Sprout Social is one of the strongest suites for listening and reporting, and every person on it is a paid seat: $199 a month each on the plan where the inbox starts. For a small team that answers comments together, the seat count is most of the bill.
This guide compares ten Sprout Social alternatives for teams that want the same daily work for less. Every price was read off the vendor’s own pricing page on 24 or 25 September 2026, and each entry has a screenshot of that page. We make PostPost.ai, which is one of the ten; we say where the others beat it.
On this page: At a glance · Why teams switch · The 10 alternatives · Pricing compared · What you give up · FAQ
Best Sprout Social alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starts at | Priced by | Inbox from | Users on the entry plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostPost.ai | A team with nobody to write the posts | $29 | Brand | $29, the entry plan | Unlimited |
| Hootsuite | A like-for-like enterprise swap | £89 per user (annual) | User | £89, the entry plan | Each user pays |
| Agorapulse | Teams whose day is the inbox | $99 per user | User | $99, the entry plan | Each user pays |
| Sendible | A team that wants no seat bill | $35 | Workspace | $35, the entry plan | Unlimited |
| Statusbrew | Sprout’s feature set for less | $69 (annual) | Plan, users included | $69, the entry plan | 1 |
| Zoho Social | The cheapest paid suite | £8 (annual) | Brand | £35, Premium | 1 |
| SocialPilot | Agencies with many accounts | $30 | Social account | $50, Standard | 1 |
| Planable | Client approval before anything ships | $39 per workspace | Workspace | $9 add-on | Unlimited |
| Vista Social | Many profiles, reviews and listening | $99 | Profile count | $99, the entry plan | 2 |
| Metricool | Reporting per dollar | $25 | Brand | Not itemised by plan | 1 |
| Sprout Social | Listening, sentiment, enterprise reporting | $79 per seat (annual) | Seat | $199, Standard | Each seat pays |
Monthly billing unless marked. Sprout Social, Hootsuite and Statusbrew show annual billing on their pages; Hootsuite and Zoho Social showed us pounds.
What Sprout Social costs in 2026
Every Sprout plan is priced per seat, per month, on annual billing.
| Plan | Per seat, per month | Social profiles | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $79 ($99 billed monthly) | 5 | Publishing, optimal send times, post-level reporting |
| Standard | $199 | 5 | The consolidated inbox, keyword and location monitoring, review management |
| Professional | $299 | Unlimited | Message tagging, competitor and paid insights |
| Advanced | $399 | Unlimited | Sentiment in the inbox, the API, helpdesk integrations |
Essentials has no inbox, so a team that answers comments starts at $199 a seat. There is a 30-day trial with no card. Listening, premium analytics, employee advocacy and influencer marketing are separate products on top.
Why teams are switching from Sprout Social
Four reasons come up in almost every guide ranking for this search.
- Every person is a seat. Three people on Standard are $597 a month, and a designer who checks a post twice a month costs the same as the manager.
- The inbox starts at $199. Essentials is a publishing plan, so answering comments means the next tier for everyone.
- The extras are separate. Listening and premium analytics sit on top of the plan price.
- Small teams use a small part of it. A team of three needs the calendar, the inbox and reports, and pays for an enterprise suite.
How we chose these alternatives
We started from the tools named by the pages ranking highest for “Sprout Social alternatives” and kept the ten a small team leaving Sprout would realistically move to. We left out the enterprise suites that cost more than Sprout.
For each one we read the pricing page, took a screenshot and noted the date. We did not rely on review sites for prices, because they go stale quickly.
The 10 best Sprout Social alternatives
1. PostPost.ai
Best for: a small team where the real problem is that nobody has time to write the posts.
PostPost.ai starts from your website. It reads the site, builds a brand kit from it (services, prices, tone, colours, logo) and writes a week of posts for each channel, with images to match. The team reviews and approves every post before it goes out, and seats are unlimited.
Key features
- Posts, carousels and images written from your own website
- Comments and DMs in one inbox on every plan
- Unlimited seats with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles
- Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Telegram, Google Business Profile, Bluesky and Pinterest
Pricing: Starter $29 a month ($290 a year) for one brand on three channels. Business $59 ($590 a year) with no channel cap. Pro $149 for three brands, Studio $299 for ten, Agency custom. 7-day trial.
Pros
- A team of any size costs the same
- Writes the posts, which Sprout does not
Cons
- No social listening, sentiment or review management
- No client approval workflow; clients get a read-only link to a post
- DMs come in from Facebook and Instagram only
“I was paying an assistant to run our Instagram and Facebook, and still had to check the work. Now I give the idea and the focus, the system makes it, and I press approve.” — AtoZ Design and Glass, design and glazing
Paste your website and see the week it writes.
2. Hootsuite
Best for: an organisation that wants a like-for-like swap with the budget already approved.
Hootsuite covers publishing, the inbox, monitoring and reporting in one product, and it is widely known, so new hires have often used it. It is priced per user, the same model as Sprout.
Key features
- Unified inbox and brand monitoring from Standard
- Unlimited social accounts and inbox automation on Professional
- Content approval and message routing on Advanced
Pricing: Standard £89, Professional £169 and Advanced £349 per user a month on annual billing. Standard covers up to 10 social accounts. 14-day trial. The page showed us pounds.
Pros
- The broadest integrations here
- Cheaper per seat than Sprout for the inbox
Cons
- Per-user pricing, like the tool you are leaving
- Approvals need Advanced
3. Agorapulse
Best for: social media managers whose day is spent replying to people.
Agorapulse is built around the inbox, which is on the entry plan with labels. It is the closest thing here to Sprout’s customer-care half at half the seat price.
Key features
- All messages and organic comments in one inbox
- Inbox assignment and team reports from Professional
- Multi-step approval on the Custom plan
Pricing: Standard $99, Professional $149 and Advanced $199 per user a month; annual billing is $79, $119 and $149. Each plan includes 10 social profiles. There is a free plan and a 30-day trial.
Pros
- The strongest inbox for its price
- A free plan to start on
Cons
- Still per user: three people are $297 a month
- X publishing is a separate add-on
4. Sendible
Best for: a team that wants Sprout’s shape without the seat bill.
Sendible includes unlimited users on every plan, and monitoring and replying are on the $35 plan. It is the most direct answer to per-seat pricing on this list.
Key features
- Unlimited users on all plans
- Monitoring and replying from Core
- Assignment and approvals from Plus
Pricing: Core $35 a month for 1 workspace and 6 profiles. Plus $99 for 3 workspaces and 18 profiles. Premium $199, Elite $299 and Enterprise $750 for more. 14-day trial, no card.
Pros
- A team of any size for $35
- Approvals on Plus at $99
Cons
- Six profiles per workspace on Core
- Sendible’s own FAQ says it does not answer Instagram DMs
5. Statusbrew
Best for: a team that wants most of Sprout’s feature set for a fraction of the price.
Statusbrew puts the social inbox on its entry plan and adds sentiment, approvals, competitor benchmarking and listening on Premium. Users come with the plan rather than one by one.
Key features
- All-in-one social inbox and hiding of organic comments from Lite
- Reporting with 18 months of backfill and Google Business Profile from Standard
- AI sentiment, approvals, SLA reports and social listening on Premium
Pricing: Lite $69 (1 user, 5 profiles), Standard $129 (3 users, 10 profiles) and Premium $229 (6 users, 15 profiles) a month on annual billing. Enterprise is custom. 14-day trial, no card.
Pros
- Listening and sentiment for six people at $229
- Three users included on Standard
Cons
- The page shows annual billing only
- $69 for one user is a high entry price
6. Zoho Social
Best for: the cheapest paid plan here that is still a full suite, especially inside Zoho.
Zoho Social prices by brand, with 14 to 16 channels per brand. Premium adds the inbox and three team members, and the Zoho CRM integration is the reason to pick it if you already use Zoho.
Key features
- The social inbox on Premium
- Three team members on Premium, extra members £8
- Zoho CRM integration
Pricing: Standard £8, Professional £22 and Premium £35 a month on annual billing, each for one brand. Extra brands £12 to £15. Free plan for one brand and 6 channels. 15-day trial. The page showed us pounds and euros only.
Pros
- A team of three with the inbox for £35
- A free plan to try it on
Cons
- The inbox and approvals start on Premium
- One brand per plan; each more is an add-on
7. SocialPilot
Best for: agencies that want many accounts and users for little money.
SocialPilot includes three users and the inbox on Standard, and client approval with free client seats on Premium.
Key features
- Social inbox and manager approval from Standard
- Client approval, white-label reports and free client seats from Premium
- Bulk scheduling
Pricing: Essentials $30 a month for 7 accounts and 1 user. Standard $50 for 15 accounts and 3 users. Premium $100 for 25 accounts and 6 users. Ultimate $200 for 50 accounts and unlimited users. Annual billing saves 15%. 14-day trial, no card.
Pros
- Three people and the inbox for $50
- Client seats that cost nothing
Cons
- Essentials has no inbox, analytics or approvals
- Client approval waits for Premium, $100
8. Planable
Best for: work that a client or manager must approve before it goes out.
Planable’s approval flow is the best here: a reviewer sees the post as it will look, comments in place and approves it. Users are unlimited on every plan.
Key features
- Approval workflows, from optional to multi-level
- Feed, calendar and grid views
- Unlimited users on every plan
Pricing: Basic $39 and Pro $59 per workspace a month ($33 and $49 annually), with 4 and 10 social pages. The inbox ($9) and analytics ($14) are add-ons per workspace. The first 50 posts are free.
Pros
- Clients and reviewers cost nothing
- Unlimited users on every plan
Cons
- The inbox and analytics cost extra
- No listening
9. Vista Social
Best for: agencies that need many profiles, reviews and listening.
Vista Social has one of the most complete feature sets here: reviews, DM automations, listening and employee advocacy, priced by profile count with users in fixed bundles.
Key features
- Review management and DM automations
- Listening across the web at $75 a month on top
- 15, 30 or 70 profiles per plan
Pricing: Professional $99 a month ($950 a year) with 15 profiles and 2 users; Advanced $199 ($1,910) with 30 profiles and 4 users; Scale $449 ($4,310) with 70 profiles and 8 users. X is a $29-a-month add-on. 14-day trial.
Pros
- Review management, which most of this list lacks
- Many profiles for the price
Cons
- A third person means the next plan
- Listening and X are add-ons
10. Metricool
Best for: teams that need the reporting and little else.
Metricool’s analytics cover competitors, ads and organic in one report, with unlimited history. Fifteen brands and team management for $67 is strong value for reporting.
Key features
- Competitor tracking and unlimited analytics history
- Team management and post approval from Advanced
- Looker Studio connector
Pricing: Starter $25 a month ($20 annually) for up to 5 brands; Advanced $67 ($53) for 15 brands. X is a $10 add-on per account. Free plan for one brand, without LinkedIn or X.
Pros
- Competitor tracking from the $25 plan
- Many brands on one plan
Cons
- X costs $10 extra per account
- A second person needs Advanced
Sprout Social vs the alternatives: pricing compared
Here is the setup most teams leaving Sprout have: one brand, five social profiles, three people, and the inbox included.
| Tool | Monthly price | Plan and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Sendible | $35 | Core, unlimited users, inbox included |
| Zoho Social | £35 (annual) | Premium, 3 members, the inbox starts here |
| SocialPilot | $50 | Standard, 3 users, inbox included |
| PostPost.ai | $59 | Business, unlimited seats, inbox included, posts written for you |
| Metricool | $67 | Advanced, where team members start; the inbox is not itemised by plan |
| Planable | $68 | Pro plus the $9 inbox add-on; Basic holds 4 pages |
| Statusbrew | $129 (annual) | Standard, 3 users, inbox included |
| Vista Social | $199 | Advanced, because Professional holds 2 users |
| Hootsuite | £267 (annual) | Standard, 3 users × £89 |
| Agorapulse | $297 | Standard, 3 users × $99 |
| Sprout Social | $597 (annual) | Standard, 3 seats × $199 |
Sprout charges for people, and eight of the ten alternatives do not. That pricing model is where the gap between $597 and $35 comes from.
Your own setup is probably different. Set it below: each tool is priced for it, with our estimate of the hours a week it leaves your team.