Start with the job, not the features
Most small businesses buy marketing software to get a specific job done every week without hiring for it. Write that job down before you open a pricing page. The usual list for a local business is four items: social posts, blog or website content, email to past customers, and replies to Google reviews.
Then sort the tools you are considering into three groups. The difference between them matters more than any single feature.
- Tools that make and publish the work. You approve, or not, and posts go out on a schedule. Blaze.ai, Native and MoFlo sit here.
- Tools that help you make the work. They draft captions or articles, and you still copy, schedule and post. ChatGPT, Claude and Jasper sit here.
- Tools that move work you already made. Schedulers such as Buffer, Hootsuite and Later post what you upload. They do not decide what to say.
If nobody on your team has time to write, a scheduler will not fix that. If you enjoy writing and only need posts to go out on time, an AI content platform may be more than you need.
Read the billing unit before the price
A headline price tells you what one user, one location or one bundle of credits costs. What you pay depends on how many of those units you have. We sorted the 156 tools that publish pricing by the unit they bill on.
| Billing unit | Tools | Share | Median entry price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat plan | 81 | 51.9% | $39.99 (79 with a usable price) |
| Per seat (user, staff or agent) | 22 | 14.1% | $32.88 (22 with a usable price) |
| Contact count or send volume | 16 | 10.3% | $33 (13 with a usable price) |
| Per brand, channel or profile | 12 | 7.7% | $10 (9 with a usable price) |
| Usage (per order, photo, minute or task) | 10 | 6.4% | $12 (5 with a usable price) |
| Per location, property or device | 7 | 4.5% | $25.52 (5 with a usable price) |
| Commission or transaction fee | 6 | 3.8% | Too few to compare (2) |
| Not stated | 2 | 1.3% | Too few to compare (1) |
Share of the 156 tools that publish pricing. Median entry price uses only tools with a usable US dollar figure; see the methods note in the pricing report.
Flat plans are the most common model, used by 81 of 156 tools. They are also the easiest to budget, as long as you check the caps inside each plan, such as posting accounts or articles a month. For a full walk through each model, with worked costs, read marketing software pricing models.
Watch for credits. 18 tools meter the core work in credits. Credits are not a problem in themselves, but the entry plan often covers less than a working month. Sintra.ai, for example, includes 250 monthly credits that do not roll over, and heavy users report running out in two to three days.
Check what happens when you leave
Only 17 of the 156 tools state on their own pages that there is no contract or that billing is month to month. That does not mean the rest lock you in. It means you have to ask.
Three questions cover most of the risk. Is there a minimum term or a cancellation fee? Is there a setup, licensing or onboarding fee? And if the vendor runs anything for you, such as ads, a website or a review profile, who owns that account when you go? Our guide to contract red flags lists the terms we found in vendors' own pricing and help pages.
A short checklist
- Which of my marketing jobs does it publish, and which does it only draft?
- What unit does it bill on, and how many of those units do I have?
- What is in the entry plan: users, locations, brands, credits, posts?
- Is the price introductory, and what does it become after the first term?
- Is there a contract, a setup fee or a cancellation fee?
- If it runs accounts for me, do I own them when I leave?
Where to go next
The marketing software pricing report has the full figures behind this guide, including how each number was worked out. To see tools ranked against stated criteria, start with the best AI marketing tools list, or go straight to your industry: real estate, beauty, fitness and personal care, automotive, or events and creative services.
If you already have a tool in mind, the side-by-side pages compare it with MoFlo plan by plan: MoFlo vs Blaze.ai, MoFlo vs Buffer, MoFlo vs Hootsuite, MoFlo vs Jasper, and the rest are on the comparisons page.
