Postiz is one of the few social schedulers that is truly open source. You can run it on your own Docker host for free, or pay for the hosted product from $29 a month with MCP, CLI and API on every plan. So when founders search for Postiz alternatives, the reason is rarely that the calendar broke. It is that the free install turned into a second job, or that five hosted channels and a handful of AI videos are not enough for the week.
This guide walks through Postiz pricing in 2026, what self-hosting really costs in time, and what to test in a managed alternative before you tear down a stack you already run. If you want the side by side right away, read Postlaty vs Postiz.
How Postiz pricing works in 2026
According to Postiz's pricing page (checked 24 October 2026), hosted Standard costs $29 per month for 5 channels with unlimited posts, an AI copilot, 3 AI videos and 60 minutes of AI video clipping. Team costs $39 per month for 10 channels, 100 AI images, 10 AI videos and 120 clipping minutes. Pro costs $49 for 30 channels with 300 images, 30 videos and 300 clipping minutes. Ultimate costs $99 for 100 channels with 500 images, 60 videos and 600 clipping minutes. Yearly billing brings those to about $23, $31, $39 and $79 per month. Every plan includes MCP, CLI, API and webhooks, and starts with a 7-day free trial.
Self-hosting is a separate path. Postiz is AGPL-3.0. You can run it on your own server for $0 in software fees. The docs treat self-host as a secondary option: agent features ship first on the hosted product, and you still need each network's app approvals if you want your own OAuth apps.
$0
Self-host Postiz software fee, plus your server time
$29
Hosted Postiz Standard, per month, 5 channels
$29
Postlaty Starter, per month, 10 channels, managed
What free Docker really costs
A free open-source scheduler is a real advantage when you already run containers for a living. For a founder who just wants posts to go out, the bill shows up as nights spent on updates, storage and broken platform APIs instead of as a Stripe charge.
You own updates, scaling, backups and the database. A quiet week for the product can still be a loud week for the host.
When Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn change an API, the self-host owner is the one who notices the queue stalling and ships the fix.
Media libraries, AI outputs and logs need disk and a plan for growth. Cheap VPS plans fill up faster than the calendar does.
Hosted Postiz exists for the same reason: most people would rather pay $29 than babysit Docker so a Reel goes out at 6 PM.
None of this makes self-host Postiz a bad choice. It means "free" is free of license fees, not free of ops. Count evenings before you compare it to a managed plan.
Step 1: check self-host versus hosted math
Before you look at any Postiz alternative, write down which path you are on and what it actually costs you.
- 1
Are you on Docker or on a hosted plan?
If you self-host, list the VPS bill, the last time you upgraded Postiz, and every evening you spent on a failed publish. If you are hosted, write down Standard, Team, Pro or Ultimate and how many channels you really use.
- 2
How many AI videos do you need in a normal week?
Standard includes 3 AI videos a month. That is less than one new clip a week. If short video is the growth loop, note every other tool you open for clips and what it costs.
- 3
Do you need networks Postiz has and others do not?
Postiz still wins on raw network count (30+, including niches such as Nostr and Hashnode). If those matter, a narrower managed tool may not replace it. If your week is TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn, network count is not the deciding factor.
Add server time (or the hosted plan), the AI video tool and any design subscription. A $0 Docker stack next to three evenings of maintenance and a separate video generator is not a $0 workflow. That total is the number any Postiz alternative has to beat.
What to look for in a Postiz alternative
A good alternative for this problem should remove the server, keep agent access, and put named image and video models next to the calendar on the first paid plan. Here is how Postlaty answers each point, so you have a reference when you compare other tools.
Fully managed, no Docker
Postlaty is SaaS only. Connect accounts, generate, schedule. Updates, model access and publish reliability stay on us. There is no self-host option.
Named models in the AI tab
Generate video with Veo 3.1, Kling and Seedance, and images with Recraft, Flux and Nanobanana. Monthly tokens ship on every plan, then the file goes to your calendar.
More channels at the same start price
Starter is $29 per month for 10 channels, Pro is $39 for 20 and Premium is $49 for 50. Hosted Postiz Standard is also $29, but for 5 channels.
Inbox next to the calendar
Comments, mentions and DMs from connected channels land in one Inbox on every plan, including Starter.
Agents that can post for you
Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok or Cursor over MCP and API. Postiz also ships MCP, CLI and API on every plan, so agent access is a tie. Postlaty adds generation in the same MCP surface before publish.
Templates and UGC, not only a queue
Postiz is strong at planning and shipping posts you already have. Postlaty includes 200+ templates and UGC influencer workflows so you can produce the asset in the same login.
Postlaty publishes to 19 networks, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Discord, Mastodon and Tumblr. The channels page lists each one with its media rules. If one clip to three short video apps is your main job, the guide to scheduling one video to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube shows the exact steps. For a deeper look at packing named models, inbox and agents into one plan, see how an AI marketing team fits in $49 a month.
Step 2: run one week without maintaining a server
The fastest way to know if a managed workflow beats your Postiz setup is to stop touching the host for seven days and still ship new clips. Keep Postiz running for the rest of the calendar while you do it.
- 1
Connect your busiest three or four channels
Pick the accounts that must go out this week. Leave niche networks that only Postiz covers for later.
- 2
Generate three short clips in the AI tab
Turn three ideas you would normally schedule as text or stills into 9:16 videos with Veo, Kling or Seedance.
- 3
Schedule them and answer from the Inbox
Put the clips on Create, set times, and clear comments and DMs from the Inbox instead of opening five native apps.
- 4
Compare ops time and the real bill
At the end of the week, compare reach on the new clips, hours spent on servers or tool hopping, and Postiz plus video tools versus one Postlaty plan.
Three good new clips and zero Docker evenings usually tell you more than a feature matrix. If writing prompts is the bottleneck, connect an assistant over MCP and let it draft ideas, generate clips and put them on the calendar for review.
Test it in a 7-day free trial before you switch
Postlaty has a 7-day free trial, which is exactly one test week. Hosted Postiz also starts with a 7-day free trial, so you can run both without guessing.
Connect your three or four busiest channels first and run the week from Step 2 on them.
Leave your Docker host alone for the trial week on purpose. The point is to feel a week with no container chores.
Ask your assistant to schedule one post over MCP. If that saves time once, it keeps saving it.
Burn a few AI tokens on real clips, not demos, so you can judge named models against Postiz video allowances.
If you decide to move everything, the one afternoon migration plan works the same way from Postiz: export your best posts and media, rebuild two weeks, run both tools side by side for a week, then cancel or power down before renewal.
When Postiz is still the right call
Stay on Postiz if you want to own the data on your metal, already run Docker comfortably, or must post to niche networks Postlaty does not support (Nostr, Hashnode, Google Business Profile). Hosted Postiz can also win when five channels and a small AI video allowance are enough, and you like its clipping minutes and plugs. Postlaty fits founders who want named AI video, templates, inbox and MCP in one managed login, without a server to babysit.
Read the full Postlaty vs Postiz comparison, check pricing, or see how agents fit in on the agents page before you start your 7-day free trial.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Hosted Postiz Standard is $29 per month for 5 channels with unlimited posts, an AI copilot, 3 AI videos and 60 minutes of AI video clipping. Team is $39 for 10 channels, Pro is $49 for 30 and Ultimate is $99 for 100. Yearly billing is about $23, $31, $39 and $79 per month. Every plan includes MCP, CLI, API and webhooks, and starts with a 7-day free trial. Self-hosted Postiz can run for $0 plus your server bill.
Yes. Postiz is open source under AGPL-3.0 and can run on your own Docker host. The hosted product is where agent features ship first. Self-hosting means you handle updates, scaling, storage and each network API when it breaks.
Usually because the free Docker install turned into evenings of maintenance, or because hosted Standard at $29 only covers 5 channels and a handful of AI videos. Founders who want named video models, templates and a managed inbox without running a server look for a managed Postiz alternative.
Postlaty Starter is $29 per month for 10 channels, Pro is $39 for 20 and Premium is $49 for 50. Every plan includes the Inbox, AI image and video generation with monthly tokens, and agent access over MCP and API. There is no self-host option. Postlaty is fully managed.
Hosted Postiz includes an AI copilot and a monthly video allowance (3 clips on Standard, more on higher plans) plus AI video clipping minutes. Postlaty generates with named models such as Veo 3.1, Kling and Seedance in the AI tab, then schedules the file. Postlaty does not sell a separate clipping minutes pack.
Yes. Postlaty has a 7-day free trial. Hosted Postiz also starts with a 7-day free trial on every plan.
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