Sprout Social alternatives: top competitors compared
Named alongside Sprout Social
HootsuiteBest forTeams and agencies that manage many social accounts, and larger organizations such as enterprise companies and franchises that need approvals, governance, and expert support.89% of Sprout Social answersBufferBest forCreators, brands and agencies that post across many social channels and want flexible per-channel pricing83% of Sprout Social answersAgorapulseBest forSocial media managers, marketing leaders and agencies that need to prove social media's business results41% of Sprout Social answersHubSpotBest forStartups, small and mid-sized businesses and enterprises wanting marketing, sales and service on one CRM.39% of Sprout Social answers
Data from SlateIndex weekly runs
Sprout Social has a visibility score of 53.5 in Social Media Management, #3 of 51. AI answers that name Sprout Social most often also name these 4.
What AI answers fault Sprout Social for
Costly for smaller teams and budgets
Raised in 3 collected answers.
Quick reference
| Alternative | Best for | Starting price | Visibility | Key differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite | Teams and agencies that manage many social accounts, and larger organizations such as enterprise companies and franchises that need approvals, governance, and expert support. | $99 per seat / mo | 57.5% | Claims the largest library of integrations of any social media management platform, with over 100 integrations. |
| Buffer | Creators, brands and agencies that post across many social channels and want flexible per-channel pricing | Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo | 57.6% | Per-channel pricing, so customers pay only for the channels they connect and can drop a client's channel when it leaves |
| Agorapulse | Social media managers, marketing leaders and agencies that need to prove social media's business results | — | 16% | Tracks the revenue behind each post and conversation, with AI that proposes actions while the team approves them within its own permissions |
| HubSpot | Startups, small and mid-sized businesses and enterprises wanting marketing, sales and service on one CRM. | Free; paid from $7 per seat / mo | 73.1% | All hubs share one Smart CRM database, with a free tier that never expires. |
Alternative 1
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social →Hootsuite
Hootsuite suits teams and agencies that manage many social accounts, and larger organizations such as enterprise companies and franchises that need approvals, governance, and expert support..
Quick facts
- $99 per seat / mo · per seat
- 14-day free trial
- 57.5% visibility score · #2 in Social Media Management
- 100+ native integrations
Key features
- Perch — Content planning and publishing across social networks from one calendar, with bulk scheduling and AI content creation.
- Nest — Messaging and customer care inbox for DMs and comments, formerly called Inbox.
- Lumen — Social listening and insights, including sentiment analysis and trend tracking.
- Parliament — Employee advocacy platform for sharing brand-approved content, formerly called Amplify.
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social
| Dimension | Hootsuite | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 57.5% | 53.5% |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat |
| Entry price | $99 per seat / mo | $79 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Trial | 14-day free trial | 30-day free trial |
Pros
- Widely adopted, pioneering social media dashboard
- Comprehensive all-in-one platform with multi-channel scheduling
- Strong for large teams and multi-account management
- Enterprise scale, compliance, and large app ecosystem
- Free trial and annual billing discounts
Cons
- Can feel heavy or expensive for smaller budgets
Alternative 2
Buffer vs Sprout Social →Buffer
Buffer suits creators, brands and agencies that post across many social channels and want flexible per-channel pricing.
Quick facts
- Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo · per seat
- Free plan available
- 57.6% visibility score · #1 in Social Media Management
Key features
- Publish — Schedules and publishes posts to connected social channels, with a queue, visual calendar and reminders.
- Create — Organizes ideas, drafts, templates and tags, with a browser extension and Canva integration for creating posts.
- Community — Brings comments and replies from supported channels into one inbox for responding.
- Insights — Provides analytics on follower growth, engagement and post performance, with reports on higher plans.
Buffer vs Sprout Social
| Dimension | Buffer | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 57.6% | 53.5% |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo | $79 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Trial | Free plan available | 30-day free trial |
Pros
- simple, user-friendly scheduling and publishing
- affordable, cost-effective paid plans
- generous free plan
- transparent, clear pricing
- popular with solo creators, small businesses and startups
Cons
- free plan limited to 3 channels and 10 posts per channel, solo use only
- limited analytics and no deep enterprise features
- annual billing savings can be limited or absent
Alternative 3
Agorapulse vs Sprout Social →Agorapulse
Agorapulse suits social media managers, marketing leaders and agencies that need to prove social media's business results.
Quick facts
- Pricing not available
- 16% visibility score · #9 in Social Media Management
Key features
- Inbox — Unified inbox for answering comments and messages across social networks, with assignment, keyword rules and AI sentiment flags.
- Publishing — Shared calendar and composer for scheduling posts on each network, with bulk CSV upload and client sign-off.
- Listening — Tracks brand and industry mentions on social networks, Reddit, news sites, blogs and forums, with share of voice against competitors.
- Reporting and ROI — Custom branded PDF reports, plus tracking of revenue and goals from posts and replies via Google Analytics.
Agorapulse vs Sprout Social
| Dimension | Agorapulse | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 16% | 53.5% |
| Pricing model | — | Per seat |
| Entry price | — | $79 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | — | No |
| Trial | — | 30-day free trial |
Pros
- Robust unified inbox for comments, DMs, and mentions
- Reliable scheduling tools
- Strong agency and team collaboration, including task assignment and approvals
- Clear ROI and client reporting
- Approachable price compared with Sprout Social
Cons
- Not as strong as Sprout Social for sophisticated community management
Alternative 4
HubSpot vs Sprout Social →HubSpot
HubSpot suits startups, small and mid-sized businesses and enterprises wanting marketing, sales and service on one CRM..
Quick facts
- Free; paid from $7 per seat / mo · per seat
- Free plan available
- 73.1% visibility score · #1 in Marketing Automation
- 2000+ native integrations
Key features
- Marketing Hub — Marketing automation software for lead generation, campaigns and analytics.
- Sales Hub — Sales software for prospecting, pipeline management, sequences and forecasting.
- Service Hub — Customer service software with help desk workspace, ticketing, knowledge base and customer success tools.
- Content Hub — Content marketing software for websites, landing pages, blogs and podcasts.
HubSpot vs Sprout Social
| Dimension | HubSpot | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 73.1% | 53.5% |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $7 per seat / mo | $79 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Trial | Free plan available | 30-day free trial |
Pros
- intuitive, user-friendly interface
- generous free tier
- all-in-one CRM and marketing platform
- tight CRM integration for live chat and service
- good fit for startups and small businesses
Cons
- higher-tier costs and onboarding fees
- higher month-to-month pricing than annual plans
How to choose
Match the pricing model to your cost driver: headcount, usage or features.
| Platform | Pricing model | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social | Per seat | $79 per seat / mo |
| Hootsuite | Per seat | $99 per seat / mo |
| Buffer | Per seat | Free; paid from $5 per seat / mo |
| Agorapulse | — | — |
| HubSpot | Per seat | Free; paid from $7 per seat / mo |
More alternatives
Ranked by how often AI answers name them alongside Sprout Social in the latest weekly run.