Best Scheduling Tools for Social Media (Agency Guide)
Choosing a scheduler as an agency isn’t about the most features — it’s about what scales profitably: predictable pricing, approvals that don’t create chaos, channel support that matches what you sell, and reporting you can actually deliver.
What matters most for agencies
Most agencies outgrow scheduling tools because of pricing structure and workflow gaps — not missing features.
Per-brand or workspace pricing usually scales best for agencies.
Internal + external approvals without paid client seats are critical.
Auto-publish, tagging, first comments, and platform nuances matter.
Your reporting promises must match how far back data actually goes.
Later
Best fit: Agencies that want a modern content calendar with strong approvals and a clean client-friendly workflow.
Prices by Social Sets (bundles of profiles) + user count. Add-ons typically include extra Social Sets and extra users.
Internal + external approvals, client reviewers don’t need a login, and a clean planning experience.
Costs scale mainly with Social Sets (clients/profiles) + extra users. Analytics depth varies by plan.
Need approvals done right and want a modern planner UX your team actually enjoys using.
HubSpot (Marketing Hub Social)
Best fit: Agencies whose clients already live in HubSpot and want social publishing tied to CRM attribution.
Pricing is primarily tied to Marketing Hub tier + seats (and onboarding at higher tiers). Social is most valuable when part of broader HubSpot workflows.
Social scheduling + calendar inside HubSpot, plus reporting/ROI attribution when connected to CRM data.
Often overkill if your only need is a scheduler. Seat costs + onboarding can be a blocker for SMB clients.
Sell lifecycle + funnel outcomes and need attribution, not just a content calendar.
Hootsuite
Best fit: Higher-volume teams that need robust governance, inbox workflows, and an enterprise pathway.
Commonly positioned as per user, with higher tiers unlocking approvals, bulk scheduling, deeper reporting, and permissions.
Strong permissions/governance, inbox features, and reporting depth on higher tiers.
Per-seat pricing gets expensive with many creators/reviewers. Best value if you actually use governance + inbox.
Have many stakeholders and need strict publishing controls plus engagement management.
Metricool
Best fit: Agencies that want client/brand scaling + strong reporting without enterprise pricing.
Scales by # of brands (often a clean proxy for clients). Higher tiers add team/client management, roles, and approvals.
PDF/PPT reports, templates, connectors (like Looker Studio), and agency-friendly client management on higher tiers.
“Brands” mapping matters for multi-brand clients. Some network features can be add-on dependent.
Sell reporting and want predictable scaling per client while keeping costs reasonable.
GoHighLevel
Best fit: Agencies that want an all-in-one CRM + marketing ops platform where scheduling is a supporting feature.
Typically a flat monthly agency platform with sub-accounts and tiers for white-label / SaaS mode.
CRM + automations + reputation + reporting + social planner all in one place.
Not a pure scheduler — validate channel support, approvals depth, and reporting expectations carefully.
Want to bundle software + services, white-label, rebill clients, and operate from one platform.
Buffer
Best fit: Simple publishing with predictable pricing — great for smaller teams that don’t need heavy approvals/reporting.
Often positioned as per channel, which is clear but can add up when each client has multiple profiles across networks.
Clean planning and straightforward publishing. Collaboration features appear on team tiers.
Per-channel pricing can balloon at scale. Confirm reporting depth if you sell client-ready reporting packs.
Want simplicity and don’t need complex approval chains or enterprise governance.
Loomly
Best fit: Agencies that want structured content workflows and approvals with a “calendar + collaboration” focus.
Pricing/limits can change and may be less reliable publicly. Validate current tiers (users, calendars, brands, exports) before recommending broadly.
Workflow-first planning, multi-step statuses, and approval-oriented collaboration.
Confirm current pricing and plan limits before committing. Verify reporting export capabilities against deliverables.
Prioritize structured workflows and don’t mind validating plan limits before deciding.