Optimate vs Planable
Planable is built around getting content approved: posts are previewed exactly as they will appear, commented on in place, and moved through an approval chain. Priced per workspace.
Our verdict
For agencies, Optimate is usually the better deal: analytics included instead of an add-on, no per-workspace multiplication, no monthly post cap outside X, and AI that writes the content. Planable leads on pixel-exact previews and multi-level approvals.
- Analytics aren't an upsell
- Per-workspace pricing multiplies
- No monthly post cap, X aside
Every price below is checked against Planable’s own published pricing, and we say plainly where Planable has the edge.
Who each one is for
Choose Planable if…
Agencies and teams where sign-off is the bottleneck — clients who want to see the real thing before it goes out, and a record of who approved what. Its approval workflow is more capable than ours.
Choose Optimate if…
Teams where producing the content is the constraint rather than approving it, or who don't want analytics and an inbox sold as separate add-ons.
Pricing side by side
Each product is shown in the currency it actually bills in. We deliberately don’t convert these into one currency — the rate moves, and a converted figure would misrepresent what Planable charges.
Optimate
- Free
- £0
- 14-day Studio trial, then 3 connected accounts, 5 AI text generations
- Pro
- £29
- per month, 10 connected accounts, 1 brand
- Studio
- £59
- per month, 15 connected accounts, up to 3 clients
- Agency
- £135
- per month, 50 connected accounts, unlimited clients
- Enterprise
- Contact us
- beyond 50 connected accounts
Planable
- Basic
- $33
- per workspace / month, 4 pages, 60 posts — unlimited users; 2 months free annually
- Pro
- $49
- per workspace / month, 10 pages, 150 posts — adds required approvals and API
- Enterprise
- Contact
- 50 pages/workspace, unlimited posts, SSO
- Add-ons
- +$7.50–14
- per workspace / month — analytics and social inbox are charged separately
Checked against Planable’s published pricing on 25 August 2026. Verify on Planable’s pricing page
Feature by feature
Approval workflow
- Optimate
- Client approval with history
- PlanableEdge
- Optional, required and multi-level approval chains
Exact post preview
- Optimate
- Composer preview
- PlanableEdge
- Renders as the live post, commented on in place
Analytics
- OptimateEdge
- Included on every paid tier
- Planable
- Paid add-on, $12–14 per workspace / month
Social inbox
- Optimate
- Included from Pro: YouTube, Google Business reviews, Bluesky and X. Facebook, Instagram and Threads awaiting platform approval
- Planable
- Paid add-on, $7.50–9 per workspace / month
Post volume
- OptimateEdge
- No monthly post cap, except X (30–100 a month by plan)
- Planable
- 60/month on Basic, 150 on Pro
Cost for 3 clients
- OptimateEdge
- £59/mo (Studio, 3 clients, 15 accounts)
- Planable
- $147/mo (3 workspaces on Pro), before add-ons
Seats
- Optimate
- Not metered
- Planable
- Unlimited users on every tier
AI content generation
- OptimateEdge
- Brand-kit-driven captions and images
- Planable
- Post generate and rewrite
Why teams choose Optimate over Planable
Analytics aren't an upsell
Planable charges $12–14 per workspace per month for analytics and another $7.50–9 for the inbox. Across several clients those add-ons compound quietly. Optimate includes analytics on every paid tier.
Per-workspace pricing multiplies
Three clients on Planable Pro is $147/month before add-ons, because each client is a workspace. Optimate Studio covers three clients at £59/month. The more clients you carry, the wider that gets.
No monthly post cap, X aside
Basic allows 60 posts a month and Pro 150, per workspace. Optimate doesn't cap posts, which matters if a client runs daily across several platforms. The one exception is X, which bills per post: 30 X posts a month on Pro, up to 100 on Agency.
Every tool you get with Optimate
Whichever tool you’re weighing us against, this is the full toolkit — every tool and benefit included, because the content is generated on-brand, not just scheduled.
Where Planable has the edge
We’d rather tell you than have you find out. If one of these is a dealbreaker, Planable may suit you better.
The best approval flow in this comparison
Optional, required and multi-level chains, with the post rendered exactly as it will appear and comments left directly on it. Optimate has client approval with history, which is a simpler thing. If sign-off is what slows you down, Planable is the better tool and we'd say so.
Clients see the real thing
Planable's preview is the post, not an approximation, which removes an entire category of argument about how something will look. That is genuinely hard to replicate and we haven't.
Unlimited users on every tier
Even Basic takes unlimited collaborators, so bringing a client's whole marketing team in to comment costs nothing. Optimate doesn't meter seats either, but Planable makes it a headline promise at $33/month.
Related guides
Wider comparisons that include Planable, if you’re still drawing up a shortlist.
Common questions
Is Optimate a good Planable alternative?
For producing content and reporting on it, yes, and usually for less once you have more than one client. For approvals specifically, no — Planable's multi-level workflow and exact-preview commenting are better than ours, and if that's why you use it you'd be downgrading.
Which is cheaper for an agency?
Optimate, at almost any client count. Planable prices per workspace, so three clients on Pro is $147/month before the analytics and inbox add-ons; Optimate Studio is £59/month for three clients and Agency £135/month for unlimited.
Does Planable include analytics?
Not in the plan price — it's an add-on at $12–14 per workspace per month, and the social inbox is another $7.50–9. Worth adding to the comparison before deciding, since both are included in Optimate's paid tiers (the inbox from Pro, with Facebook and Instagram comments still awaiting platform approval).
Try it against your own accounts
Every account starts with a 14-day trial of Studio, with no card required — enough to judge the content quality against whatever you use today. After that the free plan covers 3 connected accounts and 5 AI text generations to try — images and video are on paid plans.
Start your 14-day Studio trial