Sprout Social vs Hootsuite, read from the source
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite for a 1 to 3 person team
Both tools bill per seat, and neither one writes the post for you: Sprout's new Essentials plan undercuts Hootsuite's opening price, and the two consoles still stop at a trial, not a free plan. Every figure below was read from sproutsocial.com and hootsuite.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.
On 18 September 2026, Sprout's cheapest plan was Essentials at $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly, while Hootsuite's cheapest plan was Standard at $99 per user a month billed annually, and neither kept a free plan, only a trial.
Pick Sprout for the heavier console: a shared inbox, review management and approval workflows that a one to three person shop may never open.
Pick Hootsuite only if several people work social as a job and will use approvals and tiered analytics; both vendors bill per seat, so a small team pays the same console tax either way.
Where every number came from
Sprout Social
- The pricing page 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. Its own billing FAQ published the month-to-month rates at $249 per seat a month billed monthly for Standard, $399 per seat a month billed monthly for Professional and $499 per seat a month billed monthly for Advanced. sproutsocial.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- A new Essentials plan, marked NEW, sat beneath 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 includes a monthly allowance of 100 Trellis credits per seat that resets each month, and the page described Trellis as an AI teammate. AI-assisted writing, labelled "Enhance Post by AI Assist", started on Professional, with AI-assisted replies on Advanced. sproutsocial.com/pricing, read 18 September 2026
- The page's 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
- Reporting scaled by tier on the pricing page: Essentials listed profile and post-level reporting, Standard added a consolidated inbox and review management, Professional added extensive competitor, tag and paid insights, and Advanced added team productivity and social customer care reports. sproutsocial.com/pricing, 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
- 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
Hootsuite
- The plans page carried no monthly or yearly toggle and priced a single billing mode: Standard $99 per user a month billed annually, Professional $199 per user a month billed annually and Advanced $399 per user a month billed annually, above an Enterprise shown as "Custom" with a "Request a demo" button. A footnote read "Prices displayed in USD, based on annual billing". hootsuite.com/plans, read 18 September 2026
- No free plan appeared on the plans page. Each paid tier opened with a free 14-day trial that asked for no card, and the page footnote said trial accounts are limited to 10 to 20 posts per organization per day depending on plan, with bulk scheduling unavailable during the trial. hootsuite.com/plans, read 18 September 2026
- The plans page described Standard as managing up to 10 social media accounts from one calendar, with unlimited accounts on Professional, Advanced and Enterprise. The seat row read 1+ on all three paid tiers, and the page prices plans per user, or seat, rather than per account. hootsuite.com/plans, read 18 September 2026
- Every paid tier listed "Generate posts and images with AI", and the page introduced "Wisdom", an AI teammate it said drafts, recommends and analyzes on every plan. The feature table put "Review and approve content with your team" on Advanced and Enterprise only, and the page printed no credit allowance or cap for its AI. hootsuite.com/plans, read 18 September 2026
- Analytics scaled by tier on the plans page: Standard listed monitoring your brand and competitors, Professional added custom performance reports and forecasts up to 90 days ahead, Advanced added measuring team performance and efficiency, and Enterprise listed advanced analytics. The page did not break support out by tier. hootsuite.com/plans, read 18 September 2026
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite, side by side
Every cell above was read on 18 September 2026 from sproutsocial.com/pricing, sproutsocial.com/features and hootsuite.com/plans, and the full quotations with links sit in the section above. Sprout prices two modes, annual and monthly; Hootsuite prices one, per user a month billed annually.
| What to compare | Sprout Social | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| Price at one seat | $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly | $99 per user a month, billed annually |
| Number of social accounts | 5 profiles on Essentials and Standard, unlimited on Professional and Advanced | 10 on Standard, unlimited above it |
| Scheduling limits | Scheduling and queueing in every plan; bulk CSV upload of up to 350 posts from Professional up | Unlimited scheduled posts on paid plans |
| AI writing | Trellis AI on every plan with 100 monthly credits; AI Assist writing from Professional up | Generate posts and images with AI on every paid plan |
| Approval flow | Message approval on Professional and above; external approval on Advanced | Advanced and Enterprise only |
| Analytics | Profile and post-level reporting on every plan; competitor and paid insights from Professional | Custom reports from Professional up |
| Support | Priority support on Enterprise only; not broken out below it | Not broken out by tier on the plans page |
| Free tier | None, a 30-day trial instead | None, a 14-day trial instead |
Source: sproutsocial.com/pricing, sproutsocial.com/features and hootsuite.com/plans, read 18 September 2026
What actually decides the purchase
Price: the entry tier
Sprout's Essentials plan was $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly. Hootsuite's Standard plan was $99 per user a month billed annually, which is $1,188 committed for one seat's year. Sprout undercuts Hootsuite at the door on the new Essentials tier, but the two entry plans buy different rosters: five profiles against ten accounts.
What the AI actually produces
Sprout put Trellis, an AI teammate, on every plan with 100 monthly credits per seat, and added "Enhance Post by AI Assist" from Professional up. Hootsuite put "Generate posts and images with AI" on every paid plan and described "Wisdom" as an AI teammate that drafts, recommends and analyzes. Neither page claimed its AI generates video.
Accounts, seats and the roster
Sprout prices a flat tier that bundles profiles and seats: Essentials and Standard each covered 5 profiles, and Professional and Advanced went unlimited. Hootsuite separates the two: Standard covered 10 accounts from one calendar, seats sold at 1+ per plan, and accounts went unlimited above Standard. The difference shows up the moment a second helper joins.
Approval and team machinery
Hootsuite put "Review and approve content with your team" on Advanced and Enterprise, which start at $399 per user a month billed annually. Sprout listed its message approval workflow on Professional at $299 per seat a month billed annually, with external approval on Advanced at $399 per seat a month billed annually. For a one to three person shop, an approval chain is machinery you may never use.
The free plan and the trial
Neither vendor has a permanent free plan. Sprout opened with "Try Sprout free for 30 days" and no credit card required, and Hootsuite offered a free 14-day trial that caps posting at 10 to 20 posts per organization per day with bulk scheduling switched off. Both stop at the trial, and a small business feels that the first time the countdown ends.
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. Hootsuite scaled analytics by tier but did not break support out by tier on the plans page. Reports and support matter more once more than one person is answering to the numbers.
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.
That one addition moves the entry-seat math: the cheapest Sprout seat now undercuts Hootsuite's opening $99 per user a month billed annually, where before this page would have opened on Sprout's Standard plan at $199 per seat a month billed annually.
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 hootsuite.com/plans before either one settles a decision.
When neither console makes the posts
Sprout fits the team that answers the internet all day and reports upward; Hootsuite fits the team that needs approvals and an inbox. The owner this page is written for has neither the drafts nor the hours, and both consoles 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 channel, 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.
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite, answered
sprout social vs hootsuite: 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 Hootsuite's was $99 per user a month billed annually, and neither had a free plan. If the posts already exist and you only need them sent and approved, Sprout is the fuller console. If several people work social as a job, Hootsuite earns its price. If neither description fits, neither tool makes the posts.
Which is cheaper, Sprout Social or Hootsuite?
Sprout, at the entry tier. Its Essentials plan was $79 per seat a month billed annually, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly, against Hootsuite's $99 per user a month billed annually. The two prices buy different things: Sprout's seat includes a publishing-focused plan with five profiles, Hootsuite's seat includes a team console with ten accounts.
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.
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
Not on the plans page read on 18 September 2026. It offered a free 14-day trial with no card required, capped at 10 to 20 posts per organization per day depending on plan, with bulk scheduling switched off during the trial.
Can Sprout Social or Hootsuite generate images and video?
Hootsuite listed "Generate posts and images with AI" on every paid plan. Sprout put Trellis, its AI teammate, on every plan and added "Enhance Post by AI Assist" from Professional up. Neither page claimed its AI generates video.
Which one has approval workflows?
Both gate them to higher tiers. Hootsuite put "Review and approve content with your team" on Advanced and Enterprise. Sprout listed its message approval workflow on Professional and Advanced, with external approval on Advanced only. A solo owner or a two person shop is unlikely to use either.
How many social accounts can I connect on each?
Sprout covered 5 profiles on Essentials and Standard, and unlimited on Professional and Advanced. Hootsuite Standard managed up to 10 accounts from one calendar, with unlimited accounts on Professional, Advanced and Enterprise.
Are both priced per seat?
Yes. Sprout prices every tier per seat a month, and Hootsuite prices per user a month billed annually. A one-person shop pays once, but the moment a second or third person logs in, the bill multiplies; that is the seat tax both vendors share, and it is the number this page opened with.
Check the numbers on your own roster
Count your profiles and your people, then open both pricing pages. Both vendors bill per seat, so a one-person shop pays once and a three-person shop pays three times, 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 sproutsocial.com and hootsuite.com. Prices move; the links exist so you can check theirs and ours.