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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Buffer

    Score7.5 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

    SOCi

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/ASOCi, including the former Brandify (acquired July 2021) presents a range of local marketing solutions, such as store locators, local SEO driven landing pages, local advertising, and brand reputation management.N/A
    Pricing
    BufferSOCi
    Editions & Modules
    Free
    $0
    Essentials
    $6
    per month per channel
    Team
    $12
    per month per channel
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BufferSOCi
    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
    Features
    BufferSOCi
    Publishing
    Comparison of Publishing features of Buffer and SOCi
    Feature
    Buffer
    7.8
    77 Ratings
    4% below category average
    SOCi
    -
    Ratings
    Content planning and scheduling8.677 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content optimization7.370 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow management7.566 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting/analytics
    Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Buffer and SOCi
    Feature
    Buffer
    6.9
    70 Ratings
    12% below category average
    SOCi
    -
    Ratings
    Campaign success analytics6.970 Ratings00 Ratings
    Account management
    Comparison of Account management features of Buffer and SOCi
    Feature
    Buffer
    8.0
    72 Ratings
    1% above category average
    SOCi
    -
    Ratings
    Role-based user permissions & privileges8.259 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile access7.968 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BufferSOCi
    Small Businesses
    Sendible
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Google Business Profile
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Emplifi
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Google Business Profile
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BufferSOCi
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.4
    (97 ratings)
    8.4
    (8 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (15 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.4
    (33 ratings)
    8.2
    (5 ratings)
    Availability
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (24 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 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
    BufferSOCi
    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
    SOCi, Inc
    SOCi is a fantastic tool for a franchise business because it provides the ability to post in bulk while also posting localized content. So, you can share the same basic content across all of your locations, but SOCi's tagging system inserts a location's phone number or website for each individual location. This helps create a localized feel and personalized touch -- but you only schedule one post, making it easy and efficient to localize content in mass posting. This principle applies to paid ads as well. Because of these features, SOCi may not be the best platform for companies with just one location
    Incentivized
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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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, Inc
    • Firstly, as a user of Brandify, I am really fond of their after-sales support services because as a user these services matter a lot.
    • Brandify has made the work so much easier as it avoids spending time looking for better options.
    • It is very helpful platform for the growth of a company.
    • Its analysis helps us in foreseeing situations that can be either good or bad and ensure that we think of a possible solution.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, Inc
    • Their analytics are sub-par to other tools that I use.
    • Their website can be a little clunky until you learn to navigate it.
    • It takes a long time to be fully on-boarded and running on the platform with all information syncing together.
    Incentivized
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, Inc
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, Inc
    There are some aspects of the scheduling of posts that could be more user friendly for the less tech-savvy users.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Buffer
    Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, 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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, 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.
    Incentivized
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    SOCi, Inc
    We have not had to contact support so there is nothing to say in response to this question. We are sure that if we needed to contact them we would be able to get any issues resolved quickly
    Incentivized
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, Inc
    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.
    Incentivized
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    SOCi, Inc
    Soci is a lot better. It’s more user friendly and it makes better for one platform to have all my accounts on
    Incentivized
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, 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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SOCi, Inc
    • Brandify allows us to analyze the reputation of the business and how happy our customers are with us.
    • It is a affordable local marketing software.
    • It has reliable and efficient support.
    Incentivized
    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