Head to head
SocialPilot vs Sprout Social
Last updated 4 June 2026
SocialPilot is the value pick for agencies and small businesses: ten networks, bulk scheduling, a social inbox, AI, and white-label client reports, at prices well under the big suites. Plans run from $17 a month on annual billing, with extra accounts and users sold cheaply on the side.
- From
- $17 /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
SocialPilot is the pick for agencies and SMBs who want broad coverage and client reporting on a budget, and it's the cheaper start, from $17 a month. Sprout Social fits businesses running social as a core function better, and it reaches Snapchat and Reddit, which SocialPilot doesn't.
SocialPilot starts cheaper, $17 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 social listening and employee advocacy that SocialPilot leaves out.
Key differences
Where the two actually diverge, before the full tables.
- SocialPilot starts at $17 a month, Sprout Social at $79 per user / mo.
- SocialPilot posts to 10 networks, Sprout Social to 11.
- Only SocialPilot reaches Google Business.
- Only Sprout Social reaches Reddit and Snapchat.
- SocialPilot has browser extension; Sprout Social doesn't.
- Sprout Social has social listening; SocialPilot doesn't.
- Sprout Social has employee advocacy; SocialPilot doesn't.
- Sprout Social has link in bio; SocialPilot doesn't.
Features compared
| Feature | SocialPilot | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI captions | Yes | Yes |
| Basic analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reports | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload | Yes | Yes |
| Evergreen recycling | Partial | No |
| Team roles | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio | No | Yes |
Platforms compared
| Network | SocialPilot | 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 |
| 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.
No free plan; 14-day trial.
- Cheapest paid plan
- $17/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.
SocialPilot
Essentials
$17/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 1
- Accounts
- 5
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $20/mo, $17 on annual ($204/yr)
- 5 social accounts, 1 user, 500 AI credits
- Scheduling, content library, analytics
Standard
$34/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 3
- Accounts
- 10
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $40/mo, $34 on annual ($408/yr)
- 10 social accounts, 3 users, 1,000 AI credits
- Adds bulk scheduling, the social inbox, and team collaboration
Premium
Popular$85/mo billed annually
- Seats
- 6
- Accounts
- 20
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $100/mo, $85 on annual ($1,020/yr)
- 20 social accounts, 6 users, 5,000 AI credits
- Adds advanced analytics, client approvals, custom and white-label reports
Ultimate
$170/mo billed annually
- Seats
- Unlimited
- Accounts
- 40
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- $200/mo, $170 on annual ($2,040/yr)
- 40 social accounts, unlimited users, unlimited AI credits
- Advanced security, dedicated account manager, migration support
Enterprise
- Seats
- Unlimited
- Scheduled posts
- Unlimited
- Custom pricing, custom accounts, unlimited users
- Unlimited AI credits, dedicated account manager
- SSO and API access
- Flat, quota-bundled plans: each tier bundles social accounts, users, and AI credits. Extra accounts are $4 a month each on every plan, and extra users are $5 a month on Standard and Premium, so the real cost depends on how many of each you add.
- There's no free plan, only a 14-day trial, no card required.
- Annual billing is a flat 15% off: Essentials works out to $17 a month, Standard $34, Premium $85, Ultimate $170.
- AI credits are metered per plan (500, 1,000, 5,000, then unlimited). White-label reports and client approvals start on Premium.
- Prices are USD. The live pricing page geo-located to Australia and showed AUD here, so the USD figures were taken from the page's USD view and cross-checked by converting the AUD (for example A$263.50 times about 0.66 lands near the $170 Ultimate annual rate).
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
SocialPilot
- Excellent value: ten networks and agency features well under the big suites
- Bulk scheduling, social inbox, and white-label client reports
- Cheap extra-account and extra-user add-ons
- Clear, flat plans with a flat 15% annual discount
- No real evergreen recycling and no visual feed planner
- No broad social listening or link-in-bio
- AI is metered by credits on the lower plans
- Client approvals and white-label start on Premium
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
SocialPilot vs Sprout Social: FAQ
- Is SocialPilot or Sprout Social cheaper?
- SocialPilot is cheaper to start, from $17 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 SocialPilot 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, SocialPilot or Sprout Social?
- SocialPilot is the stronger pick for agencies and SMBs who want broad coverage and client reporting on a 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.