Hootsuite vs. Sprout Social: Get ahead with the best social media tool
With over 15 years as the industry leader, Hootsuite still reigns supreme as the best social media management tool. Lower prices, user-friendly publishing tools, and incomparable analytics are a few of the reasons why social media managers consistently rank Hootsuite number one.
Spoiler alert: There is no Hootsuite alternative. Here's why.
- More bang for your buck Hootsuite is cheaper than Sprout Social, making it a smart choice for budget-savvy and fast-growing teams.
More bang for your buck
Hootsuite is cheaper than Sprout Social, making it a smart choice for budget-savvy and fast-growing teams. - More customizable analytics Strategize intelligently and prove the value of your efforts with customizable analytics right out of the box.
More customizable analytics
Strategize intelligently and prove the value of your efforts with customizable analytics right out of the box. - More integrations Hootsuite has over a hundred integrations so you can add all your tools to your dashboard — Hubspot, Zapier, Mailchimp, and more.
More integrations
Hootsuite has over a hundred integrations so you can add all your tools to your dashboard — Hubspot, Zapier, Mailchimp, and more. - Deeper social listening Unlike Sprout, every Hootsuite plan comes with social listening. And we have the broadest coverage on the market, with 150+ million sources.
Deeper social listening
Unlike Sprout, every Hootsuite plan comes with social listening. And we have the broadest coverage on the market, with 150+ million sources.
Feature | Hootsuite | Sprout Social |
|---|
Price | Starts at $99 | Starts at $249 |
Avg. cost per user seat | $110 | $332 |
Total customers | 25 million | 30,000 |
Platforms |
|
|
Integrations | 100+ | 26 |
Zapier integration (lets you connect 5,000+ apps) | Yes | No |
Google My Business integration | Yes | No |
Scheduling and publishing | ||
|---|---|---|
Facebook ads | Yes*** | No |
Instagram ads | Yes*** | No |
LinkedIn ads | Yes*** | No |
X (Twitter) | Yes | Yes |
Meta Threads | Yes (Beta) | No |
Calendar view | Yes | Yes |
Instagram posts | Yes | Yes |
Instagram carousels | Yes | Yes |
Instagram Stories | Yes | Yes |
Instagram Reels | Yes | Yes |
Facebook posts | Yes | Yes |
Facebook group posts | Yes | Yes |
TikToks | Yes | Yes |
LinkedIn page posts | Yes | Yes |
LinkedIn personal profile posts | Yes | Yes |
Pinterest Pins | Yes | Yes |
Pinterest boards | Yes | Yes |
YouTube videos | Yes | Yes |
Google Business Profile Updates | Yes** | Yes |
Analytics and reporting | ||
|---|---|---|
Recommended time to publish based on goal | Yes | No |
Paid and organic reporting | Yes | Yes |
Competitive benchmarking | Yes | Yes |
Customizable reports | Yes | Yes |
Report templates | Yes | Yes |
White-label reports | Yes | Yes |
Web analytics integration | Yes* | Yes |
Social ROI analysis | Yes* | No |
Link shortener | Yes | with integration |
Content creation | ||
|---|---|---|
AI caption writer | Yes | Yes |
AI content idea generator | Yes | No |
Canva | Yes | with integration |
Post templates | Yes | No |
Hashtag generator | Yes | No |
Photo editor | Yes | Yes |
Content suggestions for reposting/content curation | Yes | Yes |
Automated link tracking | Yes | Yes |
Social listening | ||
|---|---|---|
Social listening | Yes, all plans | Enterprise only |
Search mentions, keywords, hashtags, and topics | Yes, all plans | Enterprise only |
Expanded data coverage | 130+ million sources, 30+ social media channels | Limited |
Detect mentions and logos in images, videos, and gifs with Blue Silk AI™ | Yes | No |
Blue Silk AI™-driven alerts | Yes | No |
Blue Silk AI™ summaries and reports | Yes | No |
Blue Silk AI™ peak detection | Yes | No |
Blue Silk AI™ trend forecasting | Yes | No |
Conversation clusters | Yes | No |
Sentiment analysis | Yes* | Enterprise only |
Advertising | ||
|---|---|---|
Facebook ads | Yes | No |
Instagram ads | Yes | No |
LinkedIn ads | Yes | No |
Boost Instagram posts | Yes | No |
Boost LinkedIn posts | Yes | No |
Boost Facebook posts | Yes | Yes |
Ad campaign management | Yes*** | Yes |
Employee advocacy | ||
|---|---|---|
Employee advocacy | Yes* | Yes |
Messaging and customer service | ||
|---|---|---|
Agent availability | Yes* | No |
Unified inbox for all comments and DMs | Yes | Yes |
Message spike alerts | Yes* | Yes |
Message prioritization | Yes | Yes |
Saved and suggested replies | Yes* | Yes |
Business hours | Yes* | Yes |
Message tags and topics | Yes* | Yes |
Auto-resolve conversations | Yes* | Yes |
Auto-responder | Yes* | Yes |
Team performance metrics | Yes* | Yes |
Chatbot support | Yes* | Twitter and Facebook only |
Collaboration | ||
|---|---|---|
Project management integrations | Yes | No |
Roles and permissions | Yes | Yes |
Assign posts to team members | Yes | Yes |
Approval workflows | Yes*** | Yes |
Give feedback on drafts | Yes | Yes |
Export content calendar for stakeholders | Yes | Yes |
Shopping | ||
|---|---|---|
Social commerce integrations | 7 | 3 |
Shoppable Instagram posts | Yes* | Yes |
Artificial intelligence (AI) | ||
|---|---|---|
AI caption writer | Yes | Yes |
AI copywriter | Yes | Yes |
AI hashtag generator | Yes | No |
Chatbot integration | Yes | Twitter and Facebook only |
Work-life balance | ||
|---|---|---|
Save difficult comments for later | Yes | No |
Global publishing pause | Yes | Yes |
Creator tools | ||
|---|---|---|
Fourstarzz integration | Yes | No |
Insense integration | Yes | No |
Track influencer trends | Yes* | No |
One centralized inbox to communicate with influencers across platforms | Yes | Yes |
Manage Twitter lists | Yes | Yes |
Content curation and user-generated content (UGC) | ||
|---|---|---|
Collect the best customer content from social media and clear the rights | Yes** | No |
Streams to follow and reshare relevant content | Yes | Yes |
Compliance | ||
|---|---|---|
Safeguards to prevent accidental publishing | Yes | No |
Option to add publishing security with Proofpoint | Yes | No |
Multi-factor authentication | Yes | Yes |
Single sign-on | Yes* | Yes |
Access permission | Yes | Yes |
Strategy guidance | ||
|---|---|---|
In-app Social Score to help you improve in real-time | Yes | No |
Exclusive live social media coaching sessions | Yes | No |
Webinars | Yes | Yes |
Platform certification training | Yes | Yes |
*available with add-on **available with free integration ***enterprise only
What we do better
If you’re in the market for a Sprout Social alternative that gives you more but costs less, you’ll love Hootsuite.
Grow your brand fast with better performance tracking
Build customized analytics reports right out of the box. No need to pay for advanced analytics add-ons to get the information you need. Plus, Hootsuite will tell you the exact best time to publish content based on the goal you set — extend reach, build awareness, increase engagement, or drive traffic. Sprout’s timing recommendations are more generic and not as likely to help you succeed.
Boost engagement with world-class publishing tools
Hootsuite comes with a ton of easy-to-use content curation and publishing tools that you won’t find elsewhere. Write clear captions in seconds with the help of an AI caption writer built into your dashboard. Boost your chances of going viral with an automated hashtag generator and attractive post templates.
Stay on top of trends with superior social listening
Instantly analyze millions of real-time conversations about your brand online. With Hootsuite, you get a year’s worth of search data, alerts that notify you when people are talking about your brand, and flexible search options. With Sprout, you’ll only be able to see 30 days of search data with no alerts to keep you in the loop.
Hootsuite was the original social media manager, and it's managed to stay on top a decade later because they're innovative, and at the same time, simplistic enough to make it easy for a small business to manage their social media marketing. Sprout also does a great job but at a higher price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hootsuite beats Sprout Social across the board. It can help you grow your business online faster with easier publishing to all your channels.
The best part about Hootsuite? You can complete the same tasks in fewer clicks compared to the competition. Publish and track social media ads alongside organic posts from the same dashboard.
Plus, Hootsuite improves your strategy with smarter social media analytics. It tells you the best time to post based on the unique goal you set. Get recommendations on when to post to extend reach, build awareness, increase engagement, or drive traffic.
Over a hundred integrations — including project management and social commerce apps — bring all your tools to one tab. Time-savers like Canva, post templates, and a hashtag generator are built-in.
No. You’ll pay a flat rate for Hootsuite Professional, Team, and Business and get up to five user seats with no extra fee. Sprout charges up to $349 per month per additional user. Hootsuite’s team plans support between three and five users, while Sprout’s support only one.
Compare plans
Hootsuite has the best social listening tools for any size business. Every Hootsuite plan includes customizable streams you can use to listen in on key conversations. Track mentions, hashtags, and conversations about your brand or industry.
Need advanced social listening capabilities? Add Hootsuite Insights, powered by Brandwatch. See total mentions, mentions over time, sentiment, emotions, demographics, and more with Insights.
Get deeper and more accurate customer insights with the most advanced social listening tool available. Hootsuite Insights shows you a year's worth of search data and will notify you during key moments of online chatter.
Hootsuite Amplify — the original employee advocacy platform — is the best of the bunch. We hear time and time again that Amplify is easier to use and more powerful than any competitor’s version.
Amplify lets you set up your team to share relevant, on-brand content to send your message further. Quickly boost reach and engagement by tapping into your team's personal network.
Hootsuite has the best social media analytics tools, period. Boost engagement by learning the best time to post based on your audience and goals. Plus, see your top-performing posts and how your ads are performing.
Want to know how you stack up to the competition? Hootsuite provides industry benchmarking and competitive analysis. Compare performance against similar brands and industry leaders to take your message further.
One more thing! Hootsuite’s analytics are more customizable than the competition. Compare custom time frames, create attractive custom reports, and white-label reports as needed. Note: Sprout charges extra fees to access many of these features.