One of the most beautiful aspect of software is that it is replaceable.
Sprout Social doesn't feel right, eh?
- Pricing (ever increasing)?
- Not sure about committing for another year?
- Working all by yourself (per user pricing) and feeling lonely?
- There must be something better out there? 👽
You might not have the bandwidth to do 10s of trials and read all the documentation. We've compiled a database of feature by feature comparison (w.r.t budget) of the best sprout social competitors, along with the UI comparison (screenshots, gifs, videos, learning links) that helps you see if it matches your taste.
Social Media Management Tools Database (updated bi-weekly)
Consider your must haves and nice to haves and pick your top contenders.
Our recommended approach is to narrow down to few tools and get in touch - either with a quick message or a demo. Zero in on the 2 that really click with you and try them out for a couple of weeks.
Let's start with it.
Statusbrew
Statusbrew has 1:1 feature parity (literally) with Sprout making it one of top sprout social alternative. Go through this simplified view of Statusbrew vs Sprout in the tools database to cross check.
So now let's see if Statusbrew feels right:
Is it easy to use?
gets job done faster (automations)?
has better team oriented features?
is better priced for the value?
(watch this video to see if it looks easy to you)
Timestamps: Reports (1:04), Scheduling & Content Planner (5:03) and Inbox & Automations (10:23).
Statusbrew has 25+ Filtering options than can be used in any combination ("OR", "AND", "><", "=", etc) to create automations that can take care of a lot of engagements (a lot).
(watch this video to see if it would help you spend less time)
Statusbrew offers bundle pricing i.e you get 8 users for the price of 1 so it's built to encourage working with teams like you do in any task/project management software (asana, trello, notion, etc).
The reporting is even better that Sprout's premium analytics (which starts at $999/mo).
(you get a BI like tool for social data, it's simple to get started with and end to end customizable)
Also, Statusbrew's 18 month data backill (very few platforms give you backfill) frees up your anxiety of leaving your data behind (when switching platforms or starting fresh).
And we don't believe in contracts, so try it out, go month by month or directly book a call with team to make a quick judgement.
If you've watched any of the videos above, you would have the idea of the simplicity and customizability, so make the use of Statusbrew team and get a curated setup that helps you spend least amount of time on social/Statusbrew.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is the second pick when it comes to feature parity with Sprout.
It has a low barrier to entry with bundle pricing of 3 users under $200/mo (which is nice).
But depending on your must haves/nice to haves, you might end up paying less or more than Sprout.
If you need team related features such as approvals, or inbox automations, (and somewhat decent customer support), you would have to go for the Enterprise tier (which is north of $1000/mo).
Hootsuite has streams which none of the other platforms we tested offer. Streams are not for everyone, but if you prefer working in columns, Hoostuite might be more attractive for you.
Hootsuite needs a credit card when starting a trial, so if you do end up starting a trial, book a reminder for yourself to cancel (if you don't plan on subcribing).
It's also integration heavy (with their app library), although Sprout, Statusbrew integrates with more than 20+ apps and app selection is more curated, Hootsuite brings more variety. In most cases, you end integrating the same apps that works on all three of them.
Hootsuite inbox (even "2.0") looks immature compared to other similar priced platforms.
In terms of reporting, doesn't give you backfill but has more metrics than Sprout. How it looks, we'll leave it up to you to judge.
(we prefer Sprout's reporting dashboards)
P.S.: If you have already tried Hootsuite but are not loving it, check out our list of Best Hootsuite Alternatives
Agorapulse
Agorapulse has feature parity with Sprout when it comes to publishing and you might end up paying less.
However, the inbox platform looks a bit confusing as it comes with profile level inbox so if your team needs to go through all the conversations, you need to click on each profile to see conversations for that profile.
If that profile number gets higher, it would be cumbersome to go through everything.
If you need strictly defined reports, it would work for you, but if you need a report builder or you want to customize your dashboard, you would have to look elsewhere.
There is something called "Power Reports" in Agora in which you can essentially remove the metrics that you don't need from the default reporting.
Also you would have to rely on their presentation style as you cannot change that.
And they don't have enough reporting metrics compared to Sprout, Statusbrew or Hootsuite.
So you might have to use another analytics source for additional context.
Surprisingly, Agora also has a per user pricing now so you have to ration the team member access.
If you're working with clients, it has guest users and shareable calendars (which is better than Sprout). This lets people drop comments on the shared calendar. There is no additional charge for guest users.
However, shareable calendars are part of higher plans and are numbered. You can have more as an add-on.
Sprout/Statusbrew has unlimited shareable calendars.
Refer to this database for feature by feature comparison of Agora.
Agorapulse vs Sprout Feature Breakdown
Sprinklr Social
If Sprout's pricing was a concern for you, go straight past this. 💰
The secrecy around Sprinklr's UI, features, and it's gatekeeping of almost everything makes it hard to get you a feature by feature parity.
or a good take on Sprinklr.
But Sprinklr does over deliver in terms of features (at an astronomical cost 💵) and you would have to rely on their team to do the heavy lifting in terms of setting up your account.
You would get an account manager who you would need to contact to get things done in Sprinklr.
Sprinklr is the most comprehensive listening platform, if that's what you're looking for, Sprinklr would be our pick, everything else would fall short of Sprinklr.
It also covers the most amount of networks in the industry (even the region specific ones like Wechat, telegram, Viber, weibo, etc).
It also has tools for Live Chat, email & help desk integration, calling, etc. Take it as a more rounded off (in their words 360 degrees) service platform designed for very large enterprises.
And is the first platform in this list that can help you manage social ads across all platforms (META ADS, LinkedIn ADS, Snapchat Ads, TikTok, X, etc).
But people usally find Sprinklr hard to use, given that they have a lot of stuff and it's a common hearing that the platform ends up getting underutilized.
Brandwatch
If you're a large enterprise looking to manage your social media activities across multiple channels, regions, and teams with an emphasis on social listening, Brandwatch is an excellent choice.
Brandwatch is an AI alternative to Sprout Social, with a focus on comprehensive data access, advanced analytics, and smooth social media management. Its a tool with user-friendly interfaces tool for smart social media strategy execution and competitive intelligence.
The tool integrates with all the major social networks including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Twitter (now X), YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, WhatsApp, Reddit and even Tumblr.
Brandwatch's ChatGPT-powered features analyze online data more deeply and help you create social content more intelligently.
Why Is Brandwatch A Good Sprout Social Alternative?
- Find & manage influencers from a database of over 30 million global creators.
- Advanced listening features
- Customizable dashboards & reporting
Brandwatch Pricing
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Consumer Intelligence | Custom pricing |
| Social Media Management | Custom pricing |
| Full Suite | Custom pricing |
Brandwatch does not share public pricing for all its plans. You can get exact details of pricing by booking a demo call with them.
G2 & Capterra Ratings
Brandwatch is rated 4.4/5 on G2 and 4.2/5 on Capterra
Meltwater
Meltwater is a reliable platform used by PR specialists and marketing professionals to stay updated about their brand. As a Sprout Social alternative, it allows you to find and join conversations that boost your brand engagement rate and gain valuable insights that you might have overlooked.
Additionally, the platform helps manage PR campaigns by identifying potential journalists and influencers for targeted distribution and performance tracking.
With Meltwater's listening features, you can predict and manage a social media crisis and maintain a positive brand reputation. Analyzing audience behavior is made easy with their social data reports.
Meltwater's AI engine & ChatGPT integration helps users find insights, work more efficiently, and create content.
Why Is Meltwater A Good Competitor To Sprout Social?
- Influencer marketing & PR management
- Consumer intelligence features
- AI-powered listening
Meltwater Pricing
A custom quote is shared as per the requirement.
G2 and Capterra Rating
Meltwater is rated 3.9/5 on G2 and 4/5 on Capterra.
Emplifi
Leading customer engagement solution Sociabakers, now Emplifi, is a unified customer experience (CX) platform. This SMM tool amplifies marketing, care, and commerce together & enriches customer experiences throughout their journey.
Emplifi, the AI social media marketing solution, supports brands and agencies of all sizes, from small businesses to enterprises. With Emplifi, users can get the largest dataset in the industry and it assists its clients with advanced tools focusing on thriving top-of-the-funnel marketing.
With its social listening tools, you can get actionable insights instantly & create the best social experiences for your prospects. Create engaging content with the help of its content intelligence tool by analyzing engagement across social media.
Why Is Emplifi A Good Alternative To Sprout Social?
Emplifi edges past Sprout Social in the following aspects:
- Influencer tracking
- Suitable for a wide range of industries
- Extensive content library
Emplifi Pricing
| Plan | Pricing | No. of users & social profiles |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $200/month | 5 users, 10 social profiles |
| Complete Social Marketing Cloud | Custom pricing | Custom |
G2 & Capterra Ratings
Emplifi Social Marketing Cloud is rated 4.2/5 on G2 and also 4.2/5 on Capterra.
Buffer
Buffer aims to make social media management simple, affordable, & accessible for small businesses, creators, and entrepreneurs.
This is why Buffer offers a Free-forever plan with the ability to schedule posts on 3 social channels. You can schedule up to 30 posts (10 posts per channel) per month with their free plan. And if you need more or you want access to engagement and analytics, you can always upgrade to Buffer's paid plan.
Buffer integrates with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Google Business, Pinterest, and even Mastodon. It even offers a free content library to inspire and plan out your social content calendar.
Buffer's Start Page helps you build a free, customizable, and mobile-friendly website to use in your link-in-bio. Buffer supports both desktop & mobile apps & it offers quality customer support.
Buffer AI Assistant generates social media ideas in a click and repurposes your content dozens of times to boost engagement on all major social platforms.
Why Is Buffer A Good Alternative To Sprout Social?
It's because of the following reasons that Buffer is a better alternative to Sprout Social.
- Its free plan is enough for small businesses and creators to schedule, publish and repurpose social content
- Ability to draft, publish & schedule Mastodon posts
- Uncomplicated user interface
Buffer Pricing
| Plan | Pricing | No. of users |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 |
| Essentials | $5/month/channel | 1 |
| Team | $10/month/channel | Unlimited |
| Agency | $100/month for 10 channels | Unlimited |
G2 & Capterra Ratings
Buffer is rated 4.3/5 on G2 and 4.5/5 on Capterra.
NapoleonCat
NapoleonCat is another top Sprout Social alternative offering all the essential features to manage a business's social accounts. It integrates with Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google My Business, YouTube, TikTok and Messenger.
NapoleonCat has solutions for small businesses, eCommerce, agencies, and enterprises. Coming to the core feature set, NappoleonCat is similar to other social media management tools and comes with social media publishing, reporting, listening, and, much like Sprout, influencer identification, too.
The tool also offers team collaboration features that allow multiple team members to work together on social media campaigns and projects.
NaapoleonCat's pricing is calculated based on the number of users & profiles, which makes it a budget-friendly option for teams.
Why Is NapoleonCat A Good Sprout Social Alternative?
There are reasons why brands should choose NapoleonCat over Sprout Social.
- Best suitable for businesses that receive a higher volume of customer inquiries
- Easy to set up & navigate the platform
- Manage all your social media comments and messages in one dashboard that can be accessed by multiple users
NapoleonCat Pricing
| Plan | Pricing | No. of users & social profiles |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $25.82/month | 1 user, 3 social profiles |
| Growth | $63.31/month | 1 user, 3 social profiles |
| Custom | Custom pricing | Custom |
G2 & Capterra Ratings
NapoleonCat is rated 4.8/5 on G2 and 4.7/5 on Capterra.
Khoros
Khoros is a robust alternative to Sprout Social for businesses looking for advanced social media management solutions. The key differences between Khoros and Sprout Social lie in Khoros's focus on scalability, deep analytics, and comprehensive service and support tailored to enterprise needs.
The platform stands out by offering its customers not just software but a strategic partnership. This includes on-demand access to expertise, support via Khoros Strategic Services, and one-to-one product coaching at no additional cost.
Khoros is designed to scale with enterprises as they grow. It covers every step of the customer's journey, not just social media management. It integrates social media features with community, customer service, and analytics platforms to provide a more holistic approach to online engagement. This broader solution simplifies operations and improves customer engagement across multiple digital channels, including voice.
Why Is Khoros A Good Alternative To Sprout Social?
Here's what makes Khoros a good alternative to Sprout Social:
- Provides a full customer engagement platform
- Complimentary product coaching under the Khoros Strategic Services
- Predictable pricing
Khoros Pricing
Khoros requires you to get on a demo call with them to discuss the pricing details.
G2 & Capterra Ratings
Khoros is rated 3.8/5 on G2 and 4.3/5 on Capterra.
Sendible
Sendible is a feature-rich, user-friendly, and affordable go-to solution, especially for agencies and teams looking to optimize their social media marketing strategy.
Sendible has publishing, analytics, team collaboration and social listening features with a unified dashboard to keep track of multiple social media accounts at once. As an agency, you can share posts with your clients for approval within Sendible's dashboard itself.
Sendible integrates with GIPHY and Pexels to source royalty-free content. You can use Sendible's built-in editor to optimize your images in order to suit each social platform's ratio requirements.
Sendible's pricing starts at $25/month (annual subscription) or $29/month (monthly subscription), which is significantly lower than Sprout Social's starting price of $249 per month.
Why Is Sendible A Good Alternative To Sprout Social?
Sendible’s certain features are far superior to Sprout Social.
- Integration with Canva Pro & Pexels
- Designed for teams, with features like team permissions, task management, and white-label reporting
Sendible Pricing
| Plan | Pricing | No. of users & social profiles |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | $25/month | 1 user, 6 social profiles |
| Traction | $76/month | 4 users, 24 social profiles |
| Scale | $170/month | 7 users, 49 social profiles |
| Custom | Custom pricing | 8+ users, 50+ social profiles |
G2 & Capterra Ratings
Sendible is rated 4.5/5 on G2 and 4.5/5 on Capterra.
Zoho Social
Zoho Social positions itself as a more affordable and user-friendly alternative to Sprout Social.
Just like Sprout Social, Zoho Social offers publishing and scheduling, analytics, inbox, monitoring, and collaboration features. Zoho Social offers a huge cost saving of 93.98% compared to Sprout Social, with no audience size limit (followers/fans count limit). Zoho Social's interface is user-friendly and requires no special training.
Zoho Social allows you to repeat evergreen posts weekly/monthly without manually setting up dates. It supports integration with Facebook and LinkedIn Lead Ads for lead form creation and automatic syncing to Zoho CRM. Zoho Social even provides reports on Instagram Reels performance and unlimited monitoring of key metrics, including keywords, hashtags, product reviews, and mentions.
Why Is Zoho Social Better Than Sprout Social?
The following reasons make Zoho Social a better Sprout Social competitor.
- Integration with Mastodon
- Panic button to pause all the scheduled posts during a crisis
- SmartQ suggests the best times for you to schedule your content
- Zoho Social's standard plans are priced at $15/month, significantly lower than Sprout Social's standard plan at $249/month
Read our definitive guide on how to communicate during a crisis using social media.
Zoho Social Pricing
| Plan | Pricing | No. of team members, brands, & social profiles |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $7/month | 1 team member, 1 brand, and 9 social channels |
| Professional | $21/month | 1 team member, 1 brand, and 9 social channels |
| Premium | $32/month | 3 team members, 1 brand, and 10 social channels |
| Agency | $170/month | 5 team members, 10 brands, and 10 social channels |
| Agency Plus | $255/month | 5 team members, 20 brands, and 10 social channels |
G2 & Capterra Ratings
Zoho Social is rated 4.6/5 on G2 and 4.7/5 on Capterra.
Which One To Pick As The Best Sprout Social Alternative?
Depending on your budget, your must-haves, and your taste, you can make a choice.
The database would help you narrow down your search and you can then try out a couple of then over a few weeks to see who would be your next home for social.
Switching softwares is hard (and time consuming), free trial are not really free, so chalk out a moving plan and talk to the platform who you end up picking, if they can make this process easy or share the burden of migration with you.
Statusbrew has done a lot of work for people migrating from Sprout and we would absorb transferring all your reporting data (and dashboard), tags setup, inbox views and more.
There are custom reports that mimick your Sprout dashboard and we back backfill sync your data, so you get a familiar looking setup on day 1.
Book a free demo to see how all of this is possible in Statusbrew.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is similar to Sprout?
Statusbrew is the closest alternative to Sprout Social, offering features like a unified inbox, AI sentiment analysis, competitor reporting, and comments automation at competitive pricing.
Who are Sprout Social's competitors?
Sprout Social's top competitors are:
- Statusbrew
- Hootsuite
- Agorapulse
- Sprinklr Social
- Emplifi
What's better than Sprout Social?
Statusbrew is the best Sprout Social alternative in terms of Smart Inbox, Automations, Active Customer Support, & Competitor Reporting with 18 months of data backfill. It provides all these and many more features at $199 per month (compared to $300 pricing of Sprout).
Is there a free version of Sprout Social?
Sprout Social does not have a free option, but they do have a 30-day trial period. Their services start at $249 per month.
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