Buffer vs. Rival IQ

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Buffer
Score 8.0 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
Rival IQ
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Rival IQ in Seattle delivers social media analytics and competitive insights to help digital marketers make informed decisions, improve results, and better understand competitors. Using benchmarks and comparative analysis, Rival IQ's technology is designed to enable digital marketers to uncover new opportunities, identify trends, and track results across all the main social channels and the web.N/A
Pricing
BufferRival IQ
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
Essentials
$6
per month per channel
Team
$12
per month per channel
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BufferRival IQ
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BufferRival IQ
Features
BufferRival IQ
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.0
77 Ratings
1% below category average
Rival IQ
-
Ratings
Content planning and scheduling8.677 Ratings00 Ratings
Content optimization7.570 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow management7.966 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.3
70 Ratings
5% below category average
Rival IQ
-
Ratings
Campaign success analytics7.370 Ratings00 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.4
72 Ratings
6% above category average
Rival IQ
-
Ratings
Role-based user permissions & privileges8.559 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile access8.268 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BufferRival IQ
Small Businesses
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Agency Analytics
Agency Analytics
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Echobox Social
Echobox Social
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10
1-Social
1-Social
Score 6.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BufferRival IQ
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(97 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(33 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(24 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BufferRival IQ
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
Rival IQ
I think it's a great tool to be used by any brand. The interface is user friendly, creating a safe space for account managers and social media managers alike. The only instance in where it wouldn't be optimal is if you're looking at very historical data, or tracking additional influencers (not competitors) or if you have multiple profiles (within 1 channel) to track.. But this suits our needs very well.
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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.
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Rival IQ
  • Competitive analysis
  • Data visualization
  • Historical data
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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
Rival IQ
  • Managing companies within your installation aren't always easy. You can map companies to landscapes, but if you run out of slots for companies (based on your subscription tier) you end up having to swap companies frequently to get the reporting you need.
  • RivalIQ is competitively priced on a tiered structure, but if you want to add small sets of additional data within tiers, such as additional companies, the pricing is prohibitive as to force you into the next tier up.
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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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Rival IQ
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
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Rival IQ
This is a really easy package to use and understand, once you've walked thru the interface. Onboarding is a must.
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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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Rival IQ
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
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Rival IQ
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
Rival IQ
Support is continuous and very helpful. Email, phone, and chat support are always on and someone is always there to help. Your CSR will contact you quarterly to take your temperature and offer assistance or training, if necessary. Feature requests are taken seriously. They share their product development roadmap, which is a major plus.
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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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Rival IQ
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.
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Rival IQ
I demoed this platform as an alternative to Rival IQ and it has some of the similar features but the cost is much higher so it wasn't in our budget. If I had the choice, I might choose Falcon over Rival IQ because the visuals are much better than they are in Rival IQ.
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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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Rival IQ
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
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Rival IQ
  • 80% increase in commercial proposals from clients due to the incorporation of Rival IQ data.
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