Buffer vs. Khoros Social Media Management

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Buffer
Score 8.4 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Buffer is a social sharing tool. When browsing content, clicking on the Buffer icon automatically stores the content and schedules posts to social media channels throughout the day.
$0
Khoros Social Media Management
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Khoros (Formerly Spredfast + Lithium) is a social media management platform. Key features include: Plan and Organize Social Campaigns, Manage Real-Time Engagement, and Learn and Prove Social ImpactN/A
Pricing
BufferKhoros Social Media Management
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
Essentials
$6
per month per channel
Team
$12
per month per channel
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BufferKhoros Social Media Management
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BufferKhoros Social Media Management
Considered Both Products
Buffer
Chose Buffer
Buffer is way easier to use and setup than Hubspot and Meta. You'd think Meta would make it easy to post on both Facebook and Instagram, but I have consistently run into issues when uploading files. I've never had an issue with Buffer.
Chose Buffer
Buffer is simple and easy to use and has a great free version.
Chose Buffer
Buffer is much more affordable than Hootsuite. Another benefit is that Buffer allows more accounts to be loaded onto the platform. Hootsuite charges in tiered levels based on how many accounts you want to load onto the software. This makes it difficult to schedule and post for …
Chose Buffer
Buffer's interface when logged in is more beautiful and easier to use than the others I've tried. Especially HighLevel which does a lot of other stuff as well - the difference with Buffer is that it is ONLY for social scheduling so it does that really well and the entire screen …
Chose Buffer
Buffer is way more user-friendly and gets straight to what I need to do. There is no frilly extra stuff—it's straight to the point. Buffer incorporates all the parts of the apps as well.
Chose Buffer
Hootsuite is good if you have the budget for social media baked into your communications budget/a communications budget in and of itself. Buffer is better for small teams, teams that may have a more limited budget or organizations that don't have a large social media …
Chose Buffer
They all solve the same problem. Buffer initially started as a way to post content without worrying about the "when". Just add to the queue, and Buffer would post at a specified cadence. Buffer's price point is very reasonable for the services that it offers. They've grown …
Chose Buffer
I think Sprout Social and Hootsuite provide more comprehensive tools and analytics, but they have more expensive plans that don't cater to businesses of all sizes. Plus, all of that complexity can make it hard to find what you're looking for. That's where Buffer excels. It's …
Chose Buffer
Buffer has a clear, easy to use interface and a reliable scheduling calendar.
Chose Buffer
Buffer had the best free version, but Zoho social had the most social media channels available in the price range.
Hootsuite was the tool we first wanted, but the price was considerably more, for tools we are not sure if we need at this time.
Chose Buffer
In my opinion, Hootsuite has it all, except TikTok, which hopefully will open up some sort of interface soon. It is a much smoother and more customizable experience. I have not had any posts missing after scheduling, like I have had with Buffer in my past experience. Just an …
Chose Buffer
Both software are good, but personally I like Buffer just because it is easy to use and it has good costumer support. Buffer lets me put my updates on a schedule so I can set it up for weeks at a time and then not have to worry.
Chose Buffer
Both of them are great at their own levels but I find Buffer quite easy to go and the way they perform every task is quite like my way of work so I personally like Buffer more, it has helped me save my most of the time hence improved my work efficiency and also the creativity …
Chose Buffer
We tried CloudCampaign and Social Bee (that wasn't on the list above) - and they all are good. Buffer is in a class of its own and super useful to individuals and companies alike.
Chose Buffer
We selected this tool to maintain the activity of publication in social networks at a low cost and good productivity, we consider that it adds to our objectives of brand awareness or discovery, since it allows us to keep our channels active with information and content that we …
Chose Buffer
Buffer and Hootsuite are considered as best tools for managing your social media accounts . The only difference which I feel between the two is Buffer is [more] focused on pre-scheduling and Hootsuite is a advanced version of Buffer you can say it allows you full -fledged …
Chose Buffer
I also used Combin which is easy and free to use. However, Combin only posts when the computer is active and connected to the internet. So, posting while you are not actively using your computer at that moment is not possible, therefore Buffer is much more efficient as you can …
Chose Buffer
Buffer is the first one I have used, and then I tried other platforms like Hootsuite, and HubSpot, but still, the other two haven't matched up to that level of ease and comfort, and the features I like of Buffer. So I switched back to Buffer.
Chose Buffer
Buffer has all the analytics tools and features that allow us to determine whether the result of our marketing is positive or negative. There are more complete alternatives, but Buffer is all I need at the moment.
Chose Buffer
Both Hootsuite and Buffer are excellent tools but they both target different users. If you're an individual user, small firm, or non-profit and you want to simplify your social media challenges, then Buffer is likely your best option. Hootsuite on the other hand is more likely …
Chose Buffer
The reason for selecting Buffer was mainly due to good UI and easy to use functionality. Hootsuite was not that user friendly and a bit complicated. Buffer is more straight forward and easy to use when you compare it with Hootsuite. Also, I like Buffer's mobile friendliness …
Chose Buffer
We have not used any other similar products to manage, organize, schedule, and analyze our social media posting. We have used other posting platforms within the channels themselves, however. Facebook is slightly more advanced than Buffer for posting on Facebook — but that is …
Chose Buffer
The price point is very affordable compared to other products that offer more features but charge a lot more. For my entire team, the price point has made it easy to get a good ROI. More than anything, it allows us to do what's necessary. Hootsuite definitely provides more …
Khoros Social Media Management
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Talkwalker by Hootsuite, Brandwatch and Meltwater
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
I think Khoros Social Media Management is at the middle of platforms such as Sprinklr and Emplifi in the top, and Zoho social at the bottom. I'd chose Khoros Social Media Management again for a middle-size to small-size company I work with, if their social media needs aren't …
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
This is the only software I used for social media tasks.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Sprout has more feature and more options for social networks.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
The insights given by khoros are deep and relevant to the team.
Also Khoros has a better user interface then SocialBee.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Sprout is much more user friendly and aesthetic. The mobile app is also much more useable.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
I wasn't part of the selection process.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
I have heard its cheaper, so for the price, it's a good return on Investment.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Khoros met a specific technical need that other vendors couldn't provide for us. However, in terms of interface and performance, my impression was that there was little difference between it and its closest competitors.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
I like Later a lot because it lets us implement the link in bio and make Facebook + Instagram posts at the same time, which cuts time in half.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Far beyond the capabilities of social studio with reports and keeping up with the changing landscape and features on social
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
We have not used other tools.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Instead of using multiple platforms to schedule content, report, and moderate it is now all under one umbrella with Khoros.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
On some accounts that I am on, I use Asana in place of Khoros marketing but I much prefer Khoros Marketing. I prefer Khoros Marketing over Asana because I can post directly (and schedule posts) on Khoros but not on Asana. Also, I can moderate directly on Khoros but not Asana.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Sprinklr proved to be a strong competitor when we initially looked at social media management platforms. However, the price point, complexity of implementation and of use were important contingency point where Khoros outperformed its competition by providing and simple to …
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
I've used a number of other Marketing software over my 13yrs of working in social media. I would say that Khoros stacks up relatively well against it's competitors. It may not be the number one but it suited our needs.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Khoros offers more specific labels for customer posts
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
I would say Khoros is among the better platforms I've evaluated, near the top of the pack.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
Khoros is by far the easiest to use
Spinklr has more functions with ads for TWitter and you can keep track of budget easily on Sprinklr but it is an absolute MONSTER for the interface. I am a certified Sprinklr admin and I still have problems figuring stuff out.
Hootsuite is …
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
only used Khoros (Spredfast)
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
We would prefer to have everything done under one software rather than having to switch between software because Khoros doesn't have everything we need.
Chose Khoros Social Media Management
I would prefer Khoros over Sprinklr. For Opal, we believe it has a better content calendar mechanism and has more functions to CREATE content.
Features
BufferKhoros Social Media Management
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.6
Ratings
7% above category average
Khoros Social Media Management
8.6
Ratings
7% above category average
Content planning and scheduling9.00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Content optimization8.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Workflow management8.80 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Audience targeting00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
8.3
Ratings
5% above category average
Khoros Social Media Management
8.9
Ratings
12% above category average
Campaign success analytics8.30 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Real-time tracking00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Competitor analysis00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
9.0
Ratings
12% above category average
Khoros Social Media Management
8.0
Ratings
0% below category average
Role-based user permissions & privileges9.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Mobile access9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Listening/monitoring
Comparison of Listening/monitoring features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Khoros Social Media Management
7.9
Ratings
2% above category average
Boolean keyword searches00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Filtering out noise/spam00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Sentiment analysis00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Broad channel coverage00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Engagement
Comparison of Engagement features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Khoros Social Media Management
8.8
Ratings
10% above category average
Automated routing and prioritization00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Customer interaction histories00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Bulk actions00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Marketing
Comparison of Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Khoros Social Media Management
7.6
Ratings
2% below category average
Lead generation00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Content marketing00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Paid media management00 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Campaigns and promotions00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Channel coverage/integration
Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Product A and Product B
Buffer
-
Ratings
Khoros Social Media Management
7.5
Ratings
12% below category average
Twitter00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Facebook00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
LinkedIn00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Google+00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Instagram00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Pinterest00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
YouTube00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BufferKhoros Social Media Management
Small Businesses
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BufferKhoros Social Media Management
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(0 ratings)
9.7
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.1
(0 ratings)
7.7
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
7.7
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
5.5
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.6
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BufferKhoros Social Media Management
Likelihood to Recommend
It is a very interesting tool for entrepreneurs or CEOs of startups who do not have much time to manage social media communication and also have few resources at the beginning of their venture. It can also be convenient for small companies that do not have specific personnel with training in community management and require easy-to-use tools to carry out the basic actions of scheduled publication on social media.
Read full review
While I cannot say any scenarios where Khoros wouldn't be useful (when it comes to social media moderation), I can say it is very well suited for clients who have time constraints on their work. With the speed Khoros can pull in new content, we see issues for the client almost immediately.
Read full review
Pros
  • I can plan and publish content on social channels.
  • Buffer's interface is quite tidy and generates the necessary facilities to save us time in publishing consistent content.
  • It has a special price; it is pretty affordable.
  • It has the possibility of integrating with other tools to improve its functions.
Read full review
  • Reporting is great - easy to create bespoke dashboards for multiple ways to view the data and trends in platform
  • Onboarding and training - a good repository of knowledge articles for users to access on most aspects of the platform for self-learning
  • The user-friendly and intuitive interface allows any user to quickly assimilate how to use the platform.
Read full review
Cons
  • Analytics-- The analytics on the Pro plan are limited at best. You can simply review your posts from the past 30 days, but you can't access any analysis (or even simple tallying of Likes, Shares, etc.) without upgrading to the Premium or Business plans, which are otherwise more than we need at the moment.
  • Publish+Reply+Analyze-- It's a bit tedious to have these basic social media functions/tools separated out as three distinct products, as well as overkill for a small nonprofit without a dedicated social media team. I imagine each tool is good at its job if you need 'em.
  • Linking to Accounts-- Buffer seems to lose touch with Facebook and LinkedIn somewhat frequently. It's vaguely annoying but very simple to fix, so I just roll with it.
Read full review
  • Look and feel of the interface could use a refresh as it's not very exciting to use
  • Improve analytics features and accuracy
  • Facilitate bulk actions
  • Better alerts/visibility of collaborative actions and assigned tasks
  • Clearer communication around new feature releases and announcements
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Ease of use, affordability, time saved and just love for the app and the team. It's not a miracle tool that will suddenly increase your company's value or leads, you still need to put in quality posts, thoughts and content but when used regularly and with thought, you'll be happy in the long run
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There is no product like Khoros. Our company lives and dies by the analytics, and to date, we have not seen a more comprehensive analytics structure for any social media management tool. Khoros support is also fantastic, responding and resolving any and all questions, ideas, or complaints, usually in 24 hours.
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Usability
Easy enough to use even my boss got it right away. It helps to off-set the workload to less active times, and we can preschedule way in advance, which also helps to keep the team on track as we know what we have planned and want to reach our milestones before posts go online.
Read full review
Khoros Marketing is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. The calendar visibility is the view I use most so I can see all posts going out on all of our channels. It allows us to time posts in a proper cadence so we don't overlap with other pressing content.
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Reliability and Availability
Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
Read full review
I don’t think we’ve experienced any unplanned downtime in the short time we’ve licensed the tool. In a few cases, we’ve encountered bugs but they were not critical and were resolved in a timely manner.
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Performance
Buffer performs well on both desktop and mobile platforms. The one area as I have stated before is that it does not always want to automatically push to Instagram and the user will have to go do it manually. Buffer works very well pushing to other platforms. The instagram issue is the only reason buffer does not get a 10 on this section
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Khoros has greatly improved the performance of its SaaS products in the last 5 years. Their applications, including Conversations, Intelligence, and Experiences, all load quickly with real-time data. This performance is critical to provide meaningful, social customer support, and marketing. The performance maintains integrity even when you deploy powerful integrations like Salesforce Customer Relationship Manager.
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Support Rating
  1. It really helped to my business to grow online.
  2. I was able to take actions mindfully as the analytics are damn good.
  3. Also used for managing clients social media accounts and it proved to be a best resource.
  4. Clients were really happy as they got high demand and growth on internet and the secret is Buffer.
  5. The user interface is really easy to understand and manage. Support is 24/7 available to help.
Read full review
Someone is almost always available and responds very quickly to any issues or concerns. Customer service is one of their best features and we have never had an issue. They take their time making sure you understand what you are working with and are available via email or phone to walk you through any issues.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
• As a very early customer, we did not undergo formal training but worked closely with the team to get the system set up to do what we wanted. However, online training resources are now available with many blog posts / video lessons and tutorials.
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
it is important to note that my perspective is not necessarily common - I'm a geek/nerd/poweruser in general, so I found the online resources to be more than adequate (and often very aesthetically pleasing, too). That said, a less "geeky" person might struggle a bit.
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Implementation Rating
We were very satisfied with the implementation of Buffer. We had no issues switching from the platform that we were using over to buffer. Our staff did not even miss a beat when it came to posting content. It was an easy transition and I feel that is something that buffer has really done well. They have an "out of the box" usability platform
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The implementation team from Khoros were great - they worked hard to understand our somewhat complex organization, and were with us all the way through face to face meetings, user training, and technical training. We had a clearly defined account manager and implementation manager, who worked really effectively together and with us.
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Alternatives Considered
Both of them are great at their own levels but I find Buffer quite easy to go and the way they perform every task is quite like my way of work so I personally like Buffer more, it has helped me save my most of the time hence improved my work efficiency and also the creativity they put into my work is outstanding. The support I get whenever I run into problems they provide a quick response every time.
Read full review
On some accounts that I am on, I use Asana in place of Khoros marketing but I much prefer Khoros Marketing. I prefer Khoros Marketing over Asana because I can post directly (and schedule posts) on Khoros but not on Asana. Also, I can moderate directly on Khoros but not Asana
Read full review
Scalability
Buffer does what it say on tin as they say! you can always count on Buffer. Buffer can be scale to 25 social account with 2,000 scheduled post which is enough for most agencies or businesses
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Khoros seems to struggle a little past a certain level of scale. More than 30 separate per day makes it difficult to view all content in the weekly calendar view, which is frustrating and could cause issues. However, the ability to schedule one post across multiple channels is hugely valuable and cuts down on a lot of duplicative work.
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Return on Investment
  • It has saved money by allowing us to automate our social using one person
  • It allows us to connect one channel at a time instead of wasting money on larger account management tools
  • We are making money, because it has already delivered several clients
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  • Negatively impacted relationship with Khoros as they're notoriously difficult to engage with or able to produce viable results from our feedback.
  • Negatively impacted KPI reporting, as metrics were inaccurate for six months.
  • Negatively impacted resource management, as there've been so many restrictions with this platform that simple, day-to-day tasks take so much longer.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Buffer Screenshots

Screenshot of The Buffer dashboardScreenshot of Customizable posting scheduleScreenshot of Tailored PostsScreenshot of List or calendar view of scheduled postsScreenshot of Browser extensionScreenshot of Social media analytics

Khoros Social Media Management Screenshots

Screenshot of the channel performance dashboard, for monitoring different metrics and comparing the performance of posts by content type and labels to optimize for the audience.Screenshot of the cross-channel dashboard. It provides a holistic view of paid and organic campaigns, allowing teams to compare performance and optimize for engagement and reach with campaigns.Screenshot of the cross-channel dashboard. Users can compare the performance of posts across channels, ensuring that time and resources are allocated effectively to reach the target audience.Screenshot of the calendar view. This presents all scheduled posts by assignee, channel, and tags so that nothing is missed and content is delivered on time.Screenshot of approval paths in Khoros. Get sign-off and feedback across teams for paid and organic posts to reduce brand risk.