6 Best Sprout Social Alternatives in 2026 (Cheaper)
September 29, 2026 · 7 min read · By Wavnil
Key takeaways
- Sprout Social starts at $79 per seat per month billed annually (Essentials, 5 profiles); its inbox and monitoring features start with Standard at $199 per seat.
- The closest like-for-like suites are Agorapulse, from $79 per user for 10 profiles, and Hootsuite, from $99 per user.
- Sendible includes unlimited users on every plan, from $35 a month, which changes the maths for teams.
- If you mainly publish, Buffer, Metricool or Wavnil cost a fraction of the price; Wavnil (our product) has no inbox or listening, so check what you actually use.
The best Sprout Social alternatives in 2026 are Agorapulse and Hootsuite for a like-for-like suite, Sendible for teams that want unlimited users, Metricool for analytics on a budget, Buffer for simple, affordable publishing, and Wavnil for AI-assisted content on 30+ networks at a flat price. For reference, Sprout Social starts at $79 per seat per month, billed annually.
Transparency first: Wavnil is our product. We compare it on the same criteria as the others, including what it doesn't do. Prices were checked on each vendor's website between September 25 and 29, 2026, in US dollars before tax. They change often, so confirm them before you buy.
Sprout Social is an excellent, complete platform. Teams usually look for alternatives because of the per-seat price, or because they use only part of it. This comparison helps you figure out which case you're in.
Sprout Social alternatives compared (September 2026)
| Tool | Starting price | Pricing model | Free plan | Free trial | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social (reference) | $79 per seat/month, billed annually | Per seat | No | 30 days, no card | Customer care and reporting at scale |
| Agorapulse | $79 per user/month | Per user | No | 30 days, no card | Community management |
| Sendible | $35/month | Per plan, unlimited users | No | 14 days, no card | Agencies and teams |
| Hootsuite | $99 per user/month, billed annually | Per user | No | 14 days, no card | Large teams |
| Metricool | $20/month for 5 brands | Per plan, by number of brands | Yes, 1 brand | — | Analytics on a budget |
| Buffer | $6 per channel/month, $5 billed yearly | Per channel | Yes, 3 channels | 14 days | Simple publishing |
| Wavnil (ours) | $24/month for 5 channels, or $230/year | Per plan, by channel count | No | 7 days, card required | AI content on 30+ networks |
A dash means the vendor's pricing page didn't state it. Higher plans and exact limits are in each section below.
What Sprout Social costs for a team
Sprout Social's plans are priced per seat, billed annually: Essentials at $79 (or $99 billed monthly) for 5 social profiles, Standard at $199 with the consolidated inbox, keyword monitoring and review management, Professional at $299 with unlimited profiles and competitor reports, and Advanced at $399 with sentiment analysis and helpdesk integrations.
For a team of five, at list prices (our calculation):
| Plan | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social Standard, 5 seats | $995 | $11,940 |
| Agorapulse Standard, 5 users | $395 | $4,740 |
| Sendible Plus, unlimited users, 18 profiles | $99 | about $1,010 with the yearly discount |
| Wavnil Team, unlimited members, 10 channels | $39 | $374 |
The cheaper tools don't all do the same job, which is the point of the sections below: match the tool to the work your team actually does.
How we chose and compared these tools
We picked widely used tools that cover what teams use Sprout Social for: publishing, engagement, reporting and collaboration. Each one had to publish its prices. We read each public pricing page between September 25 and 29, 2026. We didn't run a hands-on test of every competitor, so treat the feature notes as a map, and use the free trials on your own workflow.
1. Agorapulse: best like-for-like alternative for community management
Pricing: from $79 per user per month on the Standard plan, which includes 10 social profiles. Professional costs $119 per user per month billed annually ($149 monthly), and Advanced $149 ($199 monthly). The free trial lasts 30 days, without a card.
Agorapulse is built around its social inbox: comments, messages and mentions land in one place, where a team can assign, answer and track them, alongside publishing and reporting.
Strengths:
- Strong inbox and team workflow, close to Sprout Social's.
- 10 profiles on the entry plan, twice as many as Sprout Social's Essentials.
- Long trial without a card.
Limitations:
- Per-user pricing, so larger teams still pay more.
- No free plan.
Best for: brands and agencies where answering the community matters as much as publishing.
2. Sendible: best for teams that want unlimited users
Pricing: Core at $35 per month (6 social profiles), Plus at $99 (18 profiles, with assignment and approvals), Premium at $199 (42 profiles) and Elite at $299 (90 profiles), with 15% off yearly. Every plan includes unlimited users, and the 14-day trial doesn't require a card.
Sendible covers monitoring and replying from its entry plan, adds approvals from Plus, and offers client dashboards and white labeling for agencies.
Strengths:
- Unlimited users on every plan, the opposite of per-seat pricing.
- Inbox from the entry plan, approvals from $99 per month.
Limitations:
- Daily posting limits per workspace, such as 100 sends per day on Core.
- Less depth in listening and analytics than Sprout Social's higher tiers.
Best for: agencies and growing teams that want to add people without adding seats.
3. Hootsuite: best for large teams
Pricing: from $99 per user per month, billed annually, with a 14-day free trial without a card. No free plan.
Hootsuite is Sprout Social's historic rival: publishing, an inbox, analytics and listening in one place, with enterprise controls. It isn't cheaper per user, so it makes sense mainly if you prefer its workflow or need a specific feature. Our guide to Hootsuite alternatives compares it with the rest of the market.
Best for: large organizations comparing the two suites.
4. Metricool: best for analytics on a budget
Pricing: a free plan for 1 brand with up to 20 posts per month. Paid plans start at $20 per month for 5 brands (Starter) and $53 per month for 15 brands (Advanced).
Metricool pairs scheduling with strong analytics, including competitor and paid campaign reports, at a fraction of Sprout Social's price.
Strengths:
- Reports that clients understand, priced by brand, not by seat.
- A free plan to start.
Limitations:
- No enterprise-grade inbox comparable to Sprout Social's.
- Brand-based tiers, so check where your client count lands.
Best for: marketers and agencies whose main need is reporting.
5. Buffer: best for simple, affordable publishing
Pricing: a free plan for 3 channels. Essentials costs $6 per channel per month ($5 billed yearly) and Team $12 ($10 billed yearly), with unlimited members and approval workflows. Paid plans have a 14-day trial.
Buffer is simple: a queue, a calendar, analytics, and a community inbox on every plan. If your team mostly publishes, it covers the job for a fraction of Sprout Social's price.
Strengths:
- Low entry price and a usable free plan.
- Unlimited team members and approvals on the Team plan.
Limitations:
- Per-channel pricing that grows with every network.
- No social listening comparable to Sprout Social's.
Best for: small teams that mostly schedule posts. See also our roundup of Buffer alternatives.
6. Wavnil: best for AI-assisted content on 30+ networks
Pricing: $24 per month for 5 channels, $39 for 10 channels, $49 for 30 channels and $99 for 100 channels, with 20% off on yearly billing. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial, which requires a payment card.
Wavnil is an AI-first social media scheduler: a visual calendar for more than 30 networks, with AI to create content along the way.
Strengths:
- Flat monthly price, with unlimited team members from the $39 plan.
- Unlimited posts on every plan.
- AI built in: a writing assistant, monthly AI image and video credits, an AI agent, and an MCP server to schedule posts from Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants.
Limitations:
- No unified inbox, approval workflow, review management or social listening. If your team answers customers from Sprout Social every day, Wavnil won't replace that part.
- Shorter trial, with a card.
Best for: teams whose Sprout Social usage is mostly publishing, and who want to create more content with AI.
Which Sprout Social alternative should you choose?
Start from what your team does in Sprout Social every day:
- Answering customers in a shared inbox: Agorapulse, or Sendible if you need many users.
- Everything, at enterprise scale: Hootsuite, or stay with Sprout Social.
- Reporting to clients or managers: Metricool.
- Publishing only, on a budget: Buffer.
- Publishing on many networks and creating content with AI: Wavnil.
If your team relies on listening, review management or helpdesk integrations, compare Sprout Social's higher tiers with Hootsuite before switching: few cheaper tools cover them.
Before you switch from Sprout Social
- List the features you use weekly, not the ones in your plan.
- Export your reports and message history before your contract ends.
- Check your renewal date: Sprout Social's advertised prices are billed annually.
- Recreate your publishing schedule in the new tool before you cancel.
- Run the trial with your real team and channels, not a demo account.
Once you've switched, our guides to the best time to post on social media and the social media content calendar help you rebuild your rhythm. To see what Wavnil includes, compare the features, the supported channels and the pricing.
Sources
Prices and plan details checked between September 25 and 29, 2026:
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest alternative to Sprout Social?
For publishing alone, Buffer and Metricool have free plans, and Buffer's paid plans start at $5 per channel per month billed yearly. For a team with an inbox, Sendible starts at $35 a month with unlimited users. Sprout Social starts at $79 per seat per month billed annually.
What is the closest alternative to Sprout Social?
Agorapulse and Hootsuite. Both combine publishing, a social inbox, reporting and team workflows, like Sprout Social. Agorapulse starts at $79 per user per month with 10 social profiles, and Hootsuite at $99 per user per month billed annually.
Why is Sprout Social so expensive?
Because it's priced per seat and built for teams that use social media as a customer channel: inbox, monitoring, review management and in-depth reporting. Five people on the Standard plan cost $995 per month billed annually. If you mostly schedule posts, you're paying for features you may not use.
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
No. Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial that doesn't require a card, then paid plans from $79 per seat per month billed annually. Buffer and Metricool are the alternatives with free plans.