# grai vs. Buffer AI Assistant: $69 Once vs. $72 to $1,440 per Year (2026) > **Last verified against public pricing and vendor documentation:** 2026-10-29 > **Canonical URL:** https://grai.page/vs/buffer **Direct Answer:** Buffer is a social scheduling tool with an AI Assistant bolted on: a queue, a calendar and a rewriter that turns a rough idea into a post, priced from $6 to $120 per month, which is $72 to $1,440 per year. `grai` ($69 once, Founder Edition, or $149 Agency) is a local-first workbench that measures your voice and blocks drafts that break it. ### TL;DR Comparison | Option | Best For | Starting Price | Key Difference | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **`grai`** (Founder) | Making the text match a measured personal cadence before it reaches any queue. | **$69 once** (AI model/API usage separate if used) | 622 KB local engine. Voice DNA from 5 to 20 posts, 6 rules, `CV >= 0.32` floor, no social account. | | **Buffer** | Small teams that want a simple queue, a content calendar and a fast AI first draft. | **$6 per month** (annual billing, entry tier) | Hosted scheduler with an AI Assistant that rewrites into a generic post register. | --- ## 1. A Queue With a Rewriter Buffer wins on simplicity. You connect the accounts, fill the queue, and the week is handled. The AI Assistant adds a first draft from a rough idea, which saves time when the alternative is a blank box. That rewriter is also the risk. It is tuned to produce a clean, broadly acceptable post, and it has no model of your cadence. It will happily turn a jagged paragraph into three sentences of nearly identical length. `grai` does the opposite job. It extracts your rhythm from real posts and refuses a draft that drops below the floor. The two tools can sit in the same workflow, but a queue and a measurement are not substitutes for each other. --- ## 2. Where Buffer Wins vs. Where grai Wins ### Where Buffer Wins - **Simplicity:** a queue and a calendar that a non-technical team can run. - **First drafts:** the AI Assistant turns a note into a post in seconds. - **Multi-network scheduling:** one queue across several platforms. - **Entry price:** the cheapest tier is a few dollars a month. ### Where grai Wins - **Measured voice:** a profile from your own posts, not a generic register. - **Deterministic gate:** 6 rules and a `CV >= 0.32` floor, with the spans that failed. - **One-time price:** $69 once, and the workbench keeps running after the year ends. - **No social OAuth:** grai never connects to an account and never publishes. --- ## 3. Side-by-Side Technical and Commercial Matrix | Criterion | grai (Founder $69 / Agency $149) | Buffer ($72 to $1,440 per year) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Pricing model | **$69 once** (Founder) or **$149 once** (Agency) | **$6 to $120 per month**, so $72 to $1,440 per year | | Primary job | Voice measurement and deterministic cadence verification | Scheduling plus an AI first draft | | Effect on rhythm | Preserves it and flags where it broke | Rewrites toward a broadly acceptable register | | Cadence verification | 6 rules and `CV >= 0.32`, with flagged spans | No sentence-rhythm floor | | Account connection | None required | Social accounts connected for publishing | | What happens if you stop paying | You keep `grai.html` and your `.grai` files | The queue and the AI Assistant stop | --- ## 4. 12-Month and 24-Month Total Cost Comparison | Setup | Month 1 | 12-Month Total | 24-Month Total | What Is Included | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Buffer entry tier** (annual billing) | $6 | $72 | $144 | Queue and a basic calendar | | **Buffer upper tier** (annual billing) | $120 | $1,440 | $2,880 | More channels and team features | | **`grai` Founder + existing AI subscription** | $89 ($69 + $20) | $309 ($69 + $240) | $549 ($69 + $480) | Local Voice DNA and the gate | | **`grai` Agency Edition** (one-time) | $149 | $149 | $149 | 25 client profiles and A4 SHA-256 Dossiers | --- ## 5. Privacy and Data Flow Boundary - **Shipped Pre-Built Kit (`grai.html`):** Ships with a Content Security Policy (`default-src 'none'; style-src 'unsafe-inline'; font-src data:; img-src data:; script-src 'unsafe-inline'; connect-src 'none'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'none'`) that allows inline styles and inline scripts (plus `data:` fonts and images) while blocking direct API connections (`connect-src 'none'`) from the page. Out of the box, it runs in Copy-Paste mode. - **Browser Storage:** Voice profiles and writing samples (along with drafts) are stored in your browser's `localStorage` when available. If your browser settings or private-browsing mode block `localStorage` on local `file://` pages, `grai` falls back to in-memory session storage (`memStorage`), which lasts until the tab closes. Export a `.grai` backup file to save your profiles permanently to disk. - **When data leaves your machine:** only when you paste a prompt into a model in Copy-Paste mode, when a custom source build calls a BYOK provider, or when you export a draft yourself. Buffer stores the queue and the account connections in its cloud by design. --- ## 6. Verdict: Which Should You Choose? **Choose Buffer ($6 to $120 per month) if:** the problem is consistency and a fast first draft, and the team wants one simple queue. **Choose grai ($69 once) if:** the problem is that every post sounds the same. A rewriter tuned for safety cannot protect a voice that was tuned for distinctiveness, and the difference shows in the first line. **Use both if:** grai audits the draft and Buffer schedules the result. Run the gate before the queue, always. --- ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does grai schedule or publish posts? No. It writes and audits locally and never connects to a social account. Buffer or another scheduler handles publishing. ### How does the cost compare over two years? Buffer costs $144 to $2,880 over 24 months depending on the tier. grai Founder is $69 once and the Agency Edition is $149 once. ### Can grai check text that Buffer AI wrote? Yes. Paste the draft into the local bench and run the audit. The gate only reads the text and its cadence, not the tool that produced it. **Checkout:** [Founder Edition ($69 once)](https://payhip.com/b/5pXfN) | [Agency Edition ($149 once)](https://payhip.com/b/QVIBp)