7 Best Sprout Social Alternatives in 2026 (From $0)
Sprout Social runs $79 to $399 per seat per month, and three people on Standard cost $7,164 a year. Seven alternatives from free to $79, priced from the vendors' own pages.
Sprout Social is a genuinely excellent product with a bill designed for companies that budget in headcount: on its own pricing page Essentials is $79 per seat per month billed annually, Standard is $199 per seat, Professional $299 and Advanced $399 — and the lower tiers include just 5 social profiles. Three people on Standard is $7,164 a year before a single add-on.
What Sprout actually costs a team
| Team on Sprout | Plan | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | Essentials, $79 /seat /mo annual | $948 |
| 2 people | Standard, $199 /seat /mo | $4,776 |
| 3 people | Standard, $199 /seat /mo | $7,164 |
| 3 people | Professional, $299 /seat /mo | $10,764 |
- Per-seat, low profile caps. Essentials and Standard include 5 social profiles; more profiles or listening mean higher tiers or sales conversations.
- No free plan. A 30-day trial, then the cheapest yearly commitment is near a thousand dollars per person.
- Paying for scale you may not use. Sprout’s listening, advocacy and care workflows are superb — and priced in whether you use them or not.
The seven at a glance
| Tool | Starts at | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Magnum | $24 /mo flat · 10 accounts, 2 people | 2 accounts, 15 posts /mo | Small teams wanting the core without seats |
| Agorapulse | $79 /user /mo billed annually · 10 profiles | Trial only (30 days) | Inbox-heavy teams leaving Sprout's Smart Inbox |
| Sendible | $35 /mo · 6 profiles, unlimited users | Trial only | Agencies that hate per-seat pricing |
| Metricool | $20 to $36 /mo (by brands) | 1 brand, 20 posts /mo | Reporting-first marketers |
| Vista Social | $79 /mo · 15 profiles, 2 users | Trial only | Agencies wanting reviews and listening add-ons |
| SocialPilot | $20 /mo ($17 yearly) · 5 accounts | Trial only | Budget-first agencies |
| Zoho Social | $10 /mo billed annually | 1 brand, limited | Zoho-centric companies |
1 · Social Magnum, the core without the seats (ours)
Social Magnum covers the part of Sprout most teams actually use daily — scheduling and calendar, a unified inbox with comment and DM auto-replies, approvals, analytics, CSV and RSS — at flat prices with people included: $24 a month for 10 accounts and 2 people, $59 for 30 and 6, $119 for 70 and 10 (yearly $19, $47, $95). AI captions and image generation are in every paid plan, and a free plan (2 accounts, 15 posts a month) exists at all, which in this comparison is itself a feature.
One thing nobody else on this page offers: a public MCP server with 26 documented tools, so an AI agent can run your calendar under approval gates. Paid plans carry a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Skip it if: you need X, LinkedIn or Google Business publishing (not covered), social listening, or enterprise governance — those are exactly what Sprout, Agorapulse and Vista Social sell.
2 · Agorapulse, the closest like-for-like
Agorapulse is the tool Sprout refugees find most familiar: a serious shared inbox with assignments, saved replies and automated moderation, publishing, and reporting. Standard is $79 per user per month billed annually ($99 monthly) with 10 profiles — still per-seat, but at less than half Sprout’s Standard rate, with a 30-day trial and a wide network list on its pricing page (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, Google Business, Bluesky, Reddit).
Skip it if: escaping per-seat billing entirely is the point.
3 · Sendible, unlimited users on every plan
Sendible attacks the seat problem directly: every plan has unlimited users. Core is $35 a month for 1 workspace and 6 profiles, Plus $99 for 3 workspaces and 18 profiles, Premium $199 for 7 and 42, up to Enterprise at $750 for 50 workspaces and 300 profiles. For an agency whose cost driver is people, that pricing shape alone can decide it.
Skip it if: you need deep listening or the slickest interface; it is a workhorse, not a showpiece.
4 · Metricool, the reporting specialist
Metricool replaces Sprout’s reports for a fraction of the cost: cross-network analytics, competitor tracking and ad reporting, with a planner attached. Free for 1 brand and 20 posts a month; Starter $20 to $36 by brand count. Its page notes X requires an add-on and unlimited scheduling has a fair-use policy.
Skip it if: the inbox is your centre of gravity.
5 · Vista Social, the modern suite
Vista Social feels like the newest take on the Sprout formula: publishing, engagement, review management and reporting, with listening as a $75 a month add-on and X publishing at $29. Professional is $79 a month for 15 profiles and 2 users; yearly billing saves 20%.
Skip it if: add-ons you actually need erase the price advantage.
6 · SocialPilot, the budget floor for agencies
SocialPilot is the least Sprout-like tool here and the cheapest way for an agency to schedule at volume: $20 a month ($17 yearly) for 5 accounts up to $200 for 40 accounts with unlimited users, white-label reports at Premium.
Skip it if: you expect Sprout-grade inbox and care workflows.
7 · Zoho Social, the ecosystem answer
Zoho Social costs $10 a month billed annually (Professional $30, Premium $40) and clicks into Zoho CRM and Desk. As a Sprout replacement it works when the CRM connection mattered more than the social suite itself.
Skip it if: you are not otherwise in Zoho.
How to choose
The short version
- 1
Leaving over the inbox price, not the inbox: Agorapulse first, Vista Social second.
- 2
Leaving over per-seat pricing: Sendible (unlimited users) or the flat tools — Social Magnum, SocialPilot, Zoho Social.
- 3
Leaving over reporting costs: Metricool.
- 4
Need a free plan to regroup on: Social Magnum, Metricool or Zoho Social.
- 5
Need listening or X and LinkedIn coverage: stay with Sprout, Agorapulse or Vista Social; Social Magnum does not publish to X or LinkedIn.
- 6
Building agent workflows this year: Social Magnum's MCP server is the only documented agent connection in this list.
Related reading: the best Hootsuite alternatives, the best Buffer alternatives and Social Magnum vs Hootsuite.