7 Sprout Social Alternatives to Try in 2024 (Free + Paid)
Sprout Social has long been a go-to platform for social media management, offering robust features for scheduling posts, analytics, and team collaboration. However, it’s not always the perfect fit for every business due to its pricing or specific feature set. If you’re looking for other options, either free or paid, this article explores seven excellent alternatives to Sprout Social that you should consider in 2024.
1. Hootsuite
Hootsuite has been a mainstay in the social media management space for years. With its comprehensive suite of tools, it’s a valuable alternative to Sprout Social.
Key Features
- Scheduling: Plan and schedule your social media posts across multiple platforms with ease, ensuring consistent engagement.
- Analytics: Comprehensive analytics to measure your social media performance, helping you refine your strategy.
- Team Collaboration: Allows multiple team members to work together seamlessly, improving workflow and efficiency.
Expanded Key Features
Hootsuite’s scheduling feature is particularly robust, allowing you to plan posts weeks or even months in advance. This ensures that your social media presence remains active without requiring daily intervention. The analytics feature provides deep insights into your performance metrics, enabling you to understand what works and what doesn’t. Team collaboration tools make it easy for teams to work together, delegate tasks, and maintain a unified social media strategy.
Hootsuite also supports a wide range of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. This makes it a versatile tool for businesses that need to manage multiple social media channels. The platform also offers a range of integrations with other tools, such as Google Analytics, Salesforce, and Adobe Experience Manager, allowing you to streamline your workflow and improve efficiency.
Pricing
Hootsuite offers a range of pricing plans to suit different needs:
- Free Plan: Limited features, ideal for small businesses or individuals.
- Professional Plan: Starting at $19 per month, offers more advanced features.
- Team Plan: Priced at $99 per month, includes collaboration tools for small teams.
- Business Plan: $599 per month, designed for larger teams with more advanced needs.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for large enterprises with bespoke needs.
Pros
- User-Friendly Interface: Easy-to-navigate dashboard that simplifies social media management.
- Supports Multiple Platforms: Wide range of supported social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
- Free Plan: Offers a basic plan that can be a great starting point for individuals or small businesses.
Cons
- Limited Analytics in Free Plan: The analytics feature in the free plan is very basic, limiting its usefulness.
- Higher Pricing for Larger Teams: Costs can quickly add up if you have a larger team, making it less affordable for some businesses.
2. Buffer
Buffer is known for its simplicity and ease of use, making it a great alternative for those who find Sprout Social too complex or expensive.
Key Features
- Scheduling: Easy-to-use scheduling tool that allows you to queue up posts across various social media platforms.
- Analytics: Basic analytics to track the performance of your posts and overall social media strategy.
- Engagement: Features to help you engage with your audience, such as responding to comments and messages.
Expanded Key Features
Buffer’s scheduling tool is incredibly intuitive, making it easy even for social media novices to use. The basic analytics provide enough data to understand how your posts are performing, although it lacks the depth found in more expensive tools. Engagement features are designed to help you interact with your audience directly from the platform, ensuring you never miss a comment or message.
Buffer also offers a browser extension that allows you to quickly schedule content from anywhere on the web. This can be a huge time-saver for busy social media managers. Additionally, Buffer offers a mobile app that allows you to manage your social media accounts on the go, making it a versatile tool for businesses of all sizes.
Pricing
Buffer offers a straightforward pricing structure:
- Free Plan: Limited to 3 social accounts and 10 scheduled posts per account.
- Essentials Plan: Starts at $6 per month per social channel, offering increased limits and additional features.
- Team Plan: $12 per month per social channel, includes team collaboration tools.
- Agency Plan: Custom pricing for agencies managing multiple clients.
Pros
- Simple and Intuitive Interface: User-friendly design that makes it easy to get started.
- Affordable Pricing Plans: Competitive pricing that makes it accessible for small businesses.
- Excellent Customer Support: Highly responsive customer support team.
Cons
- Limited Analytics: The analytics are basic and may not meet the needs of larger businesses.
- Lack of Advanced Collaboration Features: Limited features for team collaboration compared to other tools.
3. AgoraPulse
AgoraPulse is a powerful social media management tool that focuses on social media engagement and detailed analytics.
Key Features
- Social Inbox: Unified inbox to manage all your social media messages in one place.
- Analytics: Detailed reports that offer deep insights into your social media performance.
- Scheduling: Robust scheduling tools that let you plan and queue posts across multiple platforms.
Expanded Key Features
The social inbox feature is particularly useful for businesses that receive a high volume of messages and comments. It consolidates all your social media interactions into one place, making it easier to manage. The analytics are detailed and customizable, allowing you to generate reports that focus on the metrics that matter most to your business. The scheduling tools are robust, offering features like bulk upload and queue categories to streamline your posting process.
AgoraPulse also offers a social listening feature that allows you to monitor mentions of your brand across social media platforms. This can be a valuable tool for managing your brand’s reputation and staying on top of customer feedback. Additionally, AgoraPulse offers a CRM feature that allows you to track and manage your interactions with individual customers, helping you build stronger relationships with your audience.
Pricing
AgoraPulse offers a variety of plans:
- Free Trial: 15-day free trial to test out the features.
- Pro Plan: Starts at $79 per month, suitable for small teams.
- Premium Plan: $159 per month, aimed at growing businesses.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for large enterprises.
Pros
- Strong Focus on Engagement: Tools designed to help you interact with your audience more effectively.
- Detailed Analytics and Reporting: In-depth reports that provide valuable insights.
- Unified Social Inbox: Consolidates all your messages and comments in one place.
Cons
- Overwhelming Interface for New Users: The interface can be complex for those who are new to social media management tools.
- Limited Integrations: Fewer integrations compared to other tools, which may limit its functionality.
4. Sendible
Sendible is a versatile social media management tool that offers a range of features tailored for agencies and larger businesses.
Key Features
- Scheduling: Schedule posts across multiple platforms, ensuring consistent engagement.
- Analytics: In-depth analytics and reporting to measure performance.
- Custom Dashboards: Create custom dashboards for different clients or campaigns, making it easier to manage multiple accounts.
Expanded Key Features
Sendible’s scheduling tool is highly flexible, allowing you to tailor your posting schedule to fit your strategy. The analytics are detailed, providing insights into a wide range of metrics. Custom dashboards are particularly useful for agencies, as they allow you to create separate views for each client, making it easier to manage multiple accounts. This level of customization is a standout feature that sets Sendible apart from other tools.
Sendible also offers a social listening feature that allows you to monitor mentions of your brand and keywords across social media platforms. This can be a valuable tool for managing your brand’s reputation and staying on top of industry trends. Additionally, Sendible offers a content suggestion feature that helps you discover and curate content that is relevant to your audience, saving you time and effort.
Pricing
Sendible offers several pricing options:
- Starter Plan: $29 per month, suitable for solopreneurs and small businesses.
- Traction Plan: $89 per month, includes more advanced features.
- Growth Plan: $199 per month, designed for growing businesses.
- Large Plan: $399 per month, aimed at agencies and larger teams.
Pros
- Highly Customizable Dashboards: Tailor your dashboard to fit your needs, making it easier to manage multiple accounts.
- Strong Focus on Client Management: Features designed specifically for agencies and businesses managing multiple clients.
- Good Range of Integrations: Supports a wide variety of third-party integrations.
Cons
- Expensive for Smaller Businesses: The higher-tier plans can be costly for smaller businesses.
- Learning Curve for Advanced Features: Some advanced features can be difficult to master, requiring a learning period.
5. Later
Later is a social media management tool that focuses heavily on visual planning, making it an excellent choice for businesses that prioritize platforms like Instagram.
Key Features
- Visual Planning: Drag and drop calendar for scheduling posts, making it easy to visualize your content.
- Instagram Focus: Specialized features for Instagram, including hashtag suggestions and Instagram Stories scheduling.
- Analytics: Basic analytics to measure the performance of your social media posts.
Expanded Key Features
Later’s visual planning tool is one of its standout features. The drag and drop calendar makes it easy to see your content schedule at a glance, helping you maintain a consistent posting strategy. The focus on Instagram is another highlight, with features like hashtag suggestions and Instagram Stories scheduling designed to help you maximize your engagement on the platform. The analytics are basic but sufficient for small to medium-sized businesses.
Later also offers a Linkin.bio feature that allows you to create a clickable link for your Instagram bio, directing your followers to specific content or products on your website. This can be a valuable tool for driving traffic and sales from your Instagram account. Additionally, Later offers a media library that allows you to store and organize your visual content, making it easy to find and reuse your best-performing posts.
Pricing
Later offers a variety of plans:
- Free Plan: Basic features, limited to 1 social profile per platform and 30 posts per profile.
- Starter Plan: $12.50 per month, includes additional features and higher limits.
- Growth Plan: $25 per month, designed for growing businesses.
- Advanced Plan: $40 per month, offers the most comprehensive set of features.
Pros
- Excellent for Instagram: Specialized tools that help you maximize your Instagram presence.
- User-Friendly Visual Planner: Easy-to-use drag and drop calendar.
- Affordable Pricing: Competitive pricing that makes it accessible for small businesses and influencers.
Cons
- Limited Features for Other Platforms: Focuses heavily on Instagram, with fewer features for other social media platforms.
- Basic Analytics: Analytics are not as detailed as those offered by other tools.
6. SocialBee
SocialBee is a social media management tool that excels in content categorization and automation, making it a great choice for businesses that need to manage a high volume of content.
Key Features
- Content Categorization: Organize content into categories for better scheduling and management.
- Recycling: Automatically repost evergreen content, ensuring that your best posts continue to generate engagement.
- Analytics: Track the performance of your social media posts, helping you refine your strategy.
Expanded Key Features
SocialBee’s content categorization feature is particularly useful for businesses that need to manage a large volume of content. By organizing your posts into categories, you can ensure a balanced and varied content strategy. The recycling feature allows you to automatically repost evergreen content, keeping your social media channels active without requiring constant new content. The analytics provide valuable insights into your performance, although they are not as detailed as those offered by some other tools.
SocialBee also offers a content curation feature that helps you discover and share relevant content from across the web. This can be a valuable tool for keeping your social media channels active and engaging without having to create all the content yourself. Additionally, SocialBee offers a browser extension that allows you to quickly schedule content from anywhere on the web, saving you time and effort.
Pricing
SocialBee offers several pricing plans:
- Bootstrap Plan: $19 per month, suitable for individuals and small businesses.
- Accelerate Plan: $39 per month, includes more advanced features.
- Pro Plan: $79 per month, designed for businesses with more advanced needs.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for large enterprises.
Pros
- Excellent Content Categorization and Recycling Features: Helps you manage a high volume of content more effectively.
- Affordable Pricing: Competitively priced plans that make it accessible for small to medium-sized businesses.
- Good Customer Support: Responsive and helpful customer support team.
Cons
- Limited Advanced Analytics: Analytics are basic and may not meet the needs of larger businesses.
- Cluttered Interface: The interface can be a bit cluttered, making it difficult to navigate for new users.
7. Zoho Social
Zoho Social is part of the Zoho suite of business tools and offers a comprehensive set of features for social media management.
Key Features
- Scheduling: Schedule posts across multiple platforms, ensuring consistent engagement.
- Monitoring: Monitor mentions and keywords to stay on top of what’s being said about your brand.
- Analytics: Detailed analytics and reporting to measure your social media performance.
Expanded Key Features
Zoho Social’s scheduling feature is robust, allowing you to plan and queue posts across multiple platforms. The monitoring tools are particularly useful for tracking mentions and keywords, helping you stay on top of your brand’s reputation. The analytics are detailed and customizable, providing valuable insights into your performance. Integration with other Zoho products is another significant advantage, allowing you to streamline your business processes.
Zoho Social also offers a CRM feature that allows you to track and manage your interactions with individual customers, helping you build stronger relationships with your audience. Additionally, Zoho Social offers a social listening feature that allows you to monitor mentions of your brand and keywords across social media platforms. This can be a valuable tool for managing your brand’s reputation and staying on top of customer feedback.
Pricing
Zoho Social offers a range of plans:
- Free Plan: Basic features, limited to 1 team member and 1 brand.
- Standard Plan: $10 per month, includes additional features and higher limits.
- Professional Plan: $25 per month, designed for growing businesses.
- Agency Plan: $200 per month, aimed at agencies managing multiple clients.
Pros
- Comprehensive Social Media Management Features: Offers a wide range of tools for managing your social media presence.
- Affordable Pricing: Competitive pricing that makes it accessible for small to medium-sized businesses.
- Strong Integration with Other Zoho Products: Seamlessly integrates with other Zoho business tools.
Cons
- Complex for New Users: The interface can be complex and overwhelming for new users.
- Limited Features in Free Plan: The free plan is very basic and may not meet the needs of most businesses.
Conclusion
While Sprout Social is a powerful tool for social media management, it’s not the only option available. The seven alternatives listed above offer a range of features and pricing plans, catering to different business needs and budgets. Whether you’re a small business looking for an affordable tool or a large enterprise needing comprehensive features, there’s a Sprout Social alternative out there for you. Explore these options and find the one that best fits your social media management needs in 2024.
- Hootsuite: Best for large teams needing comprehensive features.
- Buffer: Ideal for small businesses looking for simplicity and affordability.
- AgoraPulse: Great for businesses focusing on social media engagement.
- Sendible: Perfect for agencies managing multiple clients.
- Later: Best for Instagram-focused businesses and influencers.
- SocialBee: Excellent for content-heavy businesses needing automation.
- Zoho Social: Best for businesses already using Zoho products.
By considering these alternatives, you can find a tool that better aligns with your business requirements and budget, ensuring you get the most out of your social media management efforts in 2024.