# Flaghand vs Ayrshare for agents and apps

Ayrshare and Flaghand both expose social publishing through an API. They solve different integration problems.
Ayrshare lets your application publish or schedule with an API key. Flaghand lets your application or agent prepare
posts, but only a workspace owner can authorize publishing, with a passkey over the exact snapshot.

Every Ayrshare fact here comes from its own [pricing page](https://ayrshare.com/pricing/),
[quickstart](https://ayrshare.com/docs/quickstart),
[posting API](https://ayrshare.com/docs/apis/post/post) and
[supported networks](https://ayrshare.com/docs/apis/post/social-networks/overview), read on October 26, 2026.
Prices and capabilities change; check those sources before you build.

## The short answer

- **Choose Ayrshare** to add publishing to your own app, serve many customers, reach more networks, or let a backend
  publish without a required per-post owner approval step.
- **Choose Flaghand** when an agent writes for a person and you want the server to enforce that the agent cannot
  approve, schedule or publish, even if the agent has its token.

## Where Ayrshare is better

- **Much broader network coverage.** Its posting docs include Instagram, Facebook Pages, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads,
  Bluesky, Google Business Profile, Reddit, Snapchat and Telegram, as well as X, LinkedIn and TikTok. LinkedIn includes
  personal profiles and organization pages. Flaghand posts to X and LinkedIn personal profiles; its TikTok posting
  remains subject to TikTok's review. Don't choose Flaghand for an Instagram or company-page integration.
- **A plain API key can publish.** After the social account is connected, your server can submit a post with
  `Authorization: Bearer API_KEY`. There is no mandatory passkey tap on every post. That is a better fit for unattended
  publishing from an app you control.
- **A multi-customer publishing backend.** Ayrshare's user profiles group a customer's connected networks. Its API uses
  the main API key plus a `Profile-Key` header to address a user profile. You don't have to model a person's publishing
  desk as the core of your integration.
- **Analytics and publishing operations.** Ayrshare documents network post IDs and links, analytics, comments,
  history and webhooks. Flaghand's X read-back check isn't a substitute for a broad analytics API.

## Pricing and access

Ayrshare lists Premium at $149 a month for one profile, Launch at $299 a month for up to 10 profiles, and Business
from $599 a month with 30 profiles included and graduated charges for more. Business starts at $499 a month billed
annually. Enterprise is custom-priced. Its 28-day free trial is for Launch; the other plans charge at sign-up.
A profile groups networks for one customer, brand or location, not one staff seat. The plans advertise unlimited
scheduled posts, with basic analytics on Premium and advanced analytics on the higher plans.

Flaghand is in early access and public sign-up isn't open yet. This guide doesn't quote a Flaghand price; use
[Get access to Flaghand](/schedule) for its current entry point. Don't compare a single-person desk with a
multi-customer API subscription by the headline price alone.

## Who can publish

Ayrshare's `POST /api/post` publishes immediately when `scheduleDate` is omitted, or schedules for the supplied time.
Its posting API also offers `requiresApproval`, which defaults to false. That is an optional approval workflow, not a
claim that Ayrshare has no approvals. A publishing API key can submit a post without opting into that workflow.

Flaghand also uses a Bearer token, so the difference isn't the spelling of the authentication header. It is what the
credential can do. No API token scope can approve, schedule or post. Flaghand's OAuth MCP connectors receive `read`,
`drafts`, `media` and `request-approval`, not a publishing permission. The owner connects the social account and approves
in Flaghand; an agent cannot do either on their behalf.

## What you integrate

The [live OpenAPI spec](https://app.flaghand.com/api/v1/openapi.json) describes Flaghand's agent-side sequence:

1. Upload media and create a draft with `createDraft`. Set `post_at` to propose a time; this doesn't schedule a job.
2. Run `checkDraft` to see whether that revision can post as previewed. A successful check isn't an approval.
3. Call `requestApproval` with the draft ID and revision. The owner reviews the request in Flaghand and approves there.
4. Read the resulting jobs and use `verifyJob` for the available live check. Don't treat a request for approval as a
   successful publication.

Ayrshare's corresponding integration can be a direct posting request with a `platforms` array and an optional
`scheduleDate`. Keep its returned ID, inspect platform errors, and use history or webhooks for the final scheduled
outcome. Acceptance of a scheduled request isn't proof that every network published it.

## What you approve

Flaghand freezes the account, time, text, media, alt text and outgoing request into a snapshot. It hashes that snapshot
with SHA-256 and records your passkey signature over the hash. Changing the posting content, account or time needs a
new approval. The scheduler checks the signed snapshot again just before posting. Its X and LinkedIn previews are drawn
to match the real sites, and the draft check flags things that wouldn't post as previewed.

Ayrshare's cited posting docs describe an optional approval flag, not this same passkey-signed snapshot contract.
Choose that contract only if it fits your product: Flaghand's required owner step is friction if your goal is a fully
unattended publishing service.

## After it posts

Flaghand reads each X post back and compares normalized text, author, hidden reply mentions, media count, available
alt text, reply chain and quote with the approval. It doesn't verify link destinations or media-file identity, and it
has no LinkedIn read-back. Ayrshare returns publishing status, network IDs and available links, and offers history,
webhooks and analytics; the cited docs don't describe Flaghand's snapshot comparison. Neither an API success response
nor this limited comparison proves every detail of a post looks right forever.

## TikTok slideshows

Flaghand's [slideshow API](https://app.flaghand.com/docs/slideshows) lets an agent lay out photos and text as slides. One renderer draws
it for the preview you approve and for the images TikTok receives; approval covers the render hash. The free
[TikTok slideshow maker](/tiktok-slideshow-maker) uses that renderer too. [Flaghand and TikTok](/tiktok) explains what
posting is available while TikTok reviews Flaghand. Ayrshare documents TikTok video and multi-photo publishing today.

## Side by side

| | Ayrshare | Flaghand |
|---|---|---|
| Core fit | A publishing API for your app and its customers | A publishing desk for a person and their agents |
| API authentication | Bearer API key; Profile-Key for a user profile | Bearer workspace token or OAuth MCP |
| Can that credential publish? | Yes; approval is optional | No API token can approve, schedule or post |
| Networks | Many more, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn pages | X and LinkedIn personal profiles; TikTok subject to review |
| Approval boundary | Optional requiresApproval flag, false by default | Owner's passkey over the exact snapshot |
| After publication | Status, IDs, links, history, webhooks and analytics | Limited X snapshot read-back; none on LinkedIn |
| Access | Paid plans; 28-day Launch trial | Early access; public sign-up not open yet |

## Try Flaghand

Read the [agent documentation](https://app.flaghand.com/docs/agents) for the API and MCP contract, and
[How to let an AI agent post safely](/docs/guides/let-an-ai-agent-post-safely) for checks to apply to any integration.
[Get access to Flaghand](/schedule).

[All guides](/docs/guides.md)