Head to head
Publer vs Sprout Social
Last updated 4 June 2026
vs
The value pick: Publer posts to thirteen networks, Telegram and WordPress included, and bundles bulk upload, recycling, and RSS automation for less than most rivals charge. It's priced per connected account, the interface is busy, and X needs a paid plan.
- From
- $4 per account / 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
Publer and Sprout Social both cover the basics; the right one comes down to how you post. Publer is the stronger pick for Power users posting to many networks at once; choose Sprout Social for Businesses running social as a core function.
Features compared
| Feature | Publer | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Yes | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | Yes | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio | Yes | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | Publer | 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 | Auto | No |
| Mastodon | Auto | No |
| No | Auto | |
| Snapchat | No | Auto |
| Telegram | Auto | No |
| WordPress | Auto | No |
Pricing
Publer
Free
Free
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 3
- Scheduled posts
- 10
- 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts (no X)
- 10 scheduled posts per account, 24-hour post history, 25 drafts
- Branded link-in-bio for Instagram
Professional
Popular$5 per account / mo
$4/mo billed annually
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $5 per account/mo, $4 on annual
- Unlimited scheduling and drafts, eternal post history
- First comments and threads, unlimited RSS automations, unlimited workspaces
- Unbranded link-in-bio, X/Twitter integration
Business
$10 per account / mo
$8/mo billed annually
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $10 per account/mo, $8 on annual
- Everything in Professional, plus unlimited AI prompts
- Analytics and reports, best times to post, competitor analysis
- Hashtag suggestions, Spintax post recycling, Publer API
Enterprise
Custom
- Quote-only for large organisations
- Higher volume discounts, 1:1 onboarding, priority support
- Priced per connected social account: the headline $5 / $10 is for one account and multiplies by how many you connect. Every 10th account (and every 10th extra member) is free, so the effective rate dips about 10% at higher counts.
- Team members are a second, separate cost: $2 a month each on Professional, $3 on Business, with the plan owner already included.
- X (Twitter) needs a paid plan because of X's API pricing; it can't be connected on the Free plan at all.
- There's a permanent Free plan (3 accounts, no X) plus a 7-day trial of Professional and a 14-day trial of Business, no card required.
- Annual billing is roughly 20% cheaper per account ($5 to $4 on Professional, $10 to $8 on Business). Listed prices exclude VAT, and there's a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- Prices are USD. The live pricing page renders client-side and geo-located to Australia here, showing AUD, but it also prints an explicit US-dollar figure per plan; the USD numbers were read directly and confirmed by toggling monthly and yearly, and they match current third-party 2026 listings.
Sprout Social
Essentials
$99 per user / mo
$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
$249 per user / mo
$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$399 per user / mo
$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
$499 per user / mo
$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
Custom
- 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.
Pros and cons
Publer
- Excellent value on per-account pricing, with every 10th account free
- Widest network list here, including Telegram, Mastodon, and WordPress
- Bulk CSV upload, auto-scheduling queue, Spintax recycling, and RSS automation
- Genuinely useful free plan
- Per-account pricing and separate member fees still add up at scale
- No unified inbox for comments or DMs
- X/Twitter is paid-only and analytics sit on the Business tier
- Dense interface, and listed prices exclude VAT
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
Publer vs Sprout Social: FAQ
- Is Publer or Sprout Social cheaper?
- Publer is cheaper to start, from $4 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 Publer or Sprout Social have a free plan?
- Publer has a free plan; Sprout Social does not, though it offers a 30-day trial.
- Which is better, Publer or Sprout Social?
- Publer is the stronger pick for power users posting to many networks at once, 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.