Buffer vs Later vs Vista Social: SMM Platform Comparison (2022)

Are you looking to compare Buffer vs Later vs Vista Social?

Your search ends here. 

This post is a full, side-by-side comparison of the best social media platforms money can buy. 

Remember, we’re only featuring all-in-one platforms that can help brands and agencies manage multiple social accounts. That means they can match the features of anything, like carousel Instagram tools, social media analytics platforms, and LinkedIn scheduling tools.  

Long story short, this could be the ONLY comparison you need to build an effective marketing plan for social media platforms. 

TL;DR: Vista Social brings the BEST value for your money

Both Buffer and Later are popular social media marketing tools that can offer good value for your money. 

Vista Social, however, is in a league of its own. Despite the crazy inexpensive pricing (and free version), Vista Social is a modern, elaborate, and easy-to-use platform with all the features that other platforms with top-tier price tags offer. 

The affordability and comprehensive toolset that Vista Social includes make it perfect for small to mid-sized businesses that manage multiple social media accounts. Since it charges per profile and not per seat, it’s by far the most cost-effective tool that completely disregards the size of social media management teams.

Overview: Buffer vs Later vs Vista Social

Just recently, we did a Loomly vs Hootsuite vs Vista Social comparison to help our readers understand which SMM platform is a good fit for their business. And now, we’re about to do the same for Buffer, Later, and Vista Social.  

Buffer

First up, Buffer is a social media management platform that gained its popularity by streamlining the process of scheduling posts. Over the years, it has evolved into a more complete social media marketing platform with new features like a landing page builder, target audience engagement tools, and link shortener. 

Buffer Supported Platforms

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest 
• Shopify

Later

Later is another social media marketing platform that built its reputation through its ability to schedule posts. The rest of its unique features primarily benefit brands that want to spice up their Instagram posts. 

Later Supported Platforms

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• TikTok
• LinkedIn

Vista Social

Lastly, we have Vista Social—a modern, all-in-one social media management platform that blows the competition out of the water. Even though it costs a fraction of what other full-featured solutions charge, it’s packed with automation tools and extra features for social channels, like bulk scheduling Instagram carousels and review management. 

Vista Social Supported Platforms

• Facebook
• Google Business Profile
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Reddit
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• Bitly
• TrustPilot
• Yelp
• TripAdvisor
• OpenTable

Social media management tool comparison

To help you save time, below is a quick side-by-side view of our contenders. This will be followed with a detailed comparison later, so stick around!

Keep in mind that we’re looking at the base version of each tool. 

Buffer pros and cons

Buffer does a lot more than help you schedule posts on social media. 

Buffer pros

• Landing page builder: Buffer is one of the very few social media marketing platforms that come with landing page editing tools. 
• Supports integrations: You can seamlessly incorporate Buffer into your marketing stack through tailored integrations with well-known services like Google Drive, Canva, Google Analytics, and Dropbox. 
• Link Buffer to automated campaigns: Thanks to the Zapier integration, Buffer lets you automate tons of cool workflows, like automatically adding new WordPress posts to your posting schedule. 
• Two-factor authentication: If security is important to you, you’ll be happy with Buffer’s built-in two-factor authentication for advanced account security. 

Buffer cons

• Needs a lot of help from integrations: Setting up your Buffer ecosystem can be a hassle due to its over-dependence on third-party integrations. 
• Limited supported channels: Although Buffer supports major networks just fine, it doesn’t support other platforms like YouTube—unless you install a separate integration. 

Later pros and cons

There are a lot of things to like about Later’s dashboard, especially if you’re into Instagram marketing. 

Later pros

• Instagram features: Later has unique marketing features for Instagram, like Instagram Stories analytics and scheduling. 
• Best days to post suggestions: No need to dive into analytics to determine the best posting times—Later will suggest them directly to you.
• Linkin.bio: Linkin.bio is a powerful branding tool that lets you present a “mini web page” that sends traffic from Instagram or TikTok to your website. 

Later cons

• Doesn’t actually auto-post on Instagram Stories: Although you can technically schedule Instagram Stories, you still have to manually upload them with Later. 
• Limited analytics: The Later social media platform only 
• Too Instagram-focused: If your primary social channel isn’t Instagram, you’ll miss out on some of the most noteworthy features that make Later unique. 

Vista Social pros and cons

Vista Social is a top-notch social media marketing platform that gives you more options than everyone else. You can use it with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and a bunch of other networks that even the biggest social media marketing tools don’t care about. 

Vista Social pros

• Extremely affordable: Vista Social will provide you with everything it has for as little as $3 per social profile per month. This makes it ideal for teams who are still learning how to start a digital marketing agency with no experience. 
• Supports loads of platforms: Brands and marketers can up their scheduling game with Vista Social and its wide range of supported networks. 
• Powerful collaboration tools: Assign tasks, manage conversations, and brainstorm how to get digital marketing clients with your team using Vista Social’s team features. 
• Keep your reputation in check: Vista Social is the only platform that put social media management and review management in the same interface. 
• Create and schedule video posts: You can quickly add videos to your cloud-based media library and publish them directly to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other supported video streaming platforms. 
• Automate content curation: Keep your followers engaged by constantly providing them with fresh content curated from sources you specified. 
• Automate your first comment: If you want to learn how to blow up on TikTok or stir interest in your most viewed Instagram video, start conversations through an automated first comment. 

Vista Social cons

• None especially when comparing Vista Social with Buffer or Later. 

Pricing: Buffer vs Later vs Vista Social

To help you make your final decision, here’s an overview of each social media marketing platform’s starting prices: 

Looking for a free version?

Buffer offers a free version with basic publishing tools and access to the landing page builder. It can be used on up to 3 social profiles.

Later does not offer a free version, but you can start a 14-day free trial on all plans as long as you provide your credit card information. 

With Vista Social, you can use the free version for as long as you want on up to 3 social profiles. This grants access to key features like post scheduling and in-depth performance reports.

Managing 6 profiles or less

Buffer charges $5 per social profile, which means you’ll shell out $30 per month to manage 6 profiles (unlimited users). On Later, 6 social profiles cost a total of $15 per month (3 users), but you’re only limited to 30 posts per profile per month—nowhere near the amount of posts you should share to grow a brand in a competitive space. 

With Vista Social, 6 social profiles will only cost you $18 per month, but this allows access to unlimited users and unlimited scheduled posts. 

Managing up to 36 social profiles with 6 team members

To manage 36 profiles with Buffer, your minimum spend is $180 per month—or $360 per month if you go with their “Team” plan. 

Later will charge you $80 per month to manage 6 profiles per platform (36 profiles), but you’ll only be limited to 6 users. 

With Vista Social, you can manage an unlimited number of profiles with unlimited users for only $108 per month. 

Need something bigger (or smaller)?

With Vista Social’s $3 per profile per month structure, brands and agencies of all sizes can take advantage of enterprise-grade social media marketing while paying rock-bottom rates. This comes with unlimited posts and access for unlimited users. 

Summary: Buffer vs Later vs Vista Social

Pro tip: If you’re choosing between Buffer, Later, and Vista Social, go for the most modern option. 

Newer platforms such as Vista Social, are often developed with all the latest features in the social marketing world right out of the box. The old platforms, on the other hand, are typically updated by adding new-but-necessary features after the fact—giving them a clunky look.

To see what’s in store for you with Vista Social, don’t hesitate to create your free plan today!