Social media scheduling tools for restaurants and pubs compared

The right social media scheduling tool for a restaurant or pub is the one that covers the networks you post to, at a price that fits how many venues and people you have. Meta Business Suite is free for Facebook and Instagram. Buffer, Later, Hootsuite and Sprout Social cover more networks on paid plans. Venuesmith, which we make, writes the posts as well as scheduling them.

#What should a restaurant look for in a scheduling tool?

Start with the networks you post to, then work out how the price grows as you add accounts and people.

A few of these trip people up. Pricing models vary a lot: Buffer charges per channel, Later per "social set" of profiles, and Hootsuite and Sprout Social per user or seat. A tool that looks cheap for one venue and one login can look very different once you add a second site and a manager who needs access, so price your real set-up before comparing anything.

Approvals matter the moment more than one person writes posts. If a site manager drafts and you sign off, check which plan includes an approval step, because it isn't always on the entry-level plan.

Then ask what the tool does for you. A scheduler publishes what you've already written and designed, at the time you choose. That's useful, but if your real problem is finding the time to write the posts at all, a scheduler alone won't fix it. If you run more than one site, our guide to managing social media for multiple venues covers the account and permission set-up that should come first.

#Social media scheduling tools for restaurants compared at a glance

Prices below are as listed on each company's own pricing page when I checked in October 2026. The other paid tools' pages all showed prices in US dollars, so the table uses dollars throughout (Venuesmith's own page shows your local currency), and Later and Hootsuite both say tax is added on top. What you see may differ depending on where you are, and plans change often, so click through before you decide.

#The six tools, one by one

#Meta Business Suite

Meta's own tool for running a Facebook Page and an Instagram account side by side. Meta's product page says you can use it to create or schedule posts, stories and ads, respond to messages and get insights, all across Facebook and Instagram.

The app is listed as free on the App Store (checked October 2026). Any ads or boosts you run through it cost whatever budget you set.

It suits a single venue that only posts to Facebook and Instagram and is happy to write and design every post itself. Because it costs nothing, it's the obvious baseline to compare everything else against.

#Buffer

A scheduler that covers a long list of networks. Buffer's pricing page lists 12 channels, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads and Google Business Profile.

The listed prices (checked October 2026) start with a Free plan for up to 3 channels, with 10 scheduled posts per channel and one user. Essentials is $5 a month per channel, shown as $60 billed yearly per channel. Team is $10 a month per channel billed yearly and adds unlimited team members, access levels and content approval workflows. Paid plans come with a 14-day free trial.

I'd look at Buffer if you post to several networks, Google Business Profile included, and you're happy paying per channel. Count your channels first, since every one you add goes on the bill.

#Later

Later's pricing page says it supports Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. Plans are priced by social set: Starter is 1 social set (8 profiles in total) and 1 user, Growth is 2 social sets and 2 users, and Scale is 6 social sets and 4 users.

When I checked in October 2026, Starter was listed at $18.75 a month, Growth at $37.50 and Scale at $82.50, all billed yearly in US dollars with tax on top. Each plan has a 14-day free trial.

It fits a single venue or a small group that wants several networks under one plan. If each of your venues needs its own set of profiles, check exactly what a social set includes before you choose a tier.

#Hootsuite

Hootsuite's plans page lists Standard, Professional, Advanced and Enterprise. Its publishing page names Instagram (you'll need an Instagram Business account), Facebook Pages, X, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky.

Standard is listed from $99 and Professional from $199 per user a month, billed annually, with Advanced up to $399 and Enterprise priced on request (checked October 2026). Standard includes 10 social accounts; Professional and above are unlimited. The 14-day free trial needs no credit card, though trial accounts have daily posting limits and no bulk scheduling.

Hootsuite is set up for a marketing manager or agency handling a lot of accounts. It's priced per user, so work out how many logins you need before comparing.

#Sprout Social

Sprout Social's pricing page lists Essentials at $79 per seat a month on annual billing, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly, with up to 5 social profiles and profile and post-level reporting. Standard, Professional and Advanced are listed at $199, $299 and $399 per seat a month, and Enterprise is by demo. There's a 30-day free trial with no credit card required (checked October 2026). Its publishing page names Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

I'd put it in front of a group with someone whose job is marketing, who'll make use of the reporting. Like Hootsuite it's per seat, so count logins.

#Venuesmith

This one's ours, so weigh my view accordingly. You describe what's coming up (events, the big matches, a new menu, bank holidays) and it builds an editable content plan of up to six weeks. For each post it writes the caption, picks a photo and a layout from your own templates, adds your branding and schedules it for a good time of day. Every draft is checked against your brand rules by a separate reviewer, and nothing publishes until you approve it.

It publishes to Instagram and Facebook today, and handles multiple locations, each with its own brand voice, logo and accounts. Plans start at £49, €49 or $49 a month for one location (Starter), depending on where you are, with a 14-day free trial. There's more on how it works.

We built it for pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes where the hard part is coming up with and writing the posts in the first place.

#Which scheduling tool suits which kind of venue?

That depends on where your week gets stuck.

If you run one venue and only post to Facebook and Instagram, start with Meta Business Suite. It's free, and a month of using it will tell you whether you need anything more.

If you also post to TikTok, LinkedIn or Google Business Profile and want it all in one calendar, compare the network lists on Buffer, Later and Hootsuite against the accounts you run. Check Google Business Profile support in particular if you keep your profile updated (our Google Business Profile guide explains why it's worth the effort).

If several people write posts and you want to see everything before it goes live, look for an approval step and check which plan it sits on. Buffer's pricing page, for example, puts approval workflows on the Team plan.

If the scheduling's fine and the writing is what never happens, trial a tool that drafts posts for you alongside a plain scheduler, and see which one gets you posting more often.

Whichever you pick, the questions of timing and volume don't go away. Our guides on how often to post on Instagram and the best time to post cover both, and once you're posting regularly, Instagram insights for restaurants shows you which numbers to check each month.