Hootsuite suits social media managers and agencies who want to schedule across many accounts, with up to 10 on its entry plan and unlimited on Professional. Sprout Social suits teams that treat social as customer care and reporting, with a consolidated inbox, review management and listening from its entry plan. Neither has a free plan; Hootsuite offers a 14-day trial and Sprout a 30-day trial.
Hootsuite and Sprout Social are the two names agencies and in-house teams shortlist when free schedulers aren't enough anymore. They both schedule, they've both got an inbox, and they've both got AI. The difference is emphasis: Hootsuite on publishing at scale, Sprout on conversations and insight.
Hootsuite and Sprout Social compared
| Hootsuite | Sprout Social | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Not offered | Not offered either |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 30 days, no credit card |
| Accounts on the entry plan | Up to 10 social accounts (Standard) | 5 social profiles (Standard) |
| Unlimited accounts | From Professional | From Professional |
| Scheduling | Unlimited scheduled posts | Publishing workflows; optimal send times on its publishing-focused plan |
| Inbox | One inbox for messages; automated replies on Professional | Consolidated inbox; sentiment in Smart Inbox on Advanced |
| Monitoring | Brand and competitor monitoring | Keyword and location monitoring |
| AI | Wisdom AI on every plan; AI posts and images | Trellis AI agent; AI Assist for posts and replies |
| Reviews | Not listed | Review management from Standard |
What Hootsuite is strongest at
Hootsuite's plans page leads with volume. Standard manages up to 10 social accounts from one calendar with unlimited scheduling, AI-generated posts and images, a shared inbox and brand monitoring. Professional opens up unlimited accounts, automated inbox replies, trend forecasts up to 90 days ahead and custom reports. Advanced adds content approvals and message routing for bigger teams.
- One calendar for many accounts.
- Trend forecasting to plan content ahead.
- Wisdom, its AI teammate, on every plan.
What Sprout Social is strongest at
Sprout's plans page puts listening and care first. Even Standard includes a consolidated inbox, collaboration tools, keyword and location monitoring, the Trellis AI agent and review management. Professional adds message tagging plus competitor, tag and ad insights; Advanced brings AI Assist replies, sentiment analysis, the Sprout API and helpdesk integrations.
- Reviews and messages in the same place as posts.
- Competitor insights from Professional.
- Helpdesk integrations for customer service teams.
Reports for clients and managers
Reporting is where the two pull apart for agencies. Hootsuite's Professional plan lets you build custom performance reports, and Advanced adds measures of team performance and efficiency. Sprout's Advanced plan adds team productivity and social customer care reports, plus message spike alerts when volume jumps. If you report on response times to a client or a boss, Sprout's care reporting is worth a close look; if you report on content performance, Hootsuite's custom reports cover it.
Trial rules worth reading first
Hootsuite's plans page carries a note many people miss: trial accounts have daily posting limits of 10 to 20 posts per organisation, depending on the plan, and bulk scheduling isn't available during the trial. So a 14-day test won't show you how it handles a full content calendar upload. Sprout's trial runs 30 days with no card, which gives you a month-end report cycle to judge its analytics.
If you're picking for a growing team, my guide to choosing social media scheduling software for a growing team covers what to test.
Which team suits which
Hootsuite fits agencies and social managers who publish across lots of accounts and care most about planning and approvals. Sprout Social fits brands where social doubles as customer service: lots of messages, reviews and mentions that need tagging and routing. For the wider picture, see my overview of social media management tools.
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My advice on Hootsuite or Sprout
Plan your trial before you start it. Connect your real accounts, schedule a week's worth of posts, answer a day's worth of messages and pull one report in each. Whichever tool made the messages easier is the one your team will still be using in six months, so give that test the most weight.
Do you make a social media management tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Does Hootsuite have a free plan?
No. Hootsuite offers a free 14-day trial on Standard, Professional and Advanced, with no credit card required.
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
No. Sprout Social offers a free 30-day trial with no credit card required.
How many accounts can I manage on each entry plan?
Hootsuite Standard manages up to 10 social accounts; Sprout Social Standard covers 5 social profiles. Both offer unlimited accounts from their Professional plans.
Are there limits during the Hootsuite trial?
Yes. Hootsuite says trial accounts have daily posting limits of 10 to 20 posts per organisation, and bulk scheduling isn't available during the trial.
