Sales Loves Marketing
- Best for
- Mid-size and larger marketing teams and agencies that need detailed social reporting, a shared inbox and competitor insights
- Starting price
- $79 per seat per month, billed yearly
- Free plan
- ✗ No
- Free trial
- ✓ Yes
Sprout Social is a social media management platform for publishing, answering messages, reporting and social listening across networks. It is priced per user seat, has no free plan and is one of the more expensive tools in its category, aimed at teams that need detailed analytics.
Who is Sprout Social for?
Sprout Social suits marketing teams, agencies and larger companies where several people share social accounts and managers want reports they can present. The Essentials plan brings the entry price down for a single marketer. Small businesses that only need to schedule posts will usually find a cheaper scheduler enough.
What does Sprout Social do for Instagram?
Publishing
Sprout publishes single-image posts, videos, Reels and carousels of up to 10 images directly to Instagram. Stories can be scheduled too, but Stories that need notes or stickers are finished in the Instagram app. You can schedule a first comment with each post, for example to hold hashtags. For what to post, see our guide to Instagram marketing strategies.
Optimal send times
Sprout recommends posting times based on when your audience is active. You see the recommendation and choose whether to use it.
Smart Inbox
From Standard upward, comments and messages from your connected profiles land in one feed. Teams can tag, assign and answer them without switching apps. Advanced adds sentiment and helpdesk integrations.
Reporting and competitors
The Instagram business profile report shows which posts, hashtags and Stories drive the most engagement. From Professional upward, the Instagram competitors report compares your follower growth and engagement with any public Instagram business profile, and lists each competitor's top hashtags and posts. See engagement rate for how that metric works.
Link in bio
SproutLink in Bio turns the single bio link into a page where each grid post can link to its own destination.
How much does Sprout Social cost?
Prices checked on 1 November 2026 on Sprout Social's pricing page, per seat per month, billed yearly:
| Plan | Price | Social profiles | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $79 ($99 billed monthly) | Up to 5 | Send times, post reporting, AI agent |
| Standard | $199 | 5 | Shared inbox, collaboration, monitoring |
| Professional | $299 | Unlimited | Competitor, tag and paid insights |
| Advanced | $399 | Unlimited | Sentiment, API and helpdesk integrations |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Onboarding, SSO, priority support |
There is a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, and no free plan. Listening, premium analytics, employee advocacy and influencer marketing are add-ons priced on request.
What do users say about Sprout Social?
Sprout Social is rated 4.4 out of 5 on G2 from more than 6,900 reviews. Reviewers most often praise its ease of use, scheduling to several networks from one place, central management of all accounts, and helpful support.
Price is the most common complaint, especially for smaller organisations, because every seat is paid for. Reviewers also mention gaps in native posting, such as extra steps for some post types and no scheduling to private Facebook groups.
When should you choose an alternative?
- You are a small team on a budget. Buffer or Metricool cover scheduling and basic analytics for far less.
- Instagram is your main channel. Later and Iconosquare focus more closely on visual planning and Instagram analytics.
- You mainly want to track mentions. A listening tool such as Brand24 costs less than Sprout's listening add-on.
Compare more options in our list of the best Instagram tools or browse all social media tools.
Key features
- Instagram publishing. Direct publishing of single-image posts, videos, Reels and carousels of up to 10 images, plus Story scheduling and a scheduled first comment.
- Optimal send times. Recommended posting times based on when your audience is active, which you can accept or override.
- Smart Inbox. Messages and comments from connected networks in one feed for the team to answer, tag and assign.
- Instagram reports. A business profile report on which posts, hashtags and Stories drive engagement, and from Professional upward a competitor report that compares follower growth and engagement with public business profiles.
- SproutLink in Bio. Turns the Instagram bio link into a page where each grid post can point to its own destination.
- Add-ons. Listening, premium analytics, employee advocacy and influencer marketing are sold separately, with pricing on request.
Sprout Social pricing
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $79 per seat per month billed yearly, or $99 billed monthly | Up to 5 social profiles, optimal send times, profile and post-level reporting and the Trellis AI agent |
| Standard | $199 per seat per month, billed yearly | 5 social profiles, adds the consolidated inbox, collaboration tools, keyword and location monitoring and review management |
| Professional | $299 per seat per month, billed yearly | Unlimited social profiles, adds message tagging and competitor, tag and paid performance insights |
| Advanced | $399 per seat per month, billed yearly | Unlimited social profiles, adds sentiment in the inbox, API and helpdesk integrations and message spike alerts |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Tailored plan with onboarding, SSO setup and priority support |
Sprout Social FAQ
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
No. Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. After that you need a paid plan.
How much does Sprout Social cost?
On 1 November 2026, with yearly billing, Essentials cost $79 per seat per month, Standard $199, Professional $299 and Advanced $399. Essentials also costs $99 per seat per month billed monthly. Enterprise is priced on request.
Can Sprout Social post Instagram Stories?
You can schedule Stories in Sprout. Stories that need notes or stickers are finished in the Instagram mobile app, according to Sprout's own feature page.