Ordinal alternatives: top competitors compared
Named alongside Ordinal
BufferBest forCreators, brands and agencies that post across many social channels and want flexible per-channel pricing100% of Ordinal answersSprout SocialBest forMarketing and customer care teams that manage many social profiles and high engagement; the Professional plan is aimed at teams handling a lot of profiles.100% of Ordinal answersMetricoolBest forSocial media managers, agencies and teams that manage several brands or client accounts100% of Ordinal answersAgorapulseBest forSocial media managers, marketing leaders and agencies that need to prove social media's business results100% of Ordinal answers
Data from SlateIndex weekly runs
Ordinal has a visibility score of 1.1 in Social Media Management, #29 of 51. AI answers that name Ordinal most often also name these 4.
Quick reference
| Alternative | Best for | Starting price | Visibility | Key differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Creators, brands and agencies that post across many social channels and want flexible per-channel pricing | Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo | 57.6% | Per-channel pricing, so customers pay only for the channels they connect and can drop a client's channel when it leaves |
| Sprout Social | Marketing and customer care teams that manage many social profiles and high engagement; the Professional plan is aimed at teams handling a lot of profiles. | $79 per seat / mo | 53.5% | An AI-powered Social Intelligence Platform that combines publishing, engagement, analytics and listening, and moves social insight into wider business decisions. |
| Metricool | Social media managers, agencies and teams that manage several brands or client accounts | Free; paid from $20 / mo | 22% | Planning, analytics, reporting, inbox and ad management in one tool, with a free plan that has no time limit |
| Agorapulse | Social media managers, marketing leaders and agencies that need to prove social media's business results | — | 16% | Tracks the revenue behind each post and conversation, with AI that proposes actions while the team approves them within its own permissions |
Alternative 1
Buffer vs Ordinal →Buffer
Buffer suits creators, brands and agencies that post across many social channels and want flexible per-channel pricing.
Quick facts
- Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo · per seat
- Free plan available
- 57.6% visibility score · #1 in Social Media Management
Key features
- Publish — Schedules and publishes posts to connected social channels, with a queue, visual calendar and reminders.
- Create — Organizes ideas, drafts, templates and tags, with a browser extension and Canva integration for creating posts.
- Community — Brings comments and replies from supported channels into one inbox for responding.
- Insights — Provides analytics on follower growth, engagement and post performance, with reports on higher plans.
Buffer vs Ordinal
| Dimension | Buffer | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 57.6% | 1.1% |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo | $95 / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Trial | Free plan available | 14-day free trial |
Pros
- simple, user-friendly scheduling and publishing
- affordable, cost-effective paid plans
- generous free plan
- transparent, clear pricing
- popular with solo creators, small businesses and startups
Cons
- free plan limited to 3 channels and 10 posts per channel, solo use only
- limited analytics and no deep enterprise features
- annual billing savings can be limited or absent
Alternative 2
Sprout Social vs Ordinal →Sprout Social
Sprout Social suits marketing and customer care teams that manage many social profiles and high engagement; the Professional plan is aimed at teams handling a lot of profiles..
Quick facts
- $79 per seat / mo · per seat
- 30-day free trial
- 53.5% visibility score · #3 in Social Media Management
Key features
- Sprout Social — Social media management suite for publishing, engagement, analytics and social listening across networks.
- Trellis — AI agent that answers questions about social data and drafts replies and report summaries.
- Employee Advocacy — Add-on that lets curated on-brand content be shared by employees on their own networks.
- Influencer Marketing — Add-on for discovering creators, running influencer campaigns and tracking conversions.
Sprout Social vs Ordinal
| Dimension | Sprout Social | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 53.5% | 1.1% |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | $79 per seat / mo | $95 / mo |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Trial | 30-day free trial | 14-day free trial |
Pros
- Strong cross-channel analytics and reporting
- Deep social listening
- Polished user experience and unified smart inbox
- Enterprise-grade social media management for large teams
- Well-regarded by users with a high G2 rating
Cons
- Costly for smaller teams and budgets
Alternative 3
Metricool vs Ordinal →Metricool
Metricool suits social media managers, agencies and teams that manage several brands or client accounts.
Quick facts
- Free; paid from $20 / mo · flat tiers
- Free plan available
- 22% visibility score · #4 in Social Media Management
Key features
- Planner — Calendar and scheduler for posting across networks, with best-time suggestions, post approval and an AI social media assistant.
- Analytics — Dashboards for social channel performance, progress over time and competitor tracking.
- Reporting — Automated reports, AI analysis, campaign dashboards and a Data Studio connection.
- Inbox — One place for messages and comments from connected networks.
Metricool vs Ordinal
| Dimension | Metricool | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 22% | 1.1% |
| Pricing model | Flat tiers | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $20 / mo | $95 / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Trial | Free plan available | 14-day free trial |
Pros
- robust social media analytics and reporting
- deep data analytics and ad performance tracking
- good value and affordable pricing
- reliable free tier
- clear, transparent pricing
Cons
Alternative 4
Agorapulse vs Ordinal →Agorapulse
Agorapulse suits social media managers, marketing leaders and agencies that need to prove social media's business results.
Quick facts
- Pricing not available
- 16% visibility score · #9 in Social Media Management
Key features
- Inbox — Unified inbox for answering comments and messages across social networks, with assignment, keyword rules and AI sentiment flags.
- Publishing — Shared calendar and composer for scheduling posts on each network, with bulk CSV upload and client sign-off.
- Listening — Tracks brand and industry mentions on social networks, Reddit, news sites, blogs and forums, with share of voice against competitors.
- Reporting and ROI — Custom branded PDF reports, plus tracking of revenue and goals from posts and replies via Google Analytics.
Agorapulse vs Ordinal
| Dimension | Agorapulse | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 16% | 1.1% |
| Pricing model | — | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | — | $95 / mo |
| Free plan | — | No |
| Trial | — | 14-day free trial |
Pros
- Robust unified inbox for comments, DMs, and mentions
- Reliable scheduling tools
- Strong agency and team collaboration, including task assignment and approvals
- Clear ROI and client reporting
- Approachable price compared with Sprout Social
Cons
- Not as strong as Sprout Social for sophisticated community management
How to choose
Match the pricing model to your cost driver: headcount, usage or features.
| Platform | Pricing model | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinal | Flat tiers | $95 / mo |
| Buffer | Per seat | Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo |
| Sprout Social | Per seat | $79 per seat / mo |
| Metricool | Flat tiers | Free; paid from $20 / mo |
| Agorapulse | — | — |
More alternatives
Ranked by how often AI answers name them alongside Ordinal in the latest weekly run.