Buffer vs. Zoho Social

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Buffer
Score 8.1 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
Zoho Social
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Zoho Social helps marketers in small to large organizations to grow the social media presence of their brand with actionable insights focused on content and engagement. Zoho Social provides marketers with pre-publishing insights based on the engagement level of previous posts and the activity of their audience. Zoho Social even goes a step ahead to shows users the percentage of their audience that’s likely to see their post now, suggests the next best time to post and lets them schedule…
$10
per month
Pricing
BufferZoho Social
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
Standard
$10
per month
Professional
$25
per month
Agency
$200
per month
Agency Plus
$300
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BufferZoho Social
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
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.Add Ons Users at $10 / user / month Brands $10 / brand / month
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BufferZoho Social
Considered Both Products
Buffer
Chose Buffer
Buffer had the best free version, but Zoho Social had the most social media channels available in the price range.
Hootsuite was the tool we first wanted, but the price was considerably more, for tools we are not sure if we need at this time.
Chose Buffer
I would recommend Buffer for ease of use, social media intergration and costs, also Buffer rarely has any issues or downtime. If they do they warn you well in advance.
Zoho Social
Chose Zoho Social
I find Buffer's interface more difficult to use and the reports do not have as many features as Zoho Social and are not customizable. I also don't find their engagement tab useful.
Chose Zoho Social
One product that wasn't listed here is Plannthat.com That's actually where all of my other clients' brands are located. I like that plan gives you content creation ideas, keeps you on top of trends, and shows you a calendar (weekly and monthly) on what you've posted already, …
Chose Zoho Social
Zoho Social is similar to Buffer in price but you get more channels for the costs, while Buffer allows for Pinterest. Zoho is more difficult to customize posts based on social media channels than Buffer, but easier to schedule posts for all channels at once. Zoho is cheaper …
Chose Zoho Social
Zoho easily is a better bet compared to other applications not just in terms of the pricing but also in terms of usability. Most applications charge you separately for managing different social accounts of the company. Zoho gives you access to all your accounts under one …
Chose Zoho Social
[Zoho Social is] very simple, fast, and easy to use. All platforms have their own pros and cons, but Zoho Social is better for linkedin due the social network penalize when you are hosting content in another platform. Zoho Social upload the content directly to linkedin. It also …
Chose Zoho Social
Zoho [Social] doesn't require you to use their scheduling function in order to collect data on posts.
Chose Zoho Social
Compared to all 3 of the options listed above, which are good pieces of software in their own right, Zoho Social makes it much easier to actually respond and engage with people on social media. This creates better sentiment towards our brand, has surfaced leads, and business …
Chose Zoho Social
Zoho is around the price range of basic packages of these two softwares, but, in my opinion, has better reporting. It's way faster than Hootsuite, and mobile. Featurewise, Zoho Social lacks some features, and Hootsuite has the best learning support, and certification.
Chose Zoho Social
Zoho Social just has a lot more features and A LOT better price point than the other guys.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BufferZoho Social
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.6
64 Ratings
5% below category average
Zoho Social
8.3
410 Ratings
4% above category average
Content planning and scheduling9.364 Ratings9.2408 Ratings
Content optimization6.457 Ratings8.2337 Ratings
Workflow management7.053 Ratings00 Ratings
Audience targeting00 Ratings7.6289 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
7.8
59 Ratings
1% below category average
Zoho Social
7.7
332 Ratings
2% below category average
Campaign success analytics7.859 Ratings7.7330 Ratings
Competitor analysis00 Ratings7.6201 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.4
61 Ratings
3% above category average
Zoho Social
8.8
357 Ratings
8% above category average
Role-based user permissions & privileges7.649 Ratings8.4267 Ratings
Mobile access9.259 Ratings9.3340 Ratings
Listening/monitoring
Comparison of Listening/monitoring features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Zoho Social
8.3
343 Ratings
8% above category average
Sentiment analysis00 Ratings7.9242 Ratings
Broad channel coverage00 Ratings8.6337 Ratings
Engagement
Comparison of Engagement features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Zoho Social
8.2
332 Ratings
1% above category average
Automated routing and prioritization00 Ratings7.9283 Ratings
Customer interaction histories00 Ratings8.4313 Ratings
Marketing
Comparison of Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Zoho Social
8.2
290 Ratings
7% above category average
Lead generation00 Ratings7.9214 Ratings
Content marketing00 Ratings8.4282 Ratings
Channel coverage/integration
Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Zoho Social
9.0
402 Ratings
5% above category average
Twitter00 Ratings9.3358 Ratings
Facebook00 Ratings9.0395 Ratings
LinkedIn00 Ratings9.1354 Ratings
Google+00 Ratings8.7227 Ratings
Instagram00 Ratings9.1324 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BufferZoho Social
Small Businesses
Publer
Publer
Score 9.8 out of 10
Publer
Publer
Score 9.8 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
BufferZoho Social
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(84 ratings)
9.2
(415 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(14 ratings)
8.0
(12 ratings)
Usability
8.1
(23 ratings)
9.4
(250 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(2 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(2 ratings)
8.2
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
6.3
(23 ratings)
9.3
(220 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
8.3
(5 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
3.6
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.6
(2 ratings)
8.2
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
BufferZoho Social
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
Zoho
We have a few videos to share on our social media accounts: Linked in, facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, another personal youtube account, and tiktok. First of the videos will be shared now, but the second one should be shared 3 hours later, and the third one 6 hours later. Also, with some text, on each share... You give this job to a personnel and thrust they will be fast enough to login those accounts and share the content almost at the same time, with no mistakes on the texts we use, and you thing you are done, right? It doesn't work that way in real life situations. However, you can share the same text and video to every platform momentarily by clicking a button by Zoho Social. you can also schedule posts to be shared later at a certain time and date. Now, you can concentrate to develop the character and details of your campaign. And, also, now, you have a personnel who can be useful at some other work
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
Zoho
  • Zoho Social helps us develop posts, and it facilitates the automated publishing, which is vital in sharing the content we want.
  • Besides, Zoho Social is fruitful in customer engagement plan, where the software manages different accounts, and there is free communications throughout.
  • Finally, there is social media evaluation, monitoring, and analytics, and all of them brings to us an inference that is accurate and digital.
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
Zoho
  • I wanted to use the ability to have Zoho queue the posts, but I wanted to choose the start time of the first post for a few days in the future and I did not find an easy way to set that.
  • I wish there were a box with a cheat sheet of the sizes that each social media platform allows for it's video and pictures in the dialogue box for posting so I can be sure to choose appropriate content.
  • I do think it's a bit expensive, especially for my needs, but I like the ease of use. I will continue to do what I can to get this service discounted until I can no longer afford it.
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
Zoho
Zoho Social is the BEST! I have found the perfect solution to social media marketing! It is extremely affordable and I highly recommend it! Create a post once and post it to 5 or more social media platforms! LOVE IT!! :)
Read full review
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
Zoho
A bit of repetition from previous screens but ultimately I wrote down what success looked like for me if I was to choose a social media tool, and how that would positively impact my business. From assessing all the tools out there, I also had a matrix of what tool offered what functionality. Once I had both reports prepared, I had a top 3 which matched the needs I had from a tool, and, for me, Zoho Social stood out head and shoulders above the competition
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Buffer
Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
Read full review
Zoho
We've never had a problem with availability
Read full review
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
Zoho
Excellent performance for what it does. No problem downloading pages on the desktop or mobile. It integrates well with other Zoho products. Outside of Zoho? Forget it.
Read full review
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
Zoho
I rate the customer support as outstanding. The assistance provided by the support team has been consistently prompt, knowledgeable, and attentive to our needs. Whenever we've encountered issues or had questions, they have swiftly addressed them, guiding us through solutions and ensuring a smooth experience. Their dedication to resolving concerns reflects their commitment to customer satisfaction, and I am thoroughly impressed with the level of support we have received.
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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
Read full review
Zoho
You can use Zoho Social out of the box so there weren't any implementation issues.
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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.
Read full review
Zoho
Zoho Social is a great social media management tool that allows businesses, and individuals, to manage multiple social media accounts, schedule posts, track analytics, and engage with followers. It competes well with other social media management tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, Agora Pulse, and Hubspot. Zoho Social stands out for its integration capabilities with other Zoho applications and affordability for small to medium-sized businesses. Each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses, and businesses should evaluate them based on their specific needs and goals. The biggest fallacy for Zoho is its restriction on scheduling tools on the free plan who have social and personal needs. I believe this can be circumvented by Zoho periodically making an advertisement to one's feed.
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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
Read full review
Zoho
You can use it for multiple business sizes.
Read full review
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
Zoho
  • Zoho Social allows me to "see" my messaging planning weeks into the future. I can create themes for a week or month and easily see how it performs.
  • Having all my social accounts in one place saves me time.
  • It is too early for any ROI from Zoho but the amount of content I am putting out has increased by at least 400%.
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

Zoho Social Screenshots

Screenshot of AnalyticsScreenshot of CollaborationScreenshot of Create-PublishScreenshot of InboxScreenshot of Monitor-SearchScreenshot of Social-Media-Marketing