Meltwater vs Sprout Social (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sprout Social grades higher than Meltwater: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Meltwater grades higher on value for money. Sprout Social grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Meltwater
Media monitoring, social listening and PR intelligence platform
Sprout Social
Social media management with a shared inbox, listening and reports
Which one is for you
Pick Meltwater if
- Fits if a communications team needs news and social monitoring in one place
- Makes sense if you can sign a contract of a year or more
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there is no self-serve trial
- Skip it if you want prices up front, because the page shows none
- Tight if you need influencer tools, as they sit on Enterprise and Agency only
- Watch out: contracts typically run 12 months or more, per its own FAQ
Pick Sprout Social if
- Fits if your social team handles customer questions as much as posts
- Works for companies tying social to Salesforce, Zendesk or HubSpot, at $199 a seat or more
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're a small business: $79 a seat gets no inbox, and the plan with one is $199 a seat
- Tight if you have more than 5 profiles, since unlimited starts at Professional, $299 a seat
- Not for you if you want listening or Premium Analytics included, as both are paid add-ons
- Watch out: the API and help desk integrations need Advanced at $399 a seat a month billed yearly
- Skip it if you want a free plan: there's a 30-day trial, and monthly billing runs $99 to $499 a seat
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAMeltwaterWeak | 2.2GPASprout SocialFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published for Starter, Pro, Enterprise or Agency, so it sits at the middle by default. | DEssentials is $79 a seat a month billed yearly and covers 5 profiles, so two people pay $158 a month and three $237. That's in this category's dearest tenth, from $99. And that plan has no inbox: Standard, which does, is $199 a seat. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo self-serve trial and no free plan; the page offers a guided demo only. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial with no card needed, twice the usual 14 days here. |
| Features | CMedia intelligence, listening and media relations. Influencer marketing is Enterprise and Agency only. | BPublishing to 11 networks including Reddit and Snapchat, an inbox that pulls in messages, reviews and WhatsApp, approvals, competitor and paid reports, and an API. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job; listening is an add-on. |
| Ease of use | CA web platform bought through sales, and no store rating on record. | CIts iPhone and iPad app averages 4.2 from about 1,300 ratings, and the full suite takes some setting up across profiles, inbox rules and reports. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no integrations listed on the page we read. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot, Canva, Slack, Shopify and Tableau, and the Sprout API on Advanced. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | media monitoring for larger teams | customer care on social for bigger teams |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Meltwater and Sprout Social. How we grade
Where they differ
- Meltwater also covers dashboards and AI search visibility.
- Sprout Social also covers calendar and shared inbox.
At a glance
| Meltwater | Sprout Social | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $79 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Meltwater | Sprout Social, Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | sproutsocial.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Meltwater
- Pricing is quoted by sales: the page lists Starter, Pro, Enterprise and Agency with no prices.
- Contracts typically run 12 months or more, per its FAQ.
- Influencer marketing is on Enterprise and Agency only.
Sprout Social
- There is no free plan, and every seat is charged at the plan's full rate, from $79 a month on Essentials to $399 on Advanced, billed annually.
- Essentials and Standard stop at 5 social profiles; unlimited profiles start at Professional.
- The Sprout API and help desk integrations need Advanced at $399 per seat / month, billed annually.
- Listening and Premium Analytics are paid add-ons from Standard, and Trellis Plus (1,000 AI credits a seat) is $28 per seat a month billed annually, $35 monthly.
Key features
Meltwater
- Media intelligence
- Monitors news and media coverage with alerts, reporting and pre-built dashboards.
- Social listening
- Tracks social conversations about a brand as a module of the platform.
- AI visibility tracking
- Tracks how a brand appears in generative AI answers; its pricing FAQ calls this GenAI Lens.
- Media relations
- A media database and press distribution tools.
- Mira AI
- The vendor's AI assistant, offered at standard, advanced and enterprise levels by plan.
Sprout Social
- Publishing calendar
- Posts for Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Reddit and Snapchat are planned on one calendar, with optimal send times.
- Smart Inbox
- Messages, comments, Messenger and WhatsApp conversations and reviews arrive in one inbox, with tagging from Professional and sentiment on Advanced.
- Approvals and collaboration
- Message approval workflows, calendar notes and a shared asset library, with calendars that can be shared with people outside the account for sign-off.
- Reports and competitor insights
- Profile and post reports on every plan; competitor, tag and paid reports from Professional; team productivity and customer care reports on Advanced.
- Trellis AI agent
- Each seat gets 100 Trellis credits a month for questions about social data. Trellis Plus costs $28 per user a month billed annually ($35 monthly).
- Add-ons
- Listening, Premium Analytics and Employee Advocacy are sold separately on Standard and up, and influencer marketing is a separate product.
Plans
Meltwater
Pricing could not be confirmed. See meltwater.com.
Sprout Social
Essentials$79
per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Publishing for up to 5 social profiles, optimal send times, profile and post reports, and 100 Trellis AI credits a month.
Standard$199
per seat / month, billed annually ($249 billed monthly)
5 social profiles, the consolidated inbox, collaboration tools, keyword and location monitoring, and review management.
Professional$299
per seat / month, billed annually ($399 billed monthly)
Unlimited social profiles, message tagging, competitor, tag and paid insights, and AI post enhancement.
Advanced$399
per seat / month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
AI reply help, inbox sentiment, the Sprout API, help desk integrations, team productivity and customer care reports, and spike alerts.
EnterpriseCustom
A tailored plan with white-glove onboarding, single sign-on setup and priority support.
Ways to pay less
Meltwater
No public discounts listed.
Sprout Social
- Annual discount
About 20% off with annual billing
Paying for a year up front brings Standard to $199 a seat a month from $249, Professional to $299 from $399 and Advanced to $399 from $499.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit pricing on Professional and Advanced
US nonprofits that commit to at least two seats on an annual plan pay $239 a seat a month for Professional and $299 for Advanced.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Meltwater or Sprout Social?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Meltwater has no price we could confirm, and Sprout Social starts at $79 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Meltwater or Sprout Social?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Meltwater nor Sprout Social has a free plan. Sprout Social has a free trial.
Which platforms do Meltwater and Sprout Social run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Sprout Social lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.