8 Sprout Social Alternatives 2026 (Free & Paid)

Sprout Social charges per user: Essentials costs $99 per seat a month billed monthly and covers 5 social profiles. Unlimited profiles start at Professional, $399 per seat. Pubblica charges one flat $20 a month for unlimited accounts on all 9 networks. For one person with 10 profiles, that's $20 a month instead of $399.

This list covers 8 Sprout Social alternatives, from free schedulers to agency suites. We make Pubblica, so it comes first. Each tool is listed by what it's built for, with prices from the vendor's official pricing page. For a full breakdown of Sprout Social's own plans and add-ons, see Sprout Social pricing.

What to look for in a Sprout Social alternative

• The unit you pay for. Sprout Social and Hootsuite bill per user. The others bill per channel (Buffer), per account (Publer), per brand (Metricool), per workspace (Sendible), per social set (Later), by profile tier (Vista Social) or one flat price (Pubblica). Pick the unit that grows slowest for you.
• Profile limits. Sprout Social's Essentials and Standard plans stop at 5 profiles. Check how many accounts each plan covers before you count seats.
• The networks you post to. Check that every network you use is supported, including Telegram if you run a channel, and that X (Twitter) is in the plan price, not an add-on.
• A free plan or a trial. Sprout Social offers a 30-day trial. A free plan lets you keep posting at no cost after you test.
• Tools beyond publishing. Sprout Social adds an inbox, review management and competitor reports, plus listening and employee advocacy as add-ons. If your team uses them every day, look at the suites in this list; if you mainly publish, a scheduler covers it.

Pubblica: best for posting to many accounts at a flat price

Pubblica is best for posting to many accounts at a flat price because Pro costs $20 a month for unlimited accounts on all 9 networks. It's a social media scheduler for creators, freelancers, social media managers and small teams. You write a post once and publish it to every selected account, right away or at the time you set, and a calendar shows what's planned.

• Price: Free costs $0 and includes 20 posts a month on every network except X, with no card. Pro is $20 a month for unlimited posts on all 9 networks.
• Accounts: unlimited on both plans, including several accounts on the same network. Workspaces group them by brand or project.
• Networks: X is part of Pro, not an add-on, and Telegram is supported on both plans.
• Trial and refunds: Pro has a 7-day free trial, which needs a card, and a 14-day money-back guarantee on payments.

Pubblica is built for publishing. It fits people who post the same content to many accounts and want the bill to stay the same as they add more.

Hootsuite: best for larger teams with an inbox and monitoring

Hootsuite is best for larger teams because its Standard plan includes 10 social accounts, an inbox, brand monitoring and AI tools. Like Sprout Social, it bills per user, from $99 per user/mo, billed yearly, and offers a trial of 14 days, no card.

Hootsuite has no free plan, and each person on the team adds a seat to the bill. See Hootsuite pricing and our Hootsuite vs Sprout Social comparison.

Buffer: best for a few channels on a free plan

Buffer is best for a few channels because its free plan covers 3 channels, and paid plans bill per channel from $6 per channel/mo. It supports 12 networks, and you can try a paid plan free for 14 days.

When you upgrade, every connected channel is billed, including the ones from the free plan. See Buffer pricing.

Sendible: best for agencies with many users

Sendible is best for agencies with many users because every plan includes unlimited users, so several people can work on client accounts. Plans start at $35/mo for a workspace with 6 profiles, and Client Connect lets clients link their own accounts.

There's no free plan; the trial lasts 14 days, no card. White label is a paid extra. See Sendible pricing and our list of Sendible alternatives.

Vista Social: best for an inbox, reviews and DM automations in one plan

Vista Social is best for teams that want an inbox, review replies and DM automations in one plan, because every plan bundles them with scheduling. Plans start at $99/mo for 15 profiles and 2 users, and the trial lasts 14 days, no card.

Vista Social bills by plan, with set profile and user caps, and X (Twitter) is a $29 a month add-on. See Vista Social pricing and our list of Vista Social alternatives.

Metricool: best for analytics across brands

Metricool is best for analytics across brands because it combines scheduling with analytics for social profiles, websites and ad accounts in one report. Paid plans start at $25/mo for 5 brands, and the free plan covers 1 brand, 20 posts/mo in place of a trial.

Metricool bills per brand. A brand holds one profile per network, so a second account on the same network counts as another brand, and X (Twitter) is a paid add-on. See Metricool pricing.

Later: best for visual planning on Instagram and TikTok

Later is best for visual planning on Instagram and TikTok because it's built around a visual calendar and Link in Bio. Plans start at $18.75/mo, billed yearly for one social set, which holds one profile on each of 8 networks, and the free trial lasts 14 days and needs a card.

Later lists no free plan on its pricing page. Starter includes 1 user and 30 posts per profile a month. See Later pricing.

Publer: best for per-account pricing with Telegram

Publer is best for per-account pricing with Telegram: it bills per social account, with paid plans from $5 per account/mo and a free plan for 3 accounts, no X. It supports 13 networks, Telegram groups and channels among them, and bulk scheduling of up to 500 posts at once.

The paid trial lasts 7 days. Each account is billed separately, so the monthly price rises with every profile you connect. See Publer's plans and our list of Publer alternatives.

Is Sprout Social good? Ratings and who it suits

Sprout Social is best for teams that need more than publishing because, from Standard up, its plans add an inbox and review management to reporting. It holds 4.4 out of 5 from over 600 reviews on Capterra.

From Standard up, plans include a consolidated inbox, review management and keyword monitoring, and Professional adds competitor, tag and paid insights. Sprout Social publishes to 11 networks, including Bluesky, Reddit and Snapchat, and every plan comes with a 30-day free trial without a card.

How to switch from Sprout Social to Pubblica

Switching takes four steps, and the Free plan lets you run both tools until Sprout Social's last queued post goes out.

1. Create a free account. The Free plan needs no card.
2. Connect your accounts. Sign in to each network through its own login. Pubblica never sees your passwords, and you can connect as many accounts as you need.
3. Add your upcoming posts. Write each post once, pick the accounts and set the date and time.
4. Cancel Sprout Social after its last queued post goes out. Sprout Social fees are non-refundable, so on a yearly plan, time it before your renewal date.

Which Sprout Social alternative should you choose?

• You post the same content to many accounts: Pubblica, one flat price however many accounts you connect.
• A larger team needs an inbox and monitoring: Hootsuite.
• You manage two or three channels: Buffer's free plan.
• Your agency has many people on client accounts: Sendible, with unlimited users.
• You want an inbox, reviews and DM automations in one plan: Vista Social.
• You report on results across brands: Metricool.
• Your content is visual and lives on Instagram and TikTok: Later.
• You run a Telegram channel and a few other profiles: Publer, billed per account.

If you mainly publish posts, start with Pubblica, a free social media scheduler, and move to Pro at $20 a month when you need unlimited posts or X.