Metricool vs Sprout Social, read from the source
Metricool vs Sprout Social for a small team
Sprout bills per seat and opens with a 30-day trial; Metricool bills per brand and keeps a free plan. Neither one writes the post for you. Every figure below was read from sproutsocial.com and metricool.com on 18 September 2026.
The two vendors are priced in different units, so every figure below carries its billing mode, and each one links back to the page it was read from.
The price gap is the headline. On 18 September 2026 Sprout's cheapest plan was $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 a month billed monthly, while Metricool's paid Starter was $25 a month for 5 brands billed monthly, or $20 a month billed annually.
The free tier is the second split: Metricool keeps one free forever for a single brand, and Sprout runs a 30-day trial with no permanent free plan behind it.
What the two share is the catch for a small shop: both assume somebody already made the posts, and neither generates the caption, the image or the video from your business.
Where every number came from
Metricool
- The pricing page carried an Annual/Monthly toggle reading "Annual (save up to 24%)" with USD as the default currency. Billed monthly it listed Free at $0 a month, Starter from $25 a month with "Up to 5 brands for $25/month" and "Up to 10 brands for $45/month", and Advanced from $67 a month with "Up to 15 brands for $67/month", "Up to 25 brands for $107/month" and "Manage up to 50 brands for $210/month". Billed annually Starter read from $20 a month for 5 brands or $36 a month for 10, and Advanced from $53 a month for 15 brands, $85 a month for 25 or $159 a month for 50. Custom was listed as "Let's talk!" and the page noted "The prices indicated do not include any applicable VAT." metricool.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- The Free plan was listed at $0 a month and described as managing 1 brand, managing social networks except LinkedIn and Twitter, scheduling up to 20 posts a month, analyzing 5 competitor profiles and keeping 30 days of analytics, with an AI social media assistant and Metricool MCP. The FAQ read "Yes! You can use Metricool for free, forever." metricool.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- The feature comparison listed the "AI Social Media Assistant" at 5 credits per brand a month on Free, 20 on Starter and 35 on Advanced, with recurring scheduling marked "Included in your plan (no credits needed)". No plan listed image or video generation. metricool.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- The Advanced plan listed a "Post approval system" alongside "Team and client management" and "Role management", and the Custom plan listed a "Dedicated account manager". Analytics kept 30 days of metrics storage on Free and unlimited history on paid plans, with competitor analysis at 5 profiles on Free and up to 100 on paid plans. metricool.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
Sprout Social
- The pricing page opened under a header reading annual billing and listed Standard at $199 per seat a month billed annually, Professional at $299 per seat a month billed annually and Advanced at $399 per seat a month billed annually, with Enterprise shown as custom pricing and a "Schedule a demo" button. sproutsocial.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- A new Essentials plan, marked NEW, sat above the three named tiers at $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly. Its card described it as created for social media professionals focused on simplifying publishing workflows, with up to 5 social profiles, optimal send times, and profile and post-level reporting. sproutsocial.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- The plan comparison grid listed social profiles at 5 for Essentials and Standard and unlimited for Professional and Advanced, 100 monthly AI agent credits per seat on all four, and brand keywords per group at not included on Essentials, 10 on Standard and Professional and 20 on Advanced. The mobile app was included on all four. sproutsocial.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- Every plan included Trellis, described on the pricing page as an AI teammate. AI-assisted writing, labelled "Enhance Post by AI Assist", started on Professional, with AI-assisted replies, labelled "Enhance Reply by AI Assist", on Advanced. sproutsocial.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- The free offer was a trial, not a plan: "Try Sprout free for 30 days" with no credit card required, under a heading that read annual billing. No permanent free plan was listed. sproutsocial.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- On the features page, the Message Approval Workflow was listed on Professional and Advanced, using permissions and a flexible approval structure to submit, review, collaborate on and approve posts. The External Approval Workflow, which lets stakeholders outside Sprout review posts before they publish, was listed on Advanced only. sproutsocial.com/features, read 18 September 2026
- On the features page, the Advanced Post Scheduler and Sprout Queue were both marked included in all plans, giving every tier manual scheduling, automated queueing and draft creation. Bulk scheduling, which creates and plans up to 350 messages at once from a CSV upload, was listed on Professional and Advanced only. sproutsocial.com/features, read 18 September 2026
Metricool vs Sprout Social, side by side
Every cell above was read on 18 September 2026 from metricool.com/pricing, sproutsocial.com/pricing and sproutsocial.com/features, and the full quotations with links sit in the section above. Metricool prices per brand in two modes and prints the annual figures first; Sprout prices per seat with an annual-billed default and prints a higher billed-monthly rate on its entry plan.
| What to compare | Metricool | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Price at one seat | No per-seat price; Starter is $25 a month for up to 5 brands billed monthly, or $20 a month billed annually. | $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly |
| Number of social accounts | 1 brand free, then 5 or 10 brands on Starter and up to 50 on Advanced, one profile per network. | 5 profiles on Essentials and Standard, unlimited on Professional and Advanced |
| Scheduling limits | 20 posts a month on Free, unlimited on paid plans under a fair-use note. | Scheduling and queueing in every plan; bulk CSV upload of up to 350 posts from Professional up |
| AI writing | An AI assistant at 5, 20 and 35 credits per brand a month by tier. | Trellis AI on every plan with 100 monthly credits; AI Assist writing from Professional up |
| Approval flow | Post approval system on the Advanced plan only. | Message approval on Professional and above; external approval on Advanced |
| Analytics | 30 days on Free, unlimited history on paid, 5 competitor profiles on Free. | Profile and post-level reporting on every plan; competitor and paid insights from Professional |
| Support | No named tier on the pricing page; a dedicated account manager on Custom. | Priority support on Enterprise only; not broken out below it |
| Free tier | Free forever, one brand, 20 posts a month. | None, a 30-day trial instead |
Source: metricool.com/pricing, sproutsocial.com/pricing and sproutsocial.com/features, read 18 September 2026
What actually decides the purchase
Price: per seat versus per brand
Sprout's entry tier was Essentials at $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly, and its Standard plan was $199 per seat a month billed annually. Metricool's paid entry was Starter at $25 a month for up to 5 brands billed monthly, or $20 a month billed annually. The cheaper menu depends on whether you add people or brands.
The free plan and the trial
Metricool keeps a permanent free plan: one brand, 20 posts a month, 5 competitor profiles and 30 days of analytics. Sprout keeps no free plan at all and opens with a 30-day trial that asks for no credit card. A small business feels the difference the first time a trial countdown ends.
What the AI writes
Sprout put Trellis, an AI teammate, on every plan with 100 monthly credits per seat, and added AI-assisted writing from Professional up. Metricool meters its AI assistant at 5, 20 and 35 credits per brand a month by tier. Neither pricing page claimed its AI generates the image or the video.
Approvals and team features
Sprout listed its message approval workflow on Professional at $299 per seat a month billed annually, with external approval on Advanced. Metricool lists a post approval system on its Advanced plan, which starts at $67 a month billed monthly. On the entry plans neither gives you a formal approval queue.
Scheduling caps
Sprout put the scheduler and the queue in every plan, and bulk CSV upload of up to 350 posts from Professional up. Metricool caps its free plan at 20 posts a month and lists unlimited publishing on paid plans under a fair-use note. For a single-location shop the caps are close; the gap opens when the team or the roster grows.
Analytics and support
Sprout listed profile and post-level reporting on every plan and competitor and paid insights from Professional up, with priority support only on Enterprise. Metricool keeps 30 days of analytics on Free and unlimited history on paid plans, with 5 competitor profiles on Free, but names no support tier on the pricing page beyond a dedicated account manager on Custom.
What changed recently
Sprout's pricing page now carries a NEW Essentials entry tier at $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly, a publishing-focused plan that sits beneath Standard and is the cheapest way into the platform.
Metricool's pricing page now reads an Annual/Monthly toggle labelled "Annual (save up to 24%)", and the brand-tier ladder it prints is the one this page copied down on 18 September 2026.
Both pages were read the same day, 18 September 2026. Prices move without notice, so treat every number below as a dated snapshot and re-open sproutsocial.com/pricing and metricool.com/pricing before either one settles a decision.
When neither one makes the posts
Sprout fits the team that answers the internet all day and reports upward; Metricool fits the owner who wants the dashboard as much as the calendar. The owner this page is written for has neither the drafts nor the hours, and both tools quietly assume somebody else made the content before they came along.
That gap is the one SpeedRun Social builds for. It reads your website into a brand kit and turns out the week generated: the caption, the image and the short video, queued for your approval before anything publishes. The free plan is 300 credits a month refilled forever, one free campaign a week (3 posts, 1 video, 1 cross-post), no card, watermarked media on free. Paid plans are $49.99, $99.99 and $199.99 a month, flat per workspace and not per user or per brand, with image and video generation included on every tier.
SpeedRun Social is new and has very few customers, so read this as a priced comparison of two established tools, not a pitch with a track record behind it. The links above let you re-check both vendors; the signup link lets you check ours.
Metricool vs Sprout Social, answered
metricool vs sprout social: which should a small local business pick?
It depends on who makes the posts. On 18 September 2026 Sprout's cheapest plan was $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly, while Metricool's paid Starter was $25 a month for 5 brands billed monthly, or $20 a month billed annually. If the posts already exist and you need a team console, pick Sprout. If you want a dashboard and a free plan, pick Metricool. If neither description fits, neither tool makes the posts for you.
Which is cheaper, Metricool or Sprout Social?
Metricool, by a wide margin at the entry. Its Starter plan was $25 a month for 5 brands billed monthly, or $20 a month billed annually, and its free plan manages one brand forever. Sprout's cheapest plan was $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly. The two prices buy different units: Sprout's seat is a team console, Metricool's brand price is a dashboard.
Does Metricool have a free plan?
Yes. On 18 September 2026 Metricool's Free plan was $0 a month for one brand, with 20 scheduled posts a month, 5 competitor profiles and 30 days of analytics, and its FAQ read "Yes! You can use Metricool for free, forever."
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
Not on the pricing page read on 18 September 2026. It offered "Try Sprout free for 30 days" with no credit card required. No permanent free tier was listed.
Can Metricool or Sprout Social write my posts for me?
Neither writes the post from your business. Sprout put Trellis, its AI teammate, on every plan with 100 monthly credits per seat, and added AI-assisted writing from Professional up. Metricool meters its AI assistant at 5, 20 and 35 credits per brand a month by tier. Neither pricing page claimed it generates the image or the video.
Which one has approval workflows?
Both gate them to higher tiers. Sprout listed its message approval workflow on Professional at $299 per seat a month billed annually, with external approval on Advanced. Metricool lists its post approval system on the Advanced plan, which starts at $67 a month billed monthly. A solo owner or a two person shop is unlikely to use either.
How many social accounts do I get with each?
Sprout covered 5 profiles on Essentials and Standard, and unlimited on Professional and Advanced. Metricool's free plan manages 1 brand, its Starter covers up to 5 brands or 10 on the higher card, and its Advanced plan reaches up to 50 brands, with one profile per network under each brand.
How current are the figures on this page?
Every number was read on 18 September 2026 from metricool.com/pricing, sproutsocial.com/pricing or sproutsocial.com/features, and each claim links back to the page it came from. The two vendors reprice on their own schedules, so recheck both pricing pages before a figure here settles your decision.
Check the numbers on your own roster
Count your people and your brands, then open both pricing pages. Sprout bills per seat, Metricool bills per brand, and the links above are there so you can re-read both before deciding.
Every figure on this page was read on 18 September 2026 from metricool.com/pricing, sproutsocial.com/pricing and sproutsocial.com/features. Prices move; the links exist so you can check theirs and ours.