---
title: "Hootsuite vs Sprout Social: which fits your team?"
canonical: "https://weekbird.app/compare/hootsuite-vs-sprout-social"
language: "en"
type: "comparison"
updated: "2026-10-11T16:46:09.530Z"
---

# Hootsuite vs Sprout Social

Hootsuite vs Sprout Social: both bill per person. Hootsuite costs less for teams, $597 against $897 a month for three people billed yearly, and includes listening. Sprout Social costs less for one person and adds mobile apps and review management. Weekbird costs $24, $49 or $149 a month. Prices checked 10 October 2026.

## Approvals and teams

Hootsuite puts approvals on Advanced and Enterprise. Sprout Social's pricing page does not list approvals by plan, so ask before you buy. On both, each person needs a seat, and three people on 15 channels cost $597 to $897 a month billed yearly before approvals.

## Where Weekbird fits

Weekbird costs $24, $49 or $149 a month ($228, $468 or $1,428 a year) with unlimited posts on every plan. Team and Agency add approval links that reviewers open without an account, and an Inbox for comments, replies and reviews. Weekbird has no listening, no mobile app and no free plan. Compare it in Weekbird vs Hootsuite and Weekbird vs Sprout Social, or see all comparisons.

## Questions

### Is Hootsuite or Sprout Social cheaper?

Sprout Social for one person: $79 a month billed yearly on Essentials against $99 on Hootsuite Standard. Hootsuite for teams: three people on 15 channels pay $597 a month on Professional against $897 on Sprout Social, both billed yearly.

### Which has better approvals, Hootsuite or Sprout Social?

Hootsuite lists approvals on Advanced at $399 per user a month billed yearly. Sprout Social's pricing page does not list approvals by plan. Weekbird includes approval links on Team at $49 a month.

### Which is better for agencies?

Hootsuite costs less per seat and includes listening. Sprout Social suits agencies that handle reviews and helpdesk work. Small agencies that need client sign-off can compare both with Weekbird Team or Agency.

### Is there a free plan on either?

No. Hootsuite offers a 14-day trial and Sprout Social a 30-day trial, both without a card.

### Do Hootsuite and Sprout Social have social listening?

Both do. Hootsuite includes it, with advanced listening on Enterprise. Sprout Social sells Listening as an add-on with sentiment tracking and spike alerts.

## Plan next week in one sitting

[See Weekbird plans](https://weekbird.app/)

## Hootsuite

Last verified: 2026-10-10

## Hootsuite: plans

| Plan | Monthly price | Price per month (billed annually) | Currency | Billing unit | Seats or brands | Channels | Users | Limits | Source | Observed |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Standard | — | 99 | USD | per-user | n/a | 10 social accounts | 1+ (buy seats) | Posts: Unlimited scheduled posts; AI: Wisdom AI included (no credit counts published); Approvals: No; Inbox: Single inbox | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) | 2026-10-10 |
| Professional | — | 199 | USD | per-user | n/a | Unlimited social accounts | 1+ (buy seats) | Posts: Unlimited; AI: Wisdom AI; Approvals: No; Inbox: Inbox with automated replies and workflows; Custom performance reports, trend forecasting to 90 days | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) | 2026-10-10 |
| Advanced | — | 399 | USD | per-user | n/a | Unlimited social accounts | 1+ (buy seats) | Posts: Unlimited; AI: Wisdom AI; Approvals: Yes (review and approve content); Inbox: Assignment and auto-routing | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) | 2026-10-10 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Contact sales | USD | — | custom | Unlimited | Custom | Approvals: Yes; SSO, advanced listening, advanced analytics | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) | 2026-10-10 |

## Hootsuite: strengths

| Claim | Source |
| --- | --- |
| Social listening and competitor monitoring are in the product; advanced listening on Enterprise. | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) |
| Unlimited accounts from Professional. | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) |
| Purchase as many user seats as needed with SSO and compliance on Enterprise. | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) |
| Inbox (Standard): Single inbox | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) |
| Approvals (Advanced): Yes (review and approve content) | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) |

## Sprout Social

Last verified: 2026-10-10

## Sprout Social: plans

| Plan | Monthly price | Price per month (billed annually) | Currency | Billing unit | Seats or brands | Channels | Users | Limits | Source | Observed |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Essentials | 99 | 79 | USD | per-user | n/a | 5 social profiles | 1+ seats | AI: 100 AI agent credits per seat/month; Mobile app | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) | 2026-10-10 |
| Standard | — | 199 | USD | per-user | 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 | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) | 2026-10-10 |
| Professional | — | 299 | USD | per-user | n/a | Unlimited social profiles | per seat | AI: 100 credits/seat/month; Inbox: Message tagging; Competitor, tag and paid insights | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) | 2026-10-10 |
| Advanced | — | 399 | USD | per-user | 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 | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) | 2026-10-10 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Contact sales | USD | — | custom | custom | custom | SSO, priority support | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) | 2026-10-10 |

## Sprout Social: strengths

| Claim | Source |
| --- | --- |
| Listening and Premium Analytics available as add-ons; Listening has Sentiment tracking and Spike Alerts. | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |
| Native iOS and Android mobile app on every plan. | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |
| Review management and Helpdesk integrations (Zendesk-style) on higher plans. | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |
| Enterprise SSO and onboarding. | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |
| Inbox (Standard): Consolidated inbox and collaboration tools | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |
| API or MCP (Advanced): Sprout API and helpdesk integrations | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |

## Feature comparison

| Feature | Weekbird | Hootsuite | Sprout Social | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Inbox for comments, replies and reviews | Comments and replies from Facebook Pages, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and X, and Google Business Profile reviews, in one list. | Inbox (Standard): Single inbox | Inbox (Standard): Consolidated inbox and collaboration tools | [Source 1](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans), [Source 2](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |

## Base plan examples

| Users | Brands | Channels | Plan | Monthly equivalent | Currency | Billing period | Other monthly equivalent | Other currency | Other billing period | Source | Other source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 1 | 5 | Standard | 99 | USD | Billed annually | 79 | USD | Billed annually | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |
| 3 | 3 | 15 | Professional | 597 | USD | Billed annually | 897 | USD | Billed annually | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |
| 5 | 10 | 50 | Professional | 995 | USD | Billed annually | 1495 | USD | Billed annually | [Source](https://www.hootsuite.com/plans) | [Source](https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/) |

## Verdicts

| Use case | Verdict |
| --- | --- |
| One person, five channels | Sprout Social Essentials at $79 a month billed yearly costs less than Hootsuite Standard at $99. Hootsuite Standard allows 10 accounts against Sprout's 5. |
| Team of three or more | Hootsuite Professional at $199 per user costs less than Sprout Social Professional at $299 per seat. |
| Social listening | Hootsuite includes listening in the product. Sprout Social sells Listening as an add-on with sentiment tracking and spike alerts. |
| Mobile and helpdesk work | Sprout Social: native apps on every plan, review management and helpdesk integrations. |
| Small agency that needs client sign-off | Look at Weekbird Team at $49 a month: approval links without client accounts. |