The open-source Metricool alternative
GrowSocialelion is an open-source alternative to Metricool: AGPL-3.0, free to self-host, with an AI agent that drafts, schedules and engages behind an approval gate you set per action. Metricool is closed-source SaaS whose free plan excludes X and LinkedIn and caps publishing at 20 posts a month. Its ad analytics and 11-network coverage remain hard to match.
GrowSocialelion
AGPL-3.0 · open source
An AI agent that drafts, schedules and engages across 8 networks today, every action behind an approval gate you set. The whole app is free to self-host, and 500+ free tools live now: character counters with sourced limits, generators, and more
Metricool
closed source
Metricool is a paid SaaS analytics and scheduling tool that plans, publishes and measures content across 11 networks, priced per brand with a free single-brand tier.
What each side charges
GrowSocialelion
Self-hosted
$0
The full app under AGPL-3.0. Networks, the agent, approvals and the inbox are not billing units.
Hosted
Launching
No hosted pricing exists yet, so none is claimed here.
Metricool
Free
Free
forever. 1 brand, 20 posts a month, no X or LinkedIn
Starter
$20/mo
for 5 brands, billed annually. $25 billed monthly; 10 brands are $36/$45
Advanced
$53/mo
for 15 brands, billed annually. $67 billed monthly; approvals and API live here
Custom
Free
contact sales. White label and a dedicated account manager
Read on Metricool's pricing page on 2026-08-27.
Where each one publishes
GrowSocialelion
Publishing today
- X
- Threads
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Mastodon
- Pixelfed
- Bluesky
- Discord
- Slack
- Telegram
- Nostr
- Dribbble
- Lemmy
- Tumblr
- Misskey
- Twitch
- Kick
- LINE
- Wykop
- Plurk
- Dailymotion
- PeerTube
- Dev.to
- Qiita
- TabNews
- Hatena Blog
- Hashnode
- Ghost
- WordPress
In the catalog
- Farcaster
- VK
- Snapchat
- Naver Cafe
- Zalo Official Account
- Odnoklassniki
- RedNote
- Behance
- Product Hunt
- daily.dev
- Medium
- Substack
- Quora
Metricool
10 of 31 in the comparison set
- Facebook Pages
- Google My Business
- Threads
- TikTok
- Twitch
- X
- YouTube
- Bluesky
- Dev.to
- Discord
- Dribbble
- Farcaster
- Hashnode
- Kick
- Lemmy
- Listmonk
- Mastodon
- Medium
- MeWe
- Moltbook
- Nostr
- Skool
- Slack
- Telegram
- VK
- Whop
- WordPress
Their own count: 11 networks per their own list, read 2026-08-27.
Metricool vs GrowSocialelion, on the record
| Metricool | GrowSocialelion | |
|---|---|---|
| AI content | AI assistant on all plans; Free gets 5 credits a month | The agent drafts per network, in your voice, from live research |
| Approvals | Post approval system on Advanced, from $53 a month | Every agent action is approval-gated: human, semi-auto or autopilot, per action type, in the free app |
| X (Twitter) | Paid plans only, via an add-on | X publishes in the free app today |
| Agent access | API with Zapier, Make and MCP, on Advanced | MCP from day 0; the same publish tool the UI uses |
| Cost at 15 brands | $53 a month billed annually, $67 billed monthly | Self-hosted: $0, brands are not billed |
We build GrowSocialelion, so read the table knowing that. Every Metricool fact on this page comes from Metricool's own pages, checked 2026-08-27. If a price changed since, their page wins.
Both sides of the ledger
What Metricool does well
Eleven networks under one roof, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Pinterest and Google Business Profile, with publishing and analytics on each. (source, 2026-08-27)
Ad analytics few schedulers offer: Google Ads, Facebook Ads and TikTok Ads campaigns reported in the same dashboard as organic content. (source, 2026-08-27)
The free plan is permanent and includes scheduling, competitor tracking for 5 profiles, 30 days of analytics history and an AI assistant with 5 credits a month. (source, 2026-08-27)
Where Metricool stops
X and LinkedIn are excluded from the free plan, and X connects only through an add-on reserved for paid plans. The networks are paywalled, not the volume. (source, 2026-08-27)
The free plan publishes at most 20 posts a month across all networks, and the 5 competitor slots cannot be changed once set. (source, 2026-08-27)
The post approval system, team roles, client management and the API with Zapier, Make and MCP all sit on Advanced, from $53 a month billed annually. (source, 2026-08-27)
Closed source and SaaS only. There is no self-host option, and white label requires the Custom plan with sales contact. (source, 2026-08-27)
Who should stay with Metricool
If your channels live on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitch or Google Business Profile, stay with Metricool for now. Those networks publish there today and are still planned in our catalog.
If you manage paid campaigns, Metricool reports Google Ads, Facebook Ads and TikTok Ads next to organic results. We do not touch ad platforms at all.
If your deliverable is client reporting, the Looker Studio connector, PDF and PPT exports and custom report templates on Starter and Advanced are built for exactly that, and our hosted version has not launched.
Metricool deserves its reputation as the analytics tool that grew a scheduler. Eleven networks, competitor tracking, Looker Studio reports and ad campaign dashboards make it a strong pick for marketers who live in the numbers, and the free plan is permanent rather than a trial in disguise. The catch is in what the free plan withholds: X and LinkedIn are not slow or limited there, they are absent, and X stays behind an add-on even after you pay. Add the 20-post monthly cap and the free tier works as a demo of the paid one.
GrowSocialelion inverts that structure. The AGPL app is free to run with every built network included, X among them, and there is no post counter waiting at the end of the month. Approval workflow is not a $53-a-month feature, it is the core safety model: the agent proposes, you approve, per action type. The code is public, so the exit path from any pricing change is a fork, not a CSV export.
Asked before switching
How much does Metricool cost compared to GrowSocialelion?
As of 2026-08-27, Metricool's Starter runs $20 a month for 5 brands billed annually ($25 monthly) and Advanced starts at $53 for 15 brands ($67 monthly). GrowSocialelion is free to self-host under the AGPL with no per-brand billing; its hosted version is pre-launch.
Is Metricool open source?
No. Metricool is closed-source SaaS with no self-hosting option. GrowSocialelion's entire app is AGPL-3.0 on GitHub.
Can I post to X with Metricool's free plan?
No. Metricool's own help center lists X and LinkedIn as unavailable on Free, and X requires an add-on on paid plans. In GrowSocialelion, X is one of the 8 networks that publish in the free self-hosted app.
Which networks does each support?
Metricool covers 11 networks, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Pinterest and Google Business Profile. GrowSocialelion publishes to 8 today (X, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, Tumblr, Nostr, Lemmy, DEV) with 30 more researched in the catalog. If your networks are in their list and not ours yet, that difference decides it.
Other alternatives
Try the part that is already free
The hosted app is still pre-launch, so we will not pretend there is a signup. What runs today: the open-source app on your own server, and 500+ free tools that need no account, including character counters whose every limit carries a source, something Metricool's tools do not offer.