The open-source Planable alternative
GrowSocialelion is an open-source alternative to Planable: AGPL-3.0, free to self-host, with an AI agent that drafts, schedules and engages behind an approval gate you set per action. Planable is closed-source SaaS priced per workspace, with metered posts and paid add-ons for analytics and inbox. Its client approval workflow and unlimited seats remain its strong cards.
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
Planable
closed source
Planable is a closed-source SaaS where teams and clients review and approve social posts before they publish to 9 networks, priced per workspace with unlimited users and a monthly post meter.
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.
Planable
Free
Free
50 posts total, no time limit. No X publishing, no Analytics or Social Inbox
Basic
$33/mo
per workspace, billed monthly. 60 posts, 4 social pages, 2 approval types
Pro
$49/mo
per workspace, billed monthly. 150 posts, 10 social pages, 3 approval types
Read on Planable'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
Planable
6 of 31 in the comparison set
- Facebook Pages
- TikTok
- X
- YouTube
- Bluesky
- Dev.to
- Discord
- Dribbble
- Farcaster
- Google My Business
- Hashnode
- Kick
- Lemmy
- Listmonk
- Mastodon
- Medium
- MeWe
- Moltbook
- Nostr
- Skool
- Slack
- Telegram
- Threads
- Twitch
- VK
- Whop
- WordPress
Their own count: 9 networks per their own list, read 2026-08-27.
Planable vs GrowSocialelion, on the record
| Planable | GrowSocialelion | |
|---|---|---|
| Approvals | 2 approval types on Basic, 3 on Pro, multi-level on Enterprise | Every agent action is approval-gated: human, semi-auto or autopilot, per action type, in the free app |
| Post volume | 60 per workspace per month on Basic, 150 on Pro | Self-hosted: $0, posts are not metered |
| Users | Unlimited on every paid plan | Self-hosted: seats are not billed |
| Analytics | $12 per workspace per month, sold as an add-on | Metrics ship with each network adapter, no add-on |
| Agent access | MCP connector on Basic and Pro, public API on Pro | MCP from day 0; the same publish tool the UI uses |
We build GrowSocialelion, so read the table knowing that. Every Planable fact on this page comes from Planable's own pages, checked 2026-08-27. If a price changed since, their page wins.
Both sides of the ledger
What Planable does well
Unlimited users on every paid plan. The bill scales with workspaces and post volume, never with seats, which is the opposite of most tools in the category. (source, 2026-08-27)
Approval is the whole product: optional and required approval types on paid plans, multi-level sign-off on Enterprise, and posts lock after approval so nothing changes once a client signs. (source, 2026-08-27)
Nine networks including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads and Google Business Profile, with previews that show clients the post as each platform will render it. (source, 2026-08-27)
An MCP connector ships on both Basic and Pro, so AI agents can reach Planable from day one; Pro adds a public API. (source, 2026-08-27)
Where Planable stops
Posts are metered: 60 per workspace per month on Basic, 150 on Pro. Unlimited posting means Enterprise and a sales call. (source, 2026-08-27)
Analytics is a $12 per workspace per month add-on and the Social Inbox is another $7.50, on top of the plan price. (source, 2026-08-27)
The free plan is 50 posts total, not per month, and it excludes X publishing and both add-ons. It is a trial with no clock, not a free tier. (source, 2026-08-27)
Closed source and SaaS only. There is no self-host option and no code to inspect; multi-level approvals and the List view sit behind Enterprise custom pricing. (source, 2026-08-27)
Who should stay with Planable
If clients approve your content, stay with Planable. Its whole workflow is external reviewers commenting and signing off on a shared board. Our approval gate governs the AI agent's own actions; it is not a client review portal, and pretending otherwise would sell you the wrong tool.
If you publish to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Google Business Profile, those networks work in Planable today and are still in our planned catalog.
If your team is large and your post volume is small, Planable's unlimited seats at a flat workspace price is a fair deal that self-hosting would not obviously beat.
Planable got one thing very right: it treats approval as the product, not a checkbox. Clients comment on a shared board, see pixel previews per network, and posts lock once signed. Unlimited users on every plan makes it easy to pull a whole agency and its clients into one workspace. The complaints that send people searching for an alternative are about the meter, not the workflow: 60 or 150 posts a month per workspace, analytics sold separately, and a free plan that runs out after 50 posts forever.
GrowSocialelion removes the meter entirely. The AGPL app is free to run, posts are not counted, analytics comes with each network adapter, and the approval model is built in rather than tiered. The difference in kind is what gets approved: Planable gates human drafts for client sign-off, while our gate governs an AI agent that does the drafting, scheduling and engaging itself, with you approving each action type at the level you choose.
Asked before switching
How much does Planable cost compared to GrowSocialelion?
As of 2026-08-27, Planable is $33 per workspace per month on Basic and $49 on Pro, billed monthly, with two months free on annual billing. Analytics adds $12 and the Social Inbox $7.50 per workspace per month. GrowSocialelion is free to self-host under the AGPL with no post meter and no add-ons; its hosted version is pre-launch.
Is Planable open source?
No. Planable is closed-source SaaS with no self-hosting option. GrowSocialelion's entire app is AGPL-3.0 on GitHub.
Does Planable limit how many posts I can publish?
Yes. Basic allows 60 posts per workspace per month and Pro allows 150; unlimited posts require the custom-priced Enterprise plan. The free plan is capped at 50 posts total. GrowSocialelion does not meter posts.
Which networks does each support?
Planable publishes to 9 networks: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, Threads 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 Instagram or TikTok is your core channel, Planable covers it today and we do not yet.
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 Planable's tools do not offer.