Buffer vs. SOCi

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
SOCi
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
SOCi, 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
Community Pulse
BufferSOCi
Features
BufferSOCi
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.9
77 Ratings
2% below category average
SOCi
-
Ratings
Content planning and scheduling8.677 Ratings00 Ratings
Content optimization7.470 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow management7.866 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.2
70 Ratings
7% below category average
SOCi
-
Ratings
Campaign success analytics7.270 Ratings00 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.3
72 Ratings
5% above category average
SOCi
-
Ratings
Role-based user permissions & privileges8.559 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile access8.168 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BufferSOCi
Small Businesses
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile
Score 8.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile
Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BufferSOCi
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(96 ratings)
8.4
(8 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(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
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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.
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.
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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
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.
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
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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
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SOCi, Inc
There are some aspects of the scheduling of posts that could be more user friendly for the less tech-savvy users.
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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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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
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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.
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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
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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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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.
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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
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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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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
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.
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