Alright, when a service you rarely use surprises you, her’s what you do  – purchase it.

I’m someone who compares online services because many offer the same things. So I look for the best package when it comes to sharing content (Content syndication) on social media platforms and graphic design – the ability to design your posts when syndicating.

Before I share what my absolute favorite is now, let’s explore.

Buffer:

Now, this social media platform is stingy for the monthly price and what it offers.  Buffer wants the money and the more options they offer,  I’m sure it’s costly for them to maintain. They also have limited post design capability called “Pablo” when you can edit your posts. But I’m looking for the best deal here for free or paid which includes a post editing and design feature. $15.00/month  doesn’t get you much more than the free option and the editing in very limited.

Hootsuite:

Pricey and I don’t see anything in the way of post design capability, just social sharing and statistics.

Onlywire:

This platform is strictly focused on social sharing. So nothing in the way of being able to design a post. However, for the monthly fee of $9.00 they are very generous if offering a wide number of platforms to share to.

Later:

When Later started it focused mainly on Instagram but they have expanded to include Facebook and a couple of other popular sharing platforms. There’s no editing here though, just sharing and scheduling posts.

Canva:

This is the jewel. This is the one that surprised the heck out of me recently. I’ve been using Canva for a while just for the graphic design options. One day I wanted to explore the sharing options, image resizing, so I upgraded and subscribed to a monthly fee of $12.95. I was impressed with what a “Canva for Work” subscription offers. The post design templates are rich in style and variety which can be edited – love that. In fact, I recently designed my first magazine with Canva.

But Canva includes a collection of Apps that do different things to add to your graphic designs like adding video, gif animations, and more. There’s also options for sharing. If you download the Canva App on your phone, it’s very easy to share your posts to Instagram and Facebook.

I had been contemplating a subscription to Later without the post design , but Canva has the best platform and offers the best of both worlds – an enormous collection of post design templates, images, and options for sharing content to different social media platforms..

So depending what your needs are, looking around is worth the effort. You may have to spend some money to get the “inside” feel of a service and what it offers. But that’s helpful too. I was able to narrow down and find the service that offers the best for the price, and works for me the most.