TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Buffer

    Score8.4 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.

    $6

    per month per channel

    Vista Social

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/AVista Social is a social media management platform that offers features such as schedule of content, managing conversations through a universal inbox, managing reviews, social listening and reporting.

    $79

    per month

    Pricing
    BufferVista Social
    Editions & Modules
    Free
    $0
    Essentials
    $6
    per month per channel
    Team
    $12
    per month per channel
    Professional
    $79
    per month
    Advanced
    $149
    per month
    Scale
    $379
    per month
    Enterprise
    $379
    per month
    Enterprise
    Custom
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BufferVista Social
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.A discount is offered for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    BufferVista Social
    Publishing
    Comparison of Publishing features of Buffer and Vista Social
    Feature
    Buffer
    8.6
    68 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Vista Social
    9.5
    18 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Content planning and scheduling9.068 Ratings10.018 Ratings
    Content optimization8.061 Ratings9.217 Ratings
    Workflow management8.857 Ratings9.817 Ratings
    Audience targeting00 Ratings9.116 Ratings
    Reporting/analytics
    Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Buffer and Vista Social
    Feature
    Buffer
    8.3
    63 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Vista Social
    9.2
    17 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Campaign success analytics8.363 Ratings9.517 Ratings
    Real-time tracking00 Ratings9.216 Ratings
    Competitor analysis00 Ratings9.012 Ratings
    Account management
    Comparison of Account management features of Buffer and Vista Social
    Feature
    Buffer
    9.0
    65 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Vista Social
    9.2
    14 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Role-based user permissions & privileges9.052 Ratings9.313 Ratings
    Mobile access9.062 Ratings9.114 Ratings
    Listening/monitoring
    Comparison of Listening/monitoring features of Buffer and Vista Social
    Feature
    Buffer
    -
    Ratings
    Vista Social
    9.1
    14 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Boolean keyword searches00 Ratings9.29 Ratings
    Filtering out noise/spam00 Ratings8.810 Ratings
    Sentiment analysis00 Ratings8.912 Ratings
    Broad channel coverage00 Ratings9.713 Ratings
    Engagement
    Comparison of Engagement features of Buffer and Vista Social
    Feature
    Buffer
    -
    Ratings
    Vista Social
    9.1
    15 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Automated routing and prioritization00 Ratings9.013 Ratings
    Customer interaction histories00 Ratings9.115 Ratings
    Bulk actions00 Ratings9.115 Ratings
    Marketing
    Comparison of Marketing features of Buffer and Vista Social
    Feature
    Buffer
    -
    Ratings
    Vista Social
    9.0
    15 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Lead generation00 Ratings8.712 Ratings
    Content marketing00 Ratings9.414 Ratings
    Paid media management00 Ratings8.913 Ratings
    Campaigns and promotions00 Ratings8.913 Ratings
    Channel coverage/integration
    Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Buffer and Vista Social
    Feature
    Buffer
    -
    Ratings
    Vista Social
    9.4
    16 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Twitter00 Ratings9.416 Ratings
    Facebook00 Ratings9.416 Ratings
    LinkedIn00 Ratings9.416 Ratings
    Google+00 Ratings9.013 Ratings
    Instagram00 Ratings9.616 Ratings
    Pinterest00 Ratings9.313 Ratings
    YouTube00 Ratings9.315 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BufferVista Social
    Small Businesses
    Sendible
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Sendible
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Vista Social
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Sprout Social
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued)
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued)
    Score7.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BufferVista Social
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.8
    (88 ratings)
    9.5
    (19 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (14 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (24 ratings)
    9.6
    (11 ratings)
    Availability
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.1
    (23 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BufferVista Social
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Buffer
    It helps me save hours by devoting only half an hour in a month's worth of posting, in addition to that it is quite simple to use. Buffer for scheduling social posts well in advance, but I have begun using it instead of posting natively on the social apps themselves because it makes it super easy to post the same messages to more than one platform.
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    When I need to schedule a full week of posts for multiple clients. the calendar view makes it fast and clear. When a client sends last-minute edits, I can quickly reschedule or update posts by dragging them in the calendar. When I’m short on time I use the AI tools to generate quick captions and adjust them to fit the brand voice. When I manage comments and DMs I reply to everything from one inbox, without switching platforms. When planning content, I use Canva inside Vista Social and publish directly, which saves a lot of time.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Buffer
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    • The design and layout of the site is simple, with the options to click through the different tools on the left hand side of the page. What I liked most about Vista Social is the ability to combine all the different tools that a social media manager needs into one platform.
    • I typically use various different apps and platforms to write down notes, assign tasks to different team members, and look at my overall content calendar for the month. It is brilliant that Vista Social is able to combine all of these into one platform.
    • When first signing up to Vista Social and exploring the platform, each page offers you a walkthrough of all of the tools available to you, which is really handy, as well as a customer support section on the right bottom hand corner.
    Read full review
    Cons
    Buffer
    • Expensive Analytics: The upgrade you need to access your analytics is quite expensive, and I have come across other tools that provide the same or even more for a lesser priced plan.
    • No Media Library: The one feature I have found on another social media planning tool that I wish Buffer had is a media library. This allows you to upload photos you aren't using right away to have them readily available when you do decide to use them. This is not a feature in Buffer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    • I think the price is quite high compared to hiring a person for the same task. This may put one off from purchasing as with a bit more time you can do the same job yourself or with an employee for much less
    • In my opinion, the interface is rather complicated visually and doesn't have an appeal. It is cramped with so many features that provide a sense of confusion whilst starting off
    • In my experience, the tutorials do leave a few questions afterwards regarding set up and this can take more time to figure out by yourself.
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Buffer
    I am giving buffer this rating because of a couple issues that it has compared to other platforms. It does not always post to instagram and you will need to go in an manually post. Also, one of the biggest qualms that we have with buffer is the price it costs to have robust analytics
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    Very effective, efficient and an integral part of our daily work. Our team members are more productive and motivated to finish projects.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Buffer
    We use Buffer for certain website content that should be shared on social networks, having this tool helps us to do it faster and easier since we can send the publications from the internet browser and the stack of scheduled messages. It is really fast and easy for all team members who share access to the account, so at the same time that we analyze the information that we can share, the message stack is prepared
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    Since the platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate, start using it and making content creation feel effortless. The dashboard and each module for content management and creation it has the visual hierarchies in place. Building, customizing and exporting reports to PDF facilitate the journey with the clients. Its overall usability is well rounded for such large and powerful tool.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Buffer
    Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Buffer
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Buffer
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Buffer
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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 even post while being on vacation without working.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    It's reasonably priced compared to others and offers more capabilities for creating and implementing marketing campaigns. For example, social listening, reputation management, and employee advocacy are all tools it has that I haven't found in the previous ones. It also supports all marketing campaigns, not just social media.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Buffer
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Buffer
    • 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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vista Social
    • The DM automation feature means we're not missing out on important messages when we're off the clock (after hours essentially), which is a huge advantage in hospitality where response time is everything.
    • In most cases, time is money, and being able to manage all our platforms from one place has cut down hours of switching between apps and tabs. That in itself has boosted our company's productivity and allowed the team to respond faster to guests and potential leads.
    • The real-time insights and mentions helps us tweak content and react to trends quicker, which has increased our visibility and bookings.
    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