Compare
Cadenus, side by side.
Honest comparisons against the tools agencies usually run instead. We name where the other tool is stronger, because a fair comparison is the only one worth reading.
Cadenus is an operating system for video agencies: production, client approvals, native publishing, per-client finance and AI in one flat-priced account. Most tools on this page are excellent at one slice of that (scheduling, analytics or project management) and are priced per seat, per workspace or per channel. That difference in scope and pricing model, not a feature checklist, is what decides the bill at ten or twenty clients.
The short version
Every tool on this page, one table.
| Tool | Pricing model | ~20-client agency | Client portal | Production pipeline | MCP connector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cadenus | Per account, all clients in | €149 / mo flat | |||
| Planable | Per workspace (per client) | ~$980 / mo | Client workspaces, Planable-branded | × | |
| Metricool | Per brand | ~$110 / mo (Advanced) | White Label add-on (separate product) | × | |
| Vista Social | Per profile (tiered bundles) | ~$304 / mo (Scale) | White-label calendars | × | |
| Later | Per social set | ~$300–400 / mo (Scale + extra sets) | × | × | × |
| Buffer | Per channel | ~$350+ / mo (Team, 60 channels) | × | × | Yes (GraphQL API, beta) |
| Hootsuite | Per seat ($99–399/user) | ~$3,990 / mo (Advanced, 10 seats) | × | × | |
| Sprout Social | Per seat ($199–399/user) | ~$2,990 / mo (Professional, 10 seats) | × | × | × |
| ClickUp | Per user (PM only) | ~$210 / mo + a separate scheduler | Guests comment on tasks | Build your own (excellent) |
Public list prices as of July 2026. Each cell is unpacked, with sources and caveats, on the full comparison pages below.
Comparisons
Pick a tool to compare.
Keep reading
Looking for alternatives instead?
Ranked round-ups of the whole category, including the tools that beat us at their slice.
Questions
Choosing a tool, answered.
What should a video agency look for in a social media tool?
Four things decide it in practice. The pricing model: per-seat or per-workspace pricing grows with your roster, per-account pricing does not. Client approvals: whether clients can sign off without creating an account, on every plan. Scope: whether production, per-client finance and reporting live in the tool or in two others next to it. And AI access: an MCP connector lets Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini work directly inside your workspace.
How much do these tools cost for a 20-client agency?
The spread is enormous because the pricing models differ. Metricool is the cheapest at roughly $110 per month; Vista Social lands near $349; Later and Buffer reach $300–500 with the extra sets and channels; Planable's per-workspace model comes to roughly $980; and per-seat tools like Sprout Social and Hootsuite reach $2,990–3,990 for a 10-person team. Cadenus charges €149 per month flat, with every client included.
Which tools let clients approve content without an account?
Cadenus (magic link into a white-label portal, on every plan) and Vista Social (all plans) make it standard. Metricool sends per-post approval emails from its Advanced plan. In Planable and Buffer the client needs an account to approve, and Hootsuite and Sprout Social gate external approvers to their top tiers.
What is the difference between a scheduler and an agency operating system?
A scheduler starts when the content is finished: it queues, publishes and reports. An agency operating system covers the loop around it, from the brief and the production pipeline through client approval rounds and publishing to the per-client profit the work earns. Schedulers are excellent at their slice; the difference shows in how many other tools you still need open.
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