Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Later Social
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Later (formerly Latergramme) in Vancouver offers an Instagram focused social media marketing platform, which supports the planning and scheduling of content to Instagram, as well as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
$25
per month
ZoomSphere
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
ZoomSphere is a social media scheduling and management solution designed for teams to plan, schedule, auto-publish, and analyze their social media content across multiple platforms. ZoomSphere is primarily used by social media managers, marketing teams, and agencies to streamline content workflows, improve collaboration, and track performance across various social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X. The software helps users automate…
$29
per month
Pricing
BufferLater SocialZoomSphere
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
Essentials
$6
per month per channel
Team
$12
per month per channel
Starter
$25
per month
Growth
$50
per month
Scale
$100
per month
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Leads Manager
$29
per month
ZoomSphere
$199
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BufferLater SocialZoomSphere
Free Trial
YesYesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.33% discount available for annual subscription.Two month discount available for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BufferLater SocialZoomSphere
Considered Multiple Products
Buffer
Chose Buffer
Buffer keeps it simple. It was great for when I worked at smaller companies and also for when I have done freelance social media work. Put it this way, Buffer is an accessible tool. The functionality is basic and intuitive so anyone can learn to use it. They also have a free …
Chose Buffer
Buffer has a clear, easy to use interface and a reliable scheduling calendar.
Chose Buffer
Buffer is much more affordable than some of the other apps we have tried! It also is more user-friendly, the support was quick to help and respond, and we had more success with posts.
Chose Buffer
Buffer keeps things simple. It took a highly sought after feature (social scheduling) and unbundled it from the more complex social tools out there.
Later Social
Chose Later Social
As a social media manager I find that Buffer, Hootsuite and Sproutsocial are superior to all features available on Later.
ZoomSphere

No answer on this topic

Features
BufferLater SocialZoomSphere
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.9
77 Ratings
2% below category average
Later Social
8.7
2 Ratings
7% above category average
ZoomSphere
8.0
1 Ratings
1% below category average
Content planning and scheduling8.677 Ratings10.02 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Content optimization7.470 Ratings8.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow management7.766 Ratings8.02 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Audience targeting00 Ratings00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.1
70 Ratings
8% below category average
Later Social
4.0
1 Ratings
63% below category average
ZoomSphere
8.3
1 Ratings
7% above category average
Campaign success analytics7.170 Ratings4.01 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Real-time tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Competitor analysis00 Ratings00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.3
72 Ratings
4% above category average
Later Social
6.8
2 Ratings
15% below category average
ZoomSphere
8.5
1 Ratings
7% above category average
Role-based user permissions & privileges8.459 Ratings00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Mobile access8.168 Ratings6.82 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Channel coverage/integration
Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Later Social
8.8
2 Ratings
5% above category average
ZoomSphere
8.4
1 Ratings
0% above category average
Twitter00 Ratings7.02 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Facebook00 Ratings8.62 Ratings10.01 Ratings
LinkedIn00 Ratings8.22 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Instagram00 Ratings10.02 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Pinterest00 Ratings10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
YouTube00 Ratings8.92 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Marketing
Comparison of Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Later Social
-
Ratings
ZoomSphere
9.0
1 Ratings
16% above category average
Content marketing00 Ratings00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BufferLater SocialZoomSphere
Small Businesses
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BufferLater SocialZoomSphere
Likelihood to Recommend
7.8
(96 ratings)
10.0
(17 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(33 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(24 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BufferLater SocialZoomSphere
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
Later
The free version is more than enough for personal use. But if you have a small business or if you're trying to grow your brand, it's better to use one of the premium plans. It's worth it. Later is especially useful if you manage multiple accounts for multiple brands/companies because you'll be managing everything with just one tool
Read full review
ZoomSphere
ZoomSphere is suited for all companies - from small to big, for one brand or more brands within company. With ZoomSphere you can leverage your social media presence - but you need to use lot of apps ZoomSphere has. I think that ZoomSphere is not suited for company that want to use ZoomSphere for only one purpose, for example content creation and publishing. There are plenty of ways how to use ZoomSphere more complex.
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
Later
  • Later's easy upload feature (drag and drop) is incredibly helpful, especially for multiple images and videos.
  • The drag and drop option for scheduling content is easy, and images and videos load rather quickly depending on size.
  • Captions can be saved if there are posts or common phrases that repeated and shared out from the content.
Read full review
ZoomSphere
  • Content Creation and Publishing
  • Analytics and Reporting
  • Workflow 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
Later
  • I wish I could edit the look and feel of my pictures within Later a little easier. There are standard filters, but for brand sake, I need everything to be consistent.
  • I wish there was a direct integration with things like Canva and Lightroom to make uploading and editing my images seamless.
  • The biggest thing I wish Later did was allowing a better threshold for the free accounts. All of the helpful and useful features are for paid only (video posts, multi-image posts, analytics, etc). I can't justify the cost for just a few posts a month. I end up doing all of the video and multi-image posts manually, which lately has me questioning the benefit of Later's free version as a small business.
Read full review
ZoomSphere
  • Community Management
  • Viewable backlog or product roadmap
Read full review
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
Read full review
Later
No answers on this topic
ZoomSphere
No answers on this topic
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
Read full review
Later
The desktop site is almost perfect, I love it. I love that I can drag and drop, I love that I can easily and quickly switch to analytics and switching profiles... love the ease of link in bio. so great!
Read full review
ZoomSphere
There is always a space for improvement, but overall I see ZoomSphere as a valuable partner and tool for our business on social media. Maybe in a future rest of the apps in tool (community management, social media listening,...) will be on a same level as competitors and we will use only one tool for whole social media management. But if not, ZoomSphere is still awesome for the most of it
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Buffer
Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
Read full review
Later
No answers on this topic
ZoomSphere
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
Later
No answers on this topic
ZoomSphere
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
Later
Later are not just a software tool, they also provide marketing advice, tips, and tutorials via their blog. I’ve only had to reach out to them for help a few times and have found them to respond much faster than other tools in their category. I receive weekly emails with updates, marketing tips and invites to online events. I look forward to their emails as I’ve learned a lot of things that I’ve been able to actually implement.
Read full review
ZoomSphere
Whenever I contacted customer service, I had a great response within minutes. Sometimes was not easy to solve, but somehow we figured it out. I would like to reccommend more proactive communication with clients regarding product roadmap, for example "In 1Q we will launch XY,..." Client should know that before implementation - client can prepare for news, client can test something,...
Read full review
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
Read full review
Later
No answers on this topic
ZoomSphere
No answers on this topic
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.
Read full review
Later
I went with Later for the lower cost subscription. The Hootsuite copy features is missed, but Later has hashtag suggestions which is nice. I really need something to post across multiple platforms. I also needed the ability to schedule more than the 5 free scheduled posts offered by Hootsuite. Later has been working great for what I need it to do to support my small event promotion business.
Read full review
ZoomSphere
We see ZoomSphere as a better option than Kontentino. They are almost the same in way you can use the tool, but ZoomSphere has better UI and UX and also customer service. We also know that pricing levels are better with ZoomSphere than Kontentino. But both tools are quite awesome for social media management. Just book a demo, have a trial and you will see by yourself.
Read full review
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
Read full review
Later
No answers on this topic
ZoomSphere
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
Later
  • Increased social media involvement - Since utilizing Later and another social media scheduling tool, we have seen our growth rise as much as 12% in just a few months. This includes followers, likes, and engagement. This is huge for us since social media is a great way to generate new customers and increase brand awareness.
  • Easier reporting - Analytics tools on most of the big three (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) are pretty limited. Later is a great way to take a look at our Analytics, and it makes it easy to understand the numbers.
Read full review
ZoomSphere
  • Possitive effect into measure all awareness effects on social channels
  • Time effectiveness
  • Faster workflow management and realtime communication
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

ZoomSphere Screenshots

Screenshot of ZoomSphere Workspaces, which lets the user keep clients and projects organized. A separate workspace can be set up for each client with only needed apps—no extra clutter. Each workspace comes with a built-in Chat for easy communication and a Files section to store everything from images and videos to presentations and reports, keeping work in one place.Screenshot of ZoomSphere Scheduler, which simplifies social media planning and publishing across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X. Users can manage formats like stories, carousels, and short videos, or set up a custom approval flow for fast approval from a manager or client, and enjoy features like Instagram grid preview, post performance panel, and bulk actions.Screenshot of a Kanban-style interface to streamline task management. Here, users can create tasks, set deadlines, attach files, and discuss each task card with a team to keep everything on track. With clear task organization, ZoomSphere Workflow Manager helps teams stay on top of their projects and ensures smooth collaboration from start to finish.Screenshot of ZoomSphere Notes, which makes organizing ideas and plans easy.Screenshot of ZoomSphere Analytics, which offers in-depth insights into social media performance. Content performance can be analyzed with over 100 available metrics, and reports can be generated for any time period.Screenshot of the tool to send multiple posts for approval to client at once. Bulk Actions lets users send entire batches of posts via email or built-in chat, as well as duplicate, update statuses, or delete multiple posts.