Hootsuite vs Sprout Social
A side-by-side look at Hootsuite and Sprout Social: ratings, pricing, features, pros and cons.
H
Hootsuite
Schedule, answer and track all your social accounts in one suite
Free Trial
$99/mo per user
At a glance
| Feature | HHootsuite | SSprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free Trial | Free Trial |
| Pricing | $99/mo per user | $79/mo per seat |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Category | Marketing & Sales | Marketing & Sales |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android, API |
| Best for | Social media marketers, Customer care teams | Social media managers, Agencies handling many brands |
| Company | — | Sprout Social, Inc. |
Key Features
HHootsuite
- Perch: Create, plan and schedule posts from one calendar, with best-time suggestions.
- Nest: Answer DMs and comments from one shared inbox with saved replies and routing.
- Lumen: Track trends, competitors and sentiment through social listening.
- Wisdom: An AI teammate in every plan that drafts posts and explains your analytics.
- Parliament: Run employee advocacy so staff can share approved brand content.
- MCP connectors: Manage social tasks from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
SSprout Social
- Publishing: Plan and schedule posts across networks, with suggested send times.
- Smart Inbox: Handle comments, messages and reviews from all profiles in one feed.
- Trellis AI agent: Get inbox briefings, report summaries and drafted replies from AI.
- Analytics: Track profile and post results and benchmark against competitors.
- Listening: Spot trends and sentiment shifts in public conversations, with spike alerts.
- Influencer marketing: Find brand-safe creators and run campaigns from start to finish.
Pricing Plans
HHootsuite
- Standard$99 per user per month
- Professional$199 per user per month
- Advanced$399 per user per month
- Enterprise
SSprout Social
- Essentials$79 per user per month
- Standard$199 per user per month
- Professional$299 per user per month
- Advanced$399 per user per month
- Enterprise
Best For
HHootsuite
SSprout Social
Pros & Cons
HHootsuite
- +Full suite: Publishing, inbox, listening, AI and advocacy are covered in one product.
- +Works with AI assistants: MCP connectors link Hootsuite to ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini.
- +Flexible seats: You can buy as many user seats as your team needs.
- +Free trial: Paid plans can be tested for 14 days.
- −No free plan: You need a paid plan after the trial.
- −Per-user pricing: Each extra seat adds to the bill.
- −Trial limits: Trials cap daily posts and do not include bulk scheduling.
SSprout Social
- +All-in-one workflow: Publishing, inbox, reports and listening live in one tool.
- +AI included: Every plan gets Trellis with 100 AI credits per seat each month.
- +Long free trial: You can test it for 30 days with no credit card.
- +Mobile apps: iOS and Android apps are included on every plan.
- −Priced per seat: Costs rise quickly as you add team members.
- −Key tools cost extra: Premium Analytics, Listening and Employee Advocacy are add-ons.
- −Profile caps on lower plans: Essentials and Standard allow only 5 social profiles.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Hootsuite pricing compare to Sprout Social?
Hootsuite: $99/mo per user. Sprout Social: $79/mo per seat. See each tool's plans above for what every tier includes.