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Hootsuite is the cheaper of the two: its Standard plan starts at US$99 per user per month against US$199 per seat for Sprout Social Standard (annual billing, October 2026). Sprout Social charges more, is rated slightly higher by users, and goes deeper on reporting and customer care. Both charge per seat, so the gap grows with every person you add.
The short answer
- Hootsuite costs less per person. Standard from US$99/user, Professional from US$199/user, Advanced up to US$399/user (billed annually, hootsuite.com/plans, October 2026).
- Sprout Social costs more and does more out of the box for care teams. Essentials US$79, Standard US$199, Professional US$299, Advanced US$399 per seat (billed annually, sproutsocial.com/pricing, October 2026). Premium analytics and Listening are extra.
- At 20 people, the difference is about US$2,000 a month on the mid-tier plans (US$3,980 for Hootsuite Professional vs US$5,980 for Sprout Professional).
- If per-seat pricing is the real problem, neither fixes it. Look at a usage-priced tool instead (see per-seat vs usage-based pricing).
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite pricing
Both vendors price per user. Prices below are per seat per month on annual billing, checked on October 26, 2026.
| Tier | Sprout Social | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Essentials US$79/seat (5 profiles, publishing and reporting) | Standard from US$99/user (10 social accounts) |
| Core | Standard US$199/seat (5 profiles) | Professional from US$199/user (unlimited accounts) |
| Mid | Professional US$299/seat (unlimited profiles) | Advanced up to US$399/user (unlimited accounts) |
| Top published | Advanced US$399/seat (unlimited profiles) | n/a |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Monthly billing | US$99 / US$249 / US$399 / US$499 per seat | Offered; prices not shown in page text |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
| Per seat? | Yes | Yes |
Sources: sproutsocial.com/pricing and the hootsuite.com/plans FAQ (Hootsuite's plan cards do not show prices in the page text; its FAQ gives "from" and "up to" figures). Sprout's premium analytics, Listening, Employee Advocacy and professional services are add-ons with no published price.
What it costs for a team of 5 and a team of 20
Monthly cost at published per-seat prices, annual billing (October 2026):
| Plan | 5 people | 20 people | 20 people, per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprout Essentials (US$79) | US$395 | US$1,580 | US$18,960 |
| Sprout Standard (US$199) | US$995 | US$3,980 | US$47,760 |
| Sprout Professional (US$299) | US$1,495 | US$5,980 | US$71,760 |
| Sprout Advanced (US$399) | US$1,995 | US$7,980 | US$95,760 |
| Hootsuite Standard (US$99) | US$495 | US$1,980 | US$23,760 |
| Hootsuite Professional (US$199) | US$995 | US$3,980 | US$47,760 |
| Hootsuite Advanced (US$399) | US$1,995 | US$7,980 | US$95,760 |
The like-for-like comparison is plan by profile limit. If you need more than 5 profiles on Sprout, you are on Professional at US$299 a seat; on Hootsuite, unlimited accounts start at Professional at US$199. That is where Hootsuite's price advantage is biggest.
Hidden costs
- Every login is a seat. Approvers, freelancers and execs who only want to see the calendar all count.
- Sprout add-ons. Listening and premium analytics are sold separately on Standard and above, priced only through sales.
- Integrations by plan. Sprout's Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics integrations are tagged Advanced plan on its integrations page. Hootsuite lists its Salesforce integration under Enterprise.
- Approvals. Hootsuite lists content review and approval workflows on Advanced and Enterprise only.
Analytics
Sprout Social is the stronger reporting tool for most teams. Essentials includes profile- and post-level reporting; Professional adds competitor, tag and paid insights; a premium analytics add-on goes further.
Hootsuite includes analytics and competitor benchmarking on every plan: up to 5 competitors on Standard and 20 on Professional, with custom reports and scheduled exports from Professional. Advanced adds team productivity reporting, and Enterprise adds social attribution and ROI reporting.
Verdict: Sprout for presentation-ready reports; Hootsuite gives more competitor benchmarking per dollar.
Social inbox
Sprout's Smart Inbox starts on Standard (the Essentials plan card does not include it). Advanced adds sentiment in the inbox, reply suggestions from AI Assist, customer care reports and spike alerts. Sprout Standard also includes review management.
Hootsuite includes one inbox on every plan. Professional adds automated replies and workflows; Advanced adds message assignment, auto-routing and skill-based routing.
Verdict: both handle team inbox work. Sprout's is the more developed customer-care product; Hootsuite's routing arrives at the same US$399 tier.
Social listening
Hootsuite includes brand and competitor monitoring from Standard, 30-day Quick Search and trend forecasting on Professional, and 13 months of historical data on Enterprise. Hootsuite owns the listening company Talkwalker.
Sprout Social includes keyword and location monitoring on Standard, but full Listening is a paid add-on with no published price.
Verdict: Hootsuite, if you want listening without a separate negotiation.
Scheduling and publishing
Both cover the core: a shared calendar, scheduling to the major networks, and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Hootsuite Standard includes unlimited scheduled posts; Professional adds link tracking and automatic boosting of top posts. Sprout Essentials is built for publishing-focused teams and includes optimal send-time suggestions. Hootsuite has Canva built into its composer, and Sprout's Canva integration is available on all plans.
Verdict: a draw for most teams. Pick on the other features.
Integrations
Sprout Social lists Canva, Dropbox, Google Drive and Slack on all plans, with CRM and help desk integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365) on Advanced and the Sprout API on Advanced.
Hootsuite runs an App Directory of third-party apps (including Bynder, Figma and Notion) and lists Salesforce integration, SSO and custom integrations on Enterprise.
Verdict: Sprout if you need help desk or CRM links without going to Enterprise.
AI features
Sprout Social includes its Trellis AI agent on every plan, metered by AI credits per seat (100 per seat per month on Essentials). AI Assist rewrites posts on Professional and suggests replies on Advanced.
Hootsuite includes its Wisdom AI assistant on every plan, with AI-generated posts and images from Standard and AI smart replies from Professional.
Verdict: comparable. Neither is a reason to switch on its own.
Verdict by buyer type
Small team (1–5 people). Hootsuite Standard at US$99 a user is the cheaper all-rounder and includes an inbox and listening. Choose Sprout Essentials (US$79) only if you just need publishing and reports.
Agency. Hootsuite usually wins on cost because unlimited accounts start at US$199 a user. Choose Sprout if the agency sells reporting and community management, and budget for Professional or Advanced seats.
Enterprise. Both sell custom Enterprise plans with SSO. Sprout is the stronger customer-care and reporting platform; Hootsuite brings deeper listening through Talkwalker. Run a paid pilot of both and ask for add-on prices in writing.
The third option: when per-seat pricing is the problem
If you are comparing these two because the seat bill is getting out of hand, or because your content lives in shared drives and nobody can find the right photo, a different kind of tool may fit better. Jam never charges per seat: Standard is US$99/month and Growth is US$299/month however many people log in. It combines an AI-organised asset library, UGC collection with usage rights granted at submission, and native publishing to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Pinterest. See Jam vs Sprout Social and Jam vs Hootsuite for the full comparisons.