Head to head
Sked Social vs Sprout Social
Last updated 4 June 2026
Sked Social started life as Schedugram, the Instagram scheduler, and grew into a broader agency tool: a visual feed planner, bulk scheduling, a unified inbox, listening, and reporting across ten networks. Flat plans run from $24 a month on annual billing, with profile and user add-ons.
- From
- $24 /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
Sked Social is the pick for Instagram-led agencies and brands that plan visually, and it's the cheaper start, from $24 a month. Sprout Social fits businesses running social as a core function better, and it reaches Bluesky and Reddit, which Sked Social doesn't.
Sked Social starts cheaper, $24 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 ad management that Sked Social leaves out.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- Sked Social starts at $24 a month, Sprout Social at $79 per user / mo.
- Sked Social posts to 10 networks, Sprout Social to 11.
- Only Sked Social reaches Google Business.
- Only Sprout Social reaches Bluesky and Reddit.
- Sprout Social has ad management; Sked Social doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | Sked Social | 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 | Sked Social | 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 | Auto | 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.
No free plan; 14-day trial.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $24/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.
Sked Social
Basic
$24/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 1
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $29/mo, $24 on annual
- 1 profile per platform, 1 user, unlimited scheduling
- Visual planner, AI captions, social inbox, analytics
Grow
Popular$58/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 3
- Accounts
- 6
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $69/mo, $58 on annual
- 6 profiles (extra at $8/mo), 3 users
- Adds collaboration, team workflows, and basic approvals
Accelerate
$166/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 6
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $199/mo, $166 on annual
- 10 profiles (extra at $10/mo), 6+ users (extra at $15/mo)
- Adds advanced approvals, external review portals, role-level permissions, dedicated support
Custom
- Seats
- Unlimited
- Accounts
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- From $299/mo, custom profiles and users
- Enterprise support and onboarding
- Flat, quota-bundled plans: each tier bundles social profiles and users. Extra profiles are about $8 a month on Grow and $10 on Accelerate, and extra users about $15 a month.
- There's no free plan, only a 14-day trial, no card required.
- Annual billing is roughly 17% cheaper (two months free): Basic works out to about $24 a month, Grow $58, Accelerate $166.
- Sked's plan names and prices have shifted over time, so older listings vary; these are the current Basic / Grow / Accelerate / Custom figures.
- Prices are USD; the live page also offers AUD, GBP, and EUR.
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
Sked Social
- Strong Instagram visual feed planner
- Bulk scheduling, unified inbox, listening, and competitor monitoring
- Approvals and external client review portals on Accelerate
- Ten networks, including Snapchat and Google Business
- No evergreen recycling
- Plan names and prices have shifted over time
- Profiles and users cost extra on top of the plan
- Mid-range pricing for the fuller feature set
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
Sked Social vs Sprout Social: FAQ
- Is Sked Social or Sprout Social cheaper?
- Sked Social is cheaper to start, from $24 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 Sked Social or Sprout Social have a free plan?
- Neither has a free plan. You get a free trial to test things, then you pay.
- Which is better, Sked Social or Sprout Social?
- Sked Social is the stronger pick for Instagram-led agencies and brands that plan visually, 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.