6 Planoly Alternatives in 2026 (Features + Pricing Compared) – The Gain Blog

Is Planoly no longer keeping up with your social media content planning needs?

Whether you’re a solo creator or part of a growing agency, you may have outgrown Planoly’s features or run into platform limitations. The good news? There are a handful of social media scheduling tools in 2026 that might better match your workflow, budget, and team structure — without sacrificing ease of use.

In this guide, we’ve rounded up the top 6 Planoly alternatives that might be better suited for your needs. Ready to see how they stack up? We break down each tool by its:

• Use cases
• Key features
• Pros and cons
• Pricing

A Deeper Dive Into Planoly

Planoly is a social media management platform built specifically for creators who want to grow their brand and business online. Originally launched as one of the first visual planners for Instagram, it has since evolved into a dual-purpose tool: one part content scheduler, one part digital storefront.

In 2026, Planoly offers two core products:

• Social Planner – a drag-and-drop visual scheduler for Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and more
• Creator Store – a built-in e-commerce tool that lets creators sell merch, downloads, and courses directly from their link-in-bio

Why Do Users Love Planoly?

Planoly is a solid choice if you prefer a visual-first approach to social content. The platform makes it easy to map out your entire content calendar, preview your grid, and schedule posts across multiple platforms — all from a single dashboard.

Here are some of the reasons users stick with Planoly:

• Drag-and-drop visual planner: Perfect for mapping Instagram grids and managing post aesthetics
• Multi-account posting: Schedule the same post across platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok
• Hashtag group management: Save and reuse themed sets of hashtags to streamline your workflow
• Auto-posting with smart timing: Set and forget your content with built-in optimal time recommendations

For solo creators and small teams, Planoly strikes a great balance between ease of use and scheduling flexibility.

Why Users Look for Planoly Alternatives

While Planoly offers strong visual planning and scheduling features, not every user finds it a perfect fit. Based on user reviews on sites like G2 and Trustpilot, the most common reasons people start looking for alternatives include:

• Unreliable auto-posting: Scheduled posts occasionally fail to publish, forcing users to post manually
• Confusing account connections: Re-authenticating social accounts can be difficult, especially after password changes
• Frustrating customer support: A few users report slow response times and buggy support tools

6 Best Planoly Alternatives in 2026: A Quick Overview

1. Gain: Best Planoly Alternative for Agencies Needing Client Approvals

Gain is built for agencies and larger marketing teams that manage multiple brands and require a reliable, auditable way to handle content approvals. Rather than juggling spreadsheets, emails, or informal sign-offs, Gain centralizes your social media workflow with dedicated workspaces and structured approval processes. Teams get a clear, time-stamped record of who reviewed, approved, or requested changes on every piece of content, helping ensure nothing is published without proper sign-off.

Key features:

• Dedicated workspaces with separate calendars for each client
• Fully automated and customizable content approval workflows
• Auto-scheduling and publishing
• Native post previews with one-click approvals
• Automatic email notifications and reminders sent to the client until they approve
• Approval audit trails, task assignments, and collaboration tools
• Integration with eight major social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, X (Twitter), and Google Business Profile.

✅ Pros:

• Best-in-class content approval experience for clients and stakeholders
• Unlimited reviewers included on all plans
• Strong collaboration tools and task tracking

❌ Cons:

• Lighter analytics compared to enterprise platforms

Gain pricing: Plans start at $99/month (billed annually) for small teams managing up to six workspaces, with unlimited reviewers included on all plans. Agency plans range from $199/month to $399/month as team size, storage, and white-label options increase. Enterprise pricing is custom for agencies with advanced security, billing, and onboarding needs. There’s also a 14-day free trial available with no credit card required.

2. Buffer: Best Planoly Alternative for Creators Who Want Lightweight Scheduling

Buffer is a simple and flexible social media management tool built for creators, freelancers, and small businesses who want to publish consistently without overcomplicating the process. With support for nearly every major platform and a clutter-free interface, it’s ideal for anyone looking to queue, post, and analyze content without the overhead of complex workflows.

Key features:

• Visual content calendar with multi-platform auto-posting
• Built-in AI Assistant for writing and repurposing posts
• Community inbox for replying to comments across platforms

✅ Pros:

• Clean interface with minimal learning curve
• Strong free plan with AI and core features included
• Supports 10+ platforms, including Threads and Bluesky

❌ Cons:

• Limited analytics on the free plan
• Content approval workflows require the Team plan

Buffer pricing: Buffer offers a free plan with up to three channels and ten scheduled posts per channel. Paid plans start at $5/month per channel for unlimited posting, with the Team plan at $10/month per channel adding unlimited team members and access levels.

📖 Related Read: 7 Best Buffer Alternatives (Free and Paid)

3. Hootsuite: Best Planoly Alternative for Enterprise and Large Teams

If you’re managing a large team, multiple social channels, or need detailed performance reporting, Hootsuite is a robust Planoly alternative built to handle complexity at scale.

While Planoly is great for creator-first workflows, Hootsuite goes further with powerful features for analytics, collaboration, and AI-driven insights — all from one customizable dashboard.

Key features:

• Unified inbox for managing DMs and comments across platforms
• Advanced analytics with customizable reports and competitor benchmarking
• AI assistant for content generation, caption writing, and trend discovery

✅ Pros:

• Best-in-class analytics and reporting tools
• Excellent for large teams and cross-functional collaboration
• Built-in social listening and brand sentiment tools

❌ Cons:

• High cost per user
• May be too advanced for solo creators or small teams

Hootsuite pricing: Plans start at $199/month per user for Standard and $399/month per user for Advanced, which includes bulk scheduling and custom reports. Enterprise pricing is available for teams needing advanced security, integrations, and onboarding.

4. : Best Planoly Alternative for Visual Planning 

If you love Planoly’s visual-first approach but want more power behind your content strategy, is a strong alternative. It offers intuitive drag-and-drop scheduling, AI-powered post suggestions, trend forecasting, and built-in tools like link in bio and user-generated content (UGC) collection.

Key features:

• Visual planner with smart scheduling and best-time-to-post insights
• AI tools for captions, hashtags, and trend discovery
• Built-in link in bio tool and UGC content collection

✅ Pros:

• Still one of the best tools for visual-first scheduling
• Trend forecasting and AI content tools add strategic value
• Supports all major platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn

❌ Cons:

• Lower-tier plans limit posts, analytics, and AI credits
• Add-ons for social sets and users can raise the overall cost

pricing: Plans start at $18.75/month for solo users and go up to $82.50/month for unlimited posts, long-term analytics, and industry benchmarking. All plans include a 14-day free trial.

📖 Related Read: 7 Paid and Free Alternatives to Consider

5. Metricool – Best Planoly Alternative for Marketers Who Want Analytics + Content in One Place

If your workflow depends on smart scheduling and clear performance insights, Metricool is a strong Planoly alternative built for marketers who want everything in one dashboard. From AI-powered content suggestions to multi-brand analytics and automated reporting, Metricool streamlines publishing while offering a deeper look at what’s actually working across your channels.

Key features:

• Visual calendar with best-time-to-post recommendations and AI assistant
• Centralized analytics with competitor benchmarking and report templates
• Smartlinks (link-in-bio) and built-in hashtag analysis tools

✅ Pros:

• Great balance of scheduling, planning, and performance tracking
• Scales from solo creators to agencies with 50+ brands
• Competitive pricing with generous analytics and automation features

❌ Cons:

• Approval workflows only included on the Advanced plan and above

​​Metricool pricing: A free plan covers 1 brand and 20 posts per month. Paid plans start at $18/month for up to 5 brands, with advanced plans from $45/month including approval systems, custom reports, and extended analytics history.

6. Sendible – Best Planoly Alternative for Post Customization

Sendible is a versatile social media management tool that stands out for its platform-specific customization and powerful scheduling features. If you’re managing multiple brands and need granular control over every post (from hashtags to geotags), Sendible delivers flexibility without the bloat.

Key features:

• Customize posts per platform with location tags, hashtags, and image carousels
• Schedule in bulk with CSV uploads, smart queues, and repeat content options
• Canva integration and a built-in image editor to enhance your content visually

✅ Pros:

• Built-in social media holiday calendar helps keep your content timely and relevant
• Wide platform support, including newer networks like Threads and Bluesky
• Robust reporting and content libraries

❌ Cons:

• Posting caps per user may limit very high-output workflows

Sendible pricing: Plans begin at $25/month for solo creators, scaling to $638/month for large enterprises managing hundreds of profiles. Add-ons and bundle upgrades allow flexibility without jumping tiers.

FAQs

Which Planoly Alternative Caught Your Eye?

If you’re a solo creator or small team looking for simplicity, and Metricool offer sleek interfaces with solid scheduling and analytics. Need deeper integrations or content repurposing tools? Sendible is built for scaling teams that value flexibility and client-ready dashboards.

But if client collaboration and content approvals are your biggest pain point, try Gain. You’ll spend less time chasing approvals and more time creating great content.

Try Gain for free today!