Comparison
PublishBuddy vs Vista Social
Vista Social packs a lot into every plan, from an AI agent to review management. PublishBuddy does less, and costs a lot less, with X and Telegram included.
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The short version
Vista Social is one of the most complete tools we compared. Every paid plan has Ask Vista, an AI agent that drafts, schedules and reports from your data. Each plan also has a full inbox with reviews, a link-in-bio page, AI images and video, and an MCP server.
PublishBuddy covers the core of that for much less. 10 accounts cost $29 a month against $99 on Vista Social Professional, and 20 cost $49 against $199. X is included, where Vista Social charges $29 a month per X profile. Pick Vista Social if you'll use the inbox, reviews and listening; pick PublishBuddy if you mostly publish.
PublishBuddy vs Vista Social at a glance
| Feature | Vista Social | PublishBuddy |
|---|---|---|
| Networks | Facebook Pages, Instagram, X (paid add-on), LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Threads, Bluesky, Reddit, Snapchat, Tumblr. No Telegram | Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Telegram, Threads, Bluesky |
| Free plan | No | Yes: 3 accounts, 10 scheduled posts per account, 7 days of post stats |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 14 days of Pro or Business, no credit card |
| Cheapest paid plan | Professional, $99/month: 15 accounts, 2 users | Pro, $29/month: 10 accounts, 5 team members |
| 10 social accounts | $99/month (Professional), plus $29 per X profile | $29/month (Pro) |
| Team members | 2 on Professional, 3 on Advanced, 4 on Scale | 5 on Pro, 15 on Business, then $5/month each |
| AI writing help | AI captions and replies on every plan | AI Assist writes captions and suggests hashtags (Pro and Business) |
| AI agent | Ask Vista on every plan: answers from your data, drafts and schedules posts, works the inbox | Answers questions about your accounts, and writes and schedules posts by chat. 500 AI credits a month on Pro, 2,500 on Business |
| AI images and video | AI images and video on every plan, on monthly credits | AI Studio (Pro and Business, uses AI credits) |
| Analytics | Every plan, with competitor and scheduled reports. Custom reports on Advanced and up | Analytics page on Pro and Business. Best times, hashtags and demographics on Business |
| Post stats history | 60 days backfilled on connect, then no limit | 7 days (Free), 365 days (Pro), 2 years (Business) |
| Approval workflows | Every plan. Multi-stage on Advanced and up | Required approval on Business |
| Inbox | Comments, DMs, mentions and reviews on every plan | Comments (Engage, Pro and Business). No DMs yet |
| Social listening | Your own profiles free. Wider listening from $75/month per listener | No |
| Link-in-bio page | Vista Page, on every plan | No |
| Public API | Enterprise, or a paid add-on (price not public) | Pro and Business |
| MCP server | Every paid plan, with 100+ tools. Works with Claude and ChatGPT | Pro and Business. Works with Claude Code, Cursor and other clients that use an API key |
Vista Social facts come from Vista Social's own website, checked October 25, 2026 (sources at the end of this page). PublishBuddy facts come from our pricing page.
Vista Social pricing, checked October 25, 2026
| Plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | $99 | $950 a year (about $79 a month) | 15 accounts, 2 users, Ask Vista, inbox with reviews, link in bio, 1,000 AI credits a month. |
| Advanced | $199 | $1,910 a year (about $159 a month) | 30 accounts, 3 users, scheduled AI agents, multi-stage approvals, branded reports. |
| Scale | $449 | $4,310 a year (about $359 a month) | 70 accounts, 4 users, white-label dashboard, extra accounts and users to buy. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom limits, API included, sentiment and benchmark reports. |
| X add-on | $29 per X profile | Not listed | Publishing, boosting, automations and analytics for one X profile. |
Source: Vista Social pricing page. Last checked: . Prices are in US dollars and change often, so check the source before you buy.
For 10 accounts, Vista Social Professional is $99 a month and covers 15 accounts and 2 users. Each X profile among them adds $29 a month.
For 20 accounts, Professional can't add more, so the next step is Advanced at $199 a month with 30 accounts and 3 users. PublishBuddy Business covers 20 accounts and 15 team members for $49.
Vista Social has no free plan. Its 14-day trial needs no credit card, and paying yearly saves 20%. Its API comes with Enterprise or a paid add-on with no public price.
PublishBuddy pricing
| Plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 3 accounts, 10 scheduled posts per account, 20 drafts, 7 days of post stats. No AI Assist or AI agent. |
| Pro | $29 | $278 a year | 10 accounts, 5 team members, AI agent and AI Assist (500 credits a month), AI Studio, Brand Kits, Engage, team roles, API and MCP, the Analytics page, 365 days of post stats. |
| Business | $49 | $470 a year | 20 accounts, 15 team members, 2,500 AI credits a month, required approval, best times, hashtag insights, demographics, PDF and scheduled reports, 2 years of post stats. |
Extra accounts are $5 a month each ($48 a year) on Pro and Business. Extra team members are $5 a month each. Pro and Business come with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Where PublishBuddy is stronger
- Price: $29 for 10 accounts and $49 for 20, against $99 and $199 on Vista Social.
- X is part of every plan. Vista Social charges $29 a month for each X profile.
- More team members on the entry plan: 5 on Pro, against 2 on Vista Social Professional.
- A public API on Pro. Vista Social's API needs Enterprise or a paid add-on.
- Telegram channels, and a free plan for 3 accounts. Vista Social has neither.
Where Vista Social is stronger
- A full inbox on every plan: comments, DMs, mentions and reviews, from Google to Yelp and Trustpilot. PublishBuddy's Engage handles comments only.
- Ask Vista goes further than PublishBuddy's agent: it also works the inbox and builds reports, and Advanced adds agents that run on a schedule.
- A link-in-bio page, evergreen repurposing and RSS publishing on every plan.
- Its MCP server has 100+ tools and works with Claude, ChatGPT and other sign-in connectors. PublishBuddy's needs an API key.
- Listening on your own profiles at no extra cost, competitor reports, and white label on Scale.
Who should pick Vista Social
You'll use most of it: an inbox with reviews, listening, link in bio, competitor reports and an AI agent that works across all of them. Vista Social puts that in plans from $99 a month.
Who should pick PublishBuddy
You mostly plan and publish, with AI doing the writing and scheduling, and you don't want to pay for an inbox, reviews or listening you won't use. $29 covers 10 accounts, X included.
How to switch from Vista Social to PublishBuddy
You can make the whole move yourself. Here are the steps.
- Start a free trial. Pro and Business come with 14 days free and no credit card.
- Connect your accounts through each network's own login. Facebook connects Pages, and Instagram needs a professional account.
- Gather your scheduled posts from Vista Social. Its calendar exports scheduled posts as PDF or ICS, not CSV, so copy them into a spreadsheet as you go.
- Load those posts with a CSV bulk upload (Pro and up). Name the columns Date and Message, and add Link and Media URLs if you have them. One file holds up to 500 posts and goes to the accounts you pick, so make one file per set of accounts.
- Set your queue times so new posts drop into the next open slot.
- Invite your team. Roles are on Pro and Business; making approval required is on Business.
- Delete each post from Vista Social once it's scheduled in PublishBuddy, so nothing goes out twice. Cancel Vista Social when its queue is empty.
Frequently asked questions
Is PublishBuddy cheaper than Vista Social?
Yes. 10 accounts cost $29 a month on PublishBuddy Pro and $99 on Vista Social Professional, plus $29 for each X profile. 20 accounts cost $49 on PublishBuddy Business and $199 on Vista Social Advanced. Vista Social prices were checked on its pricing page on October 25, 2026.
Does Vista Social have an AI agent?
Yes. Ask Vista is on every paid plan. It answers questions from your data, drafts and schedules posts, works the inbox and builds reports, and Advanced adds agents that run on a schedule. PublishBuddy's agent answers questions about your accounts and writes and schedules posts.
Does Vista Social charge extra for X?
Yes, $29 a month for each connected X profile, since March 1, 2026. PublishBuddy includes X in every plan.
Does PublishBuddy manage reviews or DMs?
Not yet. PublishBuddy's Engage inbox handles comments. Vista Social's inbox covers comments, DMs, mentions and reviews on every plan, so it's the better fit if you manage reviews.
Do both have an MCP server?
Yes. Vista Social's is on every paid plan, has 100+ tools and works with Claude, ChatGPT and other sign-in connectors. PublishBuddy's is on Pro and Business. It uses an API key and works with Claude Code, Cursor and similar clients.
Which one has a link-in-bio page?
Vista Social, on every plan (Vista Page). PublishBuddy doesn't have one yet.
Can I move my Vista Social posts to PublishBuddy?
Yes. Vista Social exports scheduled posts as PDF or ICS rather than CSV, so copy them into a spreadsheet with Date and Message columns. Then load it with PublishBuddy's bulk upload.
The verdict
Vista Social gives you the most per plan of the tools we compared: an AI agent, a full inbox with reviews, link in bio, listening and MCP. Pick it if you'll use them.
PublishBuddy is the leaner pick. It costs $29 for 10 accounts instead of $99, includes X, and covers publishing, analytics and an AI agent that writes and schedules posts.
Sources
- Vista Social pricing page, checked
- Vista Social integrations (networks), checked
- Vista Social help: X add-on, checked
- Vista Social help: Ask Vista, checked
- Vista Social help: AI credits, checked
- Vista Social MCP, checked
- Vista Social help: API, checked
- Vista Social help: data history, checked
- Vista Social help: exporting the calendar, checked
Try PublishBuddy free
Scheduling, analytics, and an AI agent that writes and schedules for you. 10+ platforms. From $29/mo with 10 accounts included.
14-day free trial. No credit card required.
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