Sprout Social
6.7/10Sprout Social is a social media management platform for publishing, engagement, listening and reporting, sold per seat to mid-market and enterprise marketing teams.
Data last updated November 2026 · Our methodology
Overview
Sprout Social is a Chicago-based social media management platform that puts publishing, a shared Smart Inbox for engagement, social listening, review management and reporting in one workspace. It has been publicly traded on Nasdaq under the ticker SPT since 2019. It suits in-house social media and marketing teams and agencies that manage several brands and need approval workflows, customer care tools and polished reports. Pricing is per seat. Billed annually, Essentials costs $79 a seat per month, Standard $199, Professional $299 and Advanced $399. Monthly billing costs more, with Standard at $249 a seat. Enterprise is quoted on request. Essentials and Standard allow five social profiles, while Professional and up allow unlimited profiles. Competitor, tag and paid insights start on Professional. API access, helpdesk integrations, sentiment analysis and message spike alerts are on Advanced only. Listening, Premium Analytics, Employee Advocacy and Influencer Marketing are paid add-ons with no published prices. Integrations include Salesforce, Zendesk, Tableau, Canva and helpdesk tools, and the iOS and Android apps come with every plan. A 30-day free trial needs no credit card. The main drawback is cost. Because every seat is charged and key features sit on higher tiers or paid add-ons, large teams pay a lot. Trustpilot reviewers also complain about auto-renewal and difficult cancellation.
Our Rating
Who Sprout Social is best for
Good fit
Publishing, the Smart Inbox, listening and reporting are all built for dedicated social teams.
Offers an Enterprise tier with SSO setup, priority support and add-ons such as listening and employee advocacy.
Covers social planning and reporting well, but it does not handle email or other channels.
- Mid-Market8/10
Its tiered plans fit mid-sized teams that can afford $199 to $399 a seat.
Unlimited profiles on higher tiers and strong client reports help, but per-seat costs add up.
The Smart Inbox, review management and helpdesk integrations support social customer care.
Less suited
Even Essentials at $79 a seat is expensive next to tools like Buffer or Metricool.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- G2 users mention ease of use more than 1,200 times, which points to an interface teams learn quickly.
- Reviewers often describe the reporting and analytics as best-in-class among social media tools.
- The Smart Inbox gathers messages and reviews from all networks into one queue for engagement and customer care.
- A 30-day free trial with no credit card lets teams test the platform fully before buying.
Cons
- Every seat is charged, so Standard costs $249 a seat on monthly billing and team costs rise quickly.
- Listening and Premium Analytics are paid add-ons with no published prices.
- Trustpilot reviews, around 2 out of 5, center on auto-renewal, contract lock-in and difficult cancellation.
- Competitor insights need Professional, and API access needs Advanced.
- Some lower-tier customers report slow support and account managers who changed without notice.
Key Features
Sprout Social Pricing
Essentials
or $948/user/year (save 20%)
- Optimal send times
- iOS and Android apps
- Up to 5 social profiles
- Profile and post-level reporting
- Trellis AI with 100 agent credits per seat per month
Standard
or $2,388/user/year (save 20%)
- Review management
- Up to 5 social profiles
- Consolidated Smart Inbox
- 10 brand keywords per group
- Keyword and location monitoring
Professional
or $3,588/user/year (save 25%)
- Message tagging
- Enhance Post by AI Assist
- Unlimited social profiles
- Competitor, tag and paid insights
Advanced
or $4,788/user/year (save 20%)
- Message spike alerts
- Unlimited social profiles
- Enhance Reply by AI Assist
- 20 brand keywords per group
- API and helpdesk integrations
- Sentiment in Smart Inbox and Reviews
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial and does not ask for a credit card.
About 25 percent more. Standard costs $249 a seat per month on monthly billing and $199 on annual billing. Essentials costs $99 versus $79.
Competitor insights start on the Professional plan, which costs $299 a seat per month billed annually.
API and helpdesk integrations are listed on the Advanced plan and above.
Standard and higher plans include basic keyword monitoring. Full Listening is a separately priced add-on.
Trustpilot reviewers frequently report auto-renewals and difficulty cancelling. Check the renewal terms before signing an annual contract.
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