People pick Later for one thing others do worse: you drag photos into a grid and see your future Instagram feed as a whole. For a clothing store, an interior studio or a bakery that’s not decoration, it’s the workflow. The feed is the storefront.
People leave for equally clear reasons. Later dropped its free plan a while ago, the starter plan costs around $25 a month for one “social set” and caps the number of posts. A second brand means a second set and a second bill. There’s no Telegram, and for many markets outside the US that’s half the audience. And if 80% of your posts are Reels rather than photos, a pretty grid stops being an argument.
Below: seven alternatives with honest downsides, a comparison table built around what matters to visual brands, and a migration plan that doesn’t lose your Linkin.bio. Prices are guidelines from public pricing pages and change several times a year, so check before paying.
What keeps people on Later
To avoid a disappointing migration, list what you’ll need to replace:
- Visual planner. A 3×N grid with drag and drop, preview before publishing, drafts right in the grid.
- Linkin.bio. A link page for your profile where each photo leads to its product. For stores that’s a sales channel, not a nicety.
- Media library. Upload 200 photos from a shoot, tag them, pull them into the grid as needed.
- Best time to post. Slot suggestions based on your stats. How to read them, we covered in the article on the best time to post.
Reasons to leave: paying per social set, post caps on the starter plan, no Telegram, weak team features on the lower plans.
Comparison table
| Tool | Free tier | Paid from | Instagram grid | Link in bio | Telegram |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planoly | None, trial only | ~$16/mo | Yes | Yes | No |
| Preview | Yes, with limits | ~$8/mo | Yes | No | No |
| Meta Business Suite | Everything | — | No | No | No |
| Buffer | 3 channels, 10 posts each | ~$6/channel | Yes | Yes | No |
| Metricool | 1 brand with limits | ~$20/mo | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tailwind | Yes, with limits | ~$15/mo | Yes | Yes | No |
| Repost21 | 2 channels, 30 posts/mo | $39/mo | No | No | Yes |
Seven alternatives, one by one
1. Planoly: the closest relative
Planoly launched in the same era as Later and solves the same problem: grid, drag and drop, scheduling for Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. It has its own link page (Linkit), a media library and hashtag suggestions. The starter plan is about $16 a month for one set of accounts, noticeably cheaper than Later for similar features. Downsides: still per-set pricing, no Telegram, basic analytics. If you’re leaving Later only because of price, start here.
2. Preview: the cheapest grid
A mobile app that does exactly one thing: shows what your feed will look like. Free with limits, paid around $8 a month. It publishes through the official API and has scheduling. Downsides: a tool for one person and one account, with almost no team features, approvals or analytics. For a photographer or a nail artist running their own account, that’s enough.
3. Meta Business Suite: free and direct
Meta’s official scheduler: posts, Reels, Stories, a shared inbox, stats. It works directly, with no risk to the account and no post caps. There’s no grid preview, and that’s the main downside for visual brands. The workaround: plan in Preview or Planoly on a free tier, publish through Business Suite. Clunky, but zero dollars.
4. Buffer: when the brand isn’t only about Instagram
Buffer added an Instagram grid preview, and alongside it covers X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon. Pricing is per channel, about $6 a month each, with 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel free. It has its own link page, Start Page. Downsides: the bill grows with every channel, no Telegram, and the grid is simpler than Later’s. A full breakdown is in our Buffer alternatives article.
5. Metricool: grid plus numbers
A Spanish tool that grew out of analytics. It has a scheduler with feed preview, a SmartLinks page, reports across all networks and competitor tracking. Free tier is one brand with limits, paid plans start around $20. Downsides: no Telegram, and the interface is crowded if all you want is the grid. Right when the store owner wants to see not just the feed but what in it actually sells.
6. Tailwind: when Pinterest matters more than Instagram
Originally a Pinterest tool, now covering Instagram and Facebook too. It does the grid, the link in bio, and above all interval scheduling for pins and board suggestions. Free tier with limits, paid from about $15. Downsides: noticeably weaker outside Pinterest, no Telegram or X. For interiors, weddings, recipes and handmade goods, where Pinterest drives traffic, it’s the best pick.
7. Repost21: when you need Telegram and drafts that write themselves
This one is ours, so downsides first. There’s no visual grid like Later’s: the focus is on the calendar, copy and automation, not feed preview. No Pinterest, no TikTok. What it does have: Telegram, Threads and X next to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, a calendar with best slots, an idea feed built from your RSS and Telegram sources, and Luna, an AI assistant that writes posts from your brand knowledge base. Free plan is 2 channels and 30 posts a month, Starter is $39 for 5 channels. Limits are in the pricing section.
How to choose in 15 minutes
- Leaving only because of price, need the grid → Planoly.
- One account, you run it yourself, zero budget → Preview plus Meta Business Suite.
- Instagram plus 3 or 4 other networks, none of them Telegram → Buffer.
- Reports for the owner or a client → Metricool.
- Pinterest brings traffic → Tailwind.
- Instagram plus a Telegram channel → a tool with Telegram, and check the grid in Preview’s free tier.
- Three or more brands → do the math with the table: Later, Planoly and Buffer bills grow with each set, tools with a channel bundle don’t.
A money-saving tip: start trials with two finalists and run the same week of real posts through both, with carousels, Reels and a first comment. After seven days the choice is usually obvious.
When to stay on Later
- The grid is a real workflow. If the photographer and the social media manager sign off on the feed via preview every week, replacing it with “just a calendar” breaks the process.
- Linkin.bio drives sales. Check link clicks in Later’s analytics for the last three months. If that’s hundreds of visits to product pages, the migration has to include replacing the page, not just the scheduler.
- One brand, under 30 posts a month. Later’s starter plan costs roughly the same as the alternatives here, and your habits are worth more than a $5 difference.
How to migrate without losses
- Export the media library. Download photos with tags and captions before cancelling. Most tools can’t import another service’s library.
- Replace Linkin.bio before changing the profile link. Build the new page (Planoly Linkit, Metricool SmartLinks, Buffer Start Page or a plain landing page), move the products, only then change the link in the bio. Keep the old page live for another month: it’s referenced in old posts.
- Connect accounts only through Meta’s official login. A tool that asks for your Instagram password is a reason to leave immediately.
- Run a week in parallel. Put some posts in the new tool and check Reels covers, carousel slide order, the first comment.
- Move your slots. Take the best hours from Later’s stats into the new schedule.
- Cancel Later last, once its queue is empty, or a post will go out twice.
If a Telegram channel has joined your mix and you’d like drafts to show up on their own, try Repost21: the free plan is enough to test the Instagram plus Telegram combo on one brand, and Starter and PRO come with a 7-day trial.