Social inbox account limits in 2026: what each entry plan counts

The cheapest plan of each social inbox tool connects a different number of accounts, because every vendor counts them its own way. BetterSocials Creator connects four social accounts for $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, and fits owners whose comments and DMs bring in customers. SocialBee Bootstrap connects five profiles for $29 a month, and Buffer Essentials charges $5 a channel on annual billing, both as of October 2026.

A social inbox is one screen that collects the comments and DMs from every account you connect. We compared the plans at the same account count and the same billing period. Every price below is the one listed in October 2026.

How each entry plan counts an account

BetterSocials, SocialBee, Buffer and Metricool each tie the entry plan to a count of accounts. We took the rules angle for this report: what each plan counts as an account, and what that count costs you. The table shows the entry plan, its price and its account count, as of October 2026.

SocialBee counts every profile you connect. Its pricing page gives the example of two Instagram profiles, one Facebook page and two X profiles, which uses all five. Bootstrap also comes with one user and one workspace.

BetterSocials counts the same way. Several Instagram accounts or several YouTube channels each take one of your four, and each runs its own keywords. Metricool's free plan connects one brand, which means one profile for each social network, and it lets you plan, publish and manage messages.

Which social inbox plans include comments and DMs at the entry price

Sprout Social keeps its consolidated inbox off the cheapest plan. Essentials is $99 per seat a month billed monthly, as of October 2026, and its card lists no inbox. The inbox starts on Standard at $199 per seat a month, billed annually.

The table shows the first plan that includes each tool's inbox, as listed on the vendors' pricing pages in October 2026.

What each inbox holds differs as much as the price. Later's Conversations inbox has no YouTube or LinkedIn conversations. Buffer's inbox covers comments on your posts, and Instagram and Facebook DMs stay in the phone app.

Vista Social ticks its social inbox on all four plans, and Professional adds up to two users. Agorapulse puts one combined inbox on every tier, priced per user. BetterSocials Creator holds Instagram and Facebook comments and DMs, TikTok comments and DMs, and YouTube comments in one inbox.

What four or six accounts cost on each plan

Of the paid plans here, Buffer is the cheapest way to connect four or six accounts if you mostly publish and answer comments by hand. The sums below compare each tool at the same count, on annual billing where the vendor lists it.

• Four accounts on Buffer Essentials cost 4 x $5 = $20 a month. BetterSocials Creator covers four for $24 a month billed yearly, or $29 billed monthly.
• Six accounts on Buffer Essentials cost 6 x $5 = $30 a month. BetterSocials Pro covers six for $39 a month billed yearly, or $49 billed monthly.
• Five profiles on SocialBee Bootstrap cost $290 a year, just over $24 a month. A fifth account on BetterSocials means Pro, at $39 a month billed yearly.

So Buffer is cheaper by a few dollars a month at four accounts and by under ten dollars a month at six. SocialBee is cheaper at five. Against Buffer, what the BetterSocials price buys is the DM side of the inbox, AI replies written in your voice and keyword comment-to-DM.

Seats change the sum on per-user plans. Two people on Hootsuite Standard pay 2 x $99 a month billed annually, close to two hundred dollars. Two on Sprout Social Standard pay 2 x $199, close to four hundred. BetterSocials Team is $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly, for twelve accounts and unlimited teammates.

If you're tracking what a full stack costs, our sister report What social media tools cost in 2026, from Hootsuite's $99 seat to flat plans runs the same seat math across more vendors.

Per channel, per brand, per seat or per plan

Buffer charges per channel, so your bill moves with every account you add. That model suits you if you post to two or three accounts and want to pay for nothing else.

Metricool counts brands instead. The free plan connects one brand with one profile per network, and paid plans are priced per brand. Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Agorapulse price by the user or the seat, so a second person adds a full plan price.

Sendible gives each workspace six social profiles and lets you add unlimited users. InstantDM sells single-account paid plans, then Multi Starter for up to three Instagram accounts and Multi Pro for up to ten. SocialBee and BetterSocials sell a fixed account count per plan.

Contacts are a fourth meter, and they matter if DMs are your sales channel. ManyChat Pro is $39 a month with 2,500 active contacts, as of October 2026, and each extra contact costs $0.05, billed monthly. A Pro account that reaches 4,000 people in a month pays $39 plus $0.05 for every contact past 2,500, which comes to more than a hundred dollars. BetterSocials bills no contacts on any plan, with unlimited DMs and keyword automations.

Who each entry plan fits

Buffer, BetterSocials, SocialBee and the seat-priced tools each fit a different buyer. The verdict depends on what your comments and DMs do for you.

• Pick Buffer Essentials if you mostly schedule posts and answer a few comments by hand. At $5 a channel on annual billing, it's the lowest paid bill here for four or six accounts.
• Pick BetterSocials Creator if your comments and DMs bring in customers. It covers four accounts for $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, with DMs, AI replies and comment-to-DM in one inbox.
• Pick SocialBee Bootstrap if you need five profiles of publishing for one person at $29 a month.
• Pick Hootsuite or Sprout Social if several people share the inbox and you have a per-seat budget, from $99 and $199 a seat billed annually.

For a wider look at what the inbox itself adds to a scheduler's price, see What a comment and DM inbox costs on each social media scheduler in 2026.

How BetterSocials counts accounts

BetterSocials sells three plans, and each names its account count beside the price. Creator is $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, for four social accounts and one login. Pro is $49 a month, or $39 billed yearly, for six accounts and one login, with analytics.

Team is $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly, for twelve accounts and unlimited teammates. Every plan includes unlimited contacts, unlimited DMs and unlimited keyword automations. AI credits meter the AI writing only, and when they run out the AI pauses instead of charging more.

The accounts can come from any of the six platforms BetterSocials supports: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and LinkedIn Company Pages. The 7-day free trial connects its plan's own count, with a card required. BetterSocials' pricing page lists all three plans.