Buffer charges $6 per channel per month, forever — five channels is $360 a year, every year. PostDock is the same core workflow — compose, preview, schedule, queue, recycle — running on your machine or your $5 VPS, with your own API keys. Nobody can raise the price on you, throttle your channels, or hold your posting history hostage.
This is the full pricing breakdown: what Buffer actually costs over one, two and three years, what PostDock gives you for $129 paid once, and the honest cases where the subscription is still the right call.
What Buffer actually costs you
Buffer prices per channel — $6/channel/mo — so the subscription grows with every channel you add. The comparison below uses the catalog's annual figure of $360, which works out to roughly 5 channels at that rate; the per-channel table underneath shows how the bill scales either way.
| PostDock | Buffer | |
|---|---|---|
| Sticker price | $129 once | $6/channel/mo |
| Cost after 1 year | $129 | $360 |
| Cost after 2 years | $129 | $720 |
| Cost after 3 years | $129 | $1,080 |
Buffer bills per channel, so the total scales with headcount:
| Buffer channels | Per year | Over 3 years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 channel | $72 | $216 |
| 5 channels | $360 | $1,080 |
| 10 channels | $720 | $2,160 |
Three years in, the gap is $951 — and every year after that adds another $360 to the subscription side of the ledger.
PostDock vs Buffer, feature by feature
Price is only half the story — here's how the two line up on the things that decide day-to-day use:
| PostDock | Buffer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129 once | $6/channel/month, forever |
| 5 channels, 3 years | $129 | $1,080 |
| Channel limit | Unlimited | Pay per channel |
| Scheduled posts | Unlimited | Capped on cheap tiers |
| Your API keys & data | SQLite on your disk | Their cloud |
| Content recycling | Built in | That's ReQueue/SmarterQueue — another $25/mo |
| Webhook / Zapier escape hatch | Built in | Paid add-ons |
| Source code | MIT, yours forever | Closed |
What you get for $129, once
Self-hosted social scheduling — composer, queue, content recycling & webhooks. Your API keys, your data. The highlights:
- 🔌 5 pluggable channels — X/Twitter, Facebook Page + Instagram Business, LinkedIn, Mastodon — all with your own API keys, every credential on your box.
- 🪝 Webhook escape hatch — POSTs the content JSON to Zapier, Make, n8n or your own endpoint with optional HMAC-SHA256 signing — your route to every other network.
- ✍️ Composer with live previews — Text + up to 4 images, per-network character counters (280/500/2200/3000) and preview cards per channel.
- 🕑 Timezone-aware scheduling — Pick any IANA timezone; DST handled correctly. Post now or schedule.
A five-channel Buffer setup pays for PostDock in about 4 months — even a single channel breaks even in under two years.
Switching is 3 steps
- Buy once on Whop. One-time $129 for the packaged Windows installer — no terminal, no build step, updates included.
- Connect your channels. Every driver has a step-by-step guide inside the app. Mastodon and webhooks take 2 minutes; X about 10; LinkedIn 15; Facebook + Instagram around 20.
- Compose, schedule, recycle. Per-network previews and counters, a timezone-aware queue, and evergreen recycling that keeps your best content circulating.
When paying Buffer is still the right call
Being straight about it: the subscription earns its keep in three situations. If your team is large enough that Buffer's collaboration features, permissions and admin controls are genuinely load-bearing; if your workflow is built on its integrations and leaving means rebuilding that plumbing; or if you have enterprise requirements — SSO, audit logs, SLAs, a vendor to call — that a pay-once app doesn't come with. Everyone else is paying $6/channel/mo for a job that runs fine on hardware they already own.
If that's you, PostDock is $129, once. For the deeper dive, read the PostDock vs Buffer head-to-head or the full Buffer comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — the full source is MIT at github.com/bensblueprints/social-scheduler-mvp. $129 buys the signed installer, 1-click setup and updates — pure convenience, zero lock-in.
Do I need my own API keys?
Yes — that's the point. Bring-your-own-keys means every credential stays on your box and nobody can throttle or re-price your channels. In-app guides walk you through each network: Mastodon and webhooks in 2 minutes, Meta in about 20.
Does Instagram work from a desktop?
Instagram publishing needs a public URL because Meta's API downloads your images from it — so IG requires the $5 VPS mode with PUBLIC_BASE_URL set. Every other channel works fine from a desktop behind NAT.
What about TikTok, Pinterest or Threads?
No native drivers yet — honestly. The webhook driver plus Zapier/Make/n8n covers them today, and drivers are pluggable (one file in server/channels/) if you build from source.
Is this a subscription in disguise?
No. $129 once. No renewal, no license server phoning home, no per-channel meter. The app keeps working forever, even offline.
More on Buffer pricing
PostDock — product page, demo & full feature list · All OneTimeSuite pricing breakdowns
Try PostDock — $129, once
Self-hosted social scheduling — composer, queue, content recycling & webhooks. Your API keys, your data.