Sprout Social and Buffer represent two very different approaches to social media management. Sprout Social is a full-featured enterprise platform with deep analytics and customer care tools. Buffer is a lightweight scheduling tool built for simplicity and affordability.
In this comparison, we break down Sprout Social vs Buffer across pricing, features, platform support, user reviews, and real-world fit — so you can choose based on your actual needs, not marketing hype. Looking at more tools? Browse all social media scheduling alternatives.
Sprout Social vs Buffer at a Glance
Here's a quick side-by-side overview before we dive deeper:
| Category | Sprout Social | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $199/mo per seat | $6/mo per channel |
| Free Plan | No (30-day trial) | Yes (3 channels, 10 posts each) |
| Platforms Supported | 8+ | 11 |
| Unlimited Scheduling | Yes (all plans) | Yes (paid plans) |
| AI Tools | AI Assist | AI Assistant (captions) |
| AI Image Generation | No | No |
| Team Collaboration | All plans | Team plan ($12/mo/channel) |
| Approval Workflows | Advanced plan ($399/seat) | Team plan |
| Social Inbox | Smart Inbox (all plans) | Basic (Community Inbox) |
| Social Listening | Yes (add-on) | No |
| Competitor Benchmarking | Yes (Professional+) | No |
| Analytics | Group to Custom reports | Basic to Advanced |
| G2 Rating | 4.4/5 (5,731 reviews) | 4.3/5 (1,023 reviews) |
| Trustpilot Rating | 2.2/5 (75 reviews) | 2.1/5 (93 reviews) |
| Best For | Enterprises, customer care teams | Solo creators, small teams |
Sprout Social Overview
Sprout Social is an enterprise-focused social media management platform known for its deep analytics, customer care workflows, and polished interface. It combines publishing, engagement, analytics, and listening into a unified platform.
Sprout Social supports 8+ platforms: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads.
Key features:
- Smart Inbox with sentiment analysis
- AI Assist for text and reply generation
- Advanced analytics with custom reports
- Competitor and paid insights (Professional+)
- Team productivity and customer care reports
- Review management
- API and helpdesk integrations (Advanced+)
Sprout Social targets enterprises and customer care teams that need deep reporting, sentiment tools, and structured collaboration. See what users say about Sprout Social on G2 and Trustpilot.
Buffer Overview
Buffer is one of the oldest social media scheduling tools, launched in 2010. It focuses on simplicity — a clean interface for scheduling posts, managing a basic content calendar, and viewing analytics.
Buffer supports 11 platforms: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X/Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Google Business Profile, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon.
Key features:
- Post scheduling with queue management
- AI Assistant for generating captions and post ideas
- Hashtag manager and first comment scheduling
- Basic community inbox
- Start Page (link-in-bio builder)
- Content calendar
Buffer is popular among solo creators and freelancers who want a no-frills scheduling experience across many platforms. See what users say about Buffer on G2 and Trustpilot.
Pricing Comparison
The pricing gap between Sprout Social and Buffer is among the largest in the social media management space.
Sprout Social Pricing
Sprout Social uses per-seat pricing in USD. We break this down further in our Sprout Social pricing guide.
| Plan | Price | Social Profiles | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $199/mo per seat | 5 | Keyword monitoring, AI text, review management |
| Professional | $299/mo per seat | Unlimited | Message tagging, competitor insights, paid insights |
| Advanced | $399/mo per seat | Unlimited | Sentiment analysis, API, helpdesk integrations, spike alerts |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | White-glove onboarding, SSO, priority support |
Example costs:
- 1 seat on Standard = $199/month
- 3 seats on Professional = $897/month
- 5 seats on Advanced = $1,995/month
Buffer Pricing
Buffer uses per-channel pricing. Each social account you connect adds to your monthly cost. We break this down further in our Buffer pricing guide.
| Plan | Price | Channels | Users | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 3 | 1 | 10 posts/channel, basic analytics |
| Essentials | $6/mo per channel | Unlimited | 1 | Unlimited posts, advanced analytics, hashtag manager |
| Team | $12/mo per channel | Unlimited | Unlimited | Approval workflows, permissions, team collaboration |
Example costs:
- 5 channels on Essentials = $30/month
- 10 channels on Team = $120/month
- 25 channels on Team = $300/month
Price Verdict
Buffer is massively cheaper. A solo creator pays $0-$6/month on Buffer vs $199/month on Sprout Social. A small team managing 10 accounts pays $120/month on Buffer's Team plan vs $199+/month per seat on Sprout Social.
Even at scale, Buffer's most expensive setup (25 channels on Team at $300/month) costs less than two Sprout Social Standard seats ($398/month). The pricing only makes sense for Sprout Social if you genuinely need enterprise-grade analytics, customer care workflows, or sentiment analysis.
Feature Comparison
Scheduling & Publishing
| Feature | Sprout Social | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited scheduling | Yes (all plans) | Yes (paid plans) |
| Bulk scheduling | No | CSV import |
| Best time to post | Yes (Optimal Send Times) | No |
| First comment scheduling | No | Yes (Essentials+) |
| Content calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Post queue management | Yes | Yes |
| Draft saving | Yes | Yes |
Winner: Tie. Sprout Social has Optimal Send Times. Buffer has first comment scheduling and CSV bulk import. Both handle core scheduling well.
AI Tools
| Feature | Sprout Social | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| AI caption generation | Yes (AI Assist) | Yes (AI Assistant) |
| AI image generation | No | No |
| AI reply suggestions | Yes (Advanced - Enhance Reply) | No |
| AI post enhancement | Yes (Enhance Post) | Yes |
Winner: Sprout Social — AI Assist includes reply enhancement on the Advanced plan, useful for customer care teams managing high volumes of messages.
Analytics & Reporting
| Feature | Sprout Social | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Basic analytics | All plans | All plans |
| Custom reports | Advanced only | No |
| Competitor benchmarking | Professional+ | No |
| Paid ad insights | Professional+ | No |
| Customer care reports | Advanced | No |
| Team productivity reports | Advanced | No |
| Export reports | Advanced only | Yes |
Winner: Sprout Social — significantly deeper analytics with paid insights, customer care metrics, team productivity tracking, and competitor benchmarking. But these features require the $299-$399/seat plans. Buffer's analytics are basic but sufficient for creators and small teams.
Team Collaboration
| Feature | Sprout Social | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple users | All plans | Team plan |
| Approval workflows | Advanced plan | Team plan |
| User permissions | Professional+ | Team plan |
| Message tagging | Professional+ | No |
| DM assignment | Yes | No |
Winner: Sprout Social — message tagging, DM assignment, and more granular permissions. However, Buffer covers the basics (approvals, permissions) at $12/channel/month vs $199+/seat on Sprout Social.
Social Inbox & Engagement
| Feature | Sprout Social | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Unified inbox | Yes (Smart Inbox) | Basic (Community Inbox) |
| Social listening | Yes (add-on) | No |
| Sentiment analysis | Yes (Advanced) | No |
| Review management | Yes (all plans) | No |
| Message spike alerts | Yes (Advanced) | No |
Winner: Sprout Social — Smart Inbox with sentiment analysis, review management, and spike alerts. This is Sprout Social's core strength. Buffer's Community Inbox is basic by comparison.
Platform Support
| Platform | Sprout Social | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| X/Twitter | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| TikTok | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Bluesky | No | Yes |
| Mastodon | No | Yes |
| Google Business | No | Yes |
Winner: Buffer — supports 11 platforms vs Sprout Social's 8+. Buffer includes Bluesky, Mastodon, and Google Business Profile, which Sprout Social does not.
What Real Users Say
Sprout Social Reviews
G2: 4.4/5 (5,731 reviews) — Users praise the ease of use, post scheduling, and analytics. Top complaints include missing features on lower plans, expensive pricing, and limited features for the cost.
Trustpilot: 2.2/5 (75 reviews) — Low rating with complaints about aggressive sales tactics, rising prices, and the tool feeling outdated relative to newer alternatives.
Buffer Reviews
G2: 4.3/5 (1,023 reviews) — Users praise Buffer's clean interface, ease of use, and efficient scheduling. Common complaints include limited analytics, rising costs at scale, and outdated UI.
Trustpilot: 2.1/5 (93 reviews) — Lower rating driven by complaints about customer support, scheduling glitches, and sync issues with social platforms.
Review Verdict
Sprout Social edges ahead on G2 (4.4 vs 4.3) with a much larger review base (5,731 vs 1,023). On Trustpilot, both score poorly — Sprout Social at 2.2/5 and Buffer at 2.1/5. The Trustpilot scores suggest customer support and billing issues are common across both platforms.
Who Should Use Sprout Social?
If Sprout Social is on your shortlist, check out our best alternatives to Sprout Social for other options.
Sprout Social is the better choice if you:
- Run a customer care team that needs sentiment analysis and care reports
- Need review management built into the platform
- Want paid ad insights alongside organic analytics
- Need team productivity reporting and message spike alerts
- Have the budget for $199-$399+/month per seat
- Need enterprise features like SSO, API, and helpdesk integrations
Who Should Use Buffer?
If Buffer sounds right but you want to explore options, check out our best alternatives to Buffer.
Buffer is the better choice if you:
- Are a solo creator or freelancer on a budget
- Need a simple, clean interface without a learning curve
- Want to schedule posts across 11 platforms including Bluesky and Mastodon
- Don't need social listening, advanced analytics, or a full social inbox
- Prefer per-channel pricing that starts at $6/month (or free)
- Need first comment scheduling for Instagram engagement
A Better Alternative to Both
If Sprout Social feels overpriced and Buffer feels too basic, there's a middle ground.
PostPlanify combines the simplicity of Buffer with features that would cost hundreds on Sprout Social — at a flat monthly rate with no per-seat fees.
| Feature | Sprout Social | Buffer | PostPlanify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $199/mo/seat | $6/mo/channel | $19/mo flat |
| Unlimited Accounts | $299/mo/seat | Scales per channel | $99/mo (Premium) |
| AI Caption Generation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Image Generation | No | No | Yes |
| Canva Integration | No | No | Yes |
| Google Drive Import | No | No | Yes |
| Approval Workflows | $399/mo/seat | $12/mo/channel | $99/mo (Premium) |
| First Comment Scheduling | No | Yes | Yes (Growth+) |
| Unlimited Team Members | Enterprise only | Team plan | $99/mo (Premium) |
| Platforms Supported | 8+ | 11 | 9 |
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+/month per seat on Sprout Social. See all plans on the PostPlanify pricing page.
FAQ
Is Buffer cheaper than Sprout Social?
Yes, significantly. Buffer starts at $0/month (free plan) and $6/month per channel on paid plans. Sprout Social starts at $199/month per seat with no free plan. For most solo creators and small teams, Buffer costs 10-30x less than Sprout Social.
Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
No. Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial but no free plan. Buffer has a free plan with 3 channels and 10 posts per channel.
Which has better analytics — Sprout Social or Buffer?
Sprout Social has much deeper analytics with custom reports, paid ad insights, customer care metrics, team productivity tracking, and competitor benchmarking. Buffer's analytics are basic. However, Sprout Social's best analytics features require the $299-$399/seat plans.
Can I switch from Sprout Social to Buffer?
Yes. You can reconnect your social accounts to Buffer and start scheduling. The main trade-off is losing the Smart Inbox, sentiment analysis, review management, and advanced reporting. You'll gain wider platform support and dramatically lower costs.
Which supports more social media platforms?
Buffer supports 11 platforms (including Bluesky, Mastodon, and Google Business Profile). Sprout Social supports 8+ platforms. Buffer has wider coverage.
Is Sprout Social worth it for small businesses?
For most small businesses, Sprout Social is too expensive. At $199/month per seat, even a single-user setup exceeds most small business social media budgets. Buffer or PostPlanify offer much better value for small teams.
Does Buffer have a social inbox?
Buffer has a basic Community Inbox, but it's limited compared to Sprout Social's Smart Inbox which includes sentiment analysis, message spike alerts, and review management. If inbox management is a core need, Sprout Social has the edge.
Which is easier to use — Sprout Social or Buffer?
Buffer is widely considered easier to use with its clean, minimal interface and almost no learning curve. Sprout Social has a polished interface but a steeper learning curve due to its broader feature set.
