Metricool vs Later: In-Depth Comparison in 2025?

Feeling overwhelmed by the choices for managing your social media?

It’s tough to know which platform is truly the best fit for your needs, and making the wrong choice can mean wasted time & money.

This in-depth comparison of Metricool vs Later breaks down their key features and pricing so you can confidently choose the right tool that can boost your social media game in 2024.

Overview

To give you the most accurate comparison, we’ve spent weeks testing both Metricool and Later.

We dug deep into their features, explored their analytics dashboards, and even scheduled and tracked our social media content using both platforms.

This hands-on experience gives us unique insights to help you make the right decision.

What is Metricool?

Ever wished you had a single dashboard to manage all your social media?

That’s Metricool in a nutshell. It’s a powerful tool that helps you plan, track, & analyze your social media performance across various platforms.

Think of it as your social media command center. Pretty cool, right?

Also, explore our favorite Metricool alternatives…

What is Later?

Want to make your Instagram feed look amazing? Later is your go-to tool.

It started as a simple Instagram scheduler but has grown into a visual marketing platform.

Later, it helps you plan, schedule, and analyze your visual content.

It’s all about making your social media look its best.

Also, explore our favorite Later alternatives…

Feature Comparison

Metricool and Later are both top-tier social media management platforms, but they cater to different needs.

Metricool is a data-driven powerhouse with a focus on comprehensive analytics, while Later is a visual-first tool built to simplify content scheduling, especially for Instagram.

1. Pricing and Plans

• Metricool: Offers a very generous free account that is a great solution for individuals and small businesses to manage one brand with up to 50 social media posts per month. Its paid plans are tiered based on the number of social accounts you connect, making it a flexible and cost-effective option.
• Later: Later’s free plan allows you to connect a limited number of social channels with a small number of scheduled posts each month. Later’s paid plans are based on “Social Sets,” which can be more expensive if you need to manage multiple platforms for a single brand or client.

2. Analytics and Reporting

• Metricool: This is where Metricool excels. It provides easy analytics that matters for your entire digital presence. You can get unlimited historical data, analyze ad performance from Google Ads and TikTok Ads, and even connect to Looker Studio to download custom reports. The data extracted gives you a clear picture of your social media performance.
• Later: Later offers basic instagram analytics and a range of analytics tools for other platforms, but its analytics aren’t as comprehensive or deeply integrated with ad platforms as Metricool’s. Its strength lies in providing visual insights into a user’s Instagram account and follower growth.

3. Content Creation and Publishing

• Metricool: A straightforward social media scheduling tool that allows you to auto posting content. It’s easy to create a new content and post with a few clicks. The platform provides a visual calendar to help you win time. It also includes a video editor and a content library.
• Later: Later is known for its visual-first approach, making it the top choice for Instagram. The platform’s visual planner allows you to see how your feed will look before publishing. You can upload media, get post ideas, and use unique hashtag suggestions tailored to your content.

4. Social Inbox and Engagement

• Metricool: Provides a single inbox to manage all your social messages from all your social networks. This allows you to simply scroll through and respond to your messages and comments, making it easy to stay engaged with your audience.
• Later: Later’s social inbox and engagement tool are designed to help you monitor and respond to comments and messages on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. It’s a great tool for managing social conversations.

5. Supported Social Platforms

• Metricool: Supports a wide variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. A key differentiator is its deep integration with ad platforms and Google Business Profile, making it a great tool for a variety of marketing needs.
• Later: Initially an Instagram scheduler, Later now supports multiple platforms and social media channels, including Facebook pages, Twitter, LinkedIn profiles, and YouTube channels. It’s known for its robust Instagram scheduling, including the ability to automatically post Reels and Instagram stories.

6. Integrations and Add-ons

• Metricool: Integrates with other tools like Zapier, Google Drive, and Canva. Its main draw is the deep integration with ad platforms, a key feature for social media marketing professionals.
• Later: While its integrations aren’t as extensive, Later does offer a unique later account feature called Link in Bio, which allows you to create a beautiful landing page with multiple links that are automatically updated with your most recent posts.

7. Team Collaboration and Client Management

• Metricool: Team collaboration is available on the advanced plan. You can add users and assign roles, but its client-facing features are not as extensive as tools designed specifically for agencies.
• Later: Later has good team features, with the ability to approve posts, manage user roles, and allow other users to contribute content. It’s a great solution for teams and agencies that need to manage content approvals and collaborate on social media posts.

8. User Interface and Ease of Use

• Metricool: A metricool review often praises its clean and intuitive user interface. Its focus on simplicity and accessibility makes it an excellent tool for freelancers and small businesses.
• Later: Later is well-known for being incredibly user-friendly and visually appealing. Its drag-and-drop calendar and visual planner make it easy for social media managers to schedule content and plan their feed aesthetically. The Later mobile app is especially popular for creating and editing posts on the go.

9. Social Listening

• Metricool: Offers some basic social listening capabilities, allowing you to track your data and monitor mentions. However, its primary focus is on analytics and advertising, not a full-fledged social listening tool like its competitors.
• Later: Later has some social listening tools that allow you to monitor brand mentions and hashtags. However, it’s not its primary feature, and it doesn’t offer the comprehensive listening capabilities of enterprise-level platforms.

10. Core Features

• Metricool: The main differences between Metricool and Later are their core focuses. Metricool focuses on data and analytics, providing a “digital swiss army knife” for marketers who want to track their digital presence and ad campaigns.
• Later: Later’s core offering is its visual social media scheduler for Instagram. The platform’s standout features are its visual planner, hashtag suggestions, and its ability to automatically post an instagram first comment to keep captions clean.

11. Mobile App

• Metricool: Has a powerful mobile app that allows you to manage your social media accounts and track performance on the move.
• Later: The later social media scheduler has a highly-rated mobile app that is a game changer for many social media managers. It makes it easy to schedule posts, upload media, and get post ideas directly from your phone, which is perfect for when inspiration strikes.

What to Look For When Choosing Between Metricool and Later?

• Analytics and Reporting: A great social media tool provides easy analytics that matters. Look for the ability to download custom reports, track post performance, and access data extracted from your social media accounts. Some platforms, like Metricool, even offer a Looker Studio connector and let you analyze data that matters.
• Content Creation & Publishing: The social media scheduling tool you choose should help you win time and save time. Look for powerful scheduling features like an auto posting feature and the ability to schedule multiple posts. It should also be easy to manage and publish content from all your social sites, whether you’re working on a personal account or managing multiple brands for a business. A video editor and a content library are also great features for a content creator.
• Collaboration and Team Management: For social media teams and agencies, look for robust features like an in-app approvals system, the ability to assign posts to team members, and customizable dashboards. A sendible review will often highlight its strong client management and custom branding features. A great platform should make it easy to manage your social media accounts and stay organized.
• Supported Platforms: Ensure the social platform works with all your social networks, from a Twitter account to a YouTube account and Instagram Professional Profiles. It’s a key feature for a social media manager that needs to manage all your tools and social feeds from a single place. The more platforms supported, the better.
• Social Inbox and Engagement: A single inbox for all your social messages is a must. The platform should make it easy to monitor brand mentions, direct messages, and comments from all your social sites. This ability is crucial for building a strong community and for proactive customer service.
• User Interface & Experience: The dashboard should be intuitive and user friendly. It should be easy to easily navigate, allowing you to simply scroll and find the information you need. A quick review of the user interface can tell you a lot about the tool’s user-friendliness.
• Integrations: Check for integrations with other tools and services. A Zapier integration is a great feature that lets you connect your social media marketing to other tools you use. This helps you manage all your tools from a single place and streamlines your workflow.
• Value and Pricing: Consider the cost and the features offered. A free plan or a starter plan might be enough, but if you need advanced features, a paid plan may be necessary. Read reviews to find out the main differences and to get a sense of which tool offers the best value for your needs.
• Customer Support: Look for a tool that offers reliable customer support, such as live chat support, a help center page, or a dedicated customer success onboarding team. A Sprout Social review will often highlight its excellent support.
• Overall Functionality: Beyond the specific features, you want a social media management tool that provides a seamless experience for your entire digital presence. Look for a mobile app to manage your social media accounts on the go, a feature to track your followers, and a smart system that understands your needs.

By considering these factors, you can also confidently choose the social media management tool that will best suits your needs & helps you achieve your social media goals.

Final Verdict

Both Metricool and Later are excellent social media management tools, but Metricool takes the crown for us.

Its comprehensive analytics, wider platform support, and affordable pricing make it a winner for businesses of all sizes.

While Later excels at visual planning, especially for Instagram, Metricool offers a more well-rounded package to manage your entire social media strategy.

We’ve spent weeks testing both platforms, digging deep into their features, and exploring their strengths and weaknesses.

This hands-on experience, combined with our years of expertise in social media management, gives us the confidence to recommend Metricool as the superior choice for most users in 2024.

Whether you’re managing various social media accounts or focusing on a single platform, Metricool empowers you to plan, track, and optimize your social media posts like a pro.

Ultimately, the best tool for you depended on your specific needs and priorities.

But if you’re looking for a powerful, versatile, and also affordable solution to elevate your social media game, Metricool is the clear winner in this head-to-head matchup.

More of Metricool

More of Later

• Later vs Sprout Social: It offers comprehensive social listening and advanced analytics, making it a more robust, but complex tool.
• Later vs Metricool: It offers broader analytics and ad management.
• Later vs Socialpilot: It supports more platforms and has a social inbox.
• Later vs Sendible: It has robust collaboration and reporting.
• Later vs Content Studio: It excels in content discovery.
• Later vs Heropost: It uses AI for content creation.
• Later vs Agorapulse: It offers strong social listening.
• Later vs Zoho Social: It integrates with the Zoho suite.
• Later vs Buffer: It is known for its simplicity.
• Later vs Sprinklr: It is an enterprise-level platform.
• Later vs Loomly: It focuses on team content workflows.
• Later vs Blaze: It depends on Blaze’s specific features.
• Later vs Hootsuite: It is a more comprehensive tool with a wider range of platform integrations and in-depth analytics.
• Later vs Planable: It is a collaboration-first tool, with a strong focus on content approval workflows for teams

Frequently Asked Questions