Comparison
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite
How Sprout Social and Hootsuite compare on price, pricing model, features and reviews, with every fact checked on October 24, 2026.
Quick verdict
Choose Sprout Social if
- Mid-size and enterprise teams that value reporting and a unified inbox.
- Teams needing approval workflows including external reviewers.
Choose Hootsuite if
- Teams that need scheduling, inbox and listening in one suite and can budget per user.
- Organizations wanting an annual-invoiced Enterprise contract.
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite side by side
| Sprout Social | Hootsuite | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Premium per-seat social suite with strong analytics and inbox, listening sold as a paid add-on. | Per-user social media suite covering scheduling, a unified inbox, analytics and listening, with SSO reserved for Enterprise. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Starting price | $79 per seat per month (Essentials, annual); $99 monthly | $99 per user per month (Standard, annual billing basis) |
| Pricing model | per user | per user |
| Free plan or trial | Free trial | Free trial |
| Per seat per month | $199 (Standard, as listed); Essentials $79 annual but only 5 profiles. | $99 (Standard, 'from', annual billing basis) |
| Billing | Monthly and annual. | Monthly and annual. |
| Annual discount | Essentials only: $79 annual vs $99 monthly (about 20%) | Annual gives a lower per-user rate; percentage not published. |
| Minimum seats | Not published | 1+ seats listed. |
| 20 users per year | $199 x 20 seats x 12 = $47,760 per year at Standard (assuming the listed price is per seat per month); Essentials $79 x 20 x 12 = $18,960. | $99 x 20 users x 12 months = $23,760 per year at the Standard 'from' price (annual basis); Standard allows only 10 social accounts. |
| G2 rating | 4.4 (6,867 reviews) | 4.3 (7,400 reviews) |
| Founded | 2010 | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Not verified | Not verified |
| Employees | 1,400+ | Not verified |
| Scheduling and publishing | Compose box, calendar, Sprout Queue, ViralPost; CSV bulk scheduling up to 350 messages on Professional and Advanced. | Scheduler, bulk scheduling, best-time-to-post recommendations; bulk scheduling unavailable during the trial. |
| Supported networks | Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok. | Says 'all major social networks' without a list; listening covers 30+ networks. |
| Analytics and reporting | Group, profile and post reports on all plans; competitor reports on Professional and up; scheduled reports on Advanced. | Post performance, sentiment, industry benchmarks, scheduled and custom reports; GA4 and Adobe Analytics ties on Enterprise. |
| Social inbox and engagement | Smart Inbox with moderation and case management; tagging on Professional and Advanced. | Unified inbox for public and private messages with saved replies, auto-tagging, assignment and skill-based routing. |
| Social listening | Paid add-on (Query Builder, Listener Insights) on Standard and up. | Trend, hashtag and topic search plus sentiment; advanced listening on Enterprise. |
| Approvals and collaboration | Message approval on Professional and Advanced; external approval on Advanced. | Approval workflows listed as a feature; plan gating not stated on the page. |
| Pricing model | Per seat per month; tiers by profile count and features. | Per user per month; extra seats bought as needed. |
| Target company size | SMB to enterprise. | Small teams to enterprise (three self-serve tiers plus Enterprise) |
Differences most comparisons miss
Worth knowing about Sprout Social
- Listening, Premium Analytics, Employee Advocacy and professional services are separate paid add-ons.
- External approval workflow is Advanced only.
- SSO is Enterprise only, with a dedicated setup service.
- Trial runs 30 days and uses annual billing.
Worth knowing about Hootsuite
- Card prices assume annual billing; monthly billing costs more per user.
- Trial caps posting at 10 to 20 posts per organization per day and blocks bulk scheduling.
- SSO is Enterprise only; Enterprise is quote-only with a demo, not a trial.
- Nonprofit discounts are available by application.
What reviewers complain about
Sprout Social
- High price for larger organizations.
- Accounts disconnect and need reauthorization.
Hootsuite
- Limited Instagram features.
- Price seen as high versus competitors.
Sources
Both columns use the same sources: vendor pricing and product pages, documentation, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Full source lists are on the Sprout Social and Hootsuite reviews.