A Killer Comparison of the Best Sprout Social Alternatives and Competitors

Are you in the market for a better social media management tool? If so, you’re probably in one of these two positions:

1. You’re using Sprout Social and wondering what else is out there.
2. Sprout Social keeps coming up as an alternative to what you’re using to manage social, but you’re wondering whether it’s worth switching to.

While there are tons of social media management tools on the market, only a select few are true Sprout Social alternatives. And one tool easily rises to the top of that shortlist.

Let’s compare these Sprout Social competitors’ features, pricing, and overall value. This run-through will give you the information you need to choose the right tool for your social media presence, productivity, and bottom line. 

Quick list of Sprout Social alternatives

1. Agorapulse
2. Hootsuite
3. Sendible
4. Emplifi
5. Sprinklr
6. Brandwatch
7. Zoho Social

1. Best Sprout Social Alternative: Agorapulse

Agorapulse is a popular social media management tool that, in a head-to-head comparison, matches and even exceeds Sprout Social’s capabilities while it offers pricing plans that give more flexibility to growing teams. (That might sound slightly biased since this is an Agorapulse article, but we have info to back up that claim.)

Platforms supported: Facebook, X, Instagram, Google My Business, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok

Best for: Growing businesses, social media managers, and marketing agencies that want to scale their social media activities

Notable features

Agorapulse has many of the same powerful features that Sprout Social offers. Let’s take publishing as an example. Both tools have the ability to:

• Schedule social content across different social media networks at the same time.
• Create social media descriptions with a boost from an AI assistant.
• something else with reporting and/or something cool

However, a quick look at Agorapulse will reveal striking publishing differences compared to Sprout Social.

First, each social media platform has its own vibe when it comes to content and timing of content.

So, when you schedule a post across multiple social networks, Agorapulse lets you modify the original post for each profile or network. If your posts do better in the morning on LinkedIn but better in the evening on Instagram, simply set the post to go at the times that make the most sense for your audience. Sprout Social doesn’t offer these customization options when sharing one post among several social media profiles.

Second, Agorapulse gives first comment options for Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, allowing you to continue a conversation, potentially increase reach, and add links to lead magnets. (Sprout only offers first comments for Instagram). 

Third, Agorapulse lets your organizing delve into storytelling via X/Twitter threads. Sprout does not.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read this detailed Sprout Social v. Agorapulse comparison on how each tool handles community engagement, social listening, and more.

Notable drawbacks

• No Zendesk integration
• No CSAT or NPS surveys

Pricing

To get a sense of Sprout Social pricing, look no further than a recent Sprout Social article that declared “For a robust social media management platform, you can expect to pay up to $1,000+ per month to cover end-to-end needs.”

This might explain why pricing is the top complaint on Sprout’s G2 page.

Agorapulse has different thoughts on pricing.

First, it offers both a free plan and a free trial. Sprout doesn’t have a free plan.

Second, Agorapulse’s pricing is built to celebrate your success, not penalize you for it.

Say you max out the 10 profiles set by your Agorapulse plan. Brava! You must be doing something right. Simply add additional profiles to your account for $10/profile.

If you’re on Sprout’s Standard plan ($249+/mo) and go past its 5 included profiles, you must upgrade to a plan that’s at least $150 more each month.

Might you have a lot of followers on your profiles? Good on you! Carry on. But be careful on Sprout Social with your popular following. Sprout has caps on audience size. If you exceed the total number of followers, you must upgrade. 

Lastly, Agorapulse knows that you don’t want to pay for a cheap social media management tool but rather want a good deal on a built-to-last one. If you subscribe to an annual billing plan, you save an additional 20%. 

Sprout doesn’t offer a discount on an annual plan.

Here’s a summary of how these two tools compare in pricing.

Feature/Service	Sprout Social	Agorapulse
Annual billing discount	No	Yes
Free plan	No	Yes
Unlimited fans/followers	No	Yes
Profile add-ons without upgrading plan	No	Yes
Shared calendar for external collaboration	Advanced plan ($499+/mo)	Advanced plan ($199+/mo)
Customized reports	Only available as a plan add-on	Included with Advanced plan ($199+/mo)
Inbox productivity (automated rules, saved replies)	Advanced plan ($499+/mo)	Advanced plan ($199+/mo)

Sprout Social v. Agorapulse

With its powerful social media features and pricing to celebrate growth, Agorapulse stands out as the best Sprout Social alternative for ambitious teams seeking an all-in-one tool to manage and expand their social presence.

Sign up now for a FREE trial of Agorapulse!

2. Sprout Social Alternative: Hootsuite

Hootsuite is the most well-known competitor on this list. Like Sprout Social, Hootsuite is an all-in-one social media marketing tool that lets you schedule content across multiple social media platforms and read incoming messages in a social inbox. 

Platforms supported: Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube. (Google My Business is available after a separate app installation.)

Best for: Small businesses that want to boost posts and schedule social media content from one platform

Notable features

• Paid ad scheduling
• Competitive benchmarking across all plans
• 200+ platform integrations

Notable drawbacks

• Review management is only available as an Enterprise plan add-on.
• The streams (columns) on the Hootsuite dashboard are difficult for many users to follow.

Pricing

No free plan. Free trial available. Here’s a deep dive into Hootsuite pricing.

The smallest plan starts at $99/month, which includes 10 social media accounts and 1 user. You must upgrade to add users or profiles. No annual discount, but if you forego the 30-day free trial, you get 20% off their plan.

Sprout Social v. Hootsuite

While Hootsuite and Sprout offer similar organic content capabilities, Hootsuite Enterprise users can schedule paid posts across more social media networks. That said, Hootsuite’s outdated UX and reliance on a stream-based interface put off many potential users.

3. Sprout Social Alternative: Sendible

Like Hootsuite, Sendible offers many of the same social media publishing features as Sprout Social but at a more reasonable entry point.

Platforms supported: Facebook, X, Instagram, Google My Business, LinkedIn, TikTok, WordPress, YouTube  

Best for: Small businesses that want to create quick, engaging social media posts

Notable features

• Auto-posting from RSS feeds
• White-label reporting
• GIPHY and Pexels content integrations

Notable drawbacks

• Pinterest support is no longer available for new customers
• No employee advocacy options

Pricing

No free plan.  Free trial available. Here’s a deeper dive into Sendible pricing, if you’ve the inclination.

The cheapest plan starts at $29/month, which includes 6 social accounts and 1 user. 15% annual discount available. While Sendible pricing seems reasonable, its customer support hours and turnaround time fall short of levels set by Sprout or the best Sprout Social alternative, Agorapulse. 

Sprout Social v. Sendible

Although cheaper than Sprout Social, Sendible’s features cater more towards early-career social media managers versus marketers with more sophisticated social strategies.

4. Sprout Social Alternative: Emplifi 

Emplifi offers more features than Sendible. So, how does it face off with Sprout regarding functionality and pricing? Let’s dive in.

Platforms supported: Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube

Best for: Social media teams that want to manage content and influencers on one platform

Notable features

• User-generated content (UGC) functionality
• Influencer marketing campaigns
• Bidirectional Salesforce integration

Notable drawbacks

• No Google My Business support
• No content queues
• Reporting is overwhelming and difficult to understand.

Pricing

No free plan. A free trial is available after speaking with an Emplifi rep.

Its sole self-serve plan, Essentials, is $200/mo (annual billing only) and includes 10 social media accounts and 2 users. Essentials doesn’t offer community management, social listening, or reporting. To access these features, you must speak with a rep and upgrade to a higher plan.

Sprout Social v. Emplifi

While Emplifi provides social media management and impressive user engagement capabilities, the lack of transparent pricing and limits on the Essentials plan make this tool less accessible for teams with smaller budgets.

Try Agorapulse now for FREE.

5. Sprout Social Alternative: Sprinklr Social

Like how a sprinkler (with an e) waters a lawn, Sprinklr takes a distributed marketing approach to social media management, catering to businesses that work across multiple regions, sites, and languages. 

Platforms supported:  Facebook, X, Instagram, Google My Business, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Yammer, YouTube, +20 others

Best for: Large e-commerce brands or brands with multiple locations that seek social media scheduling on a wide range of platforms

Notable features

• Distributed marketing functionality across business branches
• Popular Chinese social platforms Sina Weibo and WeChat 
• Integration with AI tool ChatGPT, including content suggestions

Notable drawbacks

• Steep learning curve to get up and running 

 

 

Pricing

No free plan. Free trial available. Here’s a look at Sprinklr pricing.

After the trial, the only sign-up-yourself option is the Advanced plan. The Advanced plan costs $299/mo per user (with annual billing) and includes unlimited social accounts. However, to access features like advanced analytics, employee advocacy, or distributed marketing, you must speak to a rep about Sprinklr pricing for its Enterprise plan.

Sprout Social v. Sprinklr

Sprinklr provides expansive support across global sites/languages with advanced functionality, including AI and distributed campaigns, but its steep learning curve and lack of self-serve plans at lower price points put this option out of reach for many social marketing teams.

6. Sprout Social Alternative: Brandwatch

Brandwatch is another enterprise-focused social media management solution that monitors and publishes global brands across major social platforms. For social media managers who’ve been around for a while, Brandwatch merged Falcon.io into its platform in 2022.

Platforms supported: Facebook, X, Instagram, Google My Business, LinkedIn, TikTok, WhatsApp, YouTube

Best for: Advanced teams that rely on consumer insights to create high-performance digital marketing campaigns

Notable features

• Web listening across “100 million online sources”
• Schedule ads on all things Meta: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network, and WhatsApp
• Feature to give agencies access to a brand’s publishing calendar

Notable drawbacks

• No Pinterest support
• Little transparency on its product or, as we’re about to see, pricing
• Difficult to publish one post on multiple social channels

Pricing

No free plan. No free trial. Only offers a “free demo.” (The free demo is common in the industry. Raise your hand if you’ve ever paid for a demo.)

Among these top Sprout Social competitors, pricing for Brandwatch is the most elusive. There’s no information on the Brandwatch website, but according to its TrustRadius page, its most affordable plan begins at $800/month. 

Sprout Social v. Brandwatch

Brandwatch sets itself apart as a premium Sprout Social alternative for complex organizations. Despite its capabilities, Brandwatch’s shortcomings in integrating sites like Pinterest or providing transparent pricing may deter smaller businesses. 

7. Sprout Social Alternative: Zoho Social

For teams that might cringe at Brandwatch’s price, Zoho Social offers an affordable entry point. Its platform provides a reasonable introduction for cost-conscious teams to manage multiple social media accounts.

Platforms supported: Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Mastadon, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube

Best for: Small teams and solopreneurs who want a simple solution to post on several social channels

Notable features

• User tagging capabilities on all plans
• Schedule reposts (aka retweets)
• Livestream notifications

Notable drawbacks

• Customer support is only available via email
• YouTube is not available on the cheapest plan
• Bulk scheduling process is difficult

Pricing

Free plan and free trial available.

The cheapest plan starts at $15/mo, and annual plans offer a price break. But read the fine print. Seemingly affordable at first glance, this plan offers 10 “channels” — meaning one account for each of the 10 social platforms Zoho supports. If you have more than, say, one Instagram account, you’ll have to upgrade to a higher plan and add an additional channel package for each additional Instagram account.  

Sprout Social v. Zoho Social

While Zoho Social is cheaper than Sprout and offers emerging network support like Mastadon, Zoho falls short for those who rely on chat support or smooth bulk scheduling across social media platforms. 

Which Alternative to Sprout Social Makes Sense for You?

While Sprout Social is a popular choice in social media management, its steep pricing and rigid caps mean teams outgrow its capabilities faster than expected. Agorapulse stands apart as the leading alternative, matching Sprout’s power with greater flexibility to celebrate your team’s success in social media marketing. 

Want to see if Agorapulse is the best Sprout Social alternative for your business? Try Agorapulse now for free.