How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Hootsuite and Agorapulse are the closest full replacements for Sprout Social, with inbox, scheduling, and reporting.
- Buffer and Later suit small teams that mainly need scheduling and simple analytics.
- SocialPilot and Sendible give agencies multi-client management at lower cost.
- Metricool and Zoho Social suit budget-conscious teams that want scheduling plus basic analytics.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Hootsuite | Full social media management | See website | Free trial |
 Agorapulse | Inbox and engagement management | See website | Free trial |
 Buffer | Simple scheduling for small teams | Free | Yes |
 Later | Visual planning for Instagram and TikTok | Free | Yes |
 SocialPilot | Affordable agency management | See website | Free trial |
 Sendible | Multi-client agencies | See website | Free trial |
 Zoho Social | Budget team tool in the Zoho suite | See website | Yes |
 Metricool | Analytics plus scheduling on a budget | Free | Yes |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best Sprout Social alternatives
#1Hootsuite
Best for: Full social media management4.3/5 on
G2 (7,433 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit hootsuite.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Hootsuite is the most complete Sprout Social replacement on this list, covering scheduling, a unified inbox, social listening streams, analytics, and team approvals in one platform. It supports the major networks plus many smaller ones, and its streams let a team watch mentions, hashtags, and competitors alongside its own posts. For a mid-size or large team that needs everything in one place, Hootsuite covers the full job, from planning and publishing to listening, engagement, and monthly reporting.
The platform can feel busy for a small team that only schedules posts, and advanced features such as deeper analytics and team workflows sit on higher tiers. Pricing is tiered and published on the vendor site, so check which plan includes the inbox and reporting depth you need. If your team outgrew a simple scheduler and wants Sprout-level depth, Hootsuite is the natural step.
What we like- Broad network support
- Unified inbox and streams
- Strong analytics and team workflows
Watch out for- Higher tiers gate advanced features
- Interface can feel busy for small teams
#2Agorapulse
Best for: Inbox and engagement management4.5/5 on
G2 (975 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit agorapulse.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Agorapulse wins on engagement. Its unified inbox gathers comments, messages, mentions, and reviews into one queue, where team members can assign, label, and reply without missing conversations. That inbox-first design suits brands that get many comments and messages daily, such as retailers, restaurants, and service businesses, where a missed reply costs a customer.
Reporting is strong too, with clear charts on growth, engagement, and response times that suit client and leadership reports. Entry pricing sits above simple schedulers, and some networks carry feature limits, so check your most important network before buying. For a team judged on response quality and speed, Agorapulse is the best inbox tool here.
What we like- Excellent unified inbox
- Team assignments and labels
- Strong reports
Watch out for- Higher entry cost than schedulers
- Some networks have limits
#3Buffer
Best for: Simple scheduling for small teams4.3/5 on
G2 (1,041 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit buffer.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Buffer is the simplest tool on this list, and that simplicity is its strength. Scheduling posts across networks takes minutes, the queue view makes the week ahead obvious, and the free tier covers basic publishing for a small account. Small businesses, creators, and solo marketers who find Sprout heavy will feel at home in Buffer within an hour of signing up.
The trade-off is depth. Inbox management and social listening are limited compared with Sprout or Agorapulse, and analytics cover the basics rather than deep reporting. Paid plans add channels, engagement tools, and analytics, with pricing on the vendor site. If scheduling is your main job and engagement happens natively in each app, Buffer is the lightest effective choice for most small teams.
What we like- Very easy to learn
- Clean scheduling
- Free tier for basic use
Watch out for- Inbox and listening are limited
- Analytics are simpler than Sprout
#4Later
Best for: Visual planning for Instagram and TikTok4.5/5 on
G2 (384 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit later.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Later is built for visual-first brands, especially on Instagram and TikTok. Its drag-and-drop calendar and grid preview show how the feed will look before posting, which matters for fashion, food, travel, and lifestyle brands where the grid itself is marketing. The link-in-bio tool turns one bio link into a shoppable page, and scheduling covers Reels, Stories, and carousels.
Text-heavy networks such as X and LinkedIn are supported but are not Later strength, and advanced analytics sit on higher tiers. A free tier covers basic planning for a single brand. For a visual brand that plans content by how it looks, Later beats general schedulers on planning and preview alone. For a B2B team living on LinkedIn, Hootsuite or Agorapulse fits better.
What we like- Visual calendar and grid preview
- Strong Instagram and TikTok support
- Link-in-bio tool
Watch out for- Less suited to text-heavy networks
- Advanced analytics need higher tiers
#5SocialPilot
Best for: Affordable agency management4.5/5 on
G2 (846 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit socialpilot.co
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
SocialPilot is built for agencies that manage many clients on a tight budget. It supports bulk scheduling, client-specific calendars, and approval workflows, so an agency can draft posts, send them for client approval, and publish without endless email threads. The cost per client is lower than Sprout or Hootsuite, which matters when margins are thin.
The interface feels plain next to Later or Buffer, and analytics trail the leaders on depth and polish. But for an agency whose main needs are scheduling volume, approvals, and cost control, SocialPilot delivers the core job well. Pricing is tiered and published on the vendor site, with a free trial to test client workflows.
What we like- Low cost per client
- Bulk scheduling
- Client approval workflows
Watch out for- Interface feels plain
- Analytics trail leaders
#6Sendible
Best for: Multi-client agencies4.5/5 on
G2 (905 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit sendible.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Sendible suits agencies that need client-facing polish. Each client gets a dashboard and branded reports, approvals flow through the platform, and scheduling covers the major networks plus blogs and review sites in some plans. That client layer saves agencies from building reports by hand each month, which is real time saved across many clients.
Setup takes longer than SocialPilot, since dashboards, permissions, and report templates need configuring, and pricing rises with clients and users. A free trial helps test the workflow. For an agency that reports to clients monthly and wants those reports to look professional, Sendible is the stronger agency pick.
What we like- Client dashboards and reports
- Approval workflows
- Broad network support
Watch out for- Learning curve for setup
- Pricing rises with clients and users
#7Zoho Social
Best for: Budget team tool in the Zoho suite4.6/5 on
G2 (2,976 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit zoho.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Zoho Social is the budget pick for teams already using Zoho products. It covers scheduling, monitoring, and basic analytics at a lower price than Sprout or Hootsuite, and it connects with Zoho CRM, so social leads and conversations can flow into customer records. A free tier covers basic use for a single brand.
The feature set is smaller than the leaders, and analytics are basic rather than deep, so large teams will notice gaps. But for a small business that wants scheduling, monitoring, and CRM connection without a large subscription, Zoho Social gives good value. Check the vendor pricing page for team and agency tiers.
What we like- Low cost
- Scheduling and monitoring included
- Fits Zoho CRM users
Watch out for- Smaller feature set than leaders
- Analytics are basic
#8Metricool
Best for: Analytics plus scheduling on a budget4.5/5 on
G2 (98 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit metricool.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Metricool punches above its price on analytics. It tracks growth, engagement, and best posting times across networks, adds paid ad analytics, and includes scheduling and a basic inbox in the same account. The free tier is genuinely useful for a small account, and paid plans stay affordable compared with Sprout or Hootsuite.
Inbox depth trails Agorapulse, and the interface takes a little time to learn because so much data is packed into each view. For a small team or creator who wants strong analytics without a large subscription, Metricool is the best value on this list by a clear margin. For a team whose main job is replying to customers, Agorapulse still leads.
What we like- Strong analytics for the price
- Scheduling and inbox included
- Ad analytics support
Watch out for- Inbox depth trails Agorapulse
- Interface takes time to learn
How we chose
We compared vendor pricing pages, product documentation, and public user reviews, and we judged each tool on scheduling, inbox quality, analytics depth, team workflows, network support, and price. Free tiers were judged on what they do without payment, and paid plans were judged on whether higher tiers add features a social team will use weekly. We did not claim hands-on testing. Where pricing varied by tier, seats, or channels, we wrote See website rather than publish a figure that could be wrong for your team size.
What to check before you pick
Start with the job your team actually does daily. A scheduling-only team wastes money on an inbox platform, while a high-engagement brand will suffer in a scheduler with no real inbox. Check network support carefully, because tools differ on newer networks, Stories, Reels, and review sites, and a missing network forces manual work that defeats the purpose of the tool.
Also check seat and channel pricing, since social tools often charge per user and per social profile, and costs rise fast as teams and clients grow. Check approval workflows if clients or managers must approve posts, and check analytics exports if you report monthly. Finally, run a trial with your real accounts and a real week of content before committing, because a tool that looks good in a demo can feel slow in daily use. Include a busy day in that trial, with many comments and messages, since inbox performance under load is where weaker tools show their limits and stronger tools earn their price.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Sprout Social alternative overall?
Hootsuite is the closest full replacement, with scheduling, inbox, listening, and analytics in one platform. Agorapulse is the best alternative if inbox and engagement matter most, while Buffer suits teams that mainly need scheduling.
Can I manage social media for free?
Yes, Buffer, Later, Zoho Social, and Metricool all offer free tiers that cover basic scheduling and analytics for small accounts. Free tiers limit channels, posts, or users, so growing teams usually need a paid plan, but a solo creator can often manage on free.
Do I need social listening?
Listening matters when your brand is discussed often, during launches, or in a crisis, because it catches mentions that do not tag your account. Small brands with few mentions can often rely on native notifications, while larger brands need a dedicated listening stream.
How many social profiles can I manage?
It depends on the plan, since most tools charge per profile or per channel set. Count every profile, including client profiles and secondary accounts, before comparing prices, because a cheap plan with few profiles can cost more than a pricier plan with generous limits.
Should agencies pick SocialPilot or Sendible?
SocialPilot suits agencies that prioritize low cost per client and bulk scheduling, while Sendible suits agencies that need client dashboards and polished branded reports. Test both with a real client workflow, since approval and reporting differences matter more than feature lists, and involve the team members who will use the tool daily, not just the person who signs the contract.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://www.hootsuite.com
- https://www.agorapulse.com
- https://www.buffer.com
- https://www.later.com
- https://www.socialpilot.co
- https://www.sendible.com
- https://www.zoho.com
- https://www.metricool.com
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.