SocialBu is a broad scheduler with an automation engine bolted on: 12 networks including Reddit, Mastodon and Bluesky, plus rules that can auto-respond or repost when a condition is met. People usually leave for one of three reasons. The Starter plan is $29/mo, or $22/mo billed annually, and stops at 8 social accounts. The free plan is 10 lifetime posts, which makes it a trial rather than a tier. And the analytics are thinner than in tools built around reporting.
Here are seven alternatives, grouped by which of those three problems you have.
Note: Pricing and features mentioned in this post were verified against SocialBu’s official site as of September 2026. Plans and pricing may have changed since publication.
What you would be giving up
Before switching, be clear about what SocialBu does that most schedulers do not:
| Feature | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Reddit publishing | Almost no scheduler in this price band supports it |
| Mastodon and Bluesky | Still uncommon outside the newer tools |
| Automation rules | Auto-responses and conditional posting, not just a queue |
| 12 networks on the entry tier | Coverage is not gated behind a higher plan |
If Reddit or the rules are load-bearing for you, the shortlist is short. If they are not, most of the field is cheaper per account.
1. Publer, if the account cap is the problem
Publer’s appeal against SocialBu is the account maths rather than the feature list. It has bulk scheduling, RSS ingestion and a free tier that is a real tier rather than a lifetime post allowance, though the free plan excludes X. Its coverage is wide but it does not do Reddit.
- Best for: Teams that hit SocialBu’s 8-account Starter cap
- Limitation: No Reddit, and the free plan excludes X
2. Zoho Social, if you want a free plan that lasts
Zoho Social’s free tier gives you 6 channels with no post ceiling of the “10 lifetime” kind, which is the single biggest difference from SocialBu’s free plan. It covers 13 networks including Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, WhatsApp Business and Telegram Business, and it hooks into Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk if you already run them. Zoho prices per brand and adjusts by region, so its pricing page shows no single published USD figure.
- Best for: Small teams that want a permanent free tier, especially Zoho customers
- Limitation: Channels are capped per tier, and multi-brand work is gated to the Agency plans
Note: Pricing and features mentioned in this post were verified against Zoho’s official site as of September 2026. Plans and pricing may have changed since publication.
3. Onlypult, if you publish beyond social
Onlypult reaches Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, YouTube, Telegram, Tumblr, Threads and Bluesky, and it also posts to WordPress and Medium. The Start plan is $25/mo, or $12.50/mo billed annually, with a 7-day trial and no card, and covers 5 social profiles.
- Best for: Publishers who need a blog and a Telegram channel in the same calendar
- Limitation: No free plan, and Start allows fewer profiles than SocialBu’s Starter
Note: Pricing and features mentioned in this post were verified against Onlypult’s official site as of September 2026. Plans and pricing may have changed since publication.
4. Postly, if several people need access
SocialBu’s tiers are priced by accounts, not seats, but the jump from Starter to Growth at $79/mo (or $59/mo annually) is steep if all you needed was more room. Postly’s Pro plan is $16/mo billed yearly for 5 channels, an effective $3.20 per channel per month, and includes unlimited team members and unlimited workspaces. It covers Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Pinterest, Telegram and WhatsApp.
- Best for: Small agencies who want to add people without changing plan
- Limitation: No free plan, API access is a $12/mo add-on, and the next tier up is $299/mo
Note: Pricing and features mentioned in this post were verified against Postly’s official site as of September 2026. Plans and pricing may have changed since publication.
5. HeyOrca, if clients need to approve things
SocialBu has no real approval workflow. HeyOrca is built around one: it prices per client calendar at $59/mo for Basic, includes unlimited users and 10 social accounts per calendar, and covers Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Pinterest and X. There is a free tier after the 14-day Pro trial, and extra accounts are $10/mo each.
- Best for: Agencies whose bottleneck is client sign-off, not scheduling
- Limitation: Reporting, listening and inbox are paid add-ons on Basic, and cost climbs one client at a time
Note: Pricing and features mentioned in this post were verified against HeyOrca’s official site as of September 2026. Plans and pricing may have changed since publication.
6. Metricool, if the analytics were the weak point
SocialBu’s reporting is adequate rather than good. Metricool is the other way round: scheduling is fine, and the analytics and competitor tracking are the reason to use it. If you were exporting SocialBu data into a spreadsheet every month, that is the signal.
- Best for: Marketers who report to someone else every month
- Limitation: Fewer networks than SocialBu, and no Reddit
7. Sociality.io, if reporting is the whole job
Sociality.io sells credits rather than seats, and its Starter tier is free with a one-time credit allowance. It publishes to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube only, so it is a downgrade on coverage, but the reporting and competitor benchmarking are its centre of gravity rather than an afterthought.
- Best for: Teams whose main deliverable is a report
- Limitation: Five networks, and credit-based billing makes monthly cost hard to predict
Note: Pricing and features mentioned in this post were verified against Sociality.io’s official site as of September 2026. Plans and pricing may have changed since publication.
How the alternatives compare
| Tool | Entry price | Free plan | What it does better |
|---|---|---|---|
| SocialBu | $29/mo ($22 annual) | Yes, 10 lifetime posts | Reddit, automation rules |
| Zoho Social | Region-adjusted, per brand | Yes, 6 channels | Permanent free tier, 13 networks |
| Onlypult | $25/mo ($12.50 annual) | No | WordPress and Medium publishing |
| Postly | $16/mo yearly | No | Unlimited seats and workspaces |
| HeyOrca | $59/mo per calendar | Yes | Client approvals, unlimited users |
| Sociality.io | Free Starter, then credits | Yes | Reporting and benchmarking |
Flat pricing instead of per-account tiers
If the account cap is what pushed you to look, that is the shape BulkPublish is built against. It publishes to 15 platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Bluesky, Threads, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, Mastodon, Discord, Telegram, Tumblr and Snapchat) on one flat price, with bulk publishing and a REST API on every plan including the free one.
Channels: Free: 3 (1 per platform). Pro: 30 (2 per platform). Business: 75 (5 per platform). Posts: Free: 3/day. Pro: 30/day. Business: unlimited. Storage: Free: 100 MB. Pro: 2 GB. Business: 10 GB.
If you used SocialBu’s rules mainly to keep evergreen content circulating, repeat posts covers that case, and RSS autoposting covers the “new blog post goes out automatically” one. The free social media holiday calendar is useful for planning the fixed dates around them.
The short version
Stay on SocialBu if you publish to Reddit or the automation rules are doing real work, because very little else in this price band does either. Leave for Zoho Social if you want a free tier that does not expire after 10 posts, for Postly if you need seats, for HeyOrca if clients approve your work, and for Metricool or Sociality.io if the monthly report is what actually matters. If it was only ever the 8-account ceiling, almost any flat-rate scheduler solves it.
