Quick answer
Yes — PostDock is a one-time-purchase alternative to Buffer. It costs $129 once, while Buffer runs $6/channel/mo — about $360 per year, every year. Self-hosted social scheduling — composer, queue, content recycling & webhooks. Your API keys, your data. It is for people who want the job done on their own hardware without a renewal date — not for teams that live inside Buffer's ecosystem.
The verdict
Switch to PostDock if you are an individual or small team paying Buffer $6/channel/mo for work your own machine can do. A five-channel Buffer setup pays for PostDock in about 4 months — even a single channel breaks even in under two years.
Stay with Buffer if your workflow depends on its integrations, you need enterprise features (SSO, admin controls, SLAs), or your team is large enough that per-seat collaboration tooling is worth the bill. PostDock does not try to replicate those.
Head to head
| 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 |
| 5-year cost | $129 | $1,800 |
Where Buffer still wins
- Ecosystem and integrations. Established tools accumulate years of third-party integrations, templates and add-ons. If your workflow is wired into Buffer's ecosystem, switching means rebuilding that plumbing — a real cost.
- Team and enterprise features. Shared workspaces, granular permissions, SSO, audit logs and a vendor to call when something breaks — that is what the higher subscription tiers actually buy, and a pay-once app does not come with it.
- Familiarity and hiring. Buffer is the name people already know. Onboarding a team onto a tool nobody has used before takes time the subscription never charges for.
Where PostDock wins
- Price, permanently. $129 once versus $360/yr for as long as you use it. There is no renewal, no seat count and no tier gate.
- 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.
The math
A five-channel Buffer setup pays for PostDock in about 4 months — even a single channel breaks even in under two years.
- After 1 year: PostDock has cost you $129 total — Buffer has cost $360.
- After 3 years: PostDock is still $129 — the subscription is at $1,080.
- After 5 years: PostDock is still $129 — the subscription is at $1,800.
Common 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.
Try PostDock — $129, one time
Or get PostDock plus every other app in the suite: the OneTimeSuite bundle is currently $97, one time.