Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 3, 2026

Buffer (application)

Buffer is a software application for the web and mobile, designed to manage accounts in social networks, by providing the means for a user to schedule posts to Bluesky, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Mastodon, Instagram, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok and LinkedIn, as well as analyze their results and engage with their community. It is owned by remote company Buffer Inc.

Last revised
Jun 3, 2026
Read time
≈ 5 min
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
Buffer
DevelopersBuffer, Inc.
Initial releaseNovember 30, 2010 (2010-11-30)
Stable release
4.1.2 / January 10, 2015 (2015-01-10)
PlatformAndroid, iOS, web
Size13.5 MB
Available inEnglish
Websitebuffer.com

Buffer is a software application for the web and mobile, designed to manage accounts in social networks, by providing the means for a user to schedule posts to Bluesky, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Mastodon, Instagram, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok and LinkedIn, as well as analyze their results and engage with their community.1 It is owned by remote company Buffer Inc.

The application was designed by a group of European expats in San Francisco,2 most notably Joel Gascoigne and Leo Widrich. Gascoigne is currently the CEO of Buffer.

History

Buffer began its development in October 2010 in Birmingham, United Kingdom by co-founder Joel Gascoigne, who established the idea of the social media application while he was in the United Kingdom.3

On November 30, 2010, the initial version of Buffer was launched. It contained limited features which only allowed access to Twitter. Four days after the software's launch Buffer gained its first paying user. A few weeks after this, the number of users reached 100, and then that number multiplied to 100,000 users within the next 9 months.4

In July 2011, the cofounders decided to move the startup venture from the United Kingdom to San Francisco in the United States, and Buffer was converted into an incorporation. Whilst in San Francisco, the cofounders dealt with the San Franciscan startup incubators AngelPad. This was due to the increase in cost after moving from Birmingham. Throughout December 2011, cofounders Joel and Leo were able to secure 18 investors to their company, after being refused by 88% of the people they met with to offer an investment to their company. The investors include Maneesh Arora, the founder of MightyText, Thomas Korte, the founder of AngelPad, and Andy McLoughlin, the co-founder of the software company Huddle.

In 2013, Buffer intentionally made its salary calculation algorithm public (along with the calculated salaries of its 13 employees; this number has since grown to exceed 80, almost all of whom opt-in to the salary-publishing culture).56

Features

Buffer has both free and paid plans.78

Buffer for Business

Buffer for Business was a tier of the Buffer application aimed at businesses and corporations. Launched in 2013, it offered team collaboration and expanded analytics features compared to Buffer's consumer plans.9

Data

Buffer publishes original data that analyzes posts sent through the platform. Including an analysis of 2 Million LinkedIn posts10, as well as 150,000 TikTok posts.11

Popularity and growth

After its establishment in 2010, Buffer's total revenue per year increased to $1 million in January 2013, and then crossed $2 million in September of the same year through the growth of customers using the application. By September 2013, Buffer gained 1 million users, with around 16,000 paying users. The number of posts shared through Buffer application crossed 87,790,000 posts and the number of accounts that were used through the application reached 1,266,722, with an average of 70 posts per account.12

Acquisitions

In December 2015, Buffer acquired Respondly,13 a social media customer service and brand monitoring tool, which it has since rebranded to Reply. According to the terms of the contract, the cost of the acquisition was not released.14

Partnerships

Buffer is partnered with various other software applications and companies. Most notably, Buffer is partnered with Meta and has released Threads features early.15 Buffer is also an official LinkedIn Marketing Partner.16 Additionally, Buffer has partnerships with WordPress, Twitter, Zapier, IFTTT, Feedly, Pocket, Shopify, Reeder, and Quuu.

Security

In October 2013, Buffer's system was hacked, allowing the hackers to get access to many users’ accounts. This resulted in the hackers posting spam posts through many of the user's social media accounts. On October 26, 2013, Buffer was temporarily suspended as a result of the hacking. Co-founder Joel Gascoigne sent an email to all users, apologizing about the issue and advising Buffer users about what steps they should take. Buffer was then unsuspended within the same week.17

Daily, launched in May 2014, was an iOS app developed by Buffer that helped users manage their social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. In the app, a user could accept and share, or dismiss, suggested links and headline through Tinder-style swiping gestures.18

In March 2015, Buffer launched Pablo, a social media image creation tool. Its aim is to create engaging pictures for social media within 30 seconds.19 Pablo was sunset in 2024.20

References

References

  1. "A Focused Space to Reply to Every Comment | Buffer Community". Buffer: All-you-need social media toolkit for small businesses. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  2. Eric Eldon (20 December 2011). "Sharing Scheduler App Buffer Raises $400,000, Gets Kicked Out Of US". TechCrunch. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  3. Doherty, Jon (21 January 2013). "Talking Marketing with Leo Widrich of Buffer". johnfdoherty.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. Siu, Eric (26 July 2012). "How Guest Posting Propelled One Site From 0 to 100,000 Customers". searchenginewatch.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  5. Stuber, Sophie (5 February 2020). "This company published every employee's salary online. Did it make pay more equal?". Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  6. Cooney, Samantha. "Should You Share Your Salary With Co-Workers? Here's What Experts Say". Time. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  7. Moreau, Elise. "Buffer App Scheduling Tool for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn". WebTrends. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  8. Moreau, Elise. "Buffer App Scheduling Tool for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn". WebTrends. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  9. Dugan, Lauren (18 December 2013). "Buffer For Business: Powerful Analytics, Team Collaboration And Data Exporting For Twitter". Media Bistro. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  10. Stillman, Jessica (2025-09-08). "There's No Such Thing as Too Many LinkedIn Posts, Says a New Analysis of 2 Million of Them". Inc. Archived from the original on 2025-10-21. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  11. "Report Suggests That Posting More Often Increases TikTok Performance | Social Media Today". www.socialmediatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  12. Wagner, Kurt (19 September 2013). "Tweet-Scheduling App 'Buffer' Hits 1 Million Users". mashable.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  13. Williams, Owen (2015-12-17). "Buffer expands into social media helpdesk as it acquires Respondly". The Next Web. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  14. "Buffer Has Acquired Social Media Customer Service Tool Respondly! Here's the Full Story". Open. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  15. "We've been working closely with the @threads team on something fun!". Thread. February 10, 2026. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  16. "Buffer | LinkedIn Marketing Partners". business.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  17. Jantsch, John (28 October 2013). "How You Handle Controversy Speaks Volumes About Your Brand". Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  18. Lunden, Ingrid (26 June 2014). "Daily, A New App From Buffer, Uses Tinder Gestures For Finding And Sharing Content". TechCrunch. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  19. Gayomali, Chris (2015-03-05). "Buffer's Speedy New Tool Makes It Easy To Overlay Text On Your Twitter Pictures". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2019-11-24. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  20. Tan, Dr Ashley (2025-05-19). "Farewell Pablo". Another dot in the blogosphere?. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
External links