seems like a great resource for scheduling posts. They also have an extensive blog/education section, which is quite informative.

freelance VA

Since my client uses Pinterest, this a good alternative for Tail. The link shortener feature is my lifesaver.

Founder

Integration with BulkBuffer. All of this has made Buffer a win win for me.

Manager, People & Possibilities 

I do like the ease of use and functionality. It has a clean interface and you can select from a couple of different plan options, including one for posting and analyzing your social media accounts.

Creative Director 

Buffer is a great tool to use if you would like to schedule social media posts all in one go. It can help you post to multiple networks and also get handy reports on how your social media is doing.

So all in all I think Buffer does a great job for the price of the software. I do like how all analytics are in one place and how you can have multiple users and editors working on your social copy.

Blogger

I love how simple Buffer is to use, and I use it often for my Instagram. The UI/UX is very intuitive, and I like it that is not crammed with many unnecessary integrations.

It can be a little confusing to learn the interface and features of customizing for each platform.

Social Media Manager

But these generally are problems users can expect to encounter with any social scheduling platform.

Marketing Executive

Again, I'll sometimes post manually on Twitter so that I can tag accounts. Finally, you can post multiple images on posts, which is especially a drawback for Instagram.

Marketing

Must have to ensure your posting to your social media. Customer support is very fast too.

Buffer screenshot: Buffer web and mobile apps

Buffer screenshot: The Buffer dashboard

Buffer screenshot: View scheduled posts as a list or on a calendar

Buffer screenshot: Create custom posting schedule

Buffer screenshot: Customize message for each social media platform

Buffer screenshot: Use our browser extension to share from anywhere on the web

Buffer screenshot: Improve and report on social media results with analytics

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Non Profit

Public Administrations

Small Business

Facebook for Business provides personalized marketing plans, industry insights, step-by-step guidance, and more.

Established in 2006, Twitter/X has grown into a real-time, short messaging service with a multi-sectoral, global network of over 200 million active users

Snapchat is a messaging & multimedia mobile platform that allows users to communicate with customers, create vertical video ads, and manage campaigns

Instagram is a social networking app which lets users share photos & videos from their mobile phones, like posts, comment, send private messages, and more

Activity/News Feed

Blogs

Brand Tracking

Campaign Analytics

Chat/Messaging

Commenting/Notes

Content Import/Export

Content Sharing

Customer Engagement

Customizable Branding

Discussions/Forums

Drag & Drop

Engagement Tracking

File Sharing

Filtering

Group Management

Image Editing

Image Library

Live Chat

Media Management

Mobile Access

Monitoring

Photos/Images

Real Time Editing

Real-Time Notifications

Search/Filter

Social Advertising

Social Sharing

User Profiles

Instagram

FreeLancer

Easy integration with other social networks allows for greater reach through sharing. The possibility of interacting with people through stories is amazing and fast.

Manager

The statistics are useful for seeing my outreach in the community and I've made connections with people I wouldn't have otherwise met if it weren't for my business, so I am very grateful for that.

Self Employed

Mod bot blocks some uploads inappropriately and without an option to dispute. There are a lot of spam accounts that either pretend to be someone or represent a business that they are not.

Social Media Channel Manager

Instagram is a great platform to extend your reach, socialize as well as follow others who inspire you. I love that you can post almost anything and there is potential to build a brand for yourself.

Application Engineer

Instagram is amazing, you can make money with Instagram, get famous by uploading amazing contents etc. It is very helpful for content creators to connect showcase their talent to world.

Campus Minister

It's fun, and easy to use. It's a great way to stay connected to your friends, and to share with others memories that you would like to keep forever.

Pharmacist

If the Instagram app has been deleted accidentally from your phone, you may run the risk of losing your account which happened including all photos posted.

R&D / QA Engineer

Instagram adverts are everywhere and sometimes are annoying. Instagram does not work well with unstable Internet connection.

surgeon

Once in a while there is a fake profile that spam messages you, but it is not all too common.

Training & Development Specialist 

For example I was in a rut and browsing inspirational quote posts and later I get on the app and see success and inspiration focused posts. I also like how easy it is to send posts to friends.

AI Engineer

Promoting the business with paid sponsored ads is most brilliant thing and the ads are very effective. Live video and messaging is has very good interface and efficient.

Business Sale Executive

Its a very mobile friendly software I can also share my Instagram stories to Facebook. Instagram have good and ease interface that's why during using user not facing so much difficulties.

Junior Engineer

Overall, its fun and easy to way to stay connected. Its really good for the business owners to promote their products and find the target audience using hashtags.

Classroom Assistant

Overall, I enjoy interacting with the content shared by friends, family, businesses and influencers I respect or admire.

Administrative Assistant

How easy it is to find your personal interests, leading to the beautiful pictures. Additionally, how easy  it is to post your pictures.

Civil Aviation

It's very low-cost software to interact with the entire world. If photography is your interest then Instagram is the best place to improve your photography skills.

Social Media Coordinator

What I like the most is how easy it is to use, expand your audience, and engage with customers. Instagram streamlines customer service to customers because they are helped in real time.

Teaching Assistant

Its the staple of the picture based social media. The integration of interaction between users are designed perfectly.

Buffer vs Instagram Comparison (2026)

Buffer

Instagram

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives