Why tool plans cannot be compared on price
Short answer. Because the price is charged for different things. One tool charges for a connected channel, another for a person on the team, a third for a brand, a fourth for a workspace. Until you have established what exactly the money is being charged for, a figure in rubles or dollars means nothing.
*Checked 28 July 2026. Every statement is backed by a link to a vendor's page.*
What the money is charged for: eight different answers
| Tool | Billing unit |
|---|---|
| Buffer | per channel |
| Hootsuite | per user (seat) |
| Agorapulse, Sprout Social | per user per month |
| Metricool | per brand |
| Later | per "social set" and per user |
| Planable | per workspace, users unlimited |
| SocialPilot, Onlypult | a flat rate per plan |
| LiveDune | per plan, but the price changes in proportion to the number of accounts |
From which a simple rule follows: count your own units first, then look at the price. Five people on the team and one account is one picture; one person and twenty accounts is quite another.
How many accounts a plan includes
The numbers diverge sharply, and this matters more often than the price itself:
- SocialPilot: Essentials 5, Standard 10, Premium 20, Ultimate 40. source
- Onlypult: Start 5 accounts and 2 users, SMM 10/3, Agency 25/10, Pro 50/20. source
- Sendible: Core 1 workspace and 6 profiles, Plus 3/18, Premium 7/42, Elite 15/90, Enterprise 50/300. source
- Iconosquare: 5 profiles in each of the three plans; only the number of users changes. source
- Agorapulse: 10 profiles in all three paid plans. source
The last two cases are telling: moving to a more expensive plan does not give you more accounts — it gives you people and capabilities.
Tax: with three tools out of six the price is not final
- SocialBee: "Prices … do not include VAT, GST, or any other additional taxes". source
- Publer: "MwSt. nicht enthalten" — tax not included. source
- DeepL: "VAT is included in the price" — included. source
- VEED: prices are shown with tax included ("incl. tax"). source
- Descript, Grammarly: not stated on the page.
A separate case: you are not paying the tool
At WhatsApp, since 1 July 2025 billing has been charged per message, and the charge is applied only on delivery of a template message. source
LINE is arranged along similar lines: broadcast rates depend on the country, and the price is set by the platform. Which means an intermediary tool cannot be cheaper than the platform — its fee is added on top. source
How to count honestly
- Count your own units: accounts, people, brands, workspaces.
- Find the tool's billing unit — it is in the table above.
- Check whether tax is included in the price shown.
- If you work with messengers, add the platform's charge for messages.
See also: scheduler comparison · platform limits · catalogue index