Guide
A content calendar is a plan of what you post and when
Updated
A content calendar is a written plan of what you will post, on which platform and on which day. A spreadsheet is enough to start.
In short
- A content calendar is a plan of what you will post, where and when, written down before the week starts.
- A simple content calendar has five columns: date, platform, topic, a one-line idea and status.
- A spreadsheet works fine. Meta Business Suite and Buffer can also schedule the posts for you, for free.
- Planning about two weeks ahead works well for a small account, because the plan can still change when news comes up.
- A content calendar saves you from deciding what to post every single day.
What is a content calendar?
A content calendar is a schedule for your posts. It shows what goes out, on which platform and when.
- It can be a spreadsheet, a notes file, a wall planner or a scheduling tool.
- People also call it a social media calendar or an editorial calendar.
- It holds ideas you have not made yet as well as posts that are ready to go.
Why use a content calendar?
A content calendar moves the question of what to post to one moment in the week.
- You decide once a week or once a fortnight, instead of every day.
- You can record several videos in one session, because you already know what they are.
- You can see gaps, such as a topic you have not posted about for weeks.
- You post more regularly, because a busy day no longer means no post.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
What to put in a content calendar
Five columns are enough. Copy this layout into any spreadsheet.
- The one-line idea matters most. Write it clearly enough to record without thinking again.
- For example, write '3 questions to ask before accepting a quote', not 'post about pricing'.
- The status column shows where each post is: idea, planned, recorded or posted.
- Captions and hashtags can go in a second tab, so the main plan stays easy to read.
Content calendar template
Example rows. The topic column shows which recurring theme each post belongs to.
| Date | Platform | Topic | Idea (one line) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Pricing | 3 questions to ask before accepting a quote | Recorded | |
| Wednesday | TikTok | How we work | What happens in the first meeting | Planned |
| Friday | YouTube Shorts | Mistakes | The one mistake new customers make | Idea |
Date: Monday
- Platform
- Topic
- Pricing
- Idea (one line)
- 3 questions to ask before accepting a quote
- Status
- Recorded
Date: Wednesday
- Platform
- TikTok
- Topic
- How we work
- Idea (one line)
- What happens in the first meeting
- Status
- Planned
Date: Friday
- Platform
- YouTube Shorts
- Topic
- Mistakes
- Idea (one line)
- The one mistake new customers make
- Status
- Idea
Free tools for a content calendar
You do not need to pay for a tool to start.
- A spreadsheet is enough for one person who posts by hand.
- A scheduling tool helps when you want posts to go out at a set time without you pressing publish.
Free content calendar tools
Meta and Buffer features and prices from their own pages, read 21 September 2026.
| Tool | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets | A plain table you fill in yourself | Free |
| Meta Business Suite | A calendar that schedules Facebook and Instagram posts and stories | Free |
| Buffer | Schedules posts on up to 3 channels, up to 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time | Free; Essentials $5 a month per channel, billed yearly |
Tool: Google Sheets
- What it does
- A plain table you fill in yourself
- Price
- Free
Tool: Meta Business Suite
- What it does
- A calendar that schedules Facebook and Instagram posts and stories
- Price
- Free
Tool: Buffer
- What it does
- Schedules posts on up to 3 channels, up to 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time
- Price
- Free; Essentials $5 a month per channel, billed yearly
How far ahead should you plan?
For a small account, about two weeks ahead is comfortable.
- Two weeks of ideas is enough to record several videos in one session.
- A whole quarter planned post by post often goes out of date, because news and ideas change.
- Fixed dates, such as holidays or a yearly sale, can go in the calendar months ahead.
- Leave room to swap a post when something happens in your field.
Where Cutroom fits
A calendar tells you what to record. Cutroom does the editing once you have recorded it.
- You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long.
- Cutroom adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the words you pick and, on the Punch and Native styles, shortens the pauses.
- You get a finished 9:16 MP4 for TikTok, Reels or Shorts. A 30-second video costs 110 credits.
- Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, which is about 11 videos of 30 seconds.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite removes it.
Questions people ask
- What should a content calendar include?
- Five columns: date, platform, topic, a one-line idea and status. Captions and hashtags can go in a separate tab.
- Do I need a tool for a content calendar?
- No. A spreadsheet does the job for one person. Free tools like Meta Business Suite and Buffer's free plan add scheduling, so posts go out on their own.
- How far ahead should I plan content?
- About two weeks for a small account. Put fixed dates like holidays in earlier, and leave room to swap a post when news comes up.
- Is a content calendar the same as an editorial calendar?
- Mostly, yes. Editorial calendar is the older term from magazines and blogs. Content calendar usually means social media posts, but people use both words for the same thing.
- How many posts should I put in my content calendar?
- As many as you can really keep up. Three posts a week that you always publish work better than seven planned and four missed, because a plan you keep missing stops being used.
- What if something urgent comes up mid-week?
- Swap a post and move the planned idea to a later date. The calendar is a plan to work from, not a rule.
Plan two weeks, record in one session and let the editing be done for you. Your first video is free.
Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it