How do you get client approval for social posts without paying for extra seats?
Send a shared, comment-only review doc each week with every post's image, caption, platform and date, plus a written deadline after which posts go out as planned. Approvers need no login to your scheduler. If you want approvals inside a tool, compare how each one prices extra people first.
The free way: one doc, one deadline
Make one review doc a week
A shared doc or spreadsheet with a row per post: date, platform, caption, a link to the image or video, and an Approved column.
Share it for comments only
Your client or manager can comment and tick Approved, but can't change a caption by accident.
Send it at the same time every week
For example Thursday for the week after, with a clear deadline: anything not commented on by Friday noon goes out as written.
Ask for one decision per post
Approve, change (with the change written out), or drop. "Make it pop" isn't a change you can act on.
Schedule only the approved rows
Copy the approved posts into your scheduler and mark them Scheduled in the doc, so nothing goes out twice.
Keep the doc
It's your record of who approved what and when, which matters with clients.
Why the deadline matters
Without one, a single unanswered email can hold up a week of posts. A written rule that unanswered posts go out as planned keeps the calendar moving, and the client still has the final say on anything they flag.
What approvals cost in Hootsuite, Buffer and Later
| Tool | How it's priced | Approvals |
|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite | Per user: Standard $99 and Professional $199 per user a month, billed annually | Listed on Advanced and Enterprise |
| Buffer | Per channel: Team is $10 a month per channel, with unlimited team members | Content approval workflows on Team |
| Later | Per plan, billed yearly: Growth $37.50 a month with 2 users, Scale $82.50 a month with 4 users | Content approval on Growth and Scale, not Starter |
As checked on : Hootsuite pricing, Buffer pricing, Later pricing. Prices in US dollars as shown on each company's own pricing page. Prices change, so check the page before you buy.
Which setup fits
- One client who rarely changes anything: the free doc is enough.
- Several reviewers who should approve inside the tool: per-channel pricing, like Buffer's Team plan, doesn't change when you add people.
- Reviewers who need roles and internal comments: compare Hootsuite's Advanced plan and Later's Growth and Scale plans on their pricing pages.
The easier way
- Socialhand's plans have a flat monthly price per business ($97, $197 or $397 a month), not a price per seat.
- Nothing posts until it's approved, unless you switch on autopilot on Growth or Pro.
- With phone notifications on, each morning one lists today's posts with an Approve all button, so the yes is one tap. You can change or remove any post in the calendar.
- There's no separate reviewer login for clients, so for an outside client, send the week's posts with the review doc above and approve the ones they sign off.
Questions people ask
Do I need to pay for a seat for every approver?
Not with the review doc: approvers only need the shared doc. In tools priced per user, like Hootsuite, each extra user costs the plan's per-user price.
What should an approval request include?
The post as it will appear: the image or video, the caption, the platform and the date. People approve faster when they don't have to imagine it.
How far ahead should clients approve?
A week ahead suits most small businesses: enough time to fix things, close enough that posts are still current.
Sources
Read on . Prices and limits change, so check the page before you rely on a number.
- Hootsuite pricing (pricing as of October 2026)
- Buffer pricing (pricing as of October 2026)
- Later pricing (pricing as of October 2026)