If social is key to your growth, your scheduler should cut time-to-publish while giving you just enough analytics to double-down. Later leans into visual planning (especially IG + Pinterest) with a clean queue; Metricool emphasizes one calendar + practical analytics across networks with handy best-time hints.

Related reads:

• For a broader social stack, see Best AI Social Tools for Etsy Shops (2025).

• If you’re comparing minimal schedulers, read Later vs Buffer (2025).

• If video output is the bottleneck, pair this with CapCut vs Opus Clip (2025).

Quick Verdict (TL;DR)

• Choose Later if you want the cleanest publishing flow for Instagram and Pinterest, a visual grid, saved caption templates, and a solid link-in-bio.

• Choose Metricool if you want one calendar for IG/TikTok/Pinterest (+ more), best-time suggestions, and side-by-side performance analytics that make weekly reviews simple.

• Bottom line: Visual-first brands often start with Later. Data/ops-minded teams that post everywhere tend to pick Metricool.

How to decide in 24–48 hours

1. Define the job: “Publish 5 posts/week” or “Grow saves/clicks by 20%.”

2. Rebuild your week in both tools: queues, captions, link-in-bio.

3. Ship one real week of posts.

4. Keep the winner that cuts build time and improves saves/clicks clarity.

FAQs

Which is easier for Instagram and Pinterest?
Later. The visual grid + templates make IG/Pins fast to ship.

Which is better if I post across IG, TikTok, and Pinterest?
Metricool. One calendar, best-time hints, and side-by-side analytics help weekly planning.

Do both have link-in-bio pages?
Yes. Later’s is polished and storefront-like; Metricool’s is practical with tracking.

Can I manage hashtags in each?
Yes—Later has saved groups and first-comment support; Metricool has a hashtag manager and keeps UTMs consistent.

What should I look at weekly to improve?
Saves, link clicks, and top formats per network. Repeat what your audience saves and clicks.

If I only have time for one test, what should I do?
Rebuild your next 7 days in both tools and time yourself. Keep the one that reduces time-to-publish and clarifies next week’s plan.

Pricing lens (2025)

Later tends to feel best for IG/Pinterest-first brands that value a polished composer and link-in-bio. Metricool often wins for cross-network posting where best-time hints and side-by-side analytics drive your weekly plan. For both, confirm current tiers/limits on the vendor sites, and model real usage (posts/week × profiles + seasonal spikes).

Use this to pick in under an hour. Check what’s true for you today—if you tick more in one column, that’s your pick for the next 90 days.

Copy these settings on day one; refine after your first weekly review.

Related: Later vs Buffer (2025) if you want a simpler queue, and Best AI Social Tools for Etsy Shops (2025) for a full stack.

Final verdict

Verdict:

• Pick Later if Instagram/Pinterest are your main growth engines and you want the cleanest, visual publishing flow with saved captions and a polished link-in-bio.

• Pick Metricool if you post across IG/TikTok/Pinterest (+ others) and want best-time hints plus side-by-side analytics that make weekly planning obvious.

How to be sure: Run the 7-day testing plan from this post—keep the tool that cuts time-to-publish and clarifies next week.

If you’re exploring which tools fit your workflow, don’t miss our main guide: Best AI Tools for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses (2025). It brings together the top schedulers, video editors, email platforms, and analytics tools in one place, with direct links to all our in-depth comparisons.