Postiz gets recommended for one reason above all others: it's open-source, so in theory you can run it for free. In practice, 'free' means you become the person who keeps a server, a database, and a queue system online. If you're evaluating Postiz as a hosted product instead, the open-source label stops mattering and the comparison is just pricing, channel limits, and whether teammates cost extra. This guide covers both paths and where a flat-rate hosted alternative fits.
The self-hosted option, and what it actually costs
Postiz publishes its source and lets anyone deploy it on their own infrastructure at no license cost. What that setup requires, per the project's own hosting guidance, is a server with roughly 4 vCPUs and 8GB of RAM running PostgreSQL, Redis, and a Temporal workflow stack, plus manually registering and configuring OAuth app credentials for every platform you want to connect. Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and YouTube each involve their own developer-app approval process before posting works at all.
That's a real, ongoing job, not a one-time setup. A documented case from Postiz users describes a retry loop that reposted to Instagram repeatedly, the kind of failure mode that risks a platform flagging the account for bot-like behavior. Self-hosting removes a subscription bill and replaces it with server maintenance, credential rotation, and being the one who debugs it at 11pm when a webhook stops firing.
What Postiz's hosted plans cost in 2026
Postiz also sells a hosted version, so you can skip the infrastructure and just pay. As of August 2026, per Postiz's own pricing page, the cloud tiers are:
| Plan | Price/month | Channels | Team members |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $29 | 5 | Not included |
| Team | $39 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Pro | $49 | 30 | Unlimited |
| Ultimate | $99 | 100 | Unlimited |
The catch sits right at the entry tier: Standard, the only plan under $30, does not include team members at all. Add one teammate and the real starting price becomes $39/month, not $29. Channel counts also jump in large steps, 5 to 10 to 30 to 100, so a team that needs 12 connected accounts has to buy the 30-channel Pro tier at $49/month and use less than half of it.
Postiz vs. Synapse, structurally
Both are hosted-scheduler options once you set aside self-hosting. The difference is how each one prices team access and account count.
| Feature | Postiz (hosted) | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $29/month for 5 channels, no team access | $7/month for 5 connected accounts |
| Team members | Requires the $39/month Team plan or above | Included from $39/month (Growth, up to 5 seats) |
| Channel/account steps | 5, 10, 30, 100 (fixed jumps) | 5, 15, 50, unlimited (flat per-tier caps) |
| Self-host option | Yes, free license, you run the infrastructure | No: hosted only, nothing to maintain |
| Design tools | AI image/video generation bundled by tier | Studio suite (background remover, collage maker, watermark, templates, GIF maker) plus a video editor, Creator and up |
The flat-rate Postiz alternative
Synapse skips the self-host-or-pay-more decision entirely: it's hosted only, and pricing is a flat per-tier account cap with no separate team-access fee bolted onto the entry plan. Starter is $7/month for up to 5 connected accounts, Creator is $19/month for 15, Growth is $39/month for 50 and is the first tier with team members (up to 5 seats), and Pro is $79/month for unlimited accounts. Every plan includes a 7-day free trial, card required.
Write a post once, tick which connected accounts it should go to, and Synapse publishes to each and tracks the result per account, retrying only what failed so nothing double-posts. All nine platforms are live today: X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok, connected through direct platform APIs rather than a self-managed OAuth-app setup. The full workflow is in how to post to all your social media at once, and the wider case for a single tool over a stack of point solutions is in why an all-in-one social media tool beats a stack of point solutions.
Creator and up also includes the built-in Studio design suite and a video editor, so a thumbnail or a trimmed clip gets made in the same app the post gets published from.
When Postiz is still the right call
Self-hosting genuinely fits some setups:
- You already run infrastructure (a home server, a VPS you manage for other projects) and don't mind adding one more service to it.
- You want zero recurring subscription cost and are comfortable owning OAuth-app registration and renewal for each platform yourself.
- You need one of the 30+ niche networks Postiz supports beyond the mainstream nine, like Nostr, Lemmy, or Discord.
- You're already paying for Postiz's Team tier or above and the per-seat math works for your headcount.
Other alternatives worth a look
Postiz isn't the only option in this price range, and a fair comparison names more than one:
- Buffer prices per channel at $6/channel/month with no self-hosting option at all; see the Buffer alternative breakdown.
- Publer charges separate per-account and per-seat fees on top of its base price, closer to Postiz's tiered-jump model than a flat rate. See the Publer alternative math.
- Metricool bundles accounts into 'brands' with X as a paid add-on, a different kind of catch than team-gating. Covered in Metricool alternative.
How to switch without dropping a week
Whether you're moving off a self-hosted instance or a hosted plan, the move is mostly about protecting your posting streak:
- Start the trial while your current setup keeps running, so nothing goes dark mid-move.
- Connect every account and send one test post to each before relying on it.
- Rebuild the current week's queue in one sitting with bulk scheduling.
- Keep both running in parallel for a few days, then decommission the old setup — including shutting down any self-hosted server so it isn't still consuming credentials.
Consistency is what actually grows accounts during a switch. The full system is in the habits that keep creators consistent, with a small-team breakdown in choosing a scheduler for a small business.
Frequently asked questions
Is Postiz really free?
The open-source version is free to run, but only in the sense that there's no license fee. You still need a server (roughly 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM), PostgreSQL, Redis, a Temporal stack, and your own OAuth app registrations for each platform you connect. Postiz's hosted plans start at $29/month if you'd rather skip that setup.
Does Postiz's cheapest hosted plan include team members?
No. The $29/month Standard plan has no team access at all. Adding teammates requires the Team plan at $39/month or above.
Is there a flat-rate alternative to Postiz?
Yes. Synapse is hosted only, with no self-host option to weigh, and prices by connected account: $7/month for 5, $19/month for 15, $39/month for 50 with team members included, and $79/month for unlimited, as of August 2026.
What platforms does Postiz support that Synapse doesn't?
Postiz covers 30+ networks including niche ones like Nostr, Lemmy, Dev.to, and Discord. Synapse focuses on the nine mainstream platforms most creators and small teams actually post to: X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok.
What do I give up by leaving Postiz?
The option to self-host for free and the wider platform list beyond the mainstream nine. What you gain with a hosted flat-rate tool is no server to maintain, no OAuth apps to register yourself, and team access that isn't gated to a higher tier than the entry plan.