Sprout Social alternatives for 2026
Weekbird is a Sprout Social alternative for small teams: $24, $49 or $149 a month per plan, with unlimited posts. Sprout Social bills per seat, from $99 a month ($79 billed yearly) for 5 profiles. Hootsuite, Buffer, Metricool and Publer follow, with prices checked on each vendor's page on 10 October 2026.
| Tool | Best for | How it bills | Cheapest paid plan | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WeekbirdSprout Social vs Weekbird: price, approvals and fit | small teams and agencies that schedule and approve posts and do not need listening. See Weekbird pricing. | Per plan | $19 / monthbilled annually | No |
| HootsuiteHootsuite pricing in 2026: plans and costs | Larger teams that need social listening | per user | $99 / monthbilled annually | No |
| BufferBuffer pricing in 2026: plans and costs | A few channels, with a free plan for 3 | per channel | $5 / monthbilled annually | Yes |
| MetricoolMetricool pricing in 2026: plans and costs | Many brands, with ads reporting | per brand | $20 / monthbilled annually | Yes |
| Publer | The lowest price per account | Per plan / per channel | $4 / monthbilled annually | Yes |
Prices from hootsuite.com/plans, checked 10 Oct 2026; buffer.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026; metricool.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026; publer.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026
Product prices from weekbird.app, updated 11 Oct 2026
1. Weekbird: a Sprout Social alternative priced per plan
Weekbird costs $24, $49 or $149 a month ($228, $468 or $1,428 a year), with unlimited posts on every plan. You write one post and adjust a version for each channel; Weekbird checks each version against that network's limits before you schedule it. Team and Agency add approval links that reviewers open without an account, and an Inbox for comments, replies and Google Business Profile reviews.
Sprout Social does more. Weekbird has no social listening, no mobile app, no direct messages in the Inbox and no helpdesk integrations. Analytics stay per network.
Best for: small teams and agencies that schedule and approve posts and do not need listening. See Weekbird pricing.
2. Hootsuite: listening included, priced per user
Hootsuite costs $99, $199 or $399 per user a month billed yearly. Social listening and competitor monitoring come with the product, and Professional removes the account cap. Approvals need Advanced at $399.
Best for: teams that want listening without buying an add-on. More in Hootsuite alternatives.
3. Buffer: priced per channel, with a free plan
Buffer charges $6 per channel a month on Essentials and $12 on Team ($5 and $10 billed yearly). Team adds unlimited users and approval workflows. The free plan covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each.
Best for: a handful of channels and a tight budget.
4. Metricool: priced by brand, with ads reporting
Metricool sells tiers of brands. Advanced costs $67 a month for up to 15 brands ($53 billed yearly) and adds team management and post approvals. It reports on Facebook, Google and TikTok ads next to organic posts, and keeps unlimited analytics history from Starter. X costs extra.
Best for: marketers who report on organic and paid results together.
5. Publer: priced per account
Publer charges $5 per account a month on Professional and $10 on Business ($4 and $8 billed yearly), with every tenth account free. Business adds approvals, an API and MCP access; extra members cost more.
Best for: one owner with many accounts.
Sprout Social plans
| Plan | Price | Brands / seats | Channels | Users | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $99 per user / month $79 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | 5 social profiles | 1+ seats | AI: 100 AI agent credits per seat/month; Mobile app |
| Standard | $199 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | 5 social profiles | per seat | AI: 100 credits/seat/month; Inbox: Consolidated inbox and collaboration tools; 10 brand keywords per group, review management |
| Professional | $299 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | Unlimited social profiles | per seat | AI: 100 credits/seat/month; Inbox: Message tagging; Competitor, tag and paid insights |
| Advanced | $399 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | Unlimited social profiles | per seat | AI: 100 credits/seat/month; Inbox: Sentiment in Smart Inbox; API: Sprout API and helpdesk integrations; 20 brand keywords per group |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | custom | custom | custom | SSO, priority support |
| Plan | Price | Brands / seats | Channels | Users | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $99 per user / month | n/a | 5 social profiles | 1+ seats | AI: 100 AI agent credits per seat/month; Mobile app |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | custom | custom | custom | SSO, priority support |
| Plan | Price | Brands / seats | Channels | Users | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $79 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | 5 social profiles | 1+ seats | AI: 100 AI agent credits per seat/month; Mobile app |
| Standard | $199 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | 5 social profiles | per seat | AI: 100 credits/seat/month; Inbox: Consolidated inbox and collaboration tools; 10 brand keywords per group, review management |
| Professional | $299 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | Unlimited social profiles | per seat | AI: 100 credits/seat/month; Inbox: Message tagging; Competitor, tag and paid insights |
| Advanced | $399 per user / monthbilled annually | n/a | Unlimited social profiles | per seat | AI: 100 credits/seat/month; Inbox: Sentiment in Smart Inbox; API: Sprout API and helpdesk integrations; 20 brand keywords per group |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | custom | custom | custom | SSO, priority support |
Prices from sproutsocial.com/pricing, checked 10 Oct 2026
- Listening and Premium Analytics available as add-ons; Listening has Sentiment tracking and Spike Alerts.
- Native iOS and Android mobile app on every plan.
- Review management and Helpdesk integrations (Zendesk-style) on higher plans.
- Enterprise SSO and onboarding.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Sprout Social | Weekbird |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox for comments, replies and reviews | Inbox (Standard): Consolidated inbox and collaboration tools | Comments and replies from Facebook Pages, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and X, and Google Business Profile reviews, in one list. |
| Public API and webhooks | API or MCP (Advanced): Sprout API and helpdesk integrations | REST API and signed webhooks for published posts, approvals and channel events. |
Reasons to switch
- Every plan is billed per seat ($79 to $399 per user per month), so cost climbs quickly as more teammates need a login, which small teams and agencies cite as their reason to look elsewhere.
- Social listening and premium analytics are sold as separate add-ons on top of seat prices, and reviewers report that important features sit behind the more expensive tiers.
- The Essentials and Standard plans are capped at 5 social profiles, so teams managing more accounts must move to Professional at $299 per seat for unlimited profiles.
- Plans require annual billing, and some reviewers describe difficulty exiting the contract once it has renewed.
- Some users who pay for Sprout mainly for reporting say its analytics figures are not reliable enough, and reviewers mention data-accuracy concerns in reports.
- Reviewers find the Smart Inbox and overall product complex, with one team reporting missed comments and DMs and a steep learning curve.
- Some users report scheduled posts that failed to go live and social accounts becoming unlinked.
- Reviewers say the mobile app is less capable than the desktop product.
Who should stay
Teams that use social listening with sentiment tracking, need review management and helpdesk integrations, or want a native mobile app on every plan.
Moving your workflow
- List your channels and the posts scheduled in Sprout Social for the next two weeks.
- Connect the same channels in Weekbird.
- Schedule next week's posts again in Weekbird; it has no import from Sprout Social or any other tool.
- On Team or Agency, send approval links to the people who sign off.
- Let Sprout Social publish its last scheduled post, then cancel.