Blaze vs Buffer (2026): Prices, Free Plans and Features Compared

Updated November 6, 2026. Prices are from each tool's own pricing page on that date.

Blaze or Buffer? Pick Buffer if you already make your own posts and want the cheapest way to schedule them: it has a free plan for 3 channels and paid plans from $5 a month per channel billed yearly ($6 billed monthly). Pick Blaze if you want the posts written and designed for you too: it makes posts, carousels and short videos in your brand and schedules them, from $79 a month with a 7-day free trial.

Blaze's home screen for a bakery on day one, with its first post drafted, next to Buffer's scheduling page at buffer.com/publish — Left: Blaze on day one for Little Ember, a made-up bakery. Right: Buffer's own product page, buffer.com/publish, captured November 8, 2026.

Blaze vs Buffer at a glance

Bar chart of monthly prices in US dollars: Blaze Starter $79 compared with Buffer Essentials for 3 channels at $18 billed monthly or $15 billed yearly, and Buffer Free at $0 — Monthly prices from each tool's own pricing page, checked November 6, 2026.

	Blaze	Buffer
Starting price	Starter $79 a month (3 posting accounts, 1 user); Growth $149 a month (10 accounts, unlimited users)	Essentials $6 a month per channel ($5 billed yearly), 1 user; Team $12 per channel ($10 billed yearly), unlimited users
Free plan or trial	No free plan; 7-day trial, no credit card	Free plan for 3 channels; 14-day trial of paid plans
Networks	Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Google Business Profile	Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Google Business Profile, Mastodon
AI help	Writes and designs posts, carousels and short videos in your brand	AI Assistant writes and rewrites captions; no AI image maker found on its site
Approvals	Growth plan	Team plan
Works with Claude and ChatGPT	Yes: Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor	Yes, MCP server on every plan, including Free

The main difference

Buffer is a scheduler: you bring the post, Buffer publishes it. Blaze is a scheduler that also makes the post. If you already have a designer or enjoy making posts, Buffer costs less. If finding the time to make posts is the problem, Blaze does that part.

When to pick Buffer

You post to Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky or Mastodon. Blaze doesn't.
You want a free plan. Buffer's covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each at a time.
You have only a few accounts. At $5 or $6 a channel, 3 channels cost $15 to $18 a month.
You want a comment inbox and a link-in-bio page (Start Page), both on every Buffer plan.

When to pick Blaze

Pick Blaze if you want the posts made as well as scheduled. It writes and designs posts, carousels and short videos in your brand, puts them on one calendar, and publishes them to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Google Business Profile. Autopilot can make a week's batch for you to review before anything goes out.

Blaze home screen for a bakery on its first day, with the first post and a new page waiting for approval — Day one: Blaze has read the website, drafted the first post, and lists what needs your OK. Shown with Little Ember, a made-up bakery.

Price: Starter $79 a month for 3 posting accounts and 600 credits; Growth $149 a month for 10 accounts, 1,500 credits, unlimited users and approvals. A post costs 1 credit.
Trial: 7 days, no credit card. There is no free plan.
From an AI assistant: the Blaze MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor make and schedule posts in Blaze, saved as drafts first.
Limits: no Pinterest, Threads or Bluesky posting, TikTok is video only, and YouTube is Shorts only.

Blaze offering three post looks made from a bakery's own photos and colors — Three looks made from your own photos and colors. Blaze starts every post from the one you pick.

Blaze listing the writing rules it found on a bakery's website, such as short sentences and exact times — How you write, read from your website. Every draft is checked against these rules.

What each costs for 3 accounts

Buffer Essentials: $18 a month billed monthly, or $15 a month billed yearly. Blaze Starter: $79 a month, with the posts made for you. For 10 accounts: Buffer Essentials is $60 a month billed monthly ($50 yearly); Blaze Growth is $149 a month.

Questions people ask

Is Blaze cheaper than Buffer?

No. Buffer starts at $5 to $6 a month per channel and has a free plan. Blaze starts at $79 a month, but it makes the posts as well as scheduling them.

Does Buffer make posts with AI?

Its AI Assistant writes and rewrites captions. We found no AI image or video maker on Buffer's site.

Do Blaze and Buffer work with Claude and ChatGPT?

Yes. Both have an MCP server; Buffer includes it on every plan, even Free. Blaze's can also make the images, carousels and videos.

For more tools side by side, see the 9 social media schedulers compared on price, or how Blaze schedules your posts.

Blaze vs Buffer: Which Social Media Tool Is Right for You? (2026)