Best Meta Business Suite alternatives
Meta Business Suite is where most small businesses start: it comes with your Facebook Page and schedules to Facebook and Instagram at no cost. People move on when they start posting to LinkedIn, TikTok or Google Business too, and find themselves doing the same job in three places.
Who wrote this
Optimate publishes this page, so treat it as a vendor's list rather than an independent review. We've tried to earn the read by ranking on fit rather than on who's paying for the page — Optimate isn't first on every list here, and where a competitor is the better answer we say so and link you to them.
How this list is ordered
Ordered by how well each tool covers the networks Meta's planner doesn't, for a small business that is used to paying nothing. Prices are quoted only for tools whose pricing pages we have read, with the date on their comparison page.
Pricing checked 25 August 2026. Tools without a figure are ones we haven’t verified directly — check their site rather than trust a number we didn’t read ourselves.
Number 1: Optimate
Free plan · Pro £29/mo · Studio £59/mo · Agency £135/moBest for: Posting to Facebook, Instagram and everything else from one calendar
One calendar for LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Google Business, Bluesky and Mastodon, with captions and images written from your saved brand kit, a preview for each platform and an Instagram grid view. Comments from YouTube, Google Business, Bluesky, X, Facebook, Instagram (through a Facebook Page) and Threads come back into one Inbox from Pro. There is a free plan with 3 connected accounts; if Facebook and Instagram are all you post to, Meta's own planner already does the scheduling for free.
Number 2: Buffer
Free plan · from $5/channel/moBest for: The simplest queue, with a free plan
Three channels free, then from $5/channel a month. No AI writing to speak of, but if you want a plain queue across a few networks it is the easiest step up from Meta's planner.
Number 3: Publer
Best for: A free queue across a few accounts
Three social accounts (not X) with 10 scheduled posts per account on its free plan, and bulk scheduling and recycling on paid plans.
Number 4: Metricool
Free plan · from €20/moBest for: Better analytics than Meta gives you
A free plan for one brand, then from €20/month, with competitor benchmarking and reports across networks. Strongest if measurement is why you're leaving.
Number 5: Canva
Best for: You mostly need the visuals
If the real job is making the graphics, Canva's Content Planner can schedule what you design there. Most teams still use it alongside a scheduler rather than instead of one.
Number 6: Meta Business Suite
Best for: Staying put: you only post to Facebook and Instagram
Meta's own planner schedules posts and Stories to your Page and Instagram account, shows their insights and answers messages, at no cost. If those two are your only networks, none of the tools above is strictly needed.
Common questions
Why move off Meta Business Suite?
Usually because you now post to more than Facebook and Instagram. Meta's planner only reaches Meta's own apps, so LinkedIn, TikTok, Google Business and the rest have to be scheduled somewhere else.
Is there a free alternative?
Yes. Buffer, Publer, Metricool and Optimate all have free plans, each with limits on accounts or posts. Their comparison pages list exactly what each free plan includes.
Can I still reply to Facebook and Instagram comments?
In Optimate, comments from YouTube, Google Business, Bluesky, X, Facebook, Instagram (through a Facebook Page) and Threads arrive in one Inbox from Pro, with AI-drafted replies. Direct messages on Facebook and Instagram stay in Meta's own apps.
Try Optimate against your own accounts
14-day free trial, no card required — enough to judge the content quality for yourself rather than take our word for it. The free plan after that covers 3 connected accounts.
Start your 14-day free trial