When both my personal “business” (author) accounts got banned from Facebook at the end of November 2025*, I was upset. Mostly because the immigrant community where I live is centered around a group and many things get planned on the messaging app. Losing contact with that group was difficult. As well, there was a long-term deeply connected community of people interested in my online presence as an author.
I’d gotten hooked on the Author account’s social media scheduler, able to plan and post my content a month at a time. My remaining social media accounts (Instagram, ironically, and BlueSky) have no such function. So I started looking at (free) alternatives.
First problem: only one scheduler is free, although several offer a 30-day trial period.
Second problem: Almost everything is oriented towards business, or people going a lot bigger than I
Lastly, all of the companies I surveyed included so-called AI, usually as writing assistance or image creation.
That said, there was one I found intriguing and am tempted to sign up.
Buffer, FREE, 1 user account:
Connect up to three channels (choose from BlueSky, Facebook, Google Business, Instagram, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, or X)
10 scheduled posts per channel (If you have 3 connected channels, you can schedule 30 posts (10 for each channel) at any one time. Once a scheduled post is published, you can schedule another post for that channel.)
100 ideas (you can capture and store ideas for future use)
Basic analytics (30 day engagement metrics)
Community inbox (manage and reply to comments)
World-class customer support
https://buffer.com
Pricing for more complicated scenarios is currently $5 per channel (so, 3 channels is $15/month); unlimited scheduled posts, ideas, engagement data, and — unlike the free account — you can save and reuse hashtags. (billed annually, $180)
I found Buffer’s website welcoming and informative and am intrigued by their transparency policies as a company.
Other schedulers include
Later, 14 days free. “Unforgettable influencer marketing,” and strongly oriented towards visual content, Later looks excellent for campaigns.
1 user, 8 channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X), $19 per month (billed annually, $228) https://later.com/
Hootsuite, 30 days free, the no. 1 social media management tool. Up to 10 social accounts (BlueSky, Facebook, Google Business, Instagram, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X), unlimited post scheduling, Canva templates and content library, one inbox for all social accounts, lots of analytics and benchmarks. $99 per month (billed annually, $1,188) https://www.hootsuite.com
Zoho Social offers a free plan with six channels, but not scheduling. The only one to diversify and identify clients distinctly (there are different offers for agencies, individuals, remote teams, and specific industries). 1 user, 11 channels, url link shortener, activity log, and metrics, $10 per month (billed annually, $120) https://www.zoho.com
* Let me state for the record that I had done NOTHING to warrant being banned. It was done with no warning and instantaneously in the middle of a typical browsing session. The fix was to upload a video of my face, turning from left to right. Since there are a variety of free to the public video generators that will create content, there is no way I am deliberately giving away my face to a corporation that already monetizes my online presence. It’s not something I can sue over, so, they won. And lost me.