The comparison page we'd want to read.
Ground rules: we wrote this, so we're biased. To compensate, every section tells you when the other tool is the better buy. If we're the wrong fit, we'd rather you find out here than in month three of an annual contract.
You're not choosing between tools. You're choosing between categories.
Social schedulers approve posts and stop there. Proofing tools review files but can't publish a social post. Most marketing teams produce all types of content, so they pay for multiple tools and approval records are across all of them.
| What needs approving | Social toolsPlanable, Hootsuite, Buffer… | Proofing toolsFilestage, Ziflow… | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social posts with platform previews | |||
| Auto-publish approved posts (9 networks) | |||
| PDFs, images & design files with annotations | |||
| Video review | |||
| Documents (briefs, releases) written in-tool | |||
| Live web pages via URL | |||
| Multi-round approval workflows | |||
| Unlimited free reviewers | |||
| White-label client experience | |||
| One approval record across all content types |
Category generalizations — individual tools vary, which is what the sections below are for. Prices and features last verified: August 2026.
Gain vs Planable
Planable is a well-made social collaboration tool with a slick commenting UX, and it has been expanding beyond social. The structural difference is pricing and depth. Planable charges per workspace, Gain charges flat, and Gain treats files, documents, and web pages as first-class citizens with one audit trail.
- You manage 6+ clients. At 12 workspaces, Planable Pro costs $588/mo vs $199 flat on Gain Agency (annual billing)
- You approve PDFs, videos, and design files with on-file annotations
- You need structured multi-round workflows and a downloadable approval record
- You want white label, with your logo on the client experience
Gain vs Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media command center: listening, unified inbox, ads, analytics. Gain doesn't do those things and isn't going to pretend otherwise. But Hootsuite prices per seat, gates approval workflows behind upper tiers, and has no answer for the PDF your client also needs to sign off this week.
- Approval is a required step in your workflow, with rounds, reminders and a documented record
- On Hootsuite, approval workflows sit on its upper tiers and every seat is billed. On Gain, reviewers are free.
- Clients and legal review files and documents, not just posts
- You'd rather set up in 5 minutes than schedule an implementation call
Gain vs Sprout Social
Sprout's analytics and reporting are best-in-class. If your job is proving social ROI to a board, it earns its price. That price is roughly $299 per seat per month. Approval workflows require the Professional tier or higher, and every teammate who manages content is another seat, so a review-heavy team adds up fast.
- Many people touch content but only a few manage it. Gain charges for the few.
- You need approvals across social + files + docs + web, with one record
- $199 flat vs ~$2,990 for ten Sprout seats answers the question for you
- Basic post-performance metrics are enough analytics for your needs
Gain vs Filestage
Filestage attacks approvals from the proofing side. File review is its whole world, and features like side-by-side version comparison are excellent. What it can't do is social: no composer, no platform previews, no publishing. Pair it with a scheduler and you're back to two tools, two invoices, and two halves of an audit trail.
- The same clients approve both the campaign PDF and the posts promoting it
- Approved social content should publish itself, instead of getting re-uploaded into a second tool
- One flat price should cover proofing and publishing (a Planable Pro + Filestage stack for a 12-client agency runs about $790/mo, and more on higher Filestage tiers, versus $199 flat on Gain)
Gain vs Buffer
Buffer is a lovely, affordable scheduler for individuals and small teams. If you're a solo creator or nobody signs off on your content before it goes live, use Buffer and keep the difference. We mean it. Gain starts mattering the day someone else has to say yes.
the test:
Count the people who must approve content before it publishes. Zero? Buffer. One or more? That's an approval workflow, and now you're on our turf.
Quick answers
For multi-client teams, substantially. Twelve workspaces cost $199/month flat on Gain Agency versus $588/month on Planable Pro at published list prices (annual billing, August 2026). At 1–3 brands, Planable's per-workspace pricing can be cheaper.
Yes, that's the core case. Gain approves files, PDFs, videos, and documents like a proofing tool, and previews, schedules, and auto-publishes social posts like a scheduler, with one approval record across all of it.
Social listening, a unified engagement inbox, ads management, and deep analytics suites. If those are core to your job, pair Gain with a tool that does them, or pick a dedicated social suite and accept per-seat approval economics.
Still comparing? Good. Compare with a trial open.
14 days free next to whatever else you're evaluating. Send one real piece of content through each, and the winner will be obvious.