The Sprout Social Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Sprout Social in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Sprout Social
The Insider’s Guide
Social media management with a shared inbox, listening and reports
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among social media schedulers, read from Sprout Social’s own pages.
Made by Sprout Social, Inc. · checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Sprout Social’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Sprout Social’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 2 of the 19 other social media schedulers we grade
Sprout Social is a social media management platform sold per seat. It schedules posts to a dozen networks from a shared calendar, gathers messages, comments and reviews into one Smart Inbox, and reports on profiles, posts and competitors. Its AI agent, Trellis, comes with every plan, and listening, premium analytics and employee advocacy are sold as add-ons.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Sprout Social, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for customer care on social for bigger teams
Most small teams will struggle to justify that.
- 2
Paid plans start at $79 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $79 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- 3
You can try it first
30-day free trial, no credit card required
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
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.
- 6
Smart Inbox
Messages, comments, Messenger and WhatsApp conversations and reviews arrive in one inbox, with tagging from Professional and sentiment on Advanced.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.2 GPA, above 2 of 19
That is against the other social media schedulers we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Sprout Social you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Sprout Social at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $79 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Sprout Social, Inc., since 2010
- Category
- Social Media Schedulers
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
- Store rating
- 4.2 on the App Store, 1,284 ratings
The report card
Best for customer care on social for bigger teams
Sprout Social is the polished end of the market: a Smart Inbox that takes reviews and WhatsApp, competitor and paid reports, and links to Salesforce and Zendesk. But it's priced per seat, and the inbox starts on Standard at $199 a seat a month billed yearly. Most small teams will struggle to justify that.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Essentials 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 | C | No free plan, but a 30-day trial with no card needed, twice the usual 14 days here. That's time to run a whole month of posts through it. |
| Features | B | Publishing 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 | C | Its 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 | B | Web, 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Sprout Social is for
- Great if your social team handles customer questions as much as posts
- Good for companies tying social to Salesforce, Zendesk or HubSpot
- Handy when you want competitor and paid reports in the same place
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you're a small business, at $79 a seat before you even get the inbox
- Tight if you have more than 5 profiles, since unlimited starts at Professional, $299 a seat
- Not for you if you want listening included, as it's a paid add-on
Good to know
Good for
- Marketing teams that handle social customer care in the same tool
- Brands that want competitor and paid reporting beside publishing
- Companies connecting social to Salesforce, Zendesk or HubSpot
Worth knowing
- 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 on top of the plan price, available from Standard.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$79
A month to start, for each person
Sprout Social is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
That's time to run a whole month of posts through it.
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.
Enterprise
Custom
A tailored plan with white-glove onboarding, single sign-on setup and priority support.
Trying it first
30-day free trial, no credit card required
Read from sproutsocial.com on Oct 17, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on sproutsocial.comNonprofit
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.
Stated on sproutsocial.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Social media management with a shared inbox, listening and reports. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, calendar, shared inbox, reports.
Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job; listening is an add-on.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Salesforce
- Zendesk
- HubSpot
- Canva
- Slack
- Shopify
- Tableau
- Google Drive
Sprout Social is made by Sprout Social, Inc., and has been around since 2010.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
2/19
Other social media schedulers it is graded above
Sprout Social's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 2 of the 19 other social media schedulers we grade, and level with 7.
It stands best on features (B, above 11 of 19) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $79 a month for each person, against a middle price of $27.25 for the category: 16 of the 19 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 20 social media schedulers we grade, cut by the letter each got. Sprout Social’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 19
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 19
- BFeaturesAbove 11 of 19
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 19
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 1 of 19
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 20 social media schedulers. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Sprout Social is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Sprout Social you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 10 of the 19 other social media schedulers grade higher. It costs $948 a year.
What you could make
- Calendar and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- One mailbox that several people work at once.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- It plugs into other products, Salesforce, Zendesk and HubSpot among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Sprout Social’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Hootsuite, Agorapulse, Sendible, Vista Social and SocialPilot
The 5 tools Sprout Social is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
Hootsuite
Free trial · from $99/mo
Social media suite for publishing, inbox, listening and reports.
- 2.2GPA
Agorapulse
Free trial · from $79/mo
Social media inbox, publishing and ROI reports, priced per user.
- 2.2GPA
Sendible
Free trial · from $29.75/mo
Social media management for agencies, with unlimited users.
- Only Sprout Social lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Sendible lists a browser extension.
- 2.6GPA
Vista Social
Free trial · from $99/mo
Social media management with inbox, DM automations and reviews.
- Only Vista Social lists a macOS app.
- Only Vista Social lists a browser extension.
- 2.4GPA
SocialPilot
Free trial · from $25.50/mo
Social media scheduler for agencies and small teams, priced by plan.
- Only SocialPilot lists a browser extension.
- Sprout Social also covers shared inbox.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
15
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Sprout Social free?
No, Sprout Social is a paid product, but you can try it first. 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does Sprout Social cost?
Sprout Social lists 5 plans. Essentials: $79 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
What platforms does Sprout Social work on?
Sprout Social is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Sprout Social offer any discounts?
Sprout Social publicly lists the following: About 20% off with annual billing; Nonprofit pricing on Professional and Advanced.
How is Sprout Social rated?
Sprout Social's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.2 out of 5 from 1,284 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Does Sprout Social have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Sprout Social is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Sprout Social have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Sprout Social is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Sprout Social open source?
Sprout Social is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Does Sprout Social have an API?
Yes. Sprout Social offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Sprout Social integrate with?
Sprout Social's listing names Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot, Canva, Slack, Shopify, Tableau and Google Drive.
Who makes Sprout Social?
Sprout Social is made by Sprout Social, Inc. It dates from 2010.
What are the alternatives to Sprout Social?
The closest alternatives to Sprout Social in our directory are Hootsuite, Agorapulse, Sendible, Vista Social and SocialPilot.
How does Sprout Social compare with other social media schedulers?
Sprout Social's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 2 of the 19 other social media schedulers we grade, and level with 7.
Is Sprout Social good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Sprout Social D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $79 a month for each person, against a middle price of $27.25 for the category: 16 of the 19 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Sprout Social?
To replace Sprout Social you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Sprout Social’s own pages on Oct 17, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 17, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Sprout Social's own pages on 17 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Sprout Social, Inc. Prices change, so check sproutsocial.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
1,880
Tools graded, in 47 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
1,880
tools graded
47
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Sprout Social, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/sprout-social
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Sprout Social: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/sprout-social
Know someone choosing between social media schedulers?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/sprout-social/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded social media schedulers after Sprout Social, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Social Media Schedulers Insider's GuideEvery one of the 20 social media schedulers we grade, compared
- Buffer Insider's GuideSocial media scheduler priced by the channel, with a free plan2.8 GPA
- Hootsuite Insider's GuideSocial media suite for publishing, inbox, listening and reports2.6 GPA
- Publer Insider's GuideSocial media scheduler priced by connected accounts and members2.6 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Sprout Social’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Sprout Social is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Sprout Social, Inc. Prices and plans change: check sproutsocial.com before you buy.