Planable alternatives: 4 open-source picks
Planable costs $39/mo — $468 a year. These 4 alternatives replace it for $0, led by Postiz, BrightBean Studio and TryPost. All 4 are open source. License, stars and last commit checked by hand on 2026-08-29. No trials, no crippled tiers.
Team drafts, comments and publishing in one place; approval workflow is serviceable rather than ceremonial.
licenseAGPL-3.0+
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted signup, or Docker Compose for self-hosting.
enginesOptional AI/media features connect to OpenAI, ElevenLabs, fal.ai, Tavily, KieAI and Transloadit.
dataPostgreSQL holds application data; Redis and Temporal support jobs; media is stored locally or in Cloudflare R2/S3-compatible storage.
the catch vs PlanablePostiz's approval workflow is more basic than Planable's review-centric product, and self-hosting adds operational work.
setupHosted use is straightforward; self-hosting requires Docker, social OAuth apps, and a PostgreSQL, Redis and Temporal stack.
facts verified 2026-08-10
Draft, comment, approve and publish from shared workspaces; the free hosted plan does not meter collaborators.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted signup, or clone the repository and deploy with Docker Compose or a supported PaaS.
enginesNo model is bundled; its REST API and MCP server connect external agents such as Claude Desktop/Code, Cursor or custom clients.
dataHosted data lives in BrightBean's cloud; self-hosted data uses PostgreSQL 16+ with media on local disk or S3-compatible storage.
the catch vs PlanableBrightBean does not yet match Planable's polished per-network mockups, revision history and fine-grained approval states.
setupConnecting social networks requires first-party platform developer/OAuth credentials; self-hosting also requires Docker or a PaaS.
facts verified 2026-08-10
Roles, comments, approvals and a visual calendar; the software is free, the server is yours.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted signup, or production Docker Compose; a bare-metal installation is also documented.
enginesAI writing can use OpenAI or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint; the deployment template also exposes Anthropic and Gemini keys.
dataPostgreSQL or MySQL stores app data, Redis handles queues/cache, and media is local or S3-compatible storage.
the catch vs PlanableTryPost offers comments and approvals but lacks Planable's highly refined previews, revision history and client-review experience.
setupSelf-hosting needs a SQL database, Redis, media storage, and separate developer credentials for each social platform.
facts verified 2026-08-10
Self-hosted social media scheduling and publishing (Laravel). Queue posts to multiple networks without per-seat pricing.
licenseMIT
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
What each one is, in full: Postiz · Mixpost
last updated 2026-08-29 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
how to choose a Planable alternative
Easiest to get running
Mixpost — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
Most proven
Postiz, with 34,300 GitHub stars — the largest community of the 4, which usually means more answers when something breaks.
Needs real ops to self-host
Postiz and TryPost are capable but expect someone to run a server, updates and backups. Budget for that before choosing one.
what you give up by leaving Planable
- high-fidelity previews, approvals, comments, multiple workspaces, and client workflow
- many maintained network APIs
- inbox and moderation
- deep analytics
- team approvals and asset libraries
None of the picks above covers all of it. The full verdict says which gaps matter.
Planable alternatives at a glance
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postiz | AGPL-3.0+ | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted, cli | 34,300 | 2026-08 |
| BrightBean Studio | AGPL-3.0 | they host it | web, self-hosted, cli | 2,100 | 2026-07 |
| TryPost | AGPL-3.0 | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted, cli | 468 | 2026-08 |
| Mixpost | MIT | one-click install | self-hosted, web | 6,000 | 2026-08 |
why people still pay for Planable
People still pay for Planable because the scheduler is easy; staying approved and correct across constantly changing social APIs is the subscription. The recurring cost buys OAuth review, API policy changes, media limits, queues, retries, rate limits, webhooks, tokens, and moderation workflows, not just the visible interface. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $468 a year.
questions about switching from Planable
Is there an open-source alternative to Planable?
Yes: Postiz, BrightBean Studio, TryPost and 1 more. Every tool on this page is open source: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Can open source really replace Planable?
Our verdict is YES. Postiz (34k stars), Mixpost (6k stars), BrightBean Studio (2k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Planable — self-host with real ops work and stop paying $39/mo. The full verdict, and what you give up by switching, is at caniopensourceit.online/planable.
What is the easiest open-source Planable alternative to set up?
Mixpost — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
What is the most popular open-source Planable alternative?
By GitHub stars, Postiz (34,300). Mixpost is next with 6,000.
