Head-to-Head Comparison · Alternative to PostFast · 🐦 social media
PostFast vs TryPost
Twelve networks, analytics, approvals, REST and MCP; free software with non-free operational attention. Here is how TryPost ($0/mo open source) stacks up against PostFast ($33.45/mo) across cost, hosting, data privacy, and real-world trade-offs.
PostFast vs TryPost Specification Matrix
facts verified 2026-08-10
| Dimension | PostFast (Paid) | TryPost (Replacement) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $33.45 / mo | $0 / mo |
| 1-Year Cost (1 seat) | $401 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $401) |
| 1-Year Cost (5 seats) | $2,007 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $2,007) |
| 1-Year Cost (10 seats) | $4,014 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $4,014) |
| Source & License | Proprietary SaaS | open source AGPL-3.0 |
| Where It Runs | Vendor Cloud | Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud) |
| Platforms | Web / Cloud | webself-hostedcliself-host, real ops |
| GitHub Stars | — | ★ 468 (active aug 2026) |
Deep Dive: Switching from PostFast to TryPost
Trade-offs, installation & data architecture
What you trade away
TryPost covers twelve networks and approvals, but running its database, queues, media storage and platform apps is the trade.
How to deploy TryPost
Hosted signup, or production Docker Compose; a bare-metal installation is also documented.
What it takes to run
Self-hosting needs a SQL database, Redis, media storage, and separate developer credentials for each social platform.
Where your data lives
PostgreSQL or MySQL stores app data, Redis handles queues/cache, and media is local or S3-compatible storage.
Why fork TryPost instead of vibe-coding a PostFast clone?
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.
PostFast vs TryPost FAQ
Is TryPost a good free alternative to PostFast?+
Yes. TryPost is a verified open-source (AGPL-3.0) replacement for PostFast. Twelve networks, analytics, approvals, REST and MCP; free software with non-free operational attention.
What is the catch when switching from PostFast to TryPost?+
TryPost covers twelve networks and approvals, but running its database, queues, media storage and platform apps is the trade.
How much do you save switching from PostFast to TryPost?+
PostFast costs $33.45/mo ($401/yr) per seat, whereas TryPost is $0/mo. Switching saves $401/yr for a solo user, $2,007/yr for a 5-person team, and $4,014/yr for a 10-person team.
How do I install or self-host TryPost instead of PostFast?+
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.
