Later vs Metricool in 2026: Visual commerce planning vs agency reporting
Later keeps visual planning, creator content, product tagging, and Link in Bio close to publishing. Metricool puts the calendar beside multi-brand analytics, competitor tracking, paid-social dashboards, and client-ready reports.
Later
Metricool- Later Growth includes two users, two social sets, approvals, a social inbox, unlimited scheduled posts, UGC collection, product tagging, and up to one year of analytics for $37.50 per month on annual billing.
- Metricool Starter begins at $20 per month for up to ten brands, unlimited publishing, unlimited analytics history, PDF and PPT reports, and up to 100 competitors.
- Metricool Advanced starts at $53 per month and adds team and client management, post approvals, white label, customizable report templates, API access, and Looker Studio.
- Later publishes three months of analytics history on Starter, up to one year on Growth, and up to two years on Scale.
- Later Growth and Scale include Instagram product tagging and UGC collection, while Metricool focuses its reviewed profile on planning, analytics, competitors, reporting, and paid-social dashboards.
- Metricool Free manages one brand, schedules 20 posts each month, tracks five competitors, and includes 30 days of analytics; Later publishes a 14-day no-card trial.
- Later does not publish a public API entitlement, while Metricool lists API access through Zapier and Make on Advanced.
Later and Metricool both schedule social content, provide analytics, and offer a paid route beyond a solo queue. The practical choice is not about which calendar looks nicer. Later Growth costs $37.50 per month on annual billing for two users, two social sets, approvals, inbox access, unlimited posts, UGC collection, product tagging, and up to one year of analytics. It is built for a visual content team, particularly one using Instagram as a commerce or creator channel. Metricool starts at $20 per month for up to ten brands on Starter, with unlimited publishing, PDF and PPT reports, unlimited analytics history, and up to 100 competitors. Advanced begins at $53 and adds approvals, client roles, white label, API access, and Looker Studio. Choose Later when the bottleneck is producing better visual social content and connecting it to a destination. Choose Metricool when each social calendar has to produce a defensible performance report for several brands or clients.
The tools at a glance
Later
Visual social planning, commerce publishing, creator content, analytics, and link-in-bio pages for small teams
Later is for a team that sees social content as a visual product, not just a list of dates. Its Visual Planner lets users arrange media and text posts before publishing to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. The same product includes a media library, Link in Bio, creator-campaign tools, and UGC collection. That combination is useful when a social post needs to look right, link to the right place, and fit an Instagram-led commerce routine.
Growth is the meaningful comparison tier. It includes two users, 16 profiles across two social sets, unlimited scheduled posts, internal and external collaboration and approvals, a social inbox, multi-profile scheduling, Best Times to Post, product tagging, UGC collection, and up to one year of analytics. Scale raises the allowance to five users, four social sets, 32 profiles, custom roles and permissions, and up to two years of history. Starter is credible for one operator, but its 30 scheduled posts per profile each month and three-month history make it a narrower plan.
Later is not documented as a reporting and client-delivery suite. Its profile does not establish PDF or PowerPoint reporting, white-label delivery, Looker Studio, competitor limits, paid-social dashboards, or a public API entitlement. That is not a flaw for a brand whose work is visual publishing. It is a reason not to choose Later for an agency whose client relationship depends on branded reports and a cross-brand measurement process.
| Feature | Starter $18.75/mo billed yearly | Growth $37.50/mo billed yearly | Scale $82.50/mo billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social sets / profiles | 1 / 8 | 2 / 16 | 4 / 32 |
| Users | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Scheduled posts | 30 per profile/month | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Analytics history | 3 months | Up to 1 year | Up to 2 years |
| Collaboration and approvals | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Social inbox | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Product tagging and UGC | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
Metricool
Multi-brand social planning, analytics, competitor tracking, paid-social reporting, and white-label delivery for agencies
Metricool starts from a wider reporting job than Later. It combines planning and approvals with analytics, competitor profiles, ad reporting, campaign dashboards, SmartLinks, and report generation. Free covers one brand, 20 scheduled posts a month, five competitors, and 30 days of analytics. Starter begins at $20 monthly for up to ten brands, adds unlimited publishing and analytics history, up to 100 competitors, PDF and PPT reports, Flows, plus Google Drive and Canva integration.
Advanced is where the product becomes an agency operating system. From $53 monthly for 15 brands, it adds team and client management, role management, post approvals, white label, customizable report templates, Looker Studio, and API access through Zapier and Make. That is a practical grouping for a consultant who needs one subscription to hold a client calendar, compare competitors, report on organic and paid social activity, and hand the work back under an agency brand.
Metricool does not have Later’s commerce-specific point of view. The reviewed profile does not establish a Visual Planner, creator-campaign product, Instagram product tagging, or UGC collection comparable to Later. Its Free plan also excludes LinkedIn and X connections, Starter pricing changes with brand count, and Advanced analytics and X access are separate additions on Starter. Select it for measurement and delivery breadth, not because it will make a visual content workflow more inspiring.
| Feature | Free $0/mo | Starter From $20/mo | Advanced From $53/mo | Custom Contact sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brands | 1 | Up to 10 | Up to 50 | Custom |
| Scheduled posts | 20/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Competitors | 5 | Up to 100 | Included | Included |
| PDF and PPT reports | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team and client management | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| White label | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| API and Looker Studio | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Later | Metricool |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Visual content and commerce publishing | Multi-brand reporting and social operations |
| Published entry price | $18.75/month billed yearly | Free, then Starter from $20/month |
| Account model | 1 to 4 social sets, 8 profiles each | Brand-based plan |
| Publishing and approvals | Approvals on Growth and Scale | Approvals on Advanced |
| Visual commerce tools | Product tagging and UGC on Growth and Scale | SmartLinks; comparable commerce tools not published |
| Analytics history | 3 months to 2 years by tier | 30 days Free; unlimited on Starter and above |
| Competitor analysis | Not published in reviewed profile | 5 Free; up to 100 on Starter |
| Reports | Not published in reviewed profile | PDF/PPT from Starter |
| Client management and white label | Not published in reviewed profile | Advanced |
| API / BI access | Not published in reviewed profile | Advanced: API through Zapier/Make and Looker Studio |
Which should you choose?
MetricoolLater and Metricool overlap on the basic calendar, but they organize the work around different outcomes. Later makes publishing content, collecting visual assets, tagging products, and moving attention through Link in Bio feel like one routine. Metricool treats the post as an input to a broader client-reporting system that also includes competitors, paid-social context, dashboards, and delivery. Later Growth is a good small-team product, while Metricool Advanced is a better answer when a social manager needs to account for results to several clients.
Bottom line
Choose Later Growth when better visual publishing is the immediate business need. It gives a two-person team approvals, inbox access, unlimited posting, UGC collection, product tagging, and a year of analytics without making reporting software the center of the workflow. Choose Metricool Starter for affordable multi-brand scheduling and reports, then Advanced when white-label delivery, client roles, approvals, API access, or Looker Studio are active requirements. Do not select Metricool solely for its lower entry price if the team will never use its reporting surface, and do not select Later if recurring client reporting is part of the contract.
Frequently asked questions
Is Later or Metricool better for an Instagram ecommerce team that needs product tagging?
Later is the better documented choice for an Instagram ecommerce team because Growth and Scale include product tagging, UGC collection, Visual Planner, and Link in Bio in the same publishing workflow. Metricool is stronger for analytics, competitor tracking, and reporting, but its reviewed profile does not establish comparable product-tagging or UGC tooling.
Which tool is better for an agency sending monthly social media reports to clients?
Metricool is the clearer agency reporting choice because Starter includes PDF and PPT reports, while Advanced adds customizable templates, client management, white label, API access, and Looker Studio. The reviewed Later profile does not establish scheduled or white-label client reporting, so it is a less certain choice for that promise.
Does Metricool have a free plan, and does Later have a free trial?
Metricool Free manages one brand, schedules 20 posts monthly, tracks five competitors, and includes 30 days of analytics. Later publishes a 14-day trial that does not require a card, while its published paid plans begin with Starter at $18.75 per month on annual billing.
How much social analytics history do Later and Metricool keep?
Later publishes three months of analytics history on Starter, up to one year on Growth, and up to two years on Scale. Metricool Free includes 30 days, while Starter lists unlimited analytics history, making Metricool the better documented option for a longer historical reporting view.
Can Metricool automate agency social reporting with Looker Studio or an API?
Metricool lists a Looker Studio connector and API access through Zapier and Make on Advanced. Advanced also includes team and client management, roles, approvals, white label, and customizable report templates, so it is the relevant plan for an agency building a repeatable reporting workflow.
Reviewed by Filipe Lins DuarteCo-Founder & CEOVast experience talking to customers and users to understand what good software looks like. Background spans commercial and product roles.
Checked by John RiceCo-Founder & CTO15+ years building tech products and web applications. Conducted hundreds of user interviews to know what a good product looks like.
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