Hootsuite vs Sprout Social in 2026: two suites, priced per seat
Hootsuite starts at $99 a seat with an inbox; Sprout Social at $79 without one. Plans, reports, approvals and listening compared from both vendors.
Short answer
Both charge per seat and both are full suites. Hootsuite is cheaper for a team that needs an inbox: Standard is $99 a seat billed yearly with 10 accounts, against Sprout's $199 Standard with 5 profiles; Sprout's $79 Essentials has no inbox. Sprout includes approvals earlier, on Professional, and both cost $399 a seat on Advanced.
Seat prices, plan by plan
| Plan | Hootsuite, per seat | Sprout Social, per seat |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | No such plan | $79 yearly, $99 monthly; 5 profiles, no inbox |
| Standard | $99 yearly, $149 monthly; 10 accounts | $199 yearly, $249 monthly; 5 profiles |
| Professional | $199 yearly, $299 monthly; unlimited accounts | $299 yearly, $399 monthly; unlimited profiles |
| Advanced | $399 yearly, $499 monthly | $399 yearly, $499 monthly |
| Enterprise | On request | On request |
Features side by side
| Hootsuite | Sprout Social | |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox | Every plan | Standard and up |
| Approvals | Advanced | Professional; outside approvers without an account on Advanced (up to 3) |
| Report export | PDF and PowerPoint from Professional, CSV from Advanced | PDF and CSV on every plan |
| Competitor reports | 5 competitors on Standard, 20 on Professional | Facebook, X and Instagram from Professional |
| Listening | Quick Search on every plan; Talkwalker on Enterprise | Brand keywords from Standard; full Listening is an add-on |
| AI | 100 credits a month on every plan | 100 credits per seat a month; more for $28 a seat |
| Bulk upload | 350 posts per CSV, every plan | 350 posts per CSV, from Professional |
| Free trial | 14 days | 30 days, no card |
| Networks | 9, with Bluesky; no Mastodon | 12, with Bluesky, Reddit and Snapchat; no Mastodon |
Integrations
Both connect to Canva on every plan. Hootsuite adds Adobe Express on every plan, Bitly from Professional and Salesforce on Enterprise. Sprout Social includes Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack and Bitly on every plan, and HubSpot, Salesforce and Zendesk on Advanced. If your support or sales team works in a CRM, Sprout gets you there one plan sooner.
What one person pays
Sprout Essentials at $79 a month billed yearly is the cheaper single seat, with 5 profiles and no inbox. Hootsuite Standard at $99 adds an inbox and 10 accounts. Paying monthly, the gap widens from $20 to $50: $99 against $149.
What a team of three pays
- Three people, 10 profiles, an inbox: Hootsuite Standard, $297 a month billed yearly. Sprout needs Professional for more than 5 profiles: $897.
- Three people with approvals: Sprout Professional, $897 a month billed yearly. Hootsuite Advanced, $1,197.
- Three people whose client approves without an account: Sprout Advanced, $1,197 a month billed yearly. Hootsuite doesn't document outside approvers.
Choose Hootsuite if
- You need an inbox at the lowest seat price, or more than 5 profiles without paying for Professional.
- Listening matters: Quick Search comes with every plan.
Choose Sprout Social if
- You want approvals without paying for the top plan, or a client to approve without an account.
- You want reports you can export from the start, CRM and helpdesk integrations, or a longer, card-free trial.
- You publish to Reddit or Snapchat as well.
A third option: PostDaily
PostDaily is our product, so weigh this accordingly. It isn't a suite: there's no inbox, listening or CRM link. If your team mostly publishes, it includes seats in each plan, lets a client approve from a link with no account on Pro, and publishes to Bluesky, Mastodon, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube and Pinterest. PostDaily vs Hootsuite and PostDaily vs Sprout Social say who should stay with each.
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social questions
Is Hootsuite cheaper than Sprout Social?
For a team that needs an inbox, yes: Hootsuite Standard is $99 a seat billed yearly, Sprout's Standard $199. Sprout's $79 Essentials is cheaper but has no inbox.
Which is better for reporting?
Sprout exports reports on every plan and adds competitor reports on Professional. Hootsuite tracks competitors from Standard but exports reports only from Professional.
Which has approvals on a cheaper plan?
Sprout Social, on Professional at $299 a seat billed yearly. Hootsuite's start on Advanced at $399.
Do Hootsuite or Sprout Social support Mastodon?
Neither publishes to Mastodon. Both publish to Bluesky.
Last checked against hootsuite.com/plans and sproutsocial.com/pricing.
