ARInsights ARchitect vs. Buffer

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ARchitect
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
ARInsights’ SaaS platform is used by B2B tech and services companies for managing their analyst relations (AR) and influencer relations programs. The flagship solution, ARchitect, along with multiple complementary products, help improve AR professionals’ efficiency and productivity.N/A
Buffer
Score 7.8 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Buffer is a social sharing tool. When browsing content, clicking on the Buffer icon automatically stores the content and schedules posts to social media channels throughout the day.
$6
per month per channel
Pricing
ARInsights ARchitectBuffer
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Free
$0
Essentials
$6
per month per channel
Team
$12
per month per channel
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ARchitectBuffer
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ARInsights ARchitectBuffer
Features
ARInsights ARchitectBuffer
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
ARInsights ARchitect
-
Ratings
Buffer
7.9
77 Ratings
2% below category average
Content planning and scheduling00 Ratings8.677 Ratings
Content optimization00 Ratings7.470 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings7.866 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
ARInsights ARchitect
-
Ratings
Buffer
7.1
70 Ratings
8% below category average
Campaign success analytics00 Ratings7.170 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
ARInsights ARchitect
-
Ratings
Buffer
8.3
72 Ratings
5% above category average
Role-based user permissions & privileges00 Ratings8.459 Ratings
Mobile access00 Ratings8.168 Ratings
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ARInsights ARchitectBuffer
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Score 9.4 out of 10
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Medium-sized Companies
Mention
Mention
Score 9.4 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Meltwater
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Score 9.4 out of 10
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User Ratings
ARInsights ARchitectBuffer
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(11 ratings)
7.8
(96 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(15 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(2 ratings)
8.4
(33 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
6.0
(2 ratings)
7.0
(24 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
ARInsights ARchitectBuffer
Likelihood to Recommend
ARInsights
If you have an AR program across the globe and want to track all interactions you have with them, this tool is right for you. As you can imagine the tool is only as good as the data you put in, so you do have to make it part of your work day to input the data. Say a team member leaves and you have to jump in to cover for them, you are able to see all the interactions they have had with analysts
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Buffer
It helps me save hours by devoting only half an hour in a month's worth of posting, in addition to that it is quite simple to use. Buffer for scheduling social posts well in advance, but I have begun using it instead of posting natively on the social apps themselves because it makes it super easy to post the same messages to more than one platform.
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Pros
ARInsights
  • The Event Manager function is a great way plan, invite and send agendas to your analyst attendees.
  • Projects - although needing more work - is a great way to track progress during an evaluation.
  • Premium content is perfect for tracking mentions, sharing reports that are relevant to your constituents and reporting.
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Buffer
  • I can plan and publish content on social channels.
  • Buffer's interface is quite tidy and generates the necessary facilities to save us time in publishing consistent content.
  • It has a special price; it is pretty affordable.
  • It has the possibility of integrating with other tools to improve its functions.
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Cons
ARInsights
  • We would like to see some project management functions to track RFI, log follow-up actions and assign tasks inside the team.
  • I'd be good to see email open state in the analyst interactions tab.
  • An easier way to report insights from interactions would be hugely useful.
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Buffer
  • Expensive Analytics: The upgrade you need to access your analytics is quite expensive, and I have come across other tools that provide the same or even more for a lesser priced plan.
  • No Media Library: The one feature I have found on another social media planning tool that I wish Buffer had is a media library. This allows you to upload photos you aren't using right away to have them readily available when you do decide to use them. This is not a feature in Buffer.
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Likelihood to Renew
ARInsights
As a freelancer I am unlikely to have the budget to use ARchitect on a regular basis I would however look at it seriously if asked by a client or if I was working in an agency with a significant AR practice I would look at it seriously.
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Buffer
I am giving buffer this rating because of a couple issues that it has compared to other platforms. It does not always post to instagram and you will need to go in an manually post. Also, one of the biggest qualms that we have with buffer is the price it costs to have robust analytics
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Usability
ARInsights
It's super easy to use, and anything that I cannot figure out, their team usually helps me within hours of my asking!
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Buffer
We use Buffer for certain website content that should be shared on social networks, having this tool helps us to do it faster and easier since we can send the publications from the internet browser and the stack of scheduled messages. It is really fast and easy for all team members who share access to the account, so at the same time that we analyze the information that we can share, the message stack is prepared
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Reliability and Availability
ARInsights
No answers on this topic
Buffer
Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
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Performance
ARInsights
No answers on this topic
Buffer
Buffer performs well on both desktop and mobile platforms. The one area as I have stated before is that it does not always want to automatically push to Instagram and the user will have to go do it manually. Buffer works very well pushing to other platforms. The instagram issue is the only reason buffer does not get a 10 on this section
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Support Rating
ARInsights
In the instances I have had issues its been a little tricky to figure things out, some of the videos are helpful but getting email responses are not great compared to online chat and I have found that the response rates have been more than a day in some instances which is not as responsive as I would like compared to other platforms.I have seen ARInsights have made a number of new hires in the area of account management so I am sure that will have improved the support provided
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Buffer
  1. It really helped to my business to grow online.
  2. I was able to take actions mindfully as the analytics are damn good.
  3. Also used for managing clients social media accounts and it proved to be a best resource.
  4. Clients were really happy as they got high demand and growth on internet and the secret is Buffer.
  5. The user interface is really easy to understand and manage. Support is 24/7 available to help.
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Implementation Rating
ARInsights
No answers on this topic
Buffer
We were very satisfied with the implementation of Buffer. We had no issues switching from the platform that we were using over to buffer. Our staff did not even miss a beat when it came to posting content. It was an easy transition and I feel that is something that buffer has really done well. They have an "out of the box" usability platform
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Alternatives Considered
ARInsights
Prior to using ARchitect, we were using Salesforce. While we did have some customization added, it did not nearly have the robustness that ARchitect provides -- especially since it is designed for AR professionals. We've been using ARchitect for about 8 years and have never looked back. Some examples of vast improvements: 1. Analyst firms/bios. With Salesforce, we needed to maintain all analyst bios -- something that ARchitect does. 2. Analyst coverage. We used to track all analyst coverage by visiting multiple analyst websites and manually pasting into spreadsheets. We now not only get a feed of coverage that can be exported into Excel, but we can also customize reports by topic. 3. Reporting. Salesforce did not provide the same reporting capabilities that ARchitect provides.
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Buffer
I also used Combin which is easy and free to use. However, Combin only posts when the computer is active and connected to the internet. So, posting while you are not actively using your computer at that moment is not possible, therefore Buffer is much more efficient as you can even post while being on vacation without working.
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Scalability
ARInsights
No answers on this topic
Buffer
Buffer does what it say on tin as they say! you can always count on Buffer. Buffer can be scale to 25 social account with 2,000 scheduled post which is enough for most agencies or businesses
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Return on Investment
ARInsights
  • The Event Module has taken days if not weeks out of the prep process for big events.
  • ARchitect is a great way to allow communication with peers, without the need for extra emails, ect, because everyone on the team can see what each other is doing and who they are talking to about which topics.
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Buffer
  • It has saved money by allowing us to automate our social using one person
  • It allows us to connect one channel at a time instead of wasting money on larger account management tools
  • We are making money, because it has already delivered several clients
Read full review
ScreenShots

ARchitect Screenshots

Screenshot of The database of 10,000+ contacts, where users can search for, discover, and gather information on industry analysts and other prominent B2B influencers.Screenshot of Interactions (inquiries, briefings, meetings, etc.) with analysts and B2B influencers, tracked and managed in a calendar view.Screenshot of A Content Summary that can be used to compare brand’s mentions with competitors’, with tools to identify, track, and analyze research reports, blogs, tweets, and media quotes by industry analysts and b2b influencers.Screenshot of ARchitect’s Emailer solution, with an email designer used segment target lists, schedule and execute campaigns, and report on results.Screenshot of Projects in ARchitect allow users to plan, organize and manage projects (such as vendor evaluations, product launches and analyst days), view progress and stay on track.Screenshot of Briefing books that include analyst bios, analyst research and media coverage, and prior interactions recorded in ARchitect, to prepare executives for their next analyst meeting.

Buffer Screenshots

Screenshot of The Buffer dashboardScreenshot of Customizable posting scheduleScreenshot of Tailored PostsScreenshot of List or calendar view of scheduled postsScreenshot of Browser extensionScreenshot of Social media analytics