Head to head
HeyOrca vs Sprout Social
Last updated 4 June 2026
HeyOrca is an agency tool organised around the client calendar: you get a calendar per client, unlimited users on it, and a sign-off flow where clients approve posts by email without logging in. It charges per calendar, $59 on Basic or $149 on Pro, with a 40% discount once you run five or more.
- From
- $59 per calendar / 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
HeyOrca is the pick for agencies that want a calendar and approval flow per client, 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 Bluesky and Snapchat among others, which HeyOrca doesn't.
HeyOrca starts cheaper, $59 per calendar / mo 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 ad management that HeyOrca leaves out.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- HeyOrca has a free plan; Sprout Social doesn't, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- HeyOrca starts at $59 per calendar / mo, Sprout Social at $79 per user / mo.
- HeyOrca posts to 9 networks, Sprout Social to 11.
- Only HeyOrca reaches Google Business.
- Only Sprout Social reaches Bluesky, Reddit, and Snapchat.
- Sprout Social has ad management; HeyOrca doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | HeyOrca | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Not assessed | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | No | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio | Yes | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | HeyOrca | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | Auto | Auto |
| Threads | Auto | Auto |
| Bluesky | No | Auto |
| Google Business | Auto | No |
| No | Auto | |
| Snapchat | No | Auto |
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.
- 1 calendar
- $59/mo
- 5 calendarsTypical
- $271/mo
Cheapest plan: Basic.
No free plan; 30-day trial.
- 1 seat
- $99/mo~$79/mo annual
- 3 seatsTypical
- $297/mo~$237/mo annual
Cheapest plan: Essentials.
HeyOrca
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 2
- Scheduled posts
- 15
- 1 calendar, 2 social accounts, 1 user
- 15 scheduled posts a month
- Inspo library, Instagram bio link, AI tools, mobile app
Basic
- Seats
- Unlimited
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $59 per calendar/mo, unlimited users, 10 social accounts per calendar
- Unlimited scheduling, approval workflows, Canva, best time to post, custom branding
- Reporting ($59), social inbox ($39), and listening ($39) are paid add-ons per calendar
Pro
Popular- Seats
- Unlimited
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $149 per calendar/mo, unlimited users, 10 social accounts per calendar
- Everything in Basic, with reporting, social inbox, and listening included
- Advanced and custom reports, competitor analysis, sentiment, Instagram demographics
Enterprise
- Seats
- Unlimited
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- Custom pricing for managing many clients
- White-label onboarding, priority support, ongoing training
- Dedicated account management
- Priced per calendar, which is HeyOrca's word for a brand or client: the headline $59 / $149 is for one calendar, and you pay again for each one. Every paid calendar includes unlimited users and 10 social accounts.
- There's a 40% volume discount once you run 5 or more calendars, so the per-calendar rate drops to roughly $35 on Basic and $89 on Pro at agency scale; the cost-at-scale table reflects that. Annual billing is a further 15% off.
- Extra social accounts beyond the 10 per calendar are $10 a month each.
- On Basic, reporting ($59/mo), the social inbox ($39/mo), and social listening ($39/mo) are paid add-ons per calendar; Pro bundles all three in.
- There's a genuine Free plan (1 calendar, 2 social accounts, 1 user, 15 posts a month) plus a 14-day trial of Pro, no card required.
- Prices are USD, read off the live pricing page and cross-checked against current third-party listings.
What it really costs
HeyOrca charges per calendar, so the headline price is for one. Here is the monthly cost as you connect more, with the 5-calendar row marked as a realistic setup.
| calendars | Basic | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $59/mo | $149/mo |
| 3 | $177/mo | $447/mo |
| 5Typical | $271/mo | $685/mo |
| 10 | $446/mo | $1130/mo |
| 25 | $971/mo | $2465/mo |
| 50 | $1846/mo | $4690/mo |
Monthly billing. Volume discounts lower the per-calendar rate at higher counts.
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
HeyOrca
- Client approvals without the client needing an account
- Unlimited users on every paid plan
- Per-calendar pricing with a 40% volume discount at scale
- Reporting, inbox, and listening all included on Pro
- On Basic, reporting, inbox, and listening are paid add-ons
- No evergreen recycling
- Per-calendar pricing adds up before the volume discount kicks in
- Paid plans are priced for teams, not solo creators
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
HeyOrca vs Sprout Social: FAQ
- Is HeyOrca or Sprout Social cheaper?
- HeyOrca is cheaper to start, from $59 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 HeyOrca or Sprout Social have a free plan?
- HeyOrca has a free plan; Sprout Social does not, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Which is better, HeyOrca or Sprout Social?
- HeyOrca is the stronger pick for agencies that want a calendar and approval flow per client, 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.