7 categories · RankedBuffer
Buffer is a social media management platform for individuals, creators, and small businesses · buffer.com ↗
Gane, the publisher, sells software in AI marketing agents and Content marketing, where this product is measured. It is measured there by the same method as every other product. How the conflict is handled.
Leads at small business. Ranked 66 of 66 for enterprise buyers.
The standing depends on who is buying. Every model is asked the same questions for each company size.
Ranked first. Next is Zoho Social at 21%.
Sprout Social is first at 47%. 0 of 14 models made it the first choice when asked directly.
Oktopost is first at 27%.
Why models recommend it
“Buffer – Best for small budgets, offering a free plan for up to 3 social media profiles and paid plans starting at just $6 per month per channel.”Mistral Small · Budget-constrained question · first choice
“For most small to medium-sized businesses, Buffer, Agorapulse, or SocialPilot tend to have more consistent user satisfaction records”Qwen 3.7 Flash · Negative question · first choice
“Start with Industry Leaders: Platforms like Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Later, and Meta Business Suite have established reputations”MiniMax M2.5 · Negative question · first choice
“Best Overall Low-Cost Option: Buffer ... widely considered the top choice for startups, solo creators, and small businesses”Qwen 3.7 Flash · Budget-constrained question · first choice
What gives them pause
“Has received negative reviews regarding security and billing practices, including unauthorized charges after account cancellation.”Mistral Small · Negative question · warning
“Avoid or be cautious about: Buffer (due to its 2013 breach history and Meta account issues)”GLM 4.7 FlashX · Negative question · warning
“Frequently grouped with Hootsuite in safety discussions... poor reviews on platforms like Trustpilot for Buffer, Hootsuite, and Metricool”Muse Glimmer 30B · Negative question · warning
“lean toward mid-market/enterprise-leaning tools rather than solo/small-business options like basic Buffer”Grok 4.20 · Scale-constrained question · warning
Also on the shortlist
The products named in the same answers as Buffer, over the 235 answers that named it, and how often each was the first choice instead.
| Product | Named together | Picked instead | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 135 | 5 | Compare → | |
| 122 | 20 | Compare → | |
| 75 | 0 | View → | |
| 69 | 15 | Compare → | |
| 64 | 2 | Compare → | |
| 62 | 2 | View → | |
| 53 | 1 | View → | |
| 40 | 1 | View → | |
| 31 | 5 | View → | |
| 28 | 5 | View → |
What the models named instead of Buffer →
A side-by-side page exists where both products are among a category's top eight.
At a glance
Stated on Buffer's own site, not checked by Gane.
- For
- individuals, creators, and small businesses
- Price stated
- Try our forever free plan or upgrade for more.
- Starting price
- 5
- Free plan or trial
- forever free plan
- Customers named
- Sapphire Social, Audio in the Trees
How this is measured
Fourteen AI models from 12 labs are asked the same buying questions six ways, for three company sizes. Standings refresh every edition.
Gane sells AI visibility software. No company can pay to change a result.
Read the method →Sources returned with these answers
Fourteen of the fourteen models returned a source list in this edition: five return the pages they cited and nine the search results they consulted. These counts come from 202 of the 235 answers that named Buffer and are not a share of its labels.
Domains cited
384 of the 484 domain citations in answers naming Buffer came from a third party's page.
Pages cited
Pages are listed as the models cited them.
By model
| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Grok 4.20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Mistral Small | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kimi K2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
What it publishes
| Kind | Pages | Last 90 days | 2025-10 to 2026-09 | Latest | Categories named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blog | 2,314 | 98 | 2026-09-29 | ||
| Report or ebook | 79 | 19 | 2026-09-29 | ||
| Case study | 37 | 16 | 2026-09-24 | ||
| Comparison | 24 | 13 | 2026-09-29 | ||
| Podcast or video | 17 | 3 | 2026-09-29 | ||
| Conference or event | 13 | 1 | 2026-09-29 | ||
| Glossary or explainer | 7 | 1 | 2026-09-29 | ||
| News or press | 6 | 0 | 2026-03-10 | ||
| Template or tool | 3 | 2 | 2026-09-29 | ||
| Webinar or virtual event | 1 | undated |
Most recent
- 2026-09-29All posts - Buffer Blog blog
- 2026-09-29Creator - Buffer Blog Posts blog
- 2026-09-29Flow - Buffer Blog Posts blog
- 2026-09-29Social Media Marketing - Buffer Blog Posts blog
- 2026-09-29Tools - Buffer Blog Posts blog
- 2026-09-2913+ Free Social Media Calendar Templates to Help You Plan Your Content blog
How it is countedHide how it is counted
Every page buffer.com exposes, subdomains included. Kind is read from the address and title. The last 90 days, the latest date and the twelve months count pages by when they were published, from the site's feeds, a date in the address, or the page's own publication date, read from up to a hundred of its most recently changed pages; a page that says only when it last changed is counted in its kind but not in when, so the recent counts are a floor, and a kind none of whose pages gives a publication date reads undated. An event counts as online when its address or title says so (webinar, on demand, virtual or online summit); a conference, summit, trade show, expo or roadshow that does not say so is counted as a conference or event, which on a vendor's site is mostly in person. Read September 29, 2026.