Buffer vs. eClincher

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Buffer
Score 8.2 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.
$15
per month
eClincher
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
eClincher aims to be the most powerful, complete and intuitive social media management software. According to the vendor, the product is designed to help users, businesses, and agencies manage social media presence with one platform, and offers the following capabilities: advanced publishing publishing automation (queues, RSS feeds, recycle evergreen content) engagement with unified social inbox & live social feeds monitoring content…
$49
Pricing
BuffereClincher
Editions & Modules
Publish Pro
$15
per month
Analyze Pro
$35
per month
Analyze Premium
$50
per month
Publish Premium
$65
per month
Publish Business
$99
per month
Basic
$49.00
Premier
$99.00
Agency
$199.00
Enterprise
$599.00
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BuffereClincher
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsHere are the prices of our various plans: Pro: $15/month Small Business: $99/month Medium Business: $199/month Large Business: $399/month Enterprise: Feel free to get in touch with us at onboarding@buffer.com. All plans can be paid on either a monthly or yearly basis. If you choose to pay yearly, you would receive a 15% discount, which works out to be approximately two months free per year.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BuffereClincher
Considered Both Products
Buffer
Chose Buffer
I feel that Buffer is very much an entry level product because it lacks some of the additional functionality offered by other tools. In that sense I recommend it only for small companies, or those just starting out with scheduling. In terms of scheduling content it does that …
eClincher

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BuffereClincher
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.6
64 Ratings
4% below category average
eClincher
6.0
6 Ratings
28% below category average
Content planning and scheduling9.364 Ratings8.06 Ratings
Content optimization6.457 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Workflow management7.053 Ratings6.06 Ratings
Audience targeting00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.8
59 Ratings
1% below category average
eClincher
4.0
6 Ratings
65% below category average
Campaign success analytics7.859 Ratings4.05 Ratings
Real-time tracking00 Ratings4.06 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.4
61 Ratings
3% above category average
eClincher
4.5
6 Ratings
58% below category average
Role-based user permissions & privileges7.649 Ratings8.06 Ratings
Mobile access9.159 Ratings1.16 Ratings
Listening/monitoring
Comparison of Listening/monitoring features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
eClincher
7.0
5 Ratings
9% below category average
Boolean keyword searches00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
Filtering out noise/spam00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
Broad channel coverage00 Ratings7.05 Ratings
Engagement
Comparison of Engagement features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
eClincher
6.3
5 Ratings
25% below category average
Automated routing and prioritization00 Ratings7.05 Ratings
Customer interaction histories00 Ratings4.83 Ratings
Bulk actions00 Ratings7.05 Ratings
Marketing
Comparison of Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
eClincher
1.0
3 Ratings
154% below category average
Lead generation00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Content marketing00 Ratings1.13 Ratings
Channel coverage/integration
Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
eClincher
6.8
6 Ratings
22% below category average
Twitter00 Ratings7.05 Ratings
Facebook00 Ratings8.06 Ratings
LinkedIn00 Ratings6.05 Ratings
Google+00 Ratings9.93 Ratings
Instagram00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Pinterest00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
YouTube00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BuffereClincher
Small Businesses
Conte.ai
Conte.ai
Score 1.6 out of 10
Conte.ai
Conte.ai
Score 1.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.3 out of 10
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.3 out of 10
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BuffereClincher
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(84 ratings)
1.0
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(14 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.1
(23 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.3
(23 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BuffereClincher
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
Read full review
eClincher, Inc.
Best suited for a marketer that cares about reports, needs a social media management platform and doesn't want to pay more for a more aesthetically pleasing version of a platform with the same or less functionality, such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social. For a social media marketer that wants to automate some of their postings, the queues feature is great for this functionality. Not best suited for beginners to social media, as their platform is best utilized with someone familiar with the industry that knows what they are doing. Their chat support team is very good though, but this type of individual might find themselves spending a lot of time on the platform.
Read full review
Pros
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.
Read full review
eClincher, Inc.
  • eClincher supports nearly every social network and connects to a large number of sources (blogs, bit.ly, Google Analytics, Google My Business). This makes workflow tremendously easy.
  • Posting Groups. At higher levels of service, eClincher allows you to set-up individual brand accounts. My agency isn't at that level, so we utilize eClincher's posting groups to make 1-click groups that post to all of the profiles for each client. This allows us to quickly post a cohesive message across all channels.
  • Workflow management: eClincher adds plenty of additional tools to make your workflow fast. Connections to free stock photo services make it easy to add generic pictures to your content. Google Analytics and bit.ly can keep track of statistics and measure success. The Inbox allows you to handle all your clients' accounts from one screen (including comments, messages, reviews, and more). The Feeds and Influencers tabs allow you to understand your market and what's being said. Altogether, eClincher makes a 1-app solution for Social Media Management.
Read full review
Cons
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.
Read full review
eClincher, Inc.
  • It's not very visually appealing, but this is not a dealbreaker.
  • The reporting features could definitely use some work. I still get more value from the native SNS pages, but this is quickly changing. They removed the "export to CSV" functionality, but they plan to reintroduce it soon. As mentioned previously, they really respond to criticism well and update the tool constantly.
  • The inbox could use some work. I don't like being directed offsite to view certain comments deemed "requests for further info" when they could just easily display them there.
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Likelihood to Renew
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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eClincher, Inc.
Unless the price of eClincher moves to a point where it is too much to justify, I don't see any reason why we wouldn't continue to use eClincher for our agency. The value at this price-point is unbelievable and we'd be foolish to move to a pricier program purely for the sake of slicker graphics or UI. eClinchers pricing is fantastic, and is only matched by its functionality—it matches or beats any of the major Social Media Manager SaaS programs out there for a fraction of the cost. This tool is great for growing agencies, but would also be useful for any marketing department or large agency that wants to streamline their social media workflow.
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Usability
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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eClincher, Inc.
Its usability was good until they changed their plans and stopped their LTD program for its early adopters who helped raise the tool by giving it positive reviews. I don't think eClincher is ethical in any sense based on the recent actions.
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Reliability and Availability
Buffer
Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
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eClincher, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Performance
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
Read full review
eClincher, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
Read full review
eClincher, Inc.
[In my experience,] due to the fact that they did a bait and switch on their plans and blamed AppSumo for the lifetime program ending is simply wrong. [I believe that] it's unethical to get support and reviews from their early adopters then take the plan away later.
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Implementation Rating
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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eClincher, Inc.
Be patient. eClincher isn't perfect and has some software issues. These issues will be exacerbated if you get frustrated or have a slow connection. If something "breaks" or locks up, just refresh the page and re-do that step. It may take your team a couple weeks to get use to using the new system. Once they've gotten the hang of it, I'm sure they'll love the amount of time they save. I'd recommend taking your time with the set-up. Though there aren't a lot of steps to get everything squared away, you can break the process into small chunks to make sure you're managing your time. To just hook-up all the social accounts, it may only take an hour or so. But, if you want to set-up all the extra tools (such as user accounts, listening feeds, posting groups, schedules, etc.) it'll take longer. I think it took around a day to set-up completely, but your mileage my vary.
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Alternatives Considered
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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eClincher, Inc.
There are loads of social scheduling tools out there. I was using Buffer but then found it was limited in terms of listening and reporting so I started to look at a more professional software. I tried Hootsuite but hated the interface, way too busy with the primary focus being on feeds rather than scheduling. Sprout Social I found clunky and hard to use. eClincher was recommended to me by a friend. I think the interface (desktop and mobile) is easy to use but what sets it apart is its support - the live chat is brilliant.
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Scalability
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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eClincher, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
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
eClincher, Inc.
  • Makes it much easier to manage our social publishing
  • Makes it much easier to manage our social engagement
  • Makes it much easier to manage our social reporting
Read full review
ScreenShots

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

eClincher Screenshots

Screenshot of eClincher Publishing/Draft workspaceScreenshot of eClincher Inbox/Assignment/Tags workspaceScreenshot of eClincher Analytics workspaceScreenshot of eClincher Reporting workspaceScreenshot of eClincher Content Curation workspace