Sprout Social Alternatives (2026): 5 Options That Scale With Your Team
Updated: October 17, 2026 · 3 min read
Sprout Social puts scheduling, a shared inbox, brand monitoring and reporting in one enterprise tool. It's priced per user, though, so every new teammate adds another full seat to the bill. This post covers Sprout Social's current plans, who tends to look elsewhere, and five alternatives. Prices were taken from each tool's own site in October 2026. The IZY Social team wrote this post, and our own tool is on the list.
Sprout Social's plans
There's no free plan; there's a 30-day trial with no card required. Pricing is per user.
Essentials is $79 per user per month billed yearly, or $99 billed monthly, with 5 social profiles. The shared inbox and brand monitoring start on Standard at $199 per user per month, still with 5 profiles. Unlimited profiles come with Professional at $299 per user per month, and Advanced is $399 per user per month.
A team of three on Standard pays $597 a month and is still limited to 5 profiles.
Who looks for an alternative
- Small teams and agencies, where per-user pricing becomes the biggest line item as the team grows.
- People managing many accounts, since the lower plans cap profiles at 5.
- Teams that don't need brand monitoring or advanced reporting and end up paying for them anyway.
1. Hootsuite
The closest in scope: scheduling, inbox, brand and competitor monitoring. It's also priced per user, but the entry plan starts at $99 per user with 10 social accounts, and there's a 14-day trial.
2. Metricool
Priced by number of brands, not users. Team management, roles and post approvals are on Advanced, from $53 a month billed yearly for 15 brands. Reporting and competitor analysis are strong; brand monitoring is narrower than Sprout's.
3. Buffer
The Team plan has unlimited team members and charges per connected channel, $10 per channel per month. A team with ten channels pays $100 a month. It has approvals, but no brand monitoring or advanced inbox.
4. Later
For visual brands. Growth is $37.50 a month billed yearly with 2 users, 16 profiles, approvals and a shared inbox. Extra users are $3.75 a month each.
5. IZY Social
Our own tool for small businesses and agencies. Agency plans aren't priced per user: Pro is $199 a month with 15 client spaces and 5 team members, and Max is $299 a month with 30 client spaces and 15 team members. Paying yearly takes 40% off. Each client has a separate space and approves posts through one link. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads and X connect, and AI writes posts in each brand's voice. The 14-day trial needs no card. Details are on the pricing page.
Which one should you pick?
- If brand monitoring, sentiment and customer care reports are essential, stay with Sprout Social or look at Hootsuite.
- A big team with few channels? Buffer's Team plan.
- Report-driven teams running many brands? Metricool.
- An agency that wants the bill to stay flat as the team grows? IZY Social.
Export your Sprout Social reports and inbox history before you switch. Message history doesn't move to a new tool.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
No. There's a 30-day free trial, and it doesn't ask for a card.
How much does Sprout Social cost?
As of October 2026, per user per month: Essentials is $79 billed yearly, Standard $199, Professional $299 and Advanced $399.
Is there an alternative that doesn't charge per user?
Buffer charges per channel, Metricool per brand and IZY Social per plan, so adding a teammate doesn't add a per-user fee.