Optimate vs Sked Social
Sked Social is an Instagram-first scheduler with strong visual grid planning, stories and auto-posting, extending to other networks.
Our verdict
Optimate is the better choice for anyone posting beyond Instagram: content written across every network, client approval on Studio (£59) and up rather than as an add-on, and far cheaper at 10 accounts. Sked keeps the edge on Instagram-specific visual planning.
- Content written across every network
- Approvals in the plan, not an add-on
- Far cheaper at 10 accounts
Every price below is checked against Sked Social’s own published pricing, and we say plainly where Sked Social has the edge.
Who each one is for
Choose Sked Social if…
Instagram-led brands and agencies that want a visual grid preview, first-comment and hashtag tools, and rock-solid auto-posting to Instagram specifically.
Choose Optimate if…
Businesses posting across many networks that want the content written on-brand, not just a strong Instagram planner to schedule finished posts into.
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 Sked Social charges.
Optimate
- Free
- £0
- 14-day free trial, then 3 connected accounts (not X), up to 5 posts scheduled at a time, 5 free AI 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
Sked Social
- Basic
- US$24
- 1 user, 1 profile per platform — billed yearly (US$290/yr)
- Grow
- US$58
- 3 users, 6 profiles — billed yearly (US$690/yr)
- Accelerate
- US$166
- 6 users, 10 profiles — billed yearly (US$1,990/yr)
- Custom
- From US$249
- custom users and profiles
Checked against Sked Social’s published pricing on 9 September 2026. Verify on Sked Social’s pricing page
Feature by feature
Instagram visual planning
- Optimate
- Platform-true preview, a grid view of each new post, and Stories on Instagram and Facebook
- Sked SocialEdge
- Grid planner, stories, first comment — IG-first depth
AI content generation
- OptimateEdge
- Brand-kit-driven per brand
- Sked Social
- Lighter AI captions; not the core
AI image generation
- OptimateEdge
- Included from Pro
- Sked Social
- Not a headline feature
Approvals
- OptimateEdge
- Client approval on Studio (£59) and up, not an add-on
- Sked Social
- Paid add-on (~US$500–1,000/yr) on lower tiers
Cost at 10 accounts
- OptimateEdge
- £29/mo (Pro, 10)
- Sked Social
- US$166/mo (Accelerate, 10)
Entry price
- Optimate
- £29/mo, 10 accounts
- Sked Social
- US$24/mo, 1 profile per platform
Team members
- OptimateEdge
- Unlimited on every plan, free included
- Sked Social
- 1 user at entry, then 3 and 6
Why teams choose Optimate over Sked Social
Content written across every network
Sked is a scheduler — you bring the posts. Optimate generates on-brand captions and images against a brand kit across 11 networks, so it solves the making, not just the scheduling.
Approvals in the plan, not an add-on
Client approvals cost around US$500–1,000/year extra on Sked's lower tiers. Optimate includes client approval with a comment trail on Studio (£59) and up.
Far cheaper at 10 accounts
Ten profiles on Sked is Accelerate at US$166/month. Optimate Pro is 10 connected accounts at £29/month. Beyond a single Instagram account, the gap is large.
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 Sked Social has the edge
We’d rather tell you than have you find out. If one of these is a dealbreaker, Sked Social may suit you better.
Instagram depth
Sked was built for Instagram first, and it's still ahead there — visual grid preview, first-comment and hashtag tools, link-in-bio. If your world is Instagram, that focus is a real edge.
Cheap to trial for one account
Basic is US$24/month for a single profile per platform. A solo Instagram-led creator can start very cheaply before scaling up.
Mature auto-posting
Years of Instagram auto-posting reliability. For high-volume IG scheduling where a missed post matters, that track record counts.
Common questions
Is Optimate a good Sked Social alternative?
If you post across several networks and want the content generated on-brand, yes — and it's much cheaper past one account. If you're Instagram-only and live in a visual grid planner, Sked's IG depth is worth weighing.
Does Sked include approvals?
On lower tiers approvals are a paid add-on (around US$500–1,000/year). Optimate includes client approval on Studio (£59) and up, not as an add-on.
Which is cheaper?
For a single Instagram profile, Sked Basic (US$24) is cheap. Once you run several accounts, Optimate's flat £29 Pro (10 connected accounts) is well below Sked's Grow and Accelerate tiers.
Try it against your own accounts
Every account starts with a 14-day free trial, 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 free AI generations to try, for captions, branded designs and carousels; AI pictures and video are on paid plans.
Start your 14-day free trial