Head to head
Post Planner vs Sprout Social
Last updated 4 June 2026
Post Planner is a budget scheduler built around content discovery: it surfaces proven, high-engagement posts to share, lets you recycle your best content, and schedules to eight networks. Plans run from a free tier up to $57 a month on annual billing.
- From
- $7 /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
Post Planner is the pick for solo creators and small businesses on a tight budget, 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 Post Planner doesn't.
Post Planner starts cheaper, $7 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. Post Planner brings evergreen recycling that Sprout Social skips, while Sprout Social has social listening Post Planner doesn't.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Post Planner has a free plan; Sprout Social doesn't, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Post Planner starts at $7 a month, Sprout Social at $79 per user / mo.
- Post Planner posts to 8 networks, Sprout Social to 11.
- Only Post Planner reaches Google Business.
- Only Sprout Social reaches Threads, Bluesky, Reddit, and Snapchat.
- Post Planner has evergreen recycling; Sprout Social doesn't.
- Sprout Social has social listening; Post Planner doesn't.
- Sprout Social has advanced reports; Post Planner doesn't.
- Sprout Social has competitor tracking; Post Planner doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | Post Planner | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | No | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Not assessed | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | Yes | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | No | Yes |
| Link in bio | No | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | Post Planner | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Auto | |
| Auto | Auto | |
| X (Twitter) | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| TikTok | Auto | Auto |
| Auto | Auto | |
| YouTube | Auto | Auto |
| Threads | No | 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.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $7/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.
Post Planner
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 1
- Scheduled posts
- 15
- 1 social account, 1 user, 15 scheduled posts
- 3 daily posts per account, 100 AI credits a day
- Basic scheduling and content discovery
Starter
$7/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 3
- Scheduled posts
- 150
- $12/mo, $7 on annual ($84/yr)
- 3 social accounts, 1 user, 150 scheduled posts
- 12 daily posts per account, 1,000 AI credits a day
Growth
Popular$37/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 2
- Accounts
- 12
- Scheduled posts
- 1000
- $49/mo, $37 on annual ($444/yr)
- 12 social accounts, 2 users, 1,000 scheduled posts
- 18 daily posts per account, 20,000 AI credits a day, analytics
Business
$57/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 5
- Accounts
- 25
- Scheduled posts
- 5000
- $79/mo, $57 on annual ($684/yr)
- 25 social accounts, 5 users, 5,000 scheduled posts
- 24 daily posts per account, 40,000 AI credits a day, analytics
- Flat, quota-bundled plans: each tier bundles social accounts, users, scheduled posts, a daily posting cap per account, and a daily AI credit allowance. You move up a plan to grow; for more than Business you contact them.
- There's a genuine Free plan (1 account, 15 scheduled posts) plus a 7-day trial of the paid features.
- Annual billing is roughly 30-40% cheaper: Starter is $7 a month, Growth $37, Business $57.
- Analytics arrive on the Growth plan and up; the AI features are metered by a daily credit allowance.
- Prices are USD, read off the live plans page by toggling monthly and annual, and cross-checked against current third-party listings.
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
Post Planner
- Strong content-discovery engine with predicted-performance ratings
- Cheap, with a real free plan and a $7 entry on annual billing
- Evergreen recycling and a simple posting plan
- Publishes to eight networks with AI content built in
- No social inbox, and no Threads or Bluesky
- Analytics are basic and only from the Growth plan up
- AI is capped by a daily credit allowance
- No approval workflows, client workspaces, or white-label
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
Post Planner vs Sprout Social: FAQ
- Is Post Planner or Sprout Social cheaper?
- Post Planner is cheaper to start, from $7 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 Post Planner or Sprout Social have a free plan?
- Post Planner has a free plan; Sprout Social does not, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Which is better, Post Planner or Sprout Social?
- Post Planner is the stronger pick for solo creators and small businesses on a tight budget, 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.