Best Social Media APIs for Developers (2026): 9 Compared

APIs, plans and prices checked November 6, 2026.

A social media posting API lets your code publish to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and other networks with one request, instead of building and getting approved for each platform's own API. The right one depends on one question: are you posting to your own accounts, or building a product that posts for your users?

The best social media APIs for developers:

1. PostOnce: REST API and MCP server for your own accounts, with crossposting workflows you can create through the API
2. Buffer: a public API on every plan, including Free
3. Zernio: per-account pricing, first 2 accounts free
4. Ayrshare: branded account linking for apps that post for many users
5. Post for Me: open source, priced by successful posts
6. Outstand: usage-based pricing with posts included
7. Upload-Post: 22 networks, including Discord, Telegram and WordPress
8. Postiz: open source, self-host or use the cloud
9. Blotato: API for AI-generated content

Disclosure: PostOnce publishes this guide and runs one of the APIs listed. Other APIs were checked against their official docs and pricing pages on November 6, 2026. Plans and limits change, so confirm them before you build.

What is a social media API?

A social media API is a way for software to work with social networks. There are two kinds, and they solve different problems:

• Posting (publishing) APIs put a post live: text, photos, videos or carousels, now or at a scheduled time. Every tool on this list is a posting API.
• Data (scraping) APIs read public posts, profiles and comments. They're used for research and monitoring, not for publishing.

Each network has its own official posting API, but each one needs its own developer app, review and token handling. A unified posting API wraps them behind one request shape and has already done that work.

Your own accounts or your users' accounts?

• Posting to accounts you own (your brand, your clients, a content pipeline or an AI agent): PostOnce, Buffer, Postiz and Blotato fit. You connect the accounts once in a dashboard and post with an API key.
• Building a product where your users connect their own accounts: Zernio, Ayrshare, Post for Me, Outstand and Upload-Post are built for this. Each user gets a profile, and they connect accounts through a link your app opens.

Best social media APIs, compared

Competitor prices are listed per month as shown on their pricing pages.

1. PostOnce: best for posting and crossposting to your own accounts

PostOnce has a REST API for the accounts you connect in your dashboard: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Bluesky and Pinterest, all through official APIs.

Create a key in Preferences → API keys, pick its scopes, and send it as a bearer token:

curl -X POST https://postonce.to/api/public/v1/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer po_live_xxxxx_xxxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "Our new guide is live",
    "publish_at": "2026-12-01T14:00:00.000Z",
    "targets": [
      { "account_id": "linkedin-account-id" },
      { "account_id": "threads-account-id" }
    ]
  }'

What the API covers:

• Posts: one post to many accounts, now or scheduled with publish_at, with per-platform options. Update, cancel, publish a scheduled post now, or retry one failed destination without re-sending the others. An Idempotency-Key header stops duplicates on retries.
• Media: upload videos and images through an upload URL.
• Accounts: list connected accounts and get a link to connect a new one.
• Drafts and analytics: save drafts, and read views, likes, comments and shares (and saves where the platform provides them) for posts on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
• Crossposting workflows: create a rule such as "every new TikTok goes to Reels, Shorts and Facebook" through the API, and PostOnce runs it from then on.
• Scopes and limits: 8 scopes to choose from per key, such as posts:write or accounts:read. Creator allows 60 requests per minute per key; Pro and Agency allow 300.

Nearly all of these actions are also available as a hosted MCP server with 23 tools, so Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own agent can post without an API key. There's also a community node for self-hosted n8n. See the full reference at docs.postonce.to.

Price: API keys come with every paid plan. Creator costs about $0.79 a day billed yearly ($290/year), or $29 month to month, for 15 accounts and unlimited posts. Pro is about $1.89 a day billed yearly ($690/year), or $69 month to month, for 50 accounts. To try the app first, start the 7-day trial, up to 10 posts, no card (API keys need a paid plan).

Building a product that posts for your own users? PostOnce also offers partner access, where your users connect their YouTube, TikTok and Instagram accounts without a PostOnce login and you pay per post. Contact us to get set up.

Choose PostOnce if you post to your own or your clients' accounts and want scheduling, analytics and automatic crossposting from one API.

2. Buffer: best for a public API on any plan

Buffer's API is open to new developers on every plan, including Free. It's a GraphQL API that publishes to Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, TikTok, Google Business Profiles, Mastodon, YouTube, Pinterest and Bluesky. It also has an MCP server and a CLI.

Each plan sets the number of keys and requests: Free gets 1 key and up to 3,000 requests per 30 days, Essentials 3 keys, and Team 5 keys. Use a key for your own account, or OAuth when other Buffer users connect your app.

Choose Buffer if you already schedule in Buffer, or want to start on a free plan.

Every new TikTok post, on Instagram too.Connect once. PostOnce copies each new post for you.See how →

Source: PostOnce posting data.

3. Zernio: best for paying per connected account

Zernio (formerly Late) is a unified posting API for X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Bluesky, Threads and Google Business Profile, with Snapchat in closed beta. Each of your customers can get their own profile.

The first 2 accounts are free with no card. Accounts 3 to 10 cost $6 each per month, 11 to 100 cost $3, and above 100 cost $1, with unlimited posts. It has webhooks, analytics, a hosted MCP server and SDKs in 8 languages.

Choose Zernio if you want to start free and scale by the number of accounts.

4. Ayrshare: best for branded account linking

Ayrshare is built for apps that post on behalf of their users. Users link their accounts through a connect page your app opens, branded with your logo on Launch and above. Its docs list 14 networks, including Reddit, Telegram and Snapchat.

Premium is $149 a month for 1 profile. Launch is $299 a month for up to 10 profiles, adds webhooks and comes with a 28-day free trial. Business starts at $599 a month for 30 profiles.

Choose Ayrshare if your product needs a branded account-linking flow for many users.

5. Post for Me: best for paying per post

Post for Me is an open-source unified API for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Bluesky and Threads. In Quickstart mode it posts through its own approved platform apps, so you don't need your own platform approval. In white-label mode your app's name shows on the sign-in screen.

It costs $10 a month for up to 1,000 successful posts, with unlimited accounts, keys and team members. It includes webhooks, analytics, an MCP server and SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go, Ruby and Kotlin.

Choose Post for Me if you have many accounts but a modest number of posts.

6. Outstand: best for usage-based pricing with posts included

Outstand publishes to X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Vimeo and Reddit. It queues and throttles requests for you and sends signed webhooks when posts go live.

Pay as you go is $19 a month including 3,000 posts, then $0.007 per post. Business is $129 a month including 50,000 posts, with reselling rights.

Choose Outstand if you post at high volume and want a predictable per-post cost.

7. Upload-Post: 22 networks, including Discord, Telegram and WordPress

Upload-Post covers 22 platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Threads, Pinterest and Reddit, plus Discord, Telegram, Mastodon, WordPress and Dev.to.

The free plan includes 2 profiles and 10 uploads a month (no TikTok). Basic is $24 a month ($16 a month billed yearly) for 5 profiles and unlimited uploads, and white-label connect starts on Professional ($50 a month, 25 profiles).

Choose Upload-Post if you also need to post to community and blogging platforms.

8. Postiz: best open-source option to self-host

Postiz is an open-source scheduler with a public API, a hosted MCP server, webhooks, a Node SDK and an n8n node. It supports 30 networks, from Instagram and TikTok to Mastodon, Discord and WordPress.

You can self-host it for free, or use the cloud: Standard is $29 a month ($23 a month billed yearly) for 5 channels, with a 7-day trial. The cloud API allows 100 create-post requests per hour.

Choose Postiz if you want to run the whole stack on your own server.

9. Blotato: best for AI content pipelines

Blotato has an API and MCP server for 9 platforms, including X, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok. It's built for publishing AI-generated posts and videos automatically.

Starter is $29 a month for 20 accounts. The API is on paid plans; creating an API key ends the trial and starts billing.

Choose Blotato if you're building an AI content workflow for your own accounts.

Other options

• Publer: an API for Business and Enterprise customers, with an MCP server.
• Metricool: an API on the Advanced plan (from $53 a month billed yearly).
• PostPeer: a credit-based API for publishing, comments and DMs.
• Hootsuite: a REST API for apps that pass Hootsuite's app review.

Native platform APIs: what you'd need without a unified API

If you go direct, each network has its own access process:

• Instagram and Facebook: a Meta developer app with app review for publishing permissions. Instagram publishing works only with professional (Business or Creator) accounts.
• TikTok: the Content Posting API needs an approved app, and posts stay private until the app passes TikTok's audit.
• YouTube: a Google Cloud project with OAuth. A daily quota limits how many videos you can upload.
• LinkedIn: posting as a member is open to apps; posting as a company page needs the Community Management API, which LinkedIn vets.
• Pinterest: apps start on trial access, where new Pins are only visible to you, until you're approved for standard access.
• Threads: you can only publish for your app's testers until Meta grants advanced access.
• X: posting through the API is paid per request.
• Bluesky: no app review. Use an app password or OAuth.

Most unified APIs have already been through these reviews for the networks they cover.

How to choose a social media API

1. Decide whose accounts you post to. Your own: PostOnce, Buffer, Postiz or Blotato. Your users': Zernio, Ayrshare, Post for Me, Outstand or Upload-Post.
2. List the networks you need, especially TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, which have the strictest reviews.
3. Estimate your volume. Per-account pricing suits few accounts with many posts; per-post pricing suits many accounts with few posts.
4. Check the extras: scheduling, media upload, webhooks, analytics, and an MCP server if an AI agent will post.
5. Test with one real video post on each network before you build the rest.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best social media API?

For posting to your own accounts, PostOnce covers 9 networks with scheduling, analytics and crossposting workflows in one API. For a product where your users connect their own accounts, Zernio, Ayrshare and Post for Me are built for that.

Is there a free social media API?

Yes, with limits. Buffer's free plan includes its API, Zernio is free for 2 accounts, and Upload-Post's free plan allows 10 uploads a month (not to TikTok). Postiz is free if you host it yourself, and Bluesky's own API is free to use.

Can I post to Instagram and TikTok with an API?

Yes. Instagram publishing needs a professional account, and TikTok needs an approved, audited app before posts can be public. A unified API such as PostOnce has already been approved, so you connect the account and post. See TikTok to Instagram to automate it without code.

What's the difference between a social media API and an MCP server?

An API is called from your code with a key. An MCP server lets an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT call the same actions when you ask in plain language. PostOnce, Buffer, Zernio and others offer both. See the best social media MCP servers.

Do I need my own developer app for each platform?

Usually not. Most unified APIs post through their own approved apps, though some need your own app for certain networks (Outstand does for X, Google Business Profile, Vimeo and Reddit). Post for Me and Outstand also let you use your own apps so your brand shows on the sign-in screen.

To crosspost without writing code, see the Zapier and IFTTT alternatives for crossposting and how to post to all social media at once.