Head to head
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social
Last updated 21 July 2026
Hootsuite combines publishing with reporting and customer-care workflows. Standard can support additional seats, Professional adds custom scheduled reports and exports, and Advanced adds approval workflows and assigned conversation routing.
- From
- Check current price
- Free scheduling
- No
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
- $79per user a month, billed yearly
- Free scheduling
- No
Bottom line
Hootsuite is the pick for organizations comparing publishing with scheduled report delivery. Sprout Social fits businesses running social as a core function better, and it adds a posting queue that Hootsuite leaves out.
A verified price comparison requires the same billing term, currency and eligible workload. See each pricing section for the published terms. Sprout Social adds a posting queue that Hootsuite leaves out.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Hootsuite posts to 9 networks, Sprout Social to 12.
- Sprout Social has a posting queue; Hootsuite doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | Hootsuite | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Yes | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | No | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio | Yes | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | Hootsuite | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | Auto | Auto |
| Threads | Auto | Auto |
| Bluesky | Auto | Auto |
| Google Business | Not assessed | Auto |
| Not assessed | Auto | |
| Snapchat | Not assessed | Auto |
Pricing
Prices use each tool’s billing unit. Annual equivalents are labeled as billed yearly; scaling rows show monthly costs and available annual rates.
No free plan; 30-day trial.
- 1 seat · Essentials
- $99/mo~$79/mo annual
- 3 seats · EssentialsTypical
- $297/mo~$237/mo annual
Lowest priced plan at each shown workload. Check the plan's included features before choosing it.
Hootsuite
Standard
Check current price
- Accounts
- 10
- Up to ten social accounts
- Additional seats can be purchased
- Shared access alone does not require Advanced
Professional
Check current price
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Customizable reports
- Scheduled and exported reports
- Match the seats and other duties to the intended workload
Advanced
Check current price
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Approval workflows
- Customer-care assignment and routing
- Confirm required add-ons and conversation coverage
Enterprise
Custom quote
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Confirm organization-specific permissions and product access
- Include required add-ons in the complete quote
- The current lineup is Standard, Professional, Advanced and Enterprise. Standard permits additional seats, so three colleagues do not automatically require Advanced.
- Professional includes customizable, scheduled and exported reports. Advanced adds approval workflows and customer-care assignment/routing.
- Obtain a complete quote for the selected tier, seats, currency and billing term, including required add-ons. A starting FAQ price does not establish a matched team total.
- Starting amounts in the public FAQ do not establish the selected currency, billing term or complete scenario quote.
Sprout Social
Essentials
$79 per user a month 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
Billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 5
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- USD199/seat/month with annual billing; confirm monthly tariff
- $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
PopularBilled annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- USD299/seat/month with annual billing; confirm monthly tariff
- $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
Billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- USD399/seat/month with annual billing; confirm monthly tariff
- $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
- List pricing is per seat. Obtain a quote for larger or customized deployments; no-volume-discount guarantees are not established by the current public evidence.
- Annual advertised rates per seat: Essentials USD79, Standard USD199, Professional USD299 and Advanced USD399. Essentials USD99 monthly is verified; other monthly rates need confirmation.
- No free plan. There's a 30-day trial with no card required.
- USD advertised list pricing. Check the applicable billing offer and paid add-ons before purchase.
- 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.
What it really costs
Monthly cost by seat count. Per-unit tiers grow with usage; flat tiers keep their whole-plan price within the published allowance, with the 3-seat row marked as a realistic setup.
| seats | Essentials |
|---|---|
| 1 | $99/mo |
| 3Typical | $297/mo |
| 5 | $495/mo |
| 10 | $990/mo |
| 25 | $2,475/mo |
| 50 | $4,950/mo |
Monthly billing.
Pros and cons
Hootsuite
- Standard permits additional seats
- Customizable, scheduled and exported reports on Professional and above
- Approval and customer-care routing workflows on Advanced
- Documented MCP products for separate operational responsibilities
- Approval and routing requirements change plan eligibility
- The complete selected-seat bill requires a current quote
- Network and conversation coverage must match the customer-care workload
- MCP access and permissions differ by product
Sprout Social
- Publishing and social-care workflows
- Plan-based reporting and add-on listening
- Documented Reddit, Bluesky and Snapchat capabilities
- Internal and external review workflows
- Seat fees and add-ons increase the total
- Essentials and Standard have five-profile limits
- External MCP scope is narrower than the main product
- Network and mobile format coverage varies
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social: FAQ
- Is Hootsuite or Sprout Social cheaper?
- A verified price comparison is unavailable for these configurations. Check the current billing term, currency, required capacity and plan features before comparing totals.
- Does Hootsuite or Sprout Social have a free plan?
- Neither has a free plan. At least one advertises a trial. Check each current trial offer and billing terms.
- Which is better, Hootsuite or Sprout Social?
- Hootsuite is the stronger pick for organizations comparing publishing with scheduled report delivery, 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.