can i fork it?
🐦 social media

PostFast costs $33.45/mo.
These cost $0.

3 free alternatives to PostFast, checked for license, recent activity and real adoption. Each one tells you the catch, so you can switch with your eyes open.

PostFast vs Free Alternatives Matrix

Quick side-by-side comparison Β· $0/mo vs $33.45/mo

AlternativeTypeLicenseWhere It RunsStarsHead-to-Head
Postizopen sourceAGPL-3.0+Local or hostedβ˜… 34kPostFast vs Postiz β†’
BrightBean Studioopen sourceAGPL-3.0Local or hostedβ˜… 2.1kPostFast vs BrightBean Studio β†’
TryPostopen sourceAGPL-3.0Local or hostedβ˜… 468PostFast vs TryPost β†’

The picks

3 open source Β· ranked by fit

  1. 01

    Postiz

    open sourceAGPL-3.0+Local or hosted
    34kaug 2026

    More networks, team features, analytics, API and MCP; also more databases than a scheduler ought to need.

    The catch vs PostFast

    Postiz matches much of the feature surface, but its database, queue, Temporal and credential stack becomes your responsibility.

    Install, platforms & data +
    platforms
    webself-hostedcliself-host, real ops
    install
    Hosted signup, or Docker Compose for self-hosting.
    setup
    Hosted use is straightforward; self-hosting requires Docker, social OAuth apps, and a PostgreSQL, Redis and Temporal stack.
    engines
    Optional AI/media features connect to OpenAI, ElevenLabs, fal.ai, Tavily, KieAI and Transloadit.
    your data
    PostgreSQL holds application data; Redis and Temporal support jobs; media is stored locally or in Cloudflare R2/S3-compatible storage.
    checked
    2026-08-10
  2. 02

    BrightBean Studio

    open sourceAGPL-3.0Local or hosted
    2.1kjul 2026

    Publishing, analytics, approvals, API and MCP in a free hosted product; network count is broad, not eleven-shaped.

    The catch vs PostFast

    BrightBean does not promise PostFast's exact eleven-platform coverage or the same maturity of managed publishing and approval workflows.

    Install, platforms & data +
    platforms
    webself-hostedclithey host it
    install
    Hosted signup, or clone the repository and deploy with Docker Compose or a supported PaaS.
    setup
    Connecting social networks requires first-party platform developer/OAuth credentials; self-hosting also requires Docker or a PaaS.
    engines
    No model is bundled; its REST API and MCP server connect external agents such as Claude Desktop/Code, Cursor or custom clients.
    your data
    Hosted data lives in BrightBean's cloud; self-hosted data uses PostgreSQL 16+ with media on local disk or S3-compatible storage.
    checked
    2026-08-10
  3. 03

    TryPost

    open sourceAGPL-3.0Local or hosted
    468aug 2026

    Twelve networks, analytics, approvals, REST and MCP; free software with non-free operational attention.

    The catch vs PostFast

    TryPost covers twelve networks and approvals, but running its database, queues, media storage and platform apps is the trade.

    Install, platforms & data +
    platforms
    webself-hostedcliself-host, real ops
    install
    Hosted signup, or production Docker Compose; a bare-metal installation is also documented.
    setup
    Self-hosting needs a SQL database, Redis, media storage, and separate developer credentials for each social platform.
    engines
    AI writing can use OpenAI or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint; the deployment template also exposes Anthropic and Gemini keys.
    your data
    PostgreSQL or MySQL stores app data, Redis handles queues/cache, and media is local or S3-compatible storage.
    checked
    2026-08-10

Frequently Asked Questions

Direct answers Β· PostFast open-source replacements

What is the best free alternative to PostFast?+

The top free alternative to PostFast is Postiz (open source, AGPL-3.0+). More networks, team features, analytics, API and MCP; also more databases than a scheduler ought to need. Other popular PostFast replacements include BrightBean Studio, TryPost.

Can I self-host a free replacement for PostFast?+

Yes. Of the 3 free alternatives to PostFast, 3 can be self-hosted on your own server or local machine: Postiz (AGPL-3.0+), BrightBean Studio (AGPL-3.0), TryPost (AGPL-3.0).

How much does switching from PostFast to a free alternative save?+

PostFast starts at $33.45/month per seat ($401/year). Switching a 5-person team to a free alternative like Postiz saves $2,007 per year in software subscription fees.

Should I vibe-code or build my own PostFast clone from scratch?+

Our build verdict for PostFast is KINDA (the core, yes. the polish, no). The core loop is the one every scheduler shares and it is genuinely one-shottable: a compose box, a slot queue, a cron tick, one adapter per network. Two things sit outside what a coding agent hands you in a session. The first is paperwork. Only Bluesky and Telegram give you working credentials on signup; the other nine of PostFast's eleven destinations wait behind Meta App Review for Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, a TikTok audit before an app may post publicly rather than to a private draft, YouTube's default 10,000-unit daily quota against 1,600 units per upload, approval flows at LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google Business Profile, and X, where the free tier is capped tightly enough that real volume means paying. The second is video. Every platform enforces its own container, codec, aspect ratio, duration, and size rules, so anything past text and a JPEG turns into a transcode pipeline with somewhere to actually run the jobs and a retry story for the upload that dies at 90 percent. Build the text-and-image version for the two open networks in a sitting; the rest is review forms and a transcode queue.

What is the catch when switching from PostFast to Postiz?+

Postiz matches much of the feature surface, but its database, queue, Temporal and credential stack becomes your responsibility.