Looking for a Buffer API alternative?
Here's how Adeli compares.
Buffer is a social media management app, and its API is a feature of that app: it automates a Buffer account, with daily request limits of 100 to 500 depending on plan. Adeli is built API-first for developers embedding social features in their own product, where your users connect their own Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and X accounts and you pay per connected account, with the first 3 free.
No credit card required for your first 3 accounts.
Adeli vs. the Buffer API, side by side
Both bill per connected social account, which Buffer calls a channel. The difference is where those accounts live. Buffer's API acts on a Buffer account: a personal key reaches your own, and OAuth apps act on your users' Buffer accounts. Adeli acts on accounts your users connect to your product. That's the question to answer first. Price comes second.
| Compare | Adeli | Buffer API |
|---|---|---|
| Core product | The API. Adeli is built API-first for developers embedding social publishing in their own product, or running it from an AI agent | A social media management app for creators, small businesses, and teams. The API is one feature of it, for “actions against your own Buffer account and organization” |
| Whose accounts it posts to | Your users' accounts: each user connects their own to your product, scoped and isolated from each other. No Buffer account needed | Channels connected inside a Buffer account. A personal key reaches your account only. OAuth apps act on your users' Buffer accounts |
| API request limits | Will be published alongside the API documentation | Per key: 100 requests per 15 minutes, and 100 a day on Free, 250 on Essentials, 500 on Team |
| Analytics and community through the API | Analytics, comments, and DMs through the same API you publish with | Posts, ideas, channels, and post metrics. Buffer says it plans to add analytics and community features “for personal use cases” |
| API history | The API is the product, not an add-on to an app | Legacy REST API closed to new apps in October 2019 and retires February 1, 2027. A GraphQL API replaces it |
| Pricing | Per connected account: first 3 free, then $5 (4–10), $3 (11–50), $2 (51–100), $1 (101–2,000). No per-post fees on non-X networks | Per channel: Free for 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each, then Essentials $5 or Team $10 per channel/month billed yearly |
| Connected accounts | Adeli | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | $10/mo | $25/mo Essentials, $5 per channel billed yearly |
| 10 | $35/mo | $50/mo Essentials, $5 per channel billed yearly |
Buffer bills channels 1–10 at the standard rate and discounts channels above 10 at a rate its pricing page doesn't publish, so we stop at 10 rather than guess. Buffer's monthly billing costs more than the yearly rate shown.
Why developers pick Adeli over the Buffer API
- An API-first product: the API is what Adeli builds, not a feature bolted onto a scheduling app
- Your users connect their own social accounts to your product, and nobody needs a Buffer account
- Analytics, comments, and DMs through the same API you publish with, where Buffer's API is still adding analytics and community features
- A lower bill than Buffer Essentials at 5 and 10 connected accounts, with no post cap on the free tier
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Buffer API built for developers?
It's built for automating Buffer. Buffer's main product is a social media management app for creators, small businesses, agencies, and other teams posting to their own channels. Its API takes actions against your own Buffer account and organization: posts, ideas, accounts, and channels. Buffer says it plans to add analytics and community features to the API for personal use cases. Adeli works the other way round: the API is the product, built for developers embedding social features in their own product.
What happens to the legacy Buffer REST API?
Buffer closed registration for new apps on its legacy REST API in October 2019, and says the legacy API will be fully retired on February 1, 2027, after which legacy endpoints stop returning data. Its replacement is a GraphQL API. If you're migrating anyway, it's a good moment to decide whether you want to build on top of Buffer accounts or on a social media API your own users connect to directly.
Can I use the Buffer API to post to my users' accounts?
Only through their Buffer accounts. Buffer's OAuth lets your app act on behalf of users who have a Buffer account, with scopes for posts, ideas, and account. The social channels themselves are connected inside Buffer. With Adeli, your users connect their social accounts to your product directly, each one scoped and isolated, and nobody needs a Buffer account.
What are the Buffer API rate limits?
Per API key: 100 requests per 15 minutes on every plan, and 100 requests a day on Free, 250 on Essentials, and 500 on Team. That fits automating your own posting. It's tight as the backend for a product with many users. Adeli's rate limits will be published alongside its API documentation.
Is Adeli cheaper than Buffer?
Yes, once you pass the free tier. Both bill per connected account, which Buffer calls a channel, and both start free for 3. Buffer's free plan caps you at 10 scheduled posts per channel; Adeli's free accounts have no post cap. At 5 connected accounts, Adeli is $10/month and Buffer Essentials is $25/month billed yearly. At 10, Adeli is $35 and Buffer Essentials is $50. Buffer discounts channels above 10 but doesn't publish the rate, so the comparison stops there.
Why pick Adeli over the Buffer API?
Adeli is built API-first for developers putting social publishing inside their own product: your users connect their own accounts, nobody needs a Buffer account, and analytics, comments, and DMs come through the same API you publish with. It also costs less than Buffer Essentials at every channel count Buffer prices outright.
Build publishing into your product.
Free for your first 3 accounts.
Book a short onboarding call, get your API key, and let your users connect the 5 networks Adeli ships today, no Buffer account required.
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