ChatGPT answers, unedited

For a marketing agency managing 15 clients, I would prioritize a platform that handles separate client workspaces, internal approvals, client approvals, scheduling, publishing, and reporting. At that size, you’ve outgrown simple schedulers and spreadsheets.

My shortlist:

My recommendation for a 15-client agency

Pick HeyOrca if:

• Your main workflow is: 1. Strategist creates content
• Designer/copywriter reviews internally
• Client approves
• Posts publish automatically
• You want clients to have a simple approval experience
• You manage many recurring monthly calendars

Pick Planable if:

• Client feedback is your biggest pain point
• Clients frequently request revisions
• You want approvals to feel like reviewing a social feed rather than a spreadsheet

Pick Sendible if:

• You also sell reporting, dashboards, and social management retainers
• You want a more traditional agency operating system

A workflow I’d set up

For 15 clients:

Content creation → Internal approval → Client approval → Scheduled publishing → Monthly reporting

Use:

• One workspace per client
• Two internal permission levels - Creator: drafts posts
• Manager: final internal approval
• Client reviewers - Approve/reject/comment only
• Publishing locked until approval

I would avoid using Trello, Asana, Notion, or Google Sheets as the approval layer at this size. They can track tasks, but they don’t give clients a true “this exact post is approved and will publish” workflow.

If I were choosing for a typical 15-client social media agency, my ranking would be:

1. HeyOrca — best agency workflow fit
2. Planable — best client approval experience
3. Sendible — best broader agency platform
4. Agorapulse — best if community management is important
5. Sprout Social — best if budget is not a concern

Best Social Media Scheduler HeyOrcaI’d also compare pricing based on 15 clients + number of social profiles, because some tools become much more expensive when each client requires its own workspace. Best Social Media Scheduler

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d shortlist Agorapulse, Planable, and Sprout Social. My pick would be Agorapulse if you want one platform to run the whole social-content workflow.

My recommendation: Agorapulse

agorapulse.com is particularly well suited to an agency model because it handles:

• Separate client workspaces/calendars so clients only see their own content.
• Internal team review before anything goes to the client.
• Client approval/rejection directly on scheduled posts.
• Comments and revision requests attached to the actual post.
• Scheduled publishing across major networks.
• Bulk scheduling and approval, useful when you're managing 15 content calendars.
• Reporting and social inbox in the same system.

Agorapulse specifically supports external collaborators through Shared Calendars, allowing clients to review, comment, approve, or reject content. Agorapulse Agorapulse

The important caveat is plan selection. Its Professional plan currently includes basic approval workflows, while Advanced adds bulk approval and five shared calendars. Multi-step approval workflows are on Custom, which is relevant if your process is:

Content creator → Account manager → Client → Publish

rather than simply:

Agency → Client → Publish. Agorapulse Agorapulse

How I'd compare them

For 15 clients specifically, I would lean toward Agorapulse or Planable, rather than immediately paying for something as heavy as Sprout.

The workflow I'd set up

I'd structure your agency like this:

Client A
→ Content creator drafts
→ Internal account manager approves
→ Client receives review notification
→ Client approves/rejects/comments
→ Approved content automatically publishes at scheduled time

And repeat that independently for each client.

The biggest thing I'd avoid is having Google Docs + Slack/email + Canva + a scheduler all involved in approvals. The advantage of a platform like Agorapulse is that the content, feedback, approval status, schedule, and publishing are tied together. Agorapulse

One important question

If you tell me (1) how many people are on your agency team, (2) which social networks you manage, and (3) whether each client needs to approve every post, I can recommend the exact platform + plan and estimate the monthly cost for your 15-client setup.

For a 15-client marketing/social media agency, I’d shortlist Agorapulse, Planable, and Sendible—but my default recommendation would be Agorapulse if you want one system to handle team workflow, client approvals, and publishing.

My recommendation

1. Agorapulse — my pick

agorapulse.com

Agorapulse is particularly well suited to your workflow because you can have:

Content creator → internal approval → client approval → scheduled publishing

Its approval system supports both internal team members and external clients, and clients can review/comment/approve through a Shared Calendar rather than needing full access to your agency account. Agorapulse Help Centre Agorapulse Help Centre

It also has unlimited scheduled posts on paid plans and a unified publishing calendar. Agorapulse Help Centre

The important part for a 15-client agency is that you can create separate client calendars and control which social profiles each client sees. Agorapulse

I'd choose the Advanced tier if you need a serious agency workflow. It adds things like shared calendars, bulk approval, bulk publishing, content queues and more advanced reporting. Current published pricing is $149/user/month annually ($199 monthly), although the exact number of profiles you need can affect the cost. Agorapulse Agorapulse Help Centre

One caveat: 15 clients can make per-user pricing add up, so I'd calculate your actual team-seat and social-profile requirements before committing.

2. Planable — if client approvals are your biggest headache

planable.io

If your agency's biggest problem is:

"We create the content, then spend our lives chasing clients for feedback."

I'd seriously consider Planable.

Its strength is the review experience—clients see the content in a highly visual environment, comment on individual posts, request changes and approve content. That's arguably a better experience for clients than giving them a full social-management platform.

I'd pick Planable over Agorapulse if the majority of your team's time is spent on the creative → feedback → revision → approval loop.

3. Sendible — worth considering for a traditional agency setup

sendible.com

Sendible is another strong agency-oriented option, particularly if you care about client workspaces, reporting, scheduling and managing lots of accounts.

For 15 clients, it's worth putting alongside Agorapulse in your trial because the economics can look quite different depending on how many people need access and how many social profiles each client has.

What I'd actually do

For your size, I'd run a 2-week trial of Agorapulse and Planable with one difficult client and one easy client.

Set up this exact workflow:

1. Strategist creates brief
↓
2. Designer/copywriter creates post
↓
3. Internal team approval
↓
4. Client receives review
↓
5. Client approves / requests changes
↓
6. Post automatically moves to scheduled
↓
7. Platform publishes
↓
8. Reporting

The key thing I'd test isn't the scheduling. Every platform can schedule posts. The make-or-break feature for a 15-client agency is whether clients actually find the approval process easy enough that they will use it instead of replying to your account manager's email with "looks good."

My ranking for your situation:

1. 🥇 Agorapulse — best complete operating system
2. 🥈 Planable — best approval/client-review experience
3. 🥉 Sendible — strong agency-oriented alternative
4. Sprout Social — excellent, but I'd only pay the premium if you need its more sophisticated enterprise capabilities

If you tell me (a) how many team members need access, (b) roughly how many social accounts per client, and (c) whether clients need to approve every post, I can work out which one is likely to be the best value for your exact 15-client setup.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d make Planable the first platform I’d trial.

It is particularly well suited to the workflow you described:

Create → internal team review → client review/approval → schedule → publish

My recommendation

🥇 I'd choose Planable

The big advantage is that each client can have their own workspace and approval process. Your team can work privately on content, then expose it to the client when it's ready. Clients can comment/approve, and you can configure posts to automatically schedule after approval. help.planable.ioplanable.io

For example:

Client A

Copywriter → Account Manager → Client → Scheduled → Published

Client B

Designer → Account Manager → Client → Scheduled → Published

You can also make Required Approval a hard gate, so content can't be scheduled/published until someone approves it. help.planable.io

Planable supports publishing to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile and X, so it covers most agency social workflows. help.planable.ioplanable.io

Planable

🥈 Agorapulse if social management is equally important

I'd choose Agorapulse instead if your agency needs a more complete social-management platform—particularly for managing comments/messages, monitoring, reporting, and publishing alongside approvals.

Its approval system supports internal and external reviewers, and its higher-end workflows can have multiple sequential approval steps. support.agorapulse.com

Agorapulse

What I'd do with 15 clients

I'd actually test Planable and Agorapulse with 2–3 clients before committing to all 15.

The deciding question is:

• Mostly content creation → client approval → publishing? → Planable
• Content + publishing + social inbox + monitoring + robust reporting? → Agorapulse
• Enterprise-level reporting/workflows and budget isn't a major concern? → Sprout Social

For your specific description—15 clients + team approvals + client review + scheduled publishing—Planable is probably the cleanest fit.

If you tell me how many people are on your team, which social platforms you manage, and roughly how much content each client gets per month, I can narrow it down to the best plan/tier and estimated monthly cost for 15 clients.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d narrow it to Agorapulse, Metricool, and Planable. If you want one platform to run the whole publishing workflow, my pick is Agorapulse.

🥇 My recommendation: Agorapulse

For 15 clients, I'd choose Agorapulse.

It has the workflow you're describing:

Agency creates → internal team reviews → client reviews → approval → scheduled publishing

Agorapulse supports internal and external approvers, Shared Calendars for clients, approval notes, multi-step approval workflows, and scheduled publishing. Importantly, you can require everyone in an approval chain to approve before the post publishes. support.agorapulse.com

It also lets you separate permissions so, for example:

• Account manager → manages client workflow
• Content creator → creates drafts
• Internal reviewer → approves agency work
• Client → reviews/approves
• Publisher → schedules/publishes

That permission structure is particularly useful once you're handling 15 clients. support.agorapulse.com

Agorapulse

🥈 Metricool — probably the best value

Metricool is worth serious consideration if you don't need as elaborate an agency workflow.

Its approval system lets you assign internal or external reviewers, require one or all reviewers, and automatically keep an approved post queued for its scheduled publishing time. External clients can approve from an email without needing a Metricool account. help.metricool.com

That's a big deal for clients: you don't want to train 15 clients on another complicated SaaS platform.

Metricool

🥉 Planable — best if approvals are your biggest pain

Planable is excellent if your agency spends a lot of time going back and forth with clients on captions, creative, revisions, and approvals. It's more collaboration/review-centric than some of the traditional social schedulers. planable.io

Planable

What I'd actually do with 15 clients

I'd set up the workflow like this:

1. Content creator
→ Creates post in platform

2. Internal approval
→ Account manager/creative director reviews

3. Client approval
→ Client receives review notification

4. Revision if necessary
→ Client comments directly on the post

5. Client approves
→ Status changes to approved

6. Auto-publish
→ Platform publishes at scheduled time

7. Reporting
→ Monthly/weekly performance reporting from the same system

The key is not to use Asana/ClickUp/Notion for approvals and then a separate scheduler. At 15 clients, you're better off having the approval state attached directly to the post that will ultimately publish.

My ranking for your situation

Agorapulse — 9/10
Best balance of agency workflow, client approvals, scheduling and permissions.

Metricool — 8.5/10
I'd choose this if price/value and simplicity are more important.

Planable — 8.5/10
I'd choose this if client feedback/revisions are the biggest operational headache.

Sprout Social — 8/10
Excellent, but I'd generally consider it more platform than a 15-client agency needs unless you need its deeper enterprise capabilities.

If you tell me how many people are on your agency team, roughly how many posts per client/month, and whether clients need to approve every post, I can recommend the specific plan/tier and estimate your monthly software cost for Agorapulse vs Metricool vs Planable.

For a 15-client marketing/social media agency, I’d narrow it to SocialPilot vs. Agorapulse, with Sprout Social as the premium option.

My pick: SocialPilot

It fits your workflow particularly well because it is built around the agency model:

Your ideal workflow:

Content creator → Internal team approval → Client approval → Scheduled publishing

SocialPilot supports that exact sequence. A content scheduler can submit posts to a manager, the manager can send them to the client, and the client can approve, reject/send back, or comment. Clients can even approve from an email link without logging into the platform. help.socialpilot.co

That makes it especially attractive when you have 15 separate clients, each with their own social accounts and approval process.

How I'd rank the options

Why I'd choose SocialPilot for 15 clients

The biggest thing I'd optimize for isn't the scheduler—it's the approval workflow.

You want every post to have an unmistakable status:

Draft → Internal Review → Client Review → Approved → Scheduled → Published

SocialPilot explicitly supports team/client approval states and comments, rather than forcing your agency to manage approvals through email, Slack, or Google Docs. help.socialpilot.co

It also lets you give clients selective access to their accounts and designate them as approvers. help.socialpilot.co

When I'd pick Agorapulse instead

Agorapulse would be my #2 and possibly #1 if your agency has more complicated approval structures.

Its current workflow system supports multiple approval steps, including internal and external reviewers, and its Shared Calendar lets clients review/comment/approve without needing a normal user seat. support.agorapulse.com

For example:

Social Media Manager → Account Director → Client Marketing Manager → Client CEO

Agorapulse handles that kind of multi-stage workflow particularly well.

When I'd pay for Sprout

Sprout Social is the strongest choice if you're building a more sophisticated agency operation around reporting, analytics, social listening, publishing, and client management, rather than primarily needing an approval/scheduling system.

Its Advanced plan includes external approval workflows where clients can review content without logging into Sprout, along with more advanced publishing and asset-management capabilities. sproutsocial.com

The downside is that you're likely paying for substantially more platform than you need if your primary requirement is 15 clients + approvals + publishing.

What I'd do in your situation

Start with SocialPilot.

I'd structure the agency like this:

• 1 client = 1 account/workspace
• Give your content creators Content Scheduler permissions
• Have an Account Manager/Editor perform internal QA
• Send approved posts to the client's designated approver
• Client comments/rejects → goes back to creator
• Client approves → post enters publishing queue
• Use automatic publishing wherever the social network supports it
• Keep Slack/email for communication, not approval records

That should give you a much cleaner operation than having 15 clients approving content through Google Docs, email threads, or Slack.

One caveat: if you have multiple people on the client side or require two or three levels of approval, I'd seriously consider Agorapulse instead because its multi-step approval workflows are stronger. help.socialpilot.cosupport.agorapulse.com

If you tell me how many team members you have, which social networks you manage (Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn/TikTok/etc.), and whether clients need to approve every post, I can recommend the exact platform + plan and estimate the monthly cost for 15 clients.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d shortlist SocialPilot, Planable, and Agorapulse—but my default recommendation would be SocialPilot.

My ranking

🥇 I'd choose SocialPilot

SocialPilot is probably the sweet spot for 15 clients.

The workflow maps very closely to what you're describing:

Your team drafts → internal team approval → client review → client approves → scheduled post publishes.

SocialPilot supports role-based collaboration, client approval workflows, a shared content calendar, bulk scheduling, analytics and client reporting. Clients can also review/approve through a shareable link without repeatedly logging into the platform. www.socialpilot.co

That's important at 15 clients because you don't want 15 clients becoming 15 additional software users and 15 separate approval processes.

🥈 Planable if approvals are your biggest pain

Planable is arguably the best UX for content review.

It's particularly good if your process is:

Copywriter → Account Manager → Creative Director → Client → Schedule

It gives each client a dedicated workspace, visual post previews, comments, version history and multi-level approval workflows. Approved content can then automatically move into scheduling. planable.io

I'd choose Planable over SocialPilot if your agency does a lot of creative/content collaboration and client feedback—not just social scheduling.

🥉 Agorapulse if you also need serious social management

Agorapulse is excellent if you want the platform to handle publishing + approvals + social inbox/community management + reporting.

Its Shared Calendar lets clients review, comment and approve content, while your team can manage approval workflows internally. www.agorapulse.com

It's a particularly good choice if your agency also manages clients' comments, DMs and social engagement, rather than only creating and publishing content.

What I would not do

I wouldn't start with Sprout Social unless you have a reason to need its more enterprise-oriented capabilities. It absolutely handles multi-stage approval workflows and separate client environments, but you're likely paying for considerably more platform than a 15-client agency needs. support.sproutsocial.com

My recommendation by agency type

• 15 clients, want one platform and good economics → SocialPilot
• 15 clients, content/creative approval is the core problem → Planable
• 15 clients + heavy community management/inbox → Agorapulse
• Large team, complex enterprise approvals/reporting → Sprout Social

If I were setting up your agency today, I'd start with SocialPilot and build this exact workflow:

Draft → Internal QA → Client Approval → Scheduled → Published → Reporting

The key is to make client approval a hard gate, rather than having someone manually check Slack/email before publishing. SocialPilot and the other leading agency platforms support that kind of structured workflow. www.socialpilot.co

If you tell me roughly how many people are on your team and which channels you manage (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, etc.), I can narrow this down to the best 2 options and compare their actual 2026 pricing for 15 clients.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d shortlist these three, with Planable as my default recommendation.

Why I'd choose Planable

Your workflow sounds like:

Agency creates → internal team reviews → client reviews → client approves → scheduled publishing

That's exactly where Planable is strongest. It gives you separate workspaces for clients, internal comments/feedback, approval workflows, version history, calendars, and publishing in the same system. planable.ioplanable.io

For example:

Client A workspace

• Copywriter creates posts
• Designer attaches creative
• Account manager reviews
• Client receives approval request
• Client comments/requests changes
• Team revises
• Client approves
• Post gets scheduled
• Everyone can see the approval trail

Planable supports required approval and multi-level approval workflows, so you can make approval a genuine gate rather than relying on someone remembering whether a client said "looks good" in Slack. planable.io

One particularly useful feature for a 15-client agency is that Planable uses workspaces to separate clients, while allowing unlimited users rather than charging you for every person collaborating. planable.ioplanable.io

When I'd pick SocialPilot instead

If your biggest concern is managing a large number of social accounts and scheduling lots of content efficiently, I'd look hard at SocialPilot. It's positioned specifically around agency scheduling, client approvals, bulk scheduling, and agency reporting. www.socialpilot.co

So:

• Approval/review is your biggest pain → Planable
• Publishing volume and account management are your biggest pain → SocialPilot
• You also need a serious social inbox/community-management system → Agorapulse
• You're building a larger, enterprise-style agency operation → Sprout Social

What I would do with 15 clients

I'd start with Planable, and structure it like this:

15 client workspaces → 1 standardized approval workflow → internal approval → client approval → auto/scheduled publishing

I'd also establish a rule that nothing can be scheduled until the client approval status is complete. That eliminates a lot of the "did they actually approve this?" problem.

Planable specifically supports settings such as auto-scheduling after approval and locking content once approved, which fits that process nicely. planable.ioplanable.io

Bottom line: Planable would be my first trial for a 15-client agency. If you tell me roughly how many team members you have, how many social accounts per client, and whether you need analytics/reporting, I can narrow it down to the best platform and likely plan for your agency.

For a marketing agency managing 15 clients, I’d choose a platform built around agency workflows, not just a social scheduler. Your key requirements are:

1. Internal team approvals (copy → designer → account manager)
2. Client review/sign-off
3. Approval history/version control
4. Scheduled publishing
5. Multiple client workspaces
6. Reporting/client visibility

My shortlist:

My recommendation for a 15-client agency

Pick: Planable + your preferred reporting tool
Best if your biggest pain is:

• clients taking too long to approve
• feedback scattered across email/Slack
• designers and account managers stepping on each other
• needing a clean “client sees exactly what goes live” workflow

Planable’s approval model is especially suited to agencies because you can create workflows like:

Content creator → Account manager → Client approval → Auto-schedule planable.io

If you want one platform to run everything:

Choose Sendible or SocialPilot.

A practical setup:

• 15 clients
• 3–8 social accounts per client
• 2–5 internal users
• monthly content calendars
• client approvals required

I’d lean:

Small/medium agency (5–20 staff):
→ Planable

Agency wanting scheduling + reports + client management in one place:
→ Sendible

Cost-conscious agency scaling from 15 → 50 clients:
→ SocialPilot

A workflow I’d avoid:

• Google Sheets for calendars
• Canva approvals
• Slack approvals
• Buffer/Hootsuite as the only approval layer

They usually break once you have multiple clients and multiple reviewers.

If you tell me:

• how many team members need access,
• which channels you manage (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.),
• whether clients need to approve every post,
• and your monthly software budget,

I can narrow it to the best 1–2 options.

For a 15-client marketing/social media agency, I’d make Planable the first platform you evaluate.

The key is that you don't just need a scheduler—you need a workflow of:

Create → internal team review → client review → approval → scheduled publishing → reporting

My shortlist

1. 🥇 Planable — my recommendation

Planable

Planable is particularly well suited to agencies because the product is built around content collaboration and approval, rather than simply scheduling posts. It supports approval stages such as internal review → client approval, visual previews, comments, and scheduling/publishing. www.socialpilot.co

For 15 clients, I'd structure it something like:

Client A workspace

• Content creator
• Account manager
• Internal approver
• Client reviewer
• Content calendar
• Approval workflow
• Scheduled posts

Then repeat for each client.

The big advantage is that client feedback lives against the actual post, rather than getting scattered across email, Slack, Google Docs, and PDFs.

I'd choose Planable if your biggest operational headache is getting content approved.

2. Agorapulse — choose this if you also manage engagement

Agorapulse

Agorapulse is stronger than Planable if your agency also handles comments, DMs, social inboxes, moderation and reporting.

It supports team approval as well as client approval through shared calendars; clients can review, comment and approve content without necessarily being full platform users. www.agorapulse.com

So if your service is:

Content creation + approval + publishing + community management + reporting

I'd seriously consider Agorapulse.

3. Sprout Social — best if you're building a larger agency

Sprout Social

Sprout has very strong client-specific groups/permissions, approval workflows, shared calendars and reporting. sproutsocial.com

It's the option I'd consider if you expect the agency to grow substantially and want a more sophisticated system around permissions, analytics and reporting.

The downside is that it's typically harder to justify economically for a 15-client agency unless you're selling a relatively high-value service.

4. SocialPilot — worth looking at for value

SocialPilot

SocialPilot is worth considering if you have lots of social profiles across those 15 clients and want strong scheduling/approval functionality without moving into the more expensive enterprise-oriented platforms. Its agency offering specifically emphasizes client approvals, manager approvals, bulk scheduling and agency workflows. www.socialpilot.co

What I'd do in your position

I'd narrow it to three demos/trials:

Planable → Agorapulse → SocialPilot

And test the exact same workflow in each:

1. Strategist creates a post
2. Designer attaches creative
3. Account manager reviews it
4. Client receives notification
5. Client requests a change
6. Team edits the post
7. Client approves
8. Post automatically moves into scheduled/publishing status
9. Client can see the upcoming calendar
10. Team can see exactly which posts are waiting on whom

The winner shouldn't be whichever has the most features. Pick the one that makes that workflow require the fewest clicks and the least client training.

My ranking for a 15-client agency

Planable — 9.5/10
Best if approvals/client collaboration are the core problem.

Agorapulse — 9/10
Best all-around choice if you're also doing community management.

Sprout Social — 8.5/10
Excellent, but I'd want a larger/high-revenue agency before paying for its full capabilities.

SocialPilot — 8.5/10
Very compelling if keeping the software cost under control is important.

Hootsuite — 8/10
Capable, but I'd choose the others first for an agency whose primary challenge is client approvals.

If you tell me roughly how many people are on your team, which social channels you manage (IG/FB/LinkedIn/TikTok/etc.), and whether you need client reporting too, I can narrow this down to the best 1–2 platforms and compare their current pricing for 15 clients.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d make Planable the default choice.

The key reason: your workflow is not just “schedule social posts.” You need internal team review → client review/approval → scheduled publishing, repeatedly across 15 separate client accounts. Planable is specifically built around that workflow, with multi-level approvals, client reviewers, comments, visual previews, and publishing. planable.io

My shortlist

Current agency-focused comparisons similarly put Planable at the top for collaboration/client approvals, while Agorapulse is stronger when social inbox, monitoring and reporting are priorities. planable.iosproutsocial.com

Why I'd pick Planable

I'd structure each client as its own workspace:

Client → Content calendar → Internal approval → Client approval → Schedule → Publish

For example:

1. Content creator drafts post.
2. Account manager reviews internally.
3. Client receives approval request.
4. Client comments or requests changes directly on the post.
5. Creator revises it.
6. Client approves.
7. Approved post automatically moves toward publishing.
8. Team can manage/schedule content from the same calendar.

Planable supports optional, required, and multi-level approval workflows, including distinct internal and external/client roles. It also supports approval requests via email, which is particularly useful because clients don't need to live inside your agency's workflow all day. planable.io

When I'd choose something else

Choose Agorapulse if your agency also manages a lot of comments, DMs, social listening and community management. Its unified inbox and reporting are major advantages. planable.iosproutsocial.com

Choose SocialPilot if price/scalability is the biggest concern. It's positioned specifically for agencies managing multiple client accounts, with scheduling, approvals and client management. www.socialpilot.co

Choose Sprout Social if you're becoming a more sophisticated agency and need deep analytics, social CRM, listening and enterprise-level reporting. I'd probably consider it unnecessarily expensive for a straightforward 15-client content/approval workflow. www.techradar.com

My recommendation for your agency

Start with Planable.

At 15 clients, I'd prioritize ease of client approval and operational simplicity over having the biggest possible feature set. The biggest productivity gain will come from eliminating the endless:

“Here's the Google Drive link → here's the spreadsheet → can you approve this? → which version? → did you see my email?”

Planable is designed specifically to eliminate that kind of agency friction. planable.io

If you tell me how many people are on your team, which social networks you manage (Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn/TikTok/etc.), and roughly how many posts per client per month, I can narrow this down to Planable vs Agorapulse vs SocialPilot and tell you which one I'd actually buy for a 15-client agency.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d put Planable at the top of the list.

The key distinction is that you don't just need a social scheduler—you need a client approval workflow where your team can create/revise content, the client can review/comment/approve, and approved posts can then be scheduled/published.

My shortlist

🥇 I'd choose Planable

Planable is particularly well suited to the workflow you're describing. It uses separate workspaces per client, with content calendars, comments, annotations, approvals and publishing all in the same environment. You can also keep internal team comments separate from what the client sees. planable.io

A typical workflow could be:

Your strategist → Writer/designer → Internal team approval → Client review → Client approval → Auto-schedule → Publish

That's much cleaner than having clients approve posts through email, Google Docs, Slack, etc.

The pricing structure is also attractive for an agency because Planable charges per workspace rather than per user. Its current Pro plan is listed at $49/workspace/month and allows unlimited users, 10 social pages and required approvals; Enterprise adds multi-level approvals. planable.io

For 15 clients, however, you should ask Planable for agency/volume pricing rather than simply multiplying the retail workspace price by 15.

🥈 Agorapulse

I'd choose Agorapulse instead if your agency needs more than content approvals—particularly if you want a strong social inbox, community management, reporting and publishing platform.

Its higher-tier plans add team assignments, shared calendars, advanced reporting and, at the custom level, multi-step approval workflows. www.agorapulse.com

So:

Planable = better content-production/approval workflow

Agorapulse = better overall social-media management operation

🥉 Sprout Social

Sprout is excellent if you're building toward a larger agency operation with sophisticated reporting, social listening and enterprise workflows. Its Professional/Advanced plans support multi-step approval workflows, including external/client approvals. support.sproutsocial.com

But I wouldn't make it my first choice for a 15-client agency unless you specifically need its analytics/listening capabilities. The per-user pricing can become expensive quickly. Current listed pricing starts around $199/user/month for Standard and $299/user/month for Professional. www.capterra.com

What I'd do in your situation

I'd narrow it to:

1. Planable — best overall for your stated workflow
2. Agorapulse — best if publishing/inbox/reporting are equally important
3. Sendible — worth testing if agency/white-label features are important
4. Metricool — best if keeping costs down is a major priority
5. Sprout — best if you're willing to pay for enterprise-level capabilities

One important thing: don't evaluate these based primarily on scheduling features. Almost all of them can schedule posts. For a 15-client agency, I'd test the approval experience with 2–3 real clients.

Specifically test:

• Can your team approve internally before the client sees it?
• Can clients approve without getting a full user seat/license?
• Can clients comment directly on the post?
• Can they request changes?
• Can you see exactly who approved what?
• Can approved content automatically move to scheduled?
• Can each client have a completely separate workspace/calendar?
• Can you prevent one client's team from seeing another client's content?
• Can you handle Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.?
• Can you generate client-ready reports?
• How much does it actually cost when you have 15 clients + 5–10 internal users?

If you tell me roughly how many people are on your agency team and which social networks you manage (Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn/TikTok/etc.), I can compare Planable vs Agorapulse vs Sendible vs Metricool specifically for your 15-client setup—including the likely monthly cost and the exact workflow I'd recommend.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d shortlist Metricool, Agorapulse, and Sprout Social—but my default recommendation would be Metricool if you want the best balance of workflow, client approvals, scheduling, and cost.

🥇 My pick: Metricool

For 15 clients, I'd lean toward Metricool.

Its approval system lets you send individual posts to internal collaborators or external reviewers by email, specify whether one or all reviewers must approve, and track approval status from the calendar/task system. Clients can approve or reject without necessarily needing a full Metricool account. help.metricool.com

A good agency workflow would be:

Content creator → Internal team review → Client approval → Scheduled → Auto-published

That keeps the client from accidentally changing your content calendar while still giving them a very simple approval step.

🥈 Agorapulse if approvals are complicated

Agorapulse is particularly attractive if you have workflows such as:

Copywriter → Account Manager → Client → Legal → Publish

It supports multi-step approval workflows, including internal and external stakeholders. support.agorapulse.com

For a 15-client agency with multiple people touching each account, I'd seriously consider it.

🥉 Sprout Social if you're building a larger agency

Sprout Social has sophisticated multi-user/multi-step approval workflows and is strong for larger teams and organizations. support.sproutsocial.com

The downside is that you're potentially paying for considerably more platform than a 15-client agency actually needs.

One more I'd test: Planable

Planable is worth putting into your trial. It's particularly focused on the content → review → comments → approval → publishing experience rather than trying to be an enormous social-media suite.

What I'd choose

If I were setting up your agency today:

15 clients + 3–10 internal staff → Metricool

15 clients + complex approval chains → Agorapulse

15 clients + enterprise reporting/listening/workflows → Sprout Social

15 clients + content production/review is the biggest pain → Planable

One important distinction: don't choose based primarily on scheduling. At 15 clients, the thing that will make or break your operation is the approval workflow and client separation. You want each client to see only their content, approve/reject/comment easily, and have approved posts automatically move toward publishing.

If you tell me how many people are on your team, which social networks you manage (Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn/TikTok/etc.), and whether clients need to comment on individual posts, I can narrow this down to one platform and the exact setup I'd use for 15 clients.

For a marketing agency managing ~15 clients, you’ll want a platform that handles three workflows well:

1. Internal team approvals (writers, designers, account managers)
2. Client review/approval (without giving clients too much access)
3. Scheduled publishing (social, content, campaigns)

The best fit depends on whether you’re mainly managing social media, content marketing, or full-service campaigns. Here are the strongest options:

My recommendation for a 15-client agency

Option 1 — Best overall: Agorapulse

Use this if most of your work is:

• Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn/TikTok/X management
• Community management
• Monthly content calendars
• Client sign-off before posts go live

Why it works:

• Separate workspaces/inboxes per client
• Client approval workflows
• Content calendar
• Scheduling
• Reporting
• Team permissions

A 15-client agency is right in its target range.

Option 2 — Best client approval experience: Planable

Choose this if your biggest pain point is:

“We need clients to quickly review posts and approve/reject without confusion.”

Strengths:

• Very clean client-facing interface
• Comments directly on posts
• Approval history
• Easy for non-marketing clients

Many agencies pair it with another tool for analytics/reporting.

Option 3 — Best budget-friendly stack

For a lean agency:

• Planable → approvals
• Metricool → scheduling/reporting
• Google Drive → assets

What I would avoid

• Using spreadsheets for approvals — they break down around 10+ clients.
• Giving clients access to your project management tool unless they’re very involved.
• Using enterprise tools like Sprout Social unless your margins justify the cost.

A practical agency setup

Client workspace
→ Content calendar
→ Draft posts
→ Client approval
→ Scheduled publishing

Internal workflow
→ Copywriter drafts
→ Designer attaches assets
→ Account manager reviews
→ Client approves
→ Scheduler publishes

For 15 clients, I’d shortlist:

1. 🥇 Agorapulse — if social media is your core service
2. 🥈 Planable — if client approvals are the bottleneck
3. 🥉 Loomly — if you want simple and affordable

If you tell me your main services (social only vs SEO/content/email/ads) and approximate monthly budget, I can narrow it to the best stack.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d recommend Planable as the best overall fit—especially if your core workflow is:

Agency creates → internal team reviews → client reviews/approves → scheduled publishing.

My ranking

🥇 Why I'd choose Planable

Planable is specifically structured around client workspaces. You can create a separate workspace for each client, keep internal discussions hidden from the client, then expose content when it's ready for client review. Clients can comment, suggest changes and approve posts. planable.io

The approval workflow is particularly well suited to an agency:

Draft → Internal approval → Client approval → Scheduled → Published

Its Pro plan supports required approvals, meaning content can't be scheduled/published until an approver signs off. It also supports unlimited users, so you're not paying per team member. planable.io

For 15 clients, I'd structure it as:

PLANABLE
│
├── Client 01
│   ├── Internal Agency Team
│   └── Client
│
├── Client 02
│   ├── Internal Agency Team
│   └── Client
│
├── ...
│
└── Client 15
    ├── Internal Agency Team
    └── Client

That keeps each client's content, approvals, calendar and conversations separated.

💰 What about cost?

Planable's current Pro plan is listed at $49/workspace/month, with 10 social pages per workspace, unlimited users and required approvals. However, because Planable recommends one workspace per client, 15 clients can become expensive at list pricing. Planable specifically says agencies managing 5+ workspaces can discuss Enterprise/volume pricing. planable.io

So I would not simply buy 15 Pro workspaces at list price. I'd contact Planable and negotiate an agency/volume plan.

🥈 Buffer — if keeping costs down is important

Buffer is worth considering if your workflow is relatively straightforward.

Its Team plan has unlimited users and content approval workflows, and Buffer charges by connected social channels rather than seats. That's attractive for a 15-client agency. buffer.com

I'd choose Buffer if your priority is:

"We need to efficiently schedule lots of social content without spending a fortune."

I'd choose Planable if your priority is:

"We need a really clean client approval process."

🥉 Sprout Social — powerful, but probably overkill

Sprout Social is the better choice if you're also doing social listening, community management, sophisticated reporting, competitor analysis and multiple approval levels.

Its Professional plan has custom approval workflows and unlimited social profiles, but it currently starts around $299/seat/month billed annually, so costs can climb very quickly for an agency. sproutsocial.com

My recommendation for your agency

If I were setting up a 15-client agency today:

1. Planable → best overall
2. Buffer → best value
3. Sprout Social → best if you're a sophisticated/high-end social agency

I'd lean Planable + your existing CRM/project-management system rather than trying to make one platform handle absolutely everything.

If you tell me roughly how many social channels you manage per client (e.g. IG + FB + LinkedIn) and how many people are on your agency team, I can work out the likely monthly cost and recommend the exact plan/setup for 15 clients.

For a 15-client marketing agency, I’d shortlist Planable, Agorapulse, and Metricool. The best choice depends mostly on how sophisticated your approval process needs to be.

🥇 My pick: Planable

If your workflow is roughly:

Agency creates → internal team reviews → client reviews → client requests changes/approves → scheduled publishing

I'd choose Planable. Its strength is the approval/collaboration layer, rather than simply being a social scheduler. Recent agency users particularly highlight its client spaces, visual previews, comments, and multi-level approval workflows. www.reddit.com

It's a particularly good fit if each of your 15 clients needs their own content calendar/workspace and you want clients to interact with content without getting access to your entire agency operation.

Planable

🥈 Agorapulse if you want more of an all-in-one

I'd pick Agorapulse if, beyond approvals and publishing, you want the platform to become your team's broader social-media operating system.

It supports scheduled publishing across major networks and lets you send posts to internal or external reviewers. Its higher-tier workflow system can handle multi-step approvals, e.g. agency editor → account manager → client. support.agorapulse.com

Agorapulse

🥉 Metricool if cost/value is important

Metricool is compelling for a 15-client agency because its approval process is quite practical: you can assign internal collaborators or external clients, specify whether one or all reviewers must approve, and clients can approve/reject directly from email without having a Metricool account. help.metricool.com

The approval functionality is on its Advanced and Custom plans, so I'd make sure the agency plan you price out supports your 15-brand setup. help.metricool.com

Metricool

What I'd do with 15 clients

I'd structure the workflow like this:

Client workspace
→ Content calendar
→ Copy/design created
→ Internal agency approval
→ Client approval
→ Scheduled
→ Auto-published
→ Reporting

The important thing is not to choose based primarily on scheduling. Almost all of these platforms can schedule posts. Your bottleneck at 15 clients is likely to become "What's waiting for approval, who has it, and why hasn't it been approved?"

So my ranking would be:

1. Planable — if approvals/client collaboration are the core problem
2. Agorapulse — if you want a broader social-management platform
3. Metricool — if you want the best price/functionality balance

If you tell me how many people are on your agency team and which networks you manage (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.), I can narrow this down to the best platform + plan for 15 clients, including an estimated monthly cost.

For a marketing agency managing around 15 clients, you generally want more than just a scheduling tool. The key features to prioritize are:

• Multi-client workspaces
• Internal team approval workflows
• Client review and approvals (without requiring a paid seat if possible)
• Content calendar
• Scheduled publishing across multiple social networks
• Reporting
• Role-based permissions

Here's how the leading platforms compare:

My top recommendations

1. Agorapulse (Best overall)

Ideal if you're running a full-service agency.

Pros:

• Multiple client workspaces
• Client approval links
• Internal approval workflows
• Unified inbox
• Social listening
• Strong reporting
• Easy permissions management

This is often the sweet spot for agencies with 10–50 clients.

2. Planable (Best for approval-heavy agencies)

If your biggest pain point is getting content approved by clients:

• Clients review posts in a visual feed
• Leave comments directly on posts
• Approve or request changes
• Multiple approval stages
• Great for creative collaboration

Many agencies pair Planable with another reporting tool if they need more advanced analytics.

3. ContentStudio (Best value)

ContentStudio includes:

• AI assistance
• Approval workflows
• Client workspaces
• Scheduling
• Analytics
• Automation
• RSS/content discovery

It's typically more affordable than enterprise-focused competitors while offering a broad feature set.

4. Sprout Social (Premium option)

If budget is less of a concern, Sprout Social offers:

• Excellent collaboration
• Advanced analytics
• CRM-style customer engagement
• Robust approvals
• Enterprise-grade permissions

The downside is that pricing can increase significantly as your team grows.

For your size (15 clients)

If you have:

• 3–8 team members
• Around 15 clients
• Roughly 200–600 posts per month

I'd rank them like this:

1. Agorapulse ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. ContentStudio ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Planable ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (especially if approvals are the main challenge)
4. Loomly ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
5. Sprout Social ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (excellent but often pricier)

If your agency also creates graphics and videos, consider combining one of these platforms with a design collaboration tool like Canva or Adobe Express so clients can review creative assets before they move into the publishing workflow.

If you can share:

• your approximate monthly budget,
• how many team members need access,
• and which social networks you manage (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Pinterest, etc.),

I can narrow it down to the one that offers the best balance of features and cost for your agency.

For a marketing agency managing around 15 clients, you want something that supports four core workflows well:

• Internal team collaboration and approvals
• Client review and approvals
• Scheduled publishing across multiple social platforms
• Client separation (workspaces, permissions, reporting)

Here are the strongest options, depending on your priorities.

My top recommendations

1. Agorapulse (Best overall)

This is one of the strongest choices for an agency with 15 clients.

Pros:

• Multiple client workspaces
• Internal approval workflows
• Client approval links (clients don't always need a login)
• Social inbox
• Scheduling and publishing
• Reporting
• User permissions
• Easy onboarding

Ideal if you manage:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• X
• TikTok
• Google Business Profile
• YouTube

2. Planable (Best for client approvals)

If your biggest bottleneck is getting content approved, this is difficult to beat.

Features:

• Beautiful content previews
• Comment directly on posts
• Multiple approval stages
• Internal → client approval workflow
• Version history
• Scheduled publishing

Many agencies actually use:

• Planable for approvals
• Another tool for analytics/reporting

3. Sprout Social (Premium option)

If budget isn't a major concern, Sprout Social offers a polished experience.

Strengths:

• Enterprise-level workflows
• Smart approval routing
• Excellent analytics
• Team assignments
• CRM-style social inbox
• Strong reporting

Downside:

• One of the more expensive options.

4. Loomly (Great value)

A good middle ground.

Includes:

• Approval workflow
• Content calendar
• Publishing
• Client collaboration
• Asset library
• Notifications

Often easier to learn than larger enterprise platforms.

Recommended workflow

For an agency with 15 clients:

Strategist
      ↓
Content Creator
      ↓
Internal Review
      ↓
Client Approval
      ↓
Scheduled Publishing
      ↓
Reporting

The best platforms support this process without requiring lengthy email chains.

Pricing considerations

With 15 clients, pricing often depends on:

• Number of social profiles
• Number of users
• Approval features
• Reporting requirements

Agencies managing 15 clients commonly spend anywhere from a few hundred to well over a thousand dollars per month, depending on the number of connected accounts and team members. It's worth requesting an agency quote rather than relying only on list prices.

My recommendation

If I were choosing today:

• Best overall: Agorapulse
• Best for approval-heavy agencies: Planable
• Best premium solution: Sprout Social
• Best budget option: Loomly

If your agency also creates content in Canva, Adobe Express, or Google Drive, it's worth considering how well the platform integrates with those tools, since that can significantly streamline the review and publishing process.

If you share:

• how many team members you have,
• which social platforms you publish to,
• and your monthly software budget,

I can narrow it down to the best fit for your agency.

For a marketing agency managing about 15 clients, I'd prioritize a platform that combines internal approvals, client approvals, and reliable scheduling without becoming overly complex or expensive.

Here's how the leading options compare:

My recommendation

For 15 clients, I'd narrow it to these three:

1. Agorapulse (overall best value)

• Multi-level approval workflows
• Clients can review and approve content without editing it
• Shared content calendars
• Publishing to all major social platforms
• Inbox and reporting included
• Typically offers one of the strongest feature-to-cost ratios for agencies.

Best if your agency handles both content creation and community management.

2. Planable (best approval experience)
If approvals are your biggest bottleneck, Planable is difficult to beat.

It offers:

• Live content previews
• Internal comments
• Client comments and approvals
• Version history
• Multiple approval stages
• Scheduled publishing

Many agencies use it specifically because clients find it intuitive.

3. Sprout Social (best premium option)
If budget is less of a concern:

• Enterprise-grade workflows
• Excellent permissions
• Approval chains
• Strong analytics
• CRM-style inbox

This is often chosen by agencies managing larger brands or more complex teams.

If I were setting up a 15-client agency today

I'd use:

• Planable for content creation and approvals if client collaboration is the top priority.
• Agorapulse if you also need inbox management, reporting, and publishing in one platform.
• Sprout Social if you expect to grow to 30–50 clients and want a more enterprise-focused solution.

For most agencies your size, Agorapulse tends to provide the best overall balance of approval workflows, client collaboration, scheduling, reporting, and cost. If the approval process itself is the biggest pain point, Planable is often the smoother experience for both your team and your clients.

For a marketing agency managing around 15 clients, I'd prioritize a platform that combines four capabilities well:

• Internal team approval workflows
• Client review and approvals
• Scheduled publishing across multiple social networks
• Easy client/account separation

Here's how the leading options compare:

My top recommendations

1. Agorapulse (Best balance)

This is often the strongest fit for agencies with 10–50 clients.

Pros:

• Multi-step approval workflows
• Client approval links (clients don't always need full platform access)
• Content calendar
• Unified inbox
• Team permissions
• Asset library
• Reporting included

Good if you have account managers, content creators, and clients all reviewing content before it goes live.

2. Sendible (Most agency-focused)

Designed with agencies in mind.

Features:

• Separate client workspaces
• White-label reporting
• Client approval workflows
• Canva integration
• Google Drive/Dropbox integrations
• Good pricing as you scale

Many boutique agencies choose this because the pricing scales well.

3. Sprout Social (Premium option)

If budget isn't a major concern.

Excellent for:

• Complex approval chains
• Large teams
• Enterprise clients
• Advanced analytics
• CRM-style collaboration

It's one of the most polished platforms, but also one of the more expensive.

4. Loomly (Best approval experience)

If your biggest challenge is getting clients to approve posts.

Highlights:

• Very intuitive approval flow
• Clients receive email notifications
• Comment directly on posts
• Easy content calendar
• Great for agencies producing lots of creative content

Typical agency workflow

A common workflow looks like:

1. Content writer drafts post.
2. Designer attaches graphics/video.
3. Internal marketing manager approves.
4. Client receives approval request.
5. Client comments or approves.
6. Final approval.
7. Post publishes automatically.
8. Performance report generated monthly.

The platforms above all support variations of this workflow.

Pricing for ~15 clients

Approximate monthly costs vary based on users, social profiles, and features:

• Agorapulse: Mid-range
• Sendible: Lower to mid-range
• Loomly: Mid-range
• Sprout Social: Premium

The right plan depends more on the number of connected social profiles and team members than simply the number of clients.

If I were choosing today

• Best overall: Agorapulse
• Best value: Sendible
• Best client approvals: Loomly
• Best enterprise solution: Sprout Social

If your agency also manages paid ads, creative requests, and project management, another effective approach is to pair a social publishing platform (such as Agorapulse or Sendible) with a project management tool like Asana or ClickUp. This separates content production from publishing while still giving clients visibility into the approval process.

For a marketing agency managing around 15 clients, the best choice depends on whether your priority is client collaboration, workflow approvals, or broad platform support. At that size, I'd prioritize a platform that has:

• Internal approval workflows
• Client review and approval (without requiring clients to log in, if possible)
• Scheduled publishing
• Shared content calendars
• Asset management
• Good reporting

Here's how the leading options compare:

My top recommendations

1. ContentStudio (Best overall value)

For an agency with 15 clients, this is often the strongest balance of features and cost.

Pros:

• Multi-client workspaces
• Content approval workflows
• Client collaboration
• AI-assisted content creation
• Unified content calendar
• Publish to all major networks
• White-label reporting
• Significantly lower cost than Sprout Social

Best if:

• You have 3–10 team members.
• You want agency-focused features without enterprise pricing.

2. Planable (Best for approvals)

If clients frequently request revisions, Planable is especially strong.

Highlights:

• Clients can review content in a visual feed.
• Comment directly on posts.
• Multiple approval stages.
• Version history.
• Mock feeds that resemble the live platforms.

Many agencies pair Planable with another analytics tool if reporting needs are extensive.

3. Sprout Social (Best premium option)

If budget is less of a concern, Sprout Social offers a polished, all-in-one experience with:

• Advanced approval chains
• Detailed permissions
• Excellent analytics
• Robust reporting
• CRM-style engagement tools

The main drawback is cost, which can add up quickly as users and client profiles increase.

If your agency creates lots of content

A common stack is:

• Planable for drafting and approvals
• Canva for creative assets
• Google Drive for file storage
• Looker Studio for custom reporting (or the reporting built into your social platform)

My recommendation for 15 clients

• Best value: ContentStudio
• Best client approval experience: Planable
• Best premium all-in-one platform: Sprout Social

If you expect to grow to 30–50 clients over the next couple of years, I'd lean toward ContentStudio or Agorapulse because they tend to scale well for agency workflows without the pricing increasing as steeply as some enterprise-focused platforms.