Best Free Social Media Schedulers With No Credit Card Required (2026): Free Plans and Trials Compared

October 30, 2026 11 min readfree social media schedulerno credit cardTikTok schedulingYouTube scheduling

Last updated: October 2026

Most free social media schedulers ask for a credit card before you can see a single feature. Others hide their real limits behind a “free forever” badge until you try to connect a second account. This article covers both queries at once: which free schedulers require no credit card, and which of those actually support TikTok and YouTube. It separates permanent free plans from time-limited trials, states exactly what each one restricts, and helps you decide before you commit to anything.

Quick verdict: If you want a permanent free tier with no expiry, Buffer is the most established all-round option for up to three channels. If you want to evaluate a full multi-network scheduler across 14 networks including TikTok and YouTube, iHatePosting’s 90-day trial gives you everything with no card required — but it is a trial, not a permanent free plan. Each comes with real trade-offs, covered below.

iHatePosting schedules to TikTok and YouTube (including Shorts) from one composer, with a 90-day full-featured trial and no credit card.

Tool Comparison at a Glance

Tool	TikTok	YouTube (incl. Shorts)	Free offer and key limit	Card needed?
Buffer	Yes (can be one of 3 free channels)	Yes (Shorts supported)	Free forever; 3 channels, 10 queued posts/channel, 1 user	No
Metricool	Check site	Check site	Free forever; 1 brand, 20 posts/month, 30-day analytics	No
Publer	Check site	Check site	Free forever; 3 accounts (X excluded), 10 queued posts/account	No
Zoho Social	Check site	Check site	Free edition exists; TikTok/YouTube access on free unverified	Check site
Pallyy	Yes (schedules to TikTok)	Yes (schedules to YouTube)	Start free with one brand; free-plan limits unverified	Check site
Postiz	Check site	Check site	Free if self-hosted (AGPL-3.0); cloud from $29/month	No (self-hosted)
iHatePosting	Yes	Yes (Shorts supported)	90-day full-featured trial; no limits on accounts or posts	No

Network support and free-tier inclusions change. For any cell marked “check site,” verify directly with the provider before setting up.

Permanent Free Plans vs. Time-Limited Trials

Tool	Plan type	Duration	Key post limit	Card required?
Buffer	Permanent free	No expiry	10 queued posts/channel	No
Metricool	Permanent free	No expiry	20 posts/month	No
Publer	Permanent free	No expiry	10 queued posts/account	No
Zoho Social	Permanent free	No expiry	Check site	Check site
Pallyy	Permanent free	No expiry	Check site	Check site
Postiz	Permanent free (self-hosted)	No expiry	No limit (self-hosted)	No (self-hosted)
iHatePosting	Time-limited trial	90 days	No limit during trial	No

That distinction matters because a permanent free plan suits a solo creator who accepts fixed limits indefinitely. A generous trial suits someone evaluating a tool before paying, or running a specific short-term project.

Buffer

Best for: Solo creators who post to three or fewer networks and want a no-pressure permanent option.

Buffer’s free tier is one of the most straightforward in this category. You connect up to three channels, queue up to 10 posts per channel at a time, and operate as a single user. The queue refills as posts publish, so the 10-post cap is a queue depth, not a monthly ceiling. No credit card is required, and the plan does not expire.

TikTok can be one of your three free channels. YouTube Shorts scheduling is also supported. If TikTok and YouTube are two of your three chosen channels, Buffer’s free plan covers both — the constraint is simply that you have one channel slot left for everything else.

The practical limit is that channel count. If you post to Instagram, LinkedIn, and X, you are at capacity before TikTok or YouTube enters the picture. Buffer’s paid tiers are structured per channel: Essentials is $5 per channel per month billed yearly; Team is $10 per channel per month billed yearly and adds unlimited team members and approval workflows.

Practical rule: Buffer’s free plan is the best all-round permanent free option for three channels — but plan your channel slots carefully if TikTok or YouTube are priorities.

Metricool

Best for: Creators managing a single brand who want analytics alongside scheduling.

Metricool’s free tier allows one brand, up to 20 posts per month through its planner, and 30 days of analytics history. Exports at the free level carry a watermark. The plan never expires and requires no card to start.

The 20-post monthly cap is the binding constraint for most users — roughly five posts per week across all connected accounts within that one brand. If you post daily across two or three networks, you will hit the ceiling quickly.

Metricool lists YouTube among its supported networks. Free-plan access to TikTok and YouTube is unverified — check site before building a workflow around either. Per Post Bridge’s comparison, the free plan also has no LinkedIn or X, which is worth knowing if either network is part of your mix.

Publer

Best for: Solo creators who want a permanent free option and do not post to X.

Publer’s free plan covers up to three social accounts and queues up to 10 scheduled posts per account. One notable restriction: X is excluded from the free tier. If X is part of your workflow, you need a paid Publer plan, which starts at around $5 per month.

Free-plan access to TikTok and YouTube is unverified — check site directly before assuming either network is available at no cost.

Best for: Teams already inside the Zoho ecosystem who want to consolidate tools.

Zoho Social’s paid plans support a broad network list — up to 13–14 channels including YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky. Zoho has announced TikTok publishing and YouTube Shorts support, though TikTok is not available to users in India. The entry paid plan lists six channels without TikTok or YouTube.

A free edition exists per Zoho’s site, but its TikTok and YouTube access is unverified. Whether a credit card is required to start also needs direct confirmation. If Zoho Social is on your shortlist, check the current free-plan terms before assuming TikTok or YouTube are included.

Pallyy

Best for: Creators who want a visual scheduling interface and need TikTok and YouTube in the mix.

Pallyy schedules to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, YouTube, X, Threads, and Bluesky. You can start free with one brand. The specific limits on the free plan — post counts, analytics access, user seats — are unverified; check site for current terms, including whether a card is required.

That said, Pallyy is one of the few tools in this comparison where TikTok and YouTube scheduling is confirmed at the product level. Whether those networks are accessible on the free tier specifically is the open question.

Postiz

Best for: Developers or technically comfortable users who want a self-hosted, open-source option with no ongoing SaaS fees.

Postiz is open-source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Self-hosting it is free, with no post limits and no expiry. The cost is your hosting infrastructure and the time to configure and maintain it. The cloud-hosted version is a paid product starting at $29 per month.

On network coverage, Postiz supports more networks than iHatePosting’s current 14. If maximum network breadth is your primary requirement and you are comfortable managing your own infrastructure, Postiz is worth evaluating. Free-plan TikTok and YouTube access on the self-hosted version should be verified against current documentation.

iHatePosting: 90-Day Full-Featured Trial

Best for: Creators and small teams who want to properly evaluate a multi-network scheduler — including TikTok and YouTube — before paying, without artificial feature restrictions during the trial.

iHatePosting is not a permanent free plan. The tool will require a paid plan after the 90-day trial ends. Paid plans are coming soon, and pricing has not yet been published.

What the trial gives you is access to everything — no limits on connected accounts or scheduled posts — for 90 days, with no credit card required. The 14 supported networks are: Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, Telegram, Discord, Tumblr, and Slack. You can connect all 14 simultaneously during the trial. YouTube Shorts are supported.

Features available during the trial:

Visual content calendar
Per-platform caption tailoring with character counters and live previews
Hashtag groups
Bulk CSV import of up to 500 posts
12-month analytics with CSV export and best-time recommendations
Campaign organization
Automation via API, MCP server, webhooks, Zapier, Make, and n8n
Approval workflows

What iHatePosting does not offer: AI content generation, evergreen post recycling, a unified social inbox. If any of those are requirements for your operation, evaluate tools that explicitly include them.

The 90-day window is long enough to run a real publishing workflow, test the analytics, and make an informed decision about the paid plan before it is required.

A Note on Native Schedulers and Trial-Only Tools

Meta Business Suite, TikTok’s native scheduler, and YouTube Studio are all free — but each covers only its own platform. If your content strategy spans more than one network, you need a separate tool regardless.

Later and Hootsuite show 14-day trials rather than permanent free plans. That is a meaningful difference if you need more than two weeks to evaluate a tool properly.

Which to Pick

The right answer depends on what you are actually trying to accomplish.

You post to three or fewer networks and want a permanent free option. Buffer is the most established choice. Publer is a close alternative, with the caveat that X is excluded from its free tier.

TikTok and YouTube are core to your workflow and you want a permanent free plan. Buffer supports both within its three free channels — plan those slots accordingly. For other permanent free options, verify TikTok and YouTube access directly with each provider before committing setup time.

You manage a single brand and analytics matter to you. Metricool’s free plan gives you 30 days of history and basic scheduling at no cost, permanently. The 20-post monthly cap is the constraint to watch, and LinkedIn and X are not included on the free tier.

You are technically comfortable and want no SaaS fees long-term. Postiz’s self-hosted option is the most cost-efficient path if you can manage the infrastructure.

You want to evaluate a full multi-network scheduler — including TikTok and YouTube — before paying. iHatePosting’s 90-day trial gives you the most complete picture of what a paid scheduling workflow looks like across 14 networks, no card required, no feature restrictions during the trial. The trade-off is that it is time-limited.

Practical rule: Match the tool to the constraint that will actually bind you. A permanent free plan that caps you at three channels is worse than a 90-day trial if you manage six networks — and vice versa if you only ever post to two.

For broader context on paid options, see the Best Social Media Management Tools roundup and the Buffer comparison pages.

FAQs

Buffer, Metricool, Publer, and iHatePosting all let you start without a credit card. Postiz’s self-hosted version also requires no card. For Zoho Social and Pallyy, check current sign-up terms directly — card requirements on free tiers can change. Later and Hootsuite offer trials rather than permanent free plans, and their current card requirements should be verified at sign-up.

What is the difference between a free plan and a free trial?

A free plan is permanent — fixed limits, no expiry. A free trial gives you full or expanded access for a set period, after which a paid plan is required to continue. Buffer, Metricool, and Publer offer permanent free plans. iHatePosting offers a 90-day trial with no feature restrictions and no credit card required.

Does iHatePosting have a permanent free plan?

No. iHatePosting’s free access is a 90-day trial. After the trial, a paid plan will be required. Paid plans are coming soon and pricing has not yet been published. Check ihateposting.com for current information.

Which free schedulers support TikTok and YouTube?

iHatePosting explicitly supports both TikTok and YouTube (including Shorts) within its 90-day trial. Buffer supports TikTok as one of its three free channels, with YouTube Shorts also supported. Pallyy schedules to both networks at the product level, though free-plan access is unverified. For Metricool, Publer, Zoho Social, and Postiz, check each provider’s current documentation — free-tier network support varies and changes over time.

Can I schedule YouTube Shorts specifically, not just standard YouTube videos?

Buffer and iHatePosting both explicitly support YouTube Shorts scheduling. For other tools in this comparison, check current documentation — Shorts support is distinct from general YouTube scheduling and not all tools handle both.

Can I schedule to more than three networks on a free plan?

Buffer and Publer cap their free tiers at three channels or accounts. Metricool’s free tier covers one brand with multiple connected networks within it, subject to the 20-post monthly cap. iHatePosting’s trial supports up to 14 networks simultaneously with no account limits. Pallyy and Zoho Social free-plan limits are unverified — check site for current terms.

Is Metricool’s free plan actually unlimited in duration?

Yes. Metricool’s free plan does not expire. The binding limits are one brand, 20 posts per month through the planner, and 30 days of analytics history with a watermark on exports. Per Post Bridge’s comparison, LinkedIn and X are not included on the free plan. Those limits are fixed unless you upgrade.