Maeve Social vs Riff: Which Is Better in 2026?
A side-by-side comparison of Maeve Social and Riff, two social media tools — what each does, who it's best for, and how to choose between them.
Quick verdict
Maeve Social and Riff are both social media tools, so it comes down to fit. Pick Maeve Social if you want Plan, approve, publish and report on social content in one workspace for creators, agencies and marketing… Pick Riff if you want Free Chrome extension. Paste your rough point and Chrome's built-in AI writes a fresh reply for…
Maeve Social
Plan, approve, publish and report on social content in one workspace for creators, agencies and marketing teams.
- Category
- Social Media
- Rating
- Not yet rated
- Best for
- social media management, social media scheduling, content calendar
Riff
Free Chrome extension. Paste your rough point and Chrome's built-in AI writes a fresh reply for that post on X, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.
- Category
- Social Media
- Rating
- Not yet rated
- Best for
- AI, Chrome extension, social media
| At a glance | Maeve Social | Riff |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Plan, approve, publish and report on social content in one workspace for creators, agencies and marketing teams. | Free Chrome extension. Paste your rough point and Chrome's built-in AI writes a fresh reply for that post on X, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. |
| Category | Social Media | Social Media |
| Type | Software | Software |
| Best for | social media management, social media scheduling, content calendar, client approvals | AI, Chrome extension, social media, reply writer |
What is Maeve Social?
Maeve Social is an all-in-one social media project management platform for creators, small businesses, agencies, freelancers, and in-house marketing teams. It brings planning, content development, review, publishing, and reporting into a shared workspace. Teams can use Maeve to manage the work around a post as well as its publication.
The content calendar and board help organize planned social activity. The Workbench provides a place to develop briefs and scripts, while the Media Room keeps content assets together. Internal approvals and client review links support the sign-off process. Clients can review content through a link without creating an account, making the review workflow accessible to people outside the team.
Maeve schedules and publishes content to nine platforms: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Pinterest, and Google Business Profile. Teams working across these channels can manage their content through Maeve rather than treating each publishing workflow as a separate project. An Instagram grid planner also supports visual planning for that channel.
The platform includes content discovery, a unified social inbox, analytics, and branded PDF reports. These features support the work that happens before and after publication: developing content ideas, handling social conversations, reviewing performance, and sharing reports. An AI assistant is available alongside the core social management tools.
Maeve is available on the web and also provides API, CLI, and MCP tools for automation. These interfaces let supported social content workflows connect with developer tools and AI assistants. The public Maeve agent repository provides information about working with these integrations.
Paid plans start at $25 per month. Basic costs $25 monthly, Standard costs $99 monthly, and Premium costs $199 monthly. A three-day trial is available; there is no permanently free plan. Visit the pricing page for current plan details and allowances.
Maeve is designed for people who need to coordinate social content as a team, including agencies managing client approvals, freelancers organizing publishing work, creators planning posts, and businesses bringing their social media workflow into one place.
What problem it solves
Keeps social content planning, briefs, media, client approvals, publishing and reporting together so teams can coordinate their social workflow in one workspace.
What is Riff?
Riff is a free Chrome extension that helps you reply on X, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. You paste your rough point. Gemini Nano, the AI built into Chrome, writes a fresh reply for that exact post. You read it, edit it if you want, and press send yourself.
Riff also answers your DMs in LinkedIn Messaging, Messenger on facebook.com and Instagram Direct. When a chat is new, it writes the first message. It can draft your own posts too. Drop in rough notes, ask for changes in plain words, and pick a hook you like.
You set how it sounds. Choose how smart, how salesy and how bold the reply should be. Tell Riff once who you are and how you write, and it follows that voice. Each draft is checked against your recent replies, so it does not repeat itself.
Everything runs on your computer. There is no account, no API key, no server and no monthly bill. Your notes, drafts and history stay in Chrome on your machine. Riff never posts or sends anything for you.
Riff needs desktop Chrome 138 or newer, about 22 GB of free disk for the one-time model download, and a GPU with more than 4 GB of video memory, or 16 GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores.
What problem it solves
Writing a fresh, fitting reply to every post or DM takes time. Riff turns your rough point into a reply for that exact post, on your own computer.
Key differences at a glance
- Purpose: Maeve Social is Plan, approve, publish and report on social content in one workspace for creators, agencies and marketing teams. Riff, by contrast, is Free Chrome extension. Paste your rough point and Chrome's built-in AI writes a fresh reply for that post on X, LinkedIn, Facebook…
- Category & type: both sit in Social Media, and both are offered as software.
- Best suited for: Maeve Social leans toward social media management, social media scheduling, content calendar, whereas Riff leans toward AI, Chrome extension, social media.
- Community rating: Maeve Social is not yet rated vs Riff is not yet rated. Ratings are community-submitted and change over time.
Maeve Social vs Riff: which should you choose?
Maeve Social and Riff both serve the social media space, so the best choice depends on your priorities. Choose Maeve Social if you want Plan, approve, publish and report on social content in one workspace for creators, agencies and marketing teams. Choose Riff if you want Free Chrome extension. Paste your rough point and Chrome's built-in AI writes a fresh reply for that post…The smartest move is to try each one's free tier or trial on a real task — that's the fastest way to feel the difference and pick the tool you'll actually stick with.
Frequently asked questions
Is Maeve Social better than Riff?
It depends on what you need. Maeve Social is Plan, approve, publish and report on social content in one workspace for creators, agencies and marketing teams. Riff is Free Chrome extension. Paste your rough point and Chrome's built-in AI writes a fresh reply for that post on X, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. Both are social media tools, so the right pick comes down to your specific priorities, budget and workflow.
What's the main difference between Maeve Social and Riff?
Maeve Social focuses on Plan, approve, publish and report on social content in one workspace for creators, agencies and marketing teams. while Riff focuses on Free Chrome extension. Paste your rough point and Chrome's built-in AI writes a fresh reply for that post on X, LinkedIn, Facebook… Read the full breakdown above and check each tool's site for current features and pricing.
Can I use both Maeve Social and Riff?
In many cases, yes — teams often use complementary tools together. Whether it makes sense depends on overlap in functionality and your budget. Try the free tier or trial of each to see how they fit your stack before committing.
Which is cheaper, Maeve Social or Riff?
Pricing changes often, so check each tool's pricing page for the latest. Many tools offer a free tier or trial, which is the best way to evaluate value for your specific usage before you pay.