Head to head
Crowdfire vs Sprout Social
Last updated 4 June 2026
Crowdfire's social media app shut down in 2025, so this is here for the record rather than as a recommendation. In its day it leaned on content curation, surfacing articles and images to share, plus scheduling, light analytics, and the follower management it started life with as JustUnfollow.
- From
- $7.48 /mo
- Free plan
Sprout Social is the high-end suite: publishing, a shared inbox, listening, and reporting that goes deep, sold by the seat and priced for businesses with a budget. There's no free plan; the cut-down Essentials tier is $79 a seat each month on annual billing, and the main plans start at $199.
- From
- $79 per user / mo
- Free plan
Bottom line
Crowdfire is the pick for most setups, and it's the only one of the two with a free plan. Sprout Social fits businesses running social as a core function better, and it reaches Threads and Bluesky among others, which Crowdfire doesn't.
Crowdfire starts cheaper, $7.48 a month against $79 per user / mo for Sprout Social. They bill on different units, so the real gap depends on how much you run. Sprout Social adds social listening and competitor tracking that Crowdfire leaves out.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Crowdfire has a free plan; Sprout Social doesn't, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Crowdfire starts at $7.48 a month, Sprout Social at $79 per user / mo.
- Crowdfire posts to 8 networks, Sprout Social to 11.
- Only Crowdfire reaches WordPress.
- Only Sprout Social reaches Threads, Bluesky, Reddit, and Snapchat.
- Sprout Social auto-publishes Instagram; Crowdfire sends a reminder to post.
- Sprout Social auto-publishes TikTok; Crowdfire sends a reminder to post.
- Crowdfire has browser extension; Sprout Social doesn't.
- Sprout Social has social listening; Crowdfire doesn't.
- Sprout Social has competitor tracking; Crowdfire doesn't.
- Sprout Social has link in bio; Crowdfire doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | Crowdfire | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Not assessed | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Yes | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | No | No |
| Team roles | No | Yes |
| Approvals | Not assessed | Yes |
| Link in bio | No | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | Crowdfire | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Reminder | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Reminder | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | Auto | Auto |
| Threads | No | Auto |
| Bluesky | No | Auto |
| No | Auto | |
| Snapchat | No | Auto |
| WordPress | Auto | No |
Pricing
Headline prices are for a single unit. Here is the real monthly cost as each tool scales, costed on its own unit so the two stay honest.
Free plan available.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $7.48/mo
Whole-plan price; it doesn't scale per unit.
No free plan; 30-day trial.
- 1 seat
- $99/mo~$79/mo annual
- 3 seatsTypical
- $297/mo~$237/mo annual
Cheapest plan: Essentials.
Crowdfire
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 3
- Scheduled posts
- 10
- 3 accounts, 10 scheduled posts per account
- Article and image curation, basic analytics
Plus
$7.48/mo billed annually
- $9.99/mo, $7.48 on annual (25% off)
- More accounts and scheduling, content curation
Premium
Popular$37.48/mo billed annually
- $49.99/mo, $37.48 on annual
- Bulk scheduling, deeper analytics, more accounts
VIP
$74.98/mo billed annually
- $99.99/mo, $74.98 on annual
- Most accounts, full analytics and curation
- Crowdfire's social media management product shut down in 2025 (widely reported as May 15, 2025). The figures here are its last-known plans, kept for reference; you can no longer subscribe.
- The brand has pivoted to a media site covering social media, Web3, and AI, and no longer offers scheduling, curation, or analytics.
- Flat, quota-bundled plans: Free plus Plus, Premium, and VIP, each with more accounts and scheduling than the last. Annual billing was 25% off.
Sprout Social
Essentials
$79/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 5
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $79 per seat/mo on annual, $99 monthly
- Up to 5 social profiles
- Publishing, calendar, and the Smart Inbox
- Profile and post-level reporting
Standard
$199/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 5
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $199 per seat/mo on annual, $249 monthly
- Up to 5 social profiles
- Smart Inbox, review management, and tasks
- Unlocks paid add-ons: Listening, Premium Analytics, Advocacy
Professional
Popular$299/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $299 per seat/mo on annual, $399 monthly
- Unlimited social profiles
- Competitor, tag, and paid reporting
- Message tagging and scheduling for optimal send times
Advanced
$399/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $399 per seat/mo on annual, $499 monthly
- Unlimited social profiles
- Chatbots, automated workflows, and helpdesk integrations
- AI-enhanced replies, message spike alerts, and the Sprout API
Enterprise
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Custom pricing
- SSO and advanced security
- Premium Listening, Advocacy, and Influencer Marketing add-ons
- Dedicated support and professional services
- Priced per seat: the headline rate is for one user and multiplies by everyone you add. Sprout charges every extra seat at the same plan rate, with no volume discount.
- No free plan. There's a 30-day trial with no card required.
- Annual billing is paid upfront and is cheaper per seat than monthly: Essentials $79 vs $99, Standard $199 vs $249, Professional $299 vs $399, Advanced $399 vs $499.
- Premium Analytics, Listening, and Employee Advocacy are paid add-ons on Standard and up, quoted on request, so the real bill runs higher than the seat price.
- Prices are USD list, read off the live pricing page (which renders in USD here); the monthly figures come from the billing FAQ on that page.
What it really costs
Sprout Social charges per seat, so the headline price is for one. Here is the monthly cost as you connect more, with the 3-seat row marked as a realistic setup.
| seats | Essentials | Standard | Professional | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $99/mo | $249/mo | $399/mo | $499/mo |
| 3Typical | $297/mo | $747/mo | $1197/mo | $1497/mo |
| 5 | $495/mo | $1245/mo | $1995/mo | $2495/mo |
| 10 | $990/mo | $2490/mo | $3990/mo | $4990/mo |
| 25 | $2475/mo | $6225/mo | $9975/mo | $12475/mo |
| 50 | $4950/mo | $12450/mo | $19950/mo | $24950/mo |
Monthly billing.
Pros and cons
Crowdfire
- Strong content curation, suggesting articles and images to share
- Mobile-first and simple to use
- Audience management roots from its JustUnfollow days
- Discontinued in 2025; you can no longer sign up
- No team collaboration or evergreen recycling
- Leaned on reminder publishing for Instagram
Sprout Social
- Polished, deep platform: inbox, listening, and reporting together
- Strong analytics and presentation-ready reports
- Wide network list, including Reddit, Bluesky, and Snapchat
- Genuinely good for customer care and approval-heavy teams
- Expensive, and per-seat pricing has no volume discount
- No free plan, and the main plans start at $199 a seat each month
- Listening, Premium Analytics, and Advocacy cost extra on top
- Overkill if you only schedule a few accounts
Crowdfire vs Sprout Social: FAQ
- Is Crowdfire or Sprout Social cheaper?
- Crowdfire is cheaper to start, from $7.48 against $79 for Sprout Social. The unit each one charges by differs, so the real bill depends on how many channels or seats you run.
- Does Crowdfire or Sprout Social have a free plan?
- Crowdfire has a free plan; Sprout Social does not, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Which is better, Crowdfire or Sprout Social?
- Crowdfire is the stronger pick for most people, while Sprout Social is the better fit for businesses running social as a core function. We don't score them; the right call comes down to how you post.