Sprout Social vs Hootsuite
Which social media tool is right for you? Compare features, pricing, and user reviews to make the best choice.
Sprout Social
Brands and teams that put engagement, customer care and reporting first and can pay premium per-seat prices.
Hootsuite
Mid-size and larger teams that want publishing, inbox, analytics and some listening in one platform and can pay per seat.
Side by side
| Sprout Social | Hootsuite | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $79/seat/month billed annually ($99 monthly); no free plan | From $99/user/month (billed annually); no free plan |
| G2 Rating | 4.4 (6,882 reviews) | 4.3 (7,510 reviews) |
| Best For | Brands and teams that put engagement, customer care and reporting first and can pay premium per-seat prices. | Mid-size and larger teams that want publishing, inbox, analytics and some listening in one platform and can pay per seat. |
Pros and cons
Sprout Social
Pros
- Smart Inbox with comments, DMs and reviews, collision detection and case management
- Reporting on every plan, including Essentials
- All self-serve prices published, monthly and annual
- 30-day free trial without a credit card
- 24/5 live phone and chat support on every plan
Cons
- Expensive per seat: Standard is $199/seat/month billed annually
- Essentials and Standard include only 5 social profiles; extra profiles cost extra at an unpublished price
- Approval workflows start at Professional ($299/seat/month annual)
- Listening and Premium Analytics are add-ons with no public price
- Essentials has no inbox
Hootsuite
Pros
- One tool covers publishing, inbox, analytics, ads and basic listening on every plan
- Unlimited social accounts from Professional
- Listening is built in (7-day search on Standard, 30-day on Professional), with an enterprise upgrade path to Lumen by Talkwalker
- No-credit-card 14-day trial
Cons
- Expensive per seat: $99/user/month is the entry price, billed annually
- Standard caps you at 10 social accounts
- Approval workflows and message assignment need Advanced at $399/user/month
- No free plan, and monthly prices are not published on the pricing page
- Full listening (13 months of history, alerts, advanced sources) is Enterprise only
Related comparisons
Best Social Media Management Tools
Sprout Social is the best social media management tool for teams that publish, engage and report together, thanks to its Smart Inbox, reporting on every plan and approvals on Professional. Pick Buffer or Metricool if per-seat pricing is out of budget.
Buffer alternatives
Publer is the best Buffer alternative for most Buffer users: same per-account pricing, but cheaper, with approvals, bulk scheduling and X on the $4-per-account Professional plan. Pick Metricool for analytics, or Later for Instagram and TikTok.
Hootsuite alternatives
Agorapulse is the best Hootsuite alternative for most teams: the same publishing, inbox and reporting for less per seat, with published monthly prices and a 30-day trial. Choose Buffer if you mainly schedule posts on a small budget.