Choosing between Sprout Social and Agorapulse is a common dilemma for teams that need enterprise-grade social media management but want to keep costs under control. Both charge per seat, but the price gap is significant — and so are the feature trade-offs.
The two heavyweights of social media engagement — both with unified inboxes, social listening, and per-user pricing that adds up fast. We compare them on what actually differentiates them: pricing at team scale, analytics depth, platform coverage, and the user experience you get for your money. See more options at social media scheduling alternatives.
Sprout Social vs Agorapulse at a Glance
Here's a quick side-by-side overview before we dive deeper:
| Category | Sprout Social | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $199/seat/month | $99/user/month ($79 annual) |
| Free Plan | No (30-day trial) | Yes (3 profiles, 1 user, 10 posts/mo) |
| Platforms Supported | 10+ | 11 |
| Unlimited Scheduling | Yes (all plans) | Yes (paid plans) |
| AI Tools | AI Assist (captions + replies) | AI Writing Assistant (captions) |
| AI Image Generation | No | No |
| Bulk Scheduling | No | Yes (Advanced+) |
| Team Collaboration | All plans | Professional+ ($149/user/mo) |
| Approval Workflows | Advanced ($399/seat/mo) | Professional+ ($149/user/mo) |
| Social Inbox | Full unified inbox (Smart Inbox) | Full unified inbox |
| Social Listening | Yes (add-on) | Yes (built-in + add-on) |
| Analytics | Standard to Enterprise | Basic to Advanced |
| G2 Rating | 4.4/5 (5,731 reviews) | 4.5/5 (967 reviews) |
| Trustpilot Rating | 2.2/5 (75 reviews) | 4.0/5 (57 reviews) |
| Best For | Enterprises, customer care teams | Agencies, mid-size teams |
Sprout Social Overview
Sprout Social is an enterprise-grade social media management platform known for its polished interface, deep analytics, and customer care tools. It offers publishing, a unified Smart Inbox, social listening, sentiment analysis, advanced reporting, and helpdesk integrations.
Sprout Social supports 10+ platforms: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads, and more.
Key features:
- Smart Inbox for messages, comments, and DMs
- AI Assist for writing captions and generating replies
- Advanced analytics with custom reports
- Sentiment analysis and social listening
- Team collaboration with approval workflows
- Helpdesk integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot)
- Competitor benchmarking
- Review management
Sprout Social is positioned for enterprise organizations, customer care teams, and brands that need deep CRM integrations, compliance tools, and sophisticated reporting. For a deeper look, see what users say about Sprout Social on G2 and Trustpilot.
Agorapulse Overview
Agorapulse is a social media management platform designed for agencies and mid-size teams. It offers a powerful unified social inbox, post scheduling, analytics, social listening, approval workflows, and a built-in social CRM — across 11 social networks.
Agorapulse supports 11 platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, Google Business Profile, Threads, Bluesky, and Reddit.
Key features:
- Unified social inbox with assignment and automation
- AI Writing Assistant for caption generation
- Social CRM for audience management
- Approval workflows (one-step and multi-step)
- Social listening and competitor benchmarking (Advanced+)
- Bulk publishing and content queues
- Canva integration (Professional+)
- ROI measurement and ads reporting
- PulseLink (link-in-bio tool)
Agorapulse is popular with agencies and growing teams that need strong inbox management, team collaboration, and social listening without paying Sprout Social prices. Read real user reviews of Agorapulse from G2 and Trustpilot.
Pricing Comparison
Pricing is where the Sprout Social vs Agorapulse decision gets interesting. Both use per-seat/per-user pricing, but Sprout Social costs roughly twice as much at every tier.
Sprout Social Pricing
Sprout Social uses per-seat pricing with costs starting at $199/month. We break this down further in our Sprout Social pricing guide.
| Plan | Price | Social Profiles | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $199/seat/month | 5 | Scheduling, monitoring, analytics, AI Assist |
| Professional | $299/seat/month | Unlimited | Competitor reports, message tagging, paid insights |
| Advanced | $399/seat/month | Unlimited | Sentiment analysis, helpdesk integrations, API access |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | SSO, white-glove onboarding, dedicated support |
Example costs:
- 1 user on Standard = $199/month
- 3 users on Professional = $897/month
- 5 users on Advanced = $1,995/month
Agorapulse Pricing
Agorapulse uses per-user pricing with a free plan and lower starting costs. See the full Agorapulse pricing breakdown for details.
| Plan | Price | Social Profiles | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | 3 (1 user) | 10 posts/month, basic publishing |
| Standard | $99/user/month ($79 annual) | 10 | Unlimited scheduling, social inbox, AI Writing Assistant |
| Professional | $149/user/month ($119 annual) | 10 | Canva integration, approval workflows, ad comment monitoring |
| Advanced | $199/user/month ($149 annual) | 10 | Bulk publishing, competitor benchmarking, ROI analysis |
| Custom | Contact sales | Unlimited | SSO, API access, multi-step approvals, dedicated CSM |
Example costs:
- 1 user on Standard = $99/month ($79 annual)
- 3 users on Professional = $447/month ($357 annual)
- 5 users on Advanced = $995/month ($745 annual)
Price Verdict
Agorapulse is significantly cheaper across every comparable tier. A single user on Sprout Social Standard ($199/month) costs twice what Agorapulse Standard does ($99/month). At the team level, the gap widens further: 5 users on Sprout Social Advanced costs $1,995/month vs $995/month on Agorapulse Advanced.
The bottom line: Agorapulse delivers roughly 80% of Sprout Social's functionality at half the price. Sprout Social's premium is justified only if you need its deeper CRM integrations, enterprise-level sentiment analysis, or helpdesk workflows.
Feature Comparison
Scheduling & Publishing
Both tools offer unlimited post scheduling on paid plans with solid content calendar views. The key differences:
| Feature | Sprout Social | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited scheduling | Yes (all plans) | Yes (paid plans) |
| Bulk scheduling | No | Yes (Advanced+) |
| Optimal send times | Yes | No |
| First comment scheduling | No | Yes (Professional+) |
| Content calendar | Yes | Yes (drag-and-drop) |
| Content queues | No | Yes (Advanced+) |
| Draft saving | Yes | Yes |
| Content library | No | Yes (Advanced+) |
Winner: Agorapulse. It offers bulk scheduling, first comment scheduling, content queues, and a content library — features Sprout Social lacks or gates behind higher tiers. Sprout Social counters with optimal send times.
AI Tools
| Feature | Sprout Social | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|
| AI caption generation | Yes (AI Assist) | Yes (AI Writing Assistant) |
| AI reply generation | Yes (Advanced+) | Yes (Custom plan only) |
| AI image generation | No | No |
| AI alt text | No | Yes (all paid plans) |
| Organization context AI | No | Yes (all paid plans) |
Winner: Tie. Sprout Social's AI Assist is available on all plans for captions and on Advanced+ for replies. Agorapulse includes AI Writing Assistant and AI Alt Text on all paid plans. Neither offers AI image generation.
Analytics & Reporting
| Feature | Sprout Social | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|
| Basic analytics | All plans | All paid plans |
| Advanced analytics | Professional+ | Advanced+ |
| Custom reports | Professional+ | Advanced+ |
| Competitor benchmarking | Professional+ | Advanced+ |
| ROI measurement | No | Yes (Advanced+) |
| Ads reporting | Professional+ (paid insights) | Advanced+ |
| Scheduled reports | Advanced+ | Advanced+ |
| Team productivity reports | Advanced+ | Professional+ |
Winner: Sprout Social — for depth and polish. Sprout Social's analytics are widely regarded as best-in-class, with deeper reporting, more visualization options, and more granular data. However, Agorapulse's Advanced plan includes ROI measurement, which Sprout Social does not natively offer.
Team Collaboration
| Feature | Sprout Social | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple users | All plans | All paid plans |
| Post/inbox assignment | All plans | Professional+ |
| Approval workflows | Advanced+ ($399/seat) | Professional+ ($149/user) |
| Multi-step approvals | Enterprise | Custom plan |
| User permissions | All plans | Advanced+ |
| Saved replies | All plans | Advanced+ |
| Calendar notes | Yes | Professional+ |
Winner: Sprout Social for built-in team features on lower tiers — assignment and saved replies are available on all plans. However, Agorapulse offers approval workflows at a much lower price point ($149/user vs $399/seat), which is a deciding factor for many agencies.
Social Inbox & Engagement
| Feature | Sprout Social | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|
| Unified inbox | Yes (Smart Inbox) | Yes |
| Social listening | Yes (add-on) | Yes (built-in + add-on) |
| Sentiment analysis | Yes (Advanced+) | No |
| Brand monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-responses | Yes | Yes (Advanced+, Inbox Assistant) |
| Social CRM | Yes (Advanced+) | Yes (all paid plans) |
| Ad comment management | Professional+ | Professional+ |
| Review management | Yes (all plans) | No |
Winner: Tie (depends on priorities). Sprout Social has deeper sentiment analysis, review management, and CRM at the enterprise level. Agorapulse includes social CRM on all paid plans and has built-in social listening without requiring an expensive add-on. Agorapulse's inbox management is praised as one of the best in the industry by agencies.
Platform Support
| Platform | Sprout Social | Agorapulse |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| X/Twitter | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| TikTok | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Google Business | Yes | Yes |
| Bluesky | No | Yes |
| No | Yes |
Winner: Agorapulse — supports 11 platforms vs Sprout Social's 10+. Agorapulse includes Bluesky and Reddit, which Sprout Social does not.
What Real Users Say
Sprout Social Reviews
G2: 4.4/5 (5,731 reviews) — Users praise Sprout Social's ease of use (1,209 mentions), post scheduling (835), scheduling workflow (789), analytics capabilities (720), and centralized management (669). Common complaints include missing features (498), limited features on lower plans (324), and expensive pricing (324).
Trustpilot: 2.2/5 (75 reviews) — Significantly lower rating with complaints about unexpected price increases, sales pressure, difficulty canceling, and slow customer support. Several users report being locked into contracts that were difficult to exit.
Agorapulse Reviews
G2: 4.5/5 (967 reviews) — Users consistently praise the intuitive interface, excellent customer support (12 mentions), ease of use (14 mentions), and centralized management (13 mentions). Common complaints include expensive pricing (11 mentions combined), limited customization (4), and difficult reporting (4).
Trustpilot: 4.0/5 (57 reviews) — Polarized distribution between 5-star and 1-star reviews. Positive reviewers call it "the best social media software on the market." Negative reviewers report unreliable social profile connections and token-based failures.
Review Verdict
Agorapulse edges ahead on ratings — 4.5/5 on G2 vs Sprout Social's 4.4/5, and 4.0/5 on Trustpilot vs Sprout Social's 2.2/5. Sprout Social has a much larger review base (5,731 G2 reviews), giving it more statistical weight. The striking gap on Trustpilot (4.0 vs 2.2) suggests Agorapulse delivers a better post-purchase experience with fewer billing and cancellation frustrations. Both platforms receive pricing complaints, but Sprout Social's are more severe given its higher per-seat costs.
Who Should Use Sprout Social?
If Sprout Social is on your shortlist, you may also want to see our top alternatives to Sprout Social before committing. Also compare Sprout Social with Hootsuite, Buffer, Later, and SocialBee.
Sprout Social is the better choice if you:
- Are an enterprise organization with a dedicated social media and customer care team
- Need deep CRM integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, or HubSpot
- Require sentiment analysis and advanced social listening
- Want best-in-class analytics with the most granular reporting available
- Need SSO, compliance tools, and enterprise security features
- Have the budget for $199-$399+ per seat per month
- Prioritize helpdesk integrations and customer care workflows
Who Should Use Agorapulse?
If Agorapulse is on your shortlist, you may also want to see our top alternatives to Agorapulse before committing. Also compare Agorapulse with Buffer, Hootsuite, Later, and SocialBee.
Agorapulse is the better choice if you:
- Are an agency or mid-size team that needs strong inbox management
- Want 80% of Sprout Social's features at roughly half the price
- Need approval workflows without paying $399/seat (available at $149/user)
- Require support for 11 platforms including Bluesky and Reddit
- Want a built-in social CRM on all paid plans without enterprise pricing
- Need bulk publishing, content queues, and a content library
- Prefer a 30-day free trial (no credit card) or a free plan to test the waters
- Value Canva integration for in-app design (Professional+)
90% of the Value at a Fraction of the Price
Sprout Social and Agorapulse both cost $99-$399 per user per month. They're exceptional platforms — if you use every feature. But if you're primarily scheduling content, collaborating with a team, and tracking performance, you're paying for a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store. PostPlanify delivers the scheduling, collaboration, and analytics features your team uses daily — at a flat $19-99/month.
| Feature | Sprout Social | Agorapulse | PostPlanify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $199/seat/month | $99/user/month | $19/mo flat |
| Unlimited Accounts | $299/seat/mo (Professional) | Custom plan (contact sales) | $99/mo (Premium) |
| AI Caption Generation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Image Generation | No | No | Yes |
| Canva Integration | No | Yes (Professional+) | Yes |
| Google Drive Import | No | No | Yes |
| Approval Workflows | $399/seat/mo (Advanced) | $149/user/mo (Professional) | $99/mo (Premium) |
| First Comment Scheduling | No | Yes (Professional+) | Yes (Growth+) |
| Platforms Supported | 10+ | 11 | 9 |
| Unlimited Scheduling | All plans | Paid plans | All paid plans |
PostPlanify starts at $19/month for 3 accounts with unlimited scheduling and AI tools included. The Premium plan at $99/month includes unlimited accounts, unlimited team members, approval workflows, and analytics — features that cost $399/seat/month on Sprout Social or $149+/user/month on Agorapulse. See all plans on the PostPlanify pricing page.
Right-size your tool — try PostPlanify free
FAQ
Is Agorapulse cheaper than Sprout Social?
Yes. Agorapulse starts at $99/user/month ($79 annual) vs Sprout Social's $199/seat/month. At every tier, Agorapulse is roughly half the price. A 3-person team on Agorapulse Standard costs $297/month vs $597/month on Sprout Social Standard.
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
No. Sprout Social does not offer a free plan — only a 30-day free trial. Agorapulse offers both a free plan (3 profiles, 1 user, 10 posts/month) and a 30-day free trial on paid plans with no credit card required.
Which has better analytics — Sprout Social or Agorapulse?
Sprout Social has deeper, more polished analytics with more granular data, custom reports, and advanced visualizations. However, Agorapulse's Advanced plan ($199/user/month) includes ROI measurement and competitor benchmarking, which Sprout Social does not natively offer. For most teams, Agorapulse's reporting is sufficient.
Which has a better social inbox?
Both have excellent unified inboxes. Sprout Social's Smart Inbox includes sentiment analysis and deeper CRM integrations. Agorapulse's inbox is praised by agencies for its simplicity, assignment features, and automation rules. Agorapulse includes social CRM on all paid plans, while Sprout Social gates advanced CRM features behind the $399/seat Advanced plan.
Can I switch from Sprout Social to Agorapulse?
Yes. You can reconnect your social accounts to Agorapulse and set up your inbox and scheduling workflows. Agorapulse's 30-day free trial (no credit card required) makes it easy to test before fully migrating. Most teams complete the transition within a few days.
Which supports more social media platforms?
Agorapulse supports 11 platforms (including Bluesky and Reddit). Sprout Social supports 10+ platforms but does not include Bluesky or Reddit. Agorapulse has slightly wider platform coverage.
Is Sprout Social worth the extra cost over Agorapulse?
For enterprise organizations that need Salesforce/Zendesk integrations, sentiment analysis, SSO, and compliance tools — yes, Sprout Social's premium is justified. For agencies and mid-size teams that primarily need scheduling, inbox management, and reporting, Agorapulse offers comparable functionality at roughly half the price.
Which is easier to use — Sprout Social or Agorapulse?
Both are well-regarded for usability. Sprout Social has a polished, modern interface that G2 reviewers frequently praise. Agorapulse is described as intuitive with minimal training needed. Neither has a steep learning curve compared to other enterprise tools, but Agorapulse edges ahead slightly in user reviews for ease of setup and navigation.
Do both tools offer social listening?
Yes. Sprout Social offers social listening as an add-on to its plans. Agorapulse includes basic social monitoring on all paid plans, with advanced social listening available as an add-on. Agorapulse gives you more listening capability out of the box without additional costs.
Is there a cheaper alternative to both Sprout Social and Agorapulse?
Yes. PostPlanify starts at $19/month with no per-user fees. The Premium plan at $99/month includes unlimited accounts, unlimited team members, AI tools (including AI image generation), Canva integration, and approval workflows — features that cost $399+/seat on Sprout Social or $149+/user on Agorapulse.
