Sprout Social
Checked 24 Oct 2026 · source · 10 networks · API yes · AI yes
Established marketing and customer-care teams that need deep analytics, a unified inbox and enterprise workflows, and have budget for per-seat pricing.
Budget matters. The cheapest seat is $79 per user per month on annual billing.
Overview
Sprout Social reads as much like a customer care tool as a scheduler. Its feature list leans on Smart Inbox, cases, review management and reporting, with publishing as one section. The vendor names customers such as Canva, Atlassian and HP, and the price list is built for teams of that kind rather than for a person managing their own channels.
Prices are per seat. Annual rates are $79 (Essentials), $199 (Standard), $299 (Professional) and $399 (Advanced), and monthly billing is $99, $249, $399 and $499. Enterprise is quoted. The structure that stands out to me is that Essentials and Standard both cap at 5 social profiles. The $120 step from Essentials to Standard on annual billing does not lift that cap. It buys the Trellis AI agent, review management and eligibility for add-ons. Unlimited profiles start at Professional, which is also where bulk scheduling (350 messages by CSV), RSS publishing, competitor reports and the message approval workflow appear.
Add-ons are where the list price stops being the bill. Premium Analytics, Listening, Employee Advocacy, Professional Services and Full Archive Export are separate, and the first three are priced through a demo. The API is listed only on Advanced and Enterprise, with 60 requests per minute and 250,000 per month. The pricing FAQ is outdated: it mentions Google+ and says there is no public API, which conflicts with the API docs. I would treat the FAQ as stale and ask what API access costs on your plan.
Other points where the vendor's pages do not line up: Instagram carousels are 10 images on the features page, while a May 2026 article says 20 are rolling out natively. First comment is confirmed for Instagram from Essentials, and Facebook and LinkedIn appear only in a search snippet. The security page does not state SOC 2, GDPR, 2FA or data location. Recent changes are small: liking Instagram comments from Smart Inbox (August 2026) and WhatsApp conversations in the inbox on all plans (WhatsApp and Reddit sit outside the directory's network list). Trustpilot shows 1.8 from 88 reviews.
What it does well
- Approval depth is real: internal and external approvers with unanimous approval on Professional and Advanced, and an external workflow for outside stakeholders on Advanced.
- Instagram first comment is included from the Essentials tier.
- Optimal Send Times draws on 16 weeks of audience data and shows recommended slots with engagement ratings inside Compose.
- Asset libraries import from Canva, Bynder, Adobe Experience Manager, Dropbox and Google Drive, and the report types are broad (profile, post, tag, competitor, paid, inbox activity).
- Every seat includes 100 monthly AI agent credits.
What to watch out for
- There is no free plan, and the cheapest seat is $79 per month on annual billing.
- Essentials and Standard connect only 5 social profiles, so profile growth forces the Professional price on every seat.
- Listening, Premium Analytics and Employee Advocacy are paid extras, so the quoted tier price understates the real total for a reporting-heavy team.
- Stories that need notes or stickers must be finished through the mobile workflow, and some TikTok publishing depends on a mobile push notification.
- Public ratings are weak: Trustpilot 1.8 from 88 reviews.
Plans and prices
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually, per month | Unit | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $99 | $79 | per user per month | Up to 5 social profiles, 100 AI agent credits/seat |
| Standard | $249 | $199 | per user per month | 5 social profiles |
| Professional | $399 | $299 | per user per month | Unlimited social profiles |
| Advanced | $499 | $399 | per user per month | Unlimited social profiles, includes Sprout API |
| Enterprise | Not published | Not published | custom | Custom; contact sales |
Free plan: No free plan; 30-day free trial, no card required
Sprout charges per seat and gates scale by tier, so two things grow the bill together. Headcount multiplies every price: three people on Professional are 3 x $299 per month on annual billing, or 3 x $399 monthly. Profile count decides the tier, because both lower plans stop at 5 profiles. A small team with 8 channels therefore starts at $299 per seat, not $79. Then come add-ons priced through a demo, and the Advanced tier at $399 per seat for the API. The $79 entry price holds only for one to five profiles with light needs: no bulk upload, no RSS publishing and no approval workflow.
Networks listed by Sprout Social
- Supports Facebook
- Supports Instagram
- Supports X
- Supports LinkedIn
- Supports TikTok
- Supports YouTube
- Supports Threads
- Supports Bluesky
- Supports Pinterest
- Supports Google Business
- Does not support Mastodon
What Sprout Social does on each network
Only what the vendor's own pages state. A blank cell means the pages do not say.
| Network | Post types | Publishing | First comment | Analytics | Inbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imagevideoreelcarouselstory | Mixed | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | ||||
| X | Yes | Yes | |||
| Yes | |||||
| TikTok | video | Mixed | Yes | Yes | |
| YouTube | Yes | ||||
| Threads | Auto-publish | Yes | Yes | ||
| Bluesky | Yes | ||||
| Yes | |||||
| Yes |
- Needs: Instagram Business profile referenced in reporting FAQ (answer not shown)
- Limits: Carousels up to 10 images on features page; Reels with cover images and captions; Stories with notes or stickers via mobile push; captions up to 2,054 characters (2026-05 article, not Sprout-specific); JPG/PNG and MP4/MOV, min width 1080 px
- sproutsocial.com
- TikTok
- Needs: Mobile Publisher needs Sprout mobile app with push notifications and publishing reminders on; TikTok native scheduler limits do not apply to Sprout desktop scheduling
- Limits: Sprout does not limit TikTok analytics data after connection (TikTok gives 60 days); approval workflow applies; Inbox Rules categorize comments
- sproutsocial.com
- YouTube
- Limits: Listed among networks in analytics and calendar; no publishing detail read
- sproutsocial.com
- Threads
- Needs: Meta Business Partner integration
- Limits: Scheduling in advance; comments and replies in Smart Inbox; profile insights in My Reports added Q1 2025; no limits stated
- sproutsocial.com
- Limits: Listed among networks in analytics; video Pins publishing seen only in search snippet (June 2026), not confirmed on a page
- sproutsocial.com
- Limits: WhatsApp conversations managed in Smart Inbox and Cases on all plans (Q1 2025 update)
- sproutsocial.com
Publishing and scheduling
- Calendar views
- Publishing Calendar across profiles and networks; Instagram grid planning (Professional and Advanced); Calendar shareable with external stakeholders
- Queue
- Sprout Queue auto-schedules posts within time windows you set, based on audience engagement data
- Bulk upload
- Bulk Scheduling (Professional and Advanced): up to 350 messages via CSV
- Best time suggestions
- Optimal Send Times examines 16 weeks of audience data, shown in Compose as recommended slots with engagement ratings; vendor claims up to 60% lift in reach for customers
- Drafts and notes
- Drafts from Compose box and calendar; calendar notes and internal conversations; save as draft for TikTok
- First comment
- Scheduled first comment for Instagram, included from Essentials; also Facebook and LinkedIn per search snippet of a help article (not read); comment publishes right after the post per snippet
- Hashtag tools
- Hashtag performance tracking in the Instagram Business Profiles Report; saved snippets in Compose for hashtag blocks; Hashtag Tracking Tools report
- Link in bio
- SproutLink landing page for Instagram bio
- RSS and curation
- Automated Feeds Publishing (Professional and Advanced): refreshes RSS feeds and publishes automatically
- Also listed
- Multi-profile publishing from one composer; Instagram grid planning (Professional and Advanced); Pause All Outgoing publishing; Image and video editing in Compose; Publishing Rule Builder (Advanced); Campaign Planner: plan, execute and measure campaigns, push content from project software; Social Commerce: posts with product links and tags; Asset library with imports from Canva, Bynder, Adobe Experience Manager, Dropbox, Google Drive; Instagram carousels up to 10 images when publishing via Sprout (features page); Instagram article notes 20 rolling out natively; Instagram Stories needing notes or stickers finish through the mobile workflow (push notification); TikTok: desktop scheduling with Mobile Publisher push notification, or native publishing workflow; edits allowed after scheduling; URL tracking for Google Analytics; AI-generated captions, alt text and subtitles (AI subtitles on all plans, Q1 2025)
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Teams, approvals and clients
- Seats
- Priced per seat; Essentials and Standard 5 social profiles, Professional and Advanced unlimited; seat limits not listed
- Roles
- Advanced publishing permissions per user and profile (Professional and Advanced); Case assignment and unlimited message tags (Professional)
- Approvals
- Message Approval Workflow (Professional and Advanced) with internal and external approvers, unanimous approval; External Approval Workflow for outside stakeholders (Advanced); applies to TikTok videos
- Client access
- Calendar can be shared with external stakeholders
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Content creation and AI
- AI features
- Trellis AI agent: Standard plan and up; Enhance Post by AI Assist: Professional and up; Enhance Reply by AI Assist: Advanced; AI-generated captions and alt text: In publishing flow; Content Suggestions find brand-relevant content; AI subtitles: One-click subtitles for video in a chosen language, all plans (Q1 2025 update); AI Assist in Smart Inbox: Response ideas and automatic message prioritization (Threads page)
- AI credits
- 100 monthly AI agent credits per seat on Essentials, Standard, Professional, Advanced
- Design tools
- Canva (Design Importer and Draft Publisher); Adobe Express; Image and video editing in Compose
- Media library
- Integrations with Dropbox, Google Drive, Bynder, Adobe Experience Manager
- Links and UTM
- Automated Link Tracking (Advanced); Bit.ly and Google Analytics integrations
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Analytics and reporting
- Metrics
- reach; impressions; clicks; engagement; engagements; video views; post link clicks; audience growth; potential reach; hashtag performance; paid performance; Report types: Profile Performance, Post Performance, Tag, Competitor, Network, Paid Performance, Case Team Activity, Inbox Activity; Premium Analytics add-on (Standard and higher; image annotations in reports Jan 2025); unlimited presentation-ready reports (FAQ); Analytics networks: Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest
- Competitor tracking
- Competitor Reports (Professional and Advanced): Facebook, X and Instagram per first pass; analytics page also lists Competitor Reports without plan
- Report exports
- PDF; CSV
- Data history
- TikTok: Sprout does not limit data after connection; other history not stated
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Inbox and engagement
- Inbox
- Smart Inbox across networks incl. TikTok comments, Threads, WhatsApp; case assignment, unlimited message tags, custom views, bulk actions; inbox rules; like Instagram comments from Smart Inbox (2026-08-07); Standard and above
- Listening
- Add-on (Standard and higher, price via demo); Brand Keywords 10 per group on Standard and Professional, 20 on Advanced; Smart Categories visualizations; vendor cites Forrester: up to 50k posts per second; history not stated
- Reviews
- Review Management pulls Apple App Store, Yelp, Google My Business and more (Standard and above); sentiment in Reviews (Advanced)
- Automation
- Bot Builder chatbots on Facebook and Twitter (Advanced); Inbox Rules auto-categorize and assign comments
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Integrations, API and apps
- Integrations
- Salesforce; Tableau; HubSpot; Zendesk; Microsoft Dynamics 365; Marketo; Shopify; WooCommerce; Facebook Shops; Bit.ly; Google Analytics; Canva; Adobe Express; Dropbox; Google Drive; Slack; Microsoft Teams; Bynder; Trustpilot; Yelp; Glassdoor; Tripadvisor; WhatsApp; Facebook Messenger; Salesforce Agentforce; Optimizely; Reddit; Bluesky
- Public API
- Yes
- API docs
- https://api.sproutsocial.com/docs/
- API authentication
- OAuth 2.0 (client credentials) with JWT, or API tokens; Bearer header
- API rate limits
- 60 requests per minute and 250,000 requests per month; HTTP 429 when exceeded
- API plans
- Sprout API listed in Advanced plan features; FAQ (older) says no public API but access can be added to a subscription
- iOS app
- iOS app on Apple App Store
- Android app
- Android app on Google Play
Sources: api.sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Pricing details
- Billing model
- Per seat per month: Essentials $79 annual or $99 monthly; Standard $199; Professional $299; Advanced $399; Enterprise custom
- Annual discount
- Essentials $79 annual vs $99 monthly; page says Annual billing for trial; other tiers not shown monthly
- Trial
- 30-day free trial, no credit card required
- Add-ons
- Premium Analytics; Listening; Employee Advocacy; Professional Services; Full Archive Export; Influencer Marketing (no Sprout plan required, creator fees separate)
- Cancellation
- Settings, Billing & Plan, Deactivate my Account (FAQ)
- Currencies
- USD
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Security and compliance
- ISO 27001
- Security page references ISO 27001 incident management requirements; certification status not stated
- Single sign-on
- Dedicated SSO setup on Enterprise plan (pricing page); Employee Advocacy FAQ mentions SSO
- Data location
- Backups encrypted in transit and at rest, off-site and geographically separate; third-party data centers, locations on product-specific security pages; third-party penetration tests several times yearly
- Status page
- sproutsocialstatus.com, sproutadvocacystatus.com, sproutinfluencerstatus.com; subscribe to incidents; 99.9% uptime engineering target
- Platform partner status
- Threads integration is a Meta Business Partner integration
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
Support and onboarding
- Support channels
- Live chat from Resource Center in dashboard; Tweet @sproutsupport; Contact form; Demo requests; Priority support on Enterprise; Phone 1-866-878-3231 listed for sales
- Languages
- English site (selector shows English)
- Help centre
- https://support.sproutsocial.com/hc/en-us
- Onboarding
- White-glove onboarding on Enterprise; Professional Services packages (Standard and higher)
Sources: sproutsocial.com, sproutsocial.com
About the company
- Company
- Sprout Social, Inc.
- Founded
- 2010
- Team size
- 1,400+ global employees (about page)
Source: sproutsocial.com
What review sites show
Scores and counts as the review site displays them on the date shown. They are other people's ratings, not ours.
| Site | Score | Reviews | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 1.8 | 88 | 2026-10 |
Recent product changes
2026-08-26
Quarterly recap of what is new (title only read)
2026-08-07
Like Instagram comments and media in Smart Inbox
Like Instagram comments and media without leaving Smart Inbox
2025-02
Salesforce Agentforce integration
Advanced plan; review customer engagement history with Salesforce AI assistant
2025-01
Manage WhatsApp conversations in Smart Inbox and Cases on all plans
2025-02
Close and assign cases from queue view
2025-03
Profile-level Threads reporting in My Reports and cross-network reports
Limits the vendor documents
- API limited to 60 requests per minute and 250,000 per month(api.sproutsocial.com)
- Listening, Premium Analytics and Employee Advocacy are paid add-ons priced via demo(sproutsocial.com)
- Bulk scheduling (350 messages) and RSS feed publishing need Professional or Advanced(sproutsocial.com)
- Instagram carousels published through Sprout hold up to 10 images(sproutsocial.com)
- Instagram Stories needing notes or stickers must be finished via the mobile workflow(sproutsocial.com)
- Essentials and Standard connect only 5 social profiles(sproutsocial.com)
Pages read for this profile (21)
- https://sproutsocial.com/pricing/
- https://sproutsocial.com/about/
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/publishing/
- https://sproutsocial.com/insights/product-updates/
- https://sproutsocial.com/security/
- https://sproutsocial.com/integrations/
- https://api.sproutsocial.com/docs/
- https://www.trustpilot.com/review/sproutsocial.com
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/social-media-publishing/
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/instagram-scheduling/
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/social-media-engagement/
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/social-media-analytics/
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/social-media-listening/
- https://sproutsocial.com/features/employee-advocacy/
- https://sproutsocial.com/integrations/threads/
- https://sproutsocial.com/integrations/tiktok/
- https://sproutsocial.com/product-updates/2025-q1/
- https://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-to-post-on-instagram/
- https://sproutsocial.com/insights/tiktok-schedule/
- https://sproutsocial.com/faq/
Pick Sprout Social if
Pick Sprout if you are a marketing or customer care team that wants inbox, cases, reviews and reporting alongside publishing and can budget per seat. It fits teams where approvals and external stakeholders matter. Skip it if you are a solo operator, a small business with more than 5 profiles on a tight budget, or anyone who wants one flat price for a whole team. Also skip it if API access is essential and Advanced pricing does not fit.
Questions people ask
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
No. There is a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.
How much does Sprout Social cost per seat?
Annual billing is $79 (Essentials), $199 (Standard), $299 (Professional) and $399 (Advanced) per seat per month. Monthly billing is $99, $249, $399 and $499. Enterprise is custom.
How many social profiles can I connect?
Essentials and Standard connect 5 social profiles. Professional and Advanced are unlimited.
Which plan includes the Sprout API?
The Sprout API is listed on Advanced and Enterprise. The API docs state 60 requests per minute and 250,000 per month. An older FAQ says there is no public API, which conflicts with the docs.
Alternatives
Tools for a similar audience that share the most networks with Sprout Social.
How we checked
Prices come from the pricing page's embedded plan data (priceMonthly/priceAnnual fields); Essentials says '$99 per seat/month billed monthly'. API is listed only on Advanced (and Enterprise). AI = 'Trellis' AI agent plus AI Assist. The network list comes from Sprout support search results (the support article returned 403 when fetched directly). Reddit and Snapchat are also supported; Mastodon is not.