Buffer vs CoSchedule: Which one to Choose?

Caught between Buffer and CoSchedule? For small businesses juggling it all, picking the right social media tool could be the secret to saving time—and your sanity.

I’ve been using both Buffer and CoSchedule since both platforms were babies for different aspects of social media management. Each one has its strength, but what if you just wanted to use one?

Let’s take a look.

Buffer and CoSchedule are often compared because they provide a similar service. They are both software platforms designed to help marketers manage content and campaigns.

But they are different — very different. And the one you choose will depend on what your marketing goals are, what features will help you save time, and what pricing plans work best for you.

Buffer vs CoSchedule Social Media Management Tools Comparison

Both Buffer and CoSchedule are social media tools small businesses use to build their audience, generate social media engagement, and ultimately drive traffic and sales.

Now, here’s a little secret on how to choose between software platforms. Look at what the tool was originally built to do, and you’ll immediately see what their strength is, and why you should choose them.

Ultimately, as software platforms add more users, they begin to expand on their features. But here’s what we know for sure — they will always shine at what they were originally built to do.

Buffer launched in 2010 and CoSchedule wasn’t far behind in 2013. While both tools were designed to schedule social media posts, each had its own purpose and strength.

Buffer’s strength was scheduling social media posts, tracking engagement, and even providing customer service over social media channels.

On the other had, CoSchedule was launched as a content marketing suite with the intention of promoting content on social media and ultimately creating integrated marketing campaigns for marketing teams and agencies.

Social Media Management Focus

The best way to get a taste for what any tool does best is to simply look at their home page what what they feature as their marketing message.

Buffer says that their platform will help you grow your audience on social. While CoSchedule is featuring their all-in-one marketing calendar.

Buffer’s strength is in helping you grow your audiences organically. To that end, they have a strong focus on curated content. Buffer’s AI writing assistant helps you create engaging content quickly with prompt templates for captions. It suggests trending topics, industry-specific content, quotes, and seasonal ideas to keep your social feeds fresh and relevant. With consistent, dynamic posts, you’ll boost engagement and grow your audience effortlessly.

CoSchedule is pushing its All-in-One marketing calendar. What this tells me is that this is a social media management tool for running campaigns and promoting specific types of content.

Use Buffer if you:

• Are a startup or solopreneur who is on a tight budget.

• Are focused on a few social channels (because they charge you a price per social account)

• Love to share other people’s content (they have a terrific library for curation)

Use CoSchedule if you:

• Have a marketing team managing campaigns.

• Have complex checklists and approvals

• Have multiple campaigns running all the time

• You want to integrate a variety of marketing activities

Who Wins on Intuitive Interface?

Buffer wins on the simplicity and user-friendliness of its interface. CoSchedule has more complex features, more integrations, and a lot more complexity.

Who Wins on Content Planning?

I’m going to give this one to CoSchedule. After all, it’s a content marketing calendar tool.

Because CoSchedule is designed for more complex marketing campaigns, its content calendar lets you see all of your marketing content in one place; social posts, blog posts, even email campaigns.

I’m not saying that Buffer can’t do that — it does these things differently. Buffer also has a calendar view. And Buffer uses tags and folders to help you organize your campaigns.

Both platforms say they help you identify content gaps — but they do this visually using their calendar views. In other words, you can see where you have opportunities to post content.

Which is best for social media strategy?

While both tools implement social media strategy, I’d say that CoSchedule is the social media management tool that functions like a marketing suite for implementing your entire social media strategy.

AI on Buffer vs CoSchedule

AI is everywhere and every tool has incorporated some level of AI into their feature set. The question is how have each of these tools incorporated AI into their software in a way that helps you promote your content.

CoSchedule seems to have integrated AI more extensively across its platform, while Buffer’s AI features appear more focused on social media content generation. However

Who are These Tools for?

As I said earlier, both Buffer and CoSchedule offer social media management software and marketing tools that help you manage your social media and marketing campaigns for your website or business.

Solopreneur vs Team

Most social media management tools are created with teams in mind. While solopreneurs can use them too, the real benefits lie in making your social media strategy visible across a virtual marketing teams.

Solopreneurs benefit too, it’s just that you may not need as much of a comprehensive platform to assign tasks or follow a complex approval or workflow structure. So keep that in mind.

If you’re a team, you’ll want to focus on features and functions of social media management that allow you to:

• Do bulk scheduling

• See an entire social calendar

• Schedule posts

• See and approve drafts

• Create a specific audience

• Analytics and reporting

• Use multiple social media accounts

What’s Included in the Marketing Suite?

Whether you’re flying solo as a solopreneur or working with a team, both CoSchedule and Buffer offer plans that fit your needs without over-complicating things. From simple social media scheduling to full-blown marketing suites, these platforms give you everything you need to stay on top of your marketing game, all while keeping your sanity intact. Let’s take a closer look at what they offer and how to choose the right one for you.

TABLE HERE

Recommendations:

• For Solopreneurs: Buffer’s Essentials Plan is a great option if you’re managing everything yourself. It’s affordable at $6 per channel, so you only pay for the social accounts you actually need. Plus, you get advanced features like analytics and engagement tools to keep things running smoothly without needing a full team.

• For Teams: CoSchedule’s Marketing Calendar is a solid choice for teams looking to stay organized. With tools for task management, social media scheduling, and discussions, it keeps everyone on the same page. And if your team has bigger needs, the Marketing Suite adds advanced features to help you scale and streamline even more.

Overview of Social Media Scheduling Features

With the packages from Buffer, you can expect to see tools and software designed to help create and plan your social networks. Buffer links all your social media together in a central location so that you can easily manage and control your accounts across multiple platforms.

The Publish packages allow you to plan and publish posts for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn from one simple and intuitive dashboard. You can quickly build an online presence on social media by scheduling posts, including automated comments, setting reminders, and working together in a team to draft posts, review, and edit as a marketing group.

The Analyze packages allow you to check your performance and analytics using a similar dashboard as the previous one, so you can properly gauge how well you are doing and what needs to change for the better with detailed analytics.

CoSchedule is slightly different in its functionality. It too allows you to manage and plan your social media channels, but they are more directed towards managing marketing projects as a whole, not merely on the social media front. Their packages only differ in the amount of functionality they provide in proportion to their design.

Blog Calendar allows you to manage blog posts by planning posts and syncing alerts to send a message to your social media. Marketing Calendar takes this a step further by integrating project deadlines and centralizing marketing projects for easier management.

Marketing Suite streamlines this process further by offering better ways to manage and control your projects, manage social media, catalog and control assets and files, and better delegate work. All of this comes with free training in their tools, too.

Pros and Cons of Buffer

Pros of Buffer:

• Affordable and Flexible Pricing: Buffer’s pay-per-channel model lets you only pay for the social accounts you use, making it cost-effective for solopreneurs and small teams.

• User-Friendly Interface: It’s designed with simplicity in mind, so you can schedule posts, analyze data, and engage with your audience without a steep learning curve.

• Free Plan Available: The free version lets you dip your toes into social media management with 3 accounts and 10 scheduled posts per channel.

• Collaboration Features: The Team and Agency plans support unlimited users, making it easy for groups to collaborate on campaigns and content.

• Advanced Analytics & Engagement Tools: Access to deeper insights and reporting is available even on the more affordable plans, so you can track what’s working.

Cons of Buffer:

• Limited Free Plan: The free version has very basic functionality, and the 10-post limit per channel may feel restrictive quickly.

• No Comprehensive Marketing Calendar: Buffer is great for social media scheduling, but it lacks an all-in-one marketing calendar that can track other content or tasks.

• No Social Media Recycling: Unlike some competitors, Buffer doesn’t have an automatic social media content recycling feature, so you’ll need to reschedule posts manually.

• Price Adds Up with More Channels: While the per-channel pricing is flexible, if you manage many social accounts, costs can add up fast, especially for teams.

Pros and Cons of CoSchedule

Pros of CoSchedule:

• All-in-One Marketing Calendar: CoSchedule offers a robust marketing calendar that lets you manage everything from blog posts to social media posts in one place, making it ideal for teams juggling multiple projects.

• Task Management Tools: Built-in task templates, discussions, and workflows help you keep track of who’s doing what, so nothing falls through the cracks.

• Social Media Recycling (ReQueue): Automatically reuses top-performing social content to keep your feeds active without constant manual scheduling.

• Integrations: CoSchedule integrates with tools like WordPress, Google Analytics, and social media platforms, streamlining your workflow.

• Scalable for Teams: With advanced features like Asset Organizer and Work Organizer, CoSchedule grows with your team and helps maintain a structured approach as your projects expand.

Cons of CoSchedule:

• Higher Starting Cost: At $39 per month per user, CoSchedule’s Marketing Calendar is pricier than many other options, especially for solopreneurs or small teams.

• No Free Plan for Paid Features: While there’s a free version, it’s very limited, and most of the powerful features like ReQueue and task management require a paid plan.

• Custom Pricing for Some Plans: To access the full power of CoSchedule’s Marketing Suite, you need to contact sales for pricing, which may feel less transparent compared to tools with clear price points.

• Learning Curve for Beginners: The all-in-one nature is powerful, but it can be a bit overwhelming for first-time users or those new to managing a marketing calendar

So Which One Wins in The End: Buffer vs CoSchedule?

Ultimately, the choice between Buffer and CoSchedule boils down to your specific needs and priorities. Who is the platform for?

Solopreneurs or Freelancers:

If you’re a solopreneur or freelancer primarily focused on expanding your social media presence while managing your budget, Buffer is likely the ideal choice. It enables easy management of your social media channels without the extra features and costs. However, if your scope extends beyond social media and includes managing multiple projects, CoSchedule’s comprehensive features may be worth considering, even with its higher price point.

Larger Teams:

For larger teams juggling numerous projects, CoSchedule’s collaborative tools are invaluable. They streamline workflows, enhance communication, and provide a centralized system for managing projects effectively. CoSchedule is the clear winner if smooth teamwork and efficient task delegation are top priorities. With CoSchedule, your team can streamline the creation and publishing of your media content and social media content all from a convenient content calendar.

Making the Final Call: Your Next Steps

You now have comprehensive insights into the Buffer vs CoSchedule debate. To experience these platforms firsthand, take advantage of their free trials.

Experiment with their interfaces, test out various features, and identify which workflow best suits your requirements. This hands-on experience empowers you to make a well-informed decision tailored to your needs.

Choosing the right tool for your specific requirements can significantly streamline your marketing efforts and contribute to your social media success. Best of luck with your decision-making process – you’ve got this. With the right tools, you can unlock new possibilities in the world of content marketing and make it easier to deliver projects on time.

Conclusion

Buffer and CoSchedule are comparable in terms of what they can help with managing social media presence, but that is where the comparison stops. Buffer is better in that regard, as it specializes in maintaining a strong social media presence using tools for user engagement and content scheduling, but CoSchedule provides more functionality as an actual marketing manager beyond social media.

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Source: https://diymarketers.com/buffer-vs-coschedule/