Manage your social media strategy in one place with Later
Best For : Freelancers, Large Enterprises, Mid and Small-Sized Businesses
| Number of Reviews (G2) | 305 |
| Overall Star Rating (G2) | |
| Ease of Use | |
| Quality of Support | |
| Ease of Setup | |
| Minimum Pricing | $25/Month |
| Number of Social Accounts | 7 |
| Number of Team Members | 1 |
| Scheduling & Publishing |
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| Analytics |
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| Social Inbox |
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| Collaboration |
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| Whitelabel |
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| Best For | Influencers and Small Business |
Later is a social media management platform that enables users to plan and schedule their social media content publishing and analyze their performance. This platform is designed to cater to the businesses of all sizes, with its user-friendly dashboard and flexible pricing plans.
You can use Later to publish on different social networks – Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook. You can even post Instagram reels on Later. However, the tool was originally created as an Instagram automation tool so it is the most capable in that regard.
Businesses can smoothly plan a month’s worth of social media posts in a matter of minutes, all thanks to Later. With a multi-faceted dashboard, you can manage and visualize your content strategy, get to know the best times to post, and monitor brand mentions.
Later is a great platform for creators as well. Its tools for creators assist them in managing social media content on the go. It also helps them stay abreast with the latest trends, engage effectively with their followers, and get discovered by brands for collaborations.
Pros
Marina B.
It is easy to use and helps me to schedule social media content easily. The implementation was easy and the customer support always helps me when i have questions.
Cons
Stephanie H.
I have found that the amount of open menus, tabs, and boxes on the screen at any given moment makes Later’s UI look a bit cluttered, and it can actually make it more difficult to find things, not less.
| Smart & Advanced Queueing |
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| Repeat Posts |
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| Social Media Calendar |
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| Auto Publishing from RSS |
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| Bulk Scheduling |
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| Post Preview |
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| AI Assistant |
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| Support Facebook First Comment |
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| Support Instagram First Comment |
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| Support LinkedIn First Comment |
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| Instagram Collaboration Posts |
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| TikTok Carousel Posts |
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| LinkedIn Carousel Posts |
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| Shorts Scheduling |
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Later comes with a suite of scheduling and publishing features perfect for social media content management. Users can go with the content calendar for organized planning and have the capability for bulk scheduling up to 300 posts. However, it lacks the ability to create custom publishing queues which prove useful for managing campaigns.
Visual post planning is another of Later’s assets, with post and Instagram grid previews to ensure content appears as intended before going live. The platform also has the ability to schedule first comments on Instagram posts, enhancing engagement right from the publication moment. Instagram collaboration posts are also supported, facilitating collaboration with other creators.
Despite supporting TikTok scheduling, Later does not provide the option to schedule TikTok carousels or LinkedIn carousels, limiting its functionality across some popular platforms.
Later’s resources include a Caption Writer, an AI-powered in crafting engaging captions, and hashtag suggestions to optimize reach. The platform also offers analytics to identify optimal posting times on Instagram and TikTok, maximizing audience engagement.
Additionally, Later accommodates various time zones, ensuring posts go live at the intended local times across global markets. This blend of features makes Later a versatile tool for brands aiming to streamline their social media presence efficiently.
| Detailed Social Media Analytics |
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| Multi-Account Combined Analytics |
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| Engagement Metrics |
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| Hashtag Performance Analysis |
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| Custom Report Builder |
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| Email PDF Report to Client |
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| Auto-Schedule Report for Team and Client |
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| Whitelabel Downloadable Report in PDF Format |
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Later has a notable analytics section, which, like its counterparts, provides data regarding post performance on several platforms and, tracks trends, and recommends the best times to post. These insights can prove to be useful for marketers, helping them analyze the results of their efforts.
The tool covers the analytics for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Pinterest. However, it has the most robust data for Instagram as originally it was meant to be a tool exclusively for Instagram.
Later analytics has custom date filters which allows you to select any timeframe you’d want to see your performance on. It reveals hashtag performance as well which is a very important feature for Instagram and TikTok. These analytics can be exported in the form of CSV reports and sent through emails.
However, it lacks a custom report builder, limiting more tailored analytical needs. Similarly, there is no option for auto-scheduling report sharing, which could streamline the reporting process for teams and clients.
A notable feature in the analytics section in Later is the Media Kit which enables easy sharing of selected data showcasing a user’s social media influence and reach.
| Reply to Posts and Comments |
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| Can Reply to Messages |
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| Reply to Questions and Reviews |
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| Can Reply on Visitor Posts |
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| Unified Social Inbox |
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| Reply to Stories |
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Later has a real-time tracking feature which is designed to help users stay on top of brand mentions and engage with audience’s comments. These capabilities help creators and brands to proactively manage their reputation and gauge sentiments around them online.
Using the Conversations feature, Later users can monitor and reply to comments on their posts and mentioned posts on Instagram and TikTok. This streamlines engagement for brands and businesses with their customers with certain extent.
However, since the social inbox does not integrate other major platforms, it somewhat hinders the coverage of active engagement. It also does not show or let you respond to reviews which is again, is a considerable drawback.
So we can conclude that Later’s engagement capabilities, while partially effective to centralize the interaction of some of the platforms might not be enough for some businesses.
| Content Approval Workflow |
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| Per Post Multi-User Collaboration |
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| Comments on Post |
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| Access Management |
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| Free Unlimited Client Onboarding |
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Later has most of the team collaboration tools which are required by business owners to manage tasks related to all things social media. It supports approval workflows, making the the process of creating and publishing error-free content easy and hassle-free.
From seeking approval, multi-user collaboration, to exchanging feedback all of it can be acheived right within Later’s dashboard. Access groups and shared calendars are other significant features provided by Later, enabling the creation, sharing, and management of different access levels within the team.
Although the platform includes an efficient team management set-up, Later falls behind in client management. This can be a deterrent for agencies that would otherwise want to opt for Later.
Also, users are allowed to utilize the approval workflow and notes on posts features only in the higher pricing tiers.
| UI/UX | User-friendly |
| Ease of Setup | |
| Setup Time Required | Minimum |
Later users find the process of setting up their accounts and getting started with the tool notably easy, requiring minimum support. A major reason for this is the user-friendly dashboard of the platform. This allows new users to get the hang of Later in virtually no time.
Users of Later, range from digital marketing managers in large enterprises to small business owners. And all of them have opined that they find the scheduling process straightforward, allowing them to plan out weeks or even months in advance in just a few hours. And this applies to the Later mobile app as well.
| Live Chat Support |
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| Email Support |
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| Training |
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| Setup Support |
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| Dedicated Account Manager |
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The platform boasts high-quality customer support services, but users’ sentiments have been mixed. It provides a range of support options, including a knowledge base, email/help desk, chat, and FAQs/forums aimed at assisting users effectively.
However, Later’s support team has difficulty in handling cancellation requests. The rigid refund terms have lead to dissatisfied users recommending not to go for long-term commitment with the platform as its not easy to get access to their refund policy.
However, not all experiences with Later’s customer support have been negative. Some of the current and previous users have found that the team is proactive with query resolution and solving technical issues.
Starter
$25
Per Month
Features
Growth
$45
Per Month
Starter features+
Advance
$80
Per Month
Growth Features+
Agency
$200
Per Month
Advance Features+
Later’s pricing plans have been designed to fit a wide range of businesses, right from individual marketers to large businesses. These plans have also been created and scaled according to the needs of functionality for that particular type of user persona.
Later’s pricing for individuals and small teams starts at $16.67/month when billed annually and scales up to $133.33/month for agency plans. Each tier increases the number of social sets (groups of social media profiles), with the Agency plan supporting up to 15 social sets and 10 users.
Things get more complicated as your business scales up. With the addition of more social accounts, users would have to pay add-on charges. But due to the social set restrictions, one social set can only have one account from the supported social network.
So if you want to add extra accounts from the same network 3while not having connected any from another channel, you’ll have to upgrade, which seems quite unfair. This unintuitive pricing model affects user preference for Later by a long shot. The tiered approach is designed to grow with business needs but could potentially stretch budgets for larger enterprises needing extensive social management capabilities.
Later is a nifty tool, but it has a lot of drawbacks in terms of pricing flexibility and insufficient features for platforms other than Instagram. These reasons might push you to look for Later alternatives. You’ll not be surprised that there are many options available for you to pick from. These alternatives bridge the gaps in pricing and features that Later presents.
Here is a comparison of Later’s most capable alternatives for your perusal.
 SocialPilot |
Later |
 Agorapulse |
 Buffer |
 Sendible |
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| Pricing | Starts at $25/Month | $25/ Month | Starts at $69/Month | Starts at $36/Month | Starts at $29/Month |
| Best for | Agencies & Small Businesses | Influencers and Small Business | Brands & Enterprises | SMBs & Brands | SMBs & Brands |
| Support | |||||
| Publishing | |||||
| Smart Queues | |
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| Repeat Posts | |
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| Calendar View | |
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Complex |
| Auto Post From RSS Feeds | |
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(Manual) |
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| Bulk Scheduling | (500 Posts) |
(300 posts) |
(200 Posts) |
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(350 posts) |
| First Comment | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn (Available in all plans) | Only for Instagram |
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn(Unavailable in Standard plan) | Instagram only | |
| Post Creation | |||||
| Draft Your Posts | |
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| Image Editor | |
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Limited |
| AI Assistant | |
Only for Instagram |
(Add-on) |
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In higher plans |
| Hashtag Generator | (Aligned with captions) |
Limited |
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| Canva Integration | (On all plans) |
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| Media From External Sources | |
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(Only Canva and G-Drive) |
(Not from cloud storage) |
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| Custom Call-To-Actions | |
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| Content Library | |
(Add-on) |
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| Location Tagging | |
For Instagram |
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(Only for Instagram) |
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| Instagram Collaboration Post | |
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| TikTok Carousel Scheduling | |
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| LinkedIn Carousel | (Converts images into PDF internally) |
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(Needs post in PDF format) |
(Needs post in PDF format) |
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| Team Collaboration | |||||
| Content Approval Workflows | (Quick and Easy) |
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(Confusing) |
(Basic) |
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| Multi-User Collaboration Per Post | |
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| Comments on Post | |
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(No tagging) |
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| Client Management | (Unlimited clients) |
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| Engagement | |||||
| Social Inbox | (Unified Inbox) |
Limited |
(Multiple Inboxes) |
(Limited features) |
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| Reply to DMs & Comments | |
Partial |
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(Only Facebook & Instagram) |
FB and LinkedIn |
| Reply to Reviews & Queries | |
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| Analytics | |||||
| Detailed Social Media Analytics | (Easy to read) |
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(Incomprehensible) |
(Lacking depth of insights) |
Complex |
| Post Performance | |
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| Custom Report Builder | |
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| Auto-Schedule Report Sharing to Clients | |
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| White Label | |||||
| White Label Dashboard | |
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| Branded Downloadable Report | |
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| Try for Free | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | ||
From the above comparison, SoicalPilot comes across as the best alternative, with features supporting all sizes of businesses while having advanced features under affordable and flexible pricing.
Let’s get to know this tool a little more.
SocialPilot is a multifaceted tool that provides feature-rich but affordable options that are surprisingly scalable compared to Later. It is particularly suited to small businesses and agencies that need to handle multiple brand and client social media accounts simultaneously while collaborating with internal team members and external stakeholders.
Both the tools start at similar pricing points, although SocialPilot’s starting plan costs $25 per month but it lets users manage up to 10 social accounts without any restrictions on which social platform they might belong to, unlike Later which is bound by the social sets rules.
The real strength of SocialPilot lies in its advanced scheduling capabilities which include smart queues, repeat posting capabilities, and auto-posting from RSS feeds, which are absent in Later. Additionally, SocialPilot supports bulk scheduling for up to 500 posts, surpassing Later’s limit of 300.
Client inclusion in the workflow is a huge asset that SocialPilot provides its users. Inviting and onboarding clients, getting their approvals, feedback, allowing them to connect their own social accounts all of it is doable in SocialPilot with ease.
In the analytics section, SocialPilot provides in-depth insights into multiple social networks and advanced multi-platform custom reporting. For engagement, SocialPilot includes a unified social inbox allowing users to reply to DMs, comments, and reviews, a capability only partially available in Later.
Overall, SocialPilot proves to be a competent tool that takes care of all the requirements imaginable regarding social media marketing. In many aspects, it’s a more holistic tool than Later, providing better value for money.
In the competitive landscape of social media marketing, businesses are increasingly turning to tools like Later which automate their manual and repetitive tasks. While being a reliable tool, it can’t be considered an all-rounder. Later leaves a lot to be desired focusing heavily on Instagram.
While many users might find it the perfect platform for their scheduling and content-creation activities, the lack of team and client collaboration features and white label may make Later unsuitable for some.
Now that we are finished with Later’s review, it puts you in a more informed position to decide whether or not to go for the platform.
Later scheduler helps you visually plan as well as schedule all your social media content in a single place. You can schedule an image, Instagram reel, video, etc. on Later. But, you can get a better tool than Later in order to completely satisfy your social media scheduling needs. SocialPilot is one such tool that you can go for. Its plans for agencies ($100/month) also cost less than Later’s plans for agencies ($200/month).
You can use Later for scheduling posts and publishing them at a set time on channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Examples of what all you can schedule with Later include videos, single images, and carousel posts. Later Instagram scheduler also helps you schedule reels on Later.
Here is the number of posts you can post on Later as per its different plans:
Later allows you to plan and publish social media content in advance. You can also make any necessary tweaks and preview your content before publishing. Apart from this, Later’s analytics feature gives you data to measure your social media content performance on social channels. Later is also a link in bio tool.
Once you create your Later account, sign in, and connect your social profiles to it, you can follow a series of steps to use Later’s scheduling feature. Here are the steps you can follow:
A lot of people have this one question – Is Later free? Or, is it free forever? The truth is, Later does offer a free plan. You can create a free account on Later that will be free forever.
There are many Later alternatives that you can go for that come with their own apps. But one alternative that we recommend that you should choose over Later is SocialPilot. The SocialPilot app helps in automating, scheduling, publishing, monitoring, and analyzing your social media posts.
