Sprout Social and Vista Social are both built for organizations that take social media seriously. They share a similar ambition — be the one platform that handles publishing, engagement, analytics, and team collaboration — but they arrive from different directions. Sprout Social is the established incumbent with deep Salesforce integration, mature social listening, and a decade-plus track record serving enterprises. Vista Social is the newer challenger, boasting the highest G2 rating in the category (4.8/5), DM automations, review management across 5 sites, and support for 12+ social platforms. This is a genuine enterprise-vs-enterprise comparison where the right choice depends on which features your organization prioritizes.
We cover the full breakdown below, from pricing to feature details. For a wider view of the landscape, see our social media management alternatives guide.
Sprout Social vs Vista Social at a Glance
| Feature | Sprout Social | Vista Social |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $199/seat/mo | $79/mo (3 users) |
| Social Profiles | 5 (Standard) to unlimited | 15 (Professional) to 70 (Scale) |
| Team Members | Per-seat pricing | 3 to 10 per plan |
| Platforms Supported | 10+ | 12+ social + 5 review sites |
| AI Caption Generation | Yes (AI Assist) | Yes (AI credits) |
| AI Image Generation | No | No native |
| Social Listening | Yes (Professional+) | $75/mo addon |
| DM Automations | No | Yes |
| Unified Inbox | Smart Inbox | Yes |
| Review Management | No | Yes (5 review sites) |
| Employee Advocacy | No | $199/mo addon |
| Sentiment Analysis | Yes | Basic |
| CRM Integration | Salesforce (native), HubSpot | Limited |
| Competitor Reports | Yes | Yes |
| X (Twitter) Support | Included | Paid addon |
| G2 Rating | 4.4/5 (3,732 reviews) | 4.8/5 (1,071 reviews) |
| Trustpilot Rating | 1.2/5 (198 reviews) | 4.1/5 (62 reviews) |
Sprout Social Overview
Sprout Social has been a fixture in the enterprise social media management space for over a decade. The platform combines publishing, the Smart Inbox for unified engagement, social listening (Professional plan and above), and advanced analytics into one cohesive experience. The Salesforce integration is the deepest in the industry, letting teams link social conversations directly to CRM contacts and support cases. Sentiment analysis helps teams prioritize and triage messages, and the reporting suite produces client-ready PDFs that require minimal post-production.
The platform's maturity shows in its collaboration tools — collision detection prevents two team members from responding to the same message, task assignment routes work to the right person, and internal notes keep context visible without switching tools. Sprout Social is the safe, proven choice for enterprises, particularly those with existing Salesforce investments. Read more in our Sprout Social reviews analysis.
Vista Social Overview
Vista Social has rapidly emerged as a serious enterprise contender, earning a 4.8/5 on G2 from over 1,000 reviews — the highest rating in the social media management category. The platform covers 12+ social platforms plus review management on 5 sites (Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Trustpilot, Facebook), giving organizations a single place to manage both their social presence and their online reputation. DM automations let teams set up auto-responses, keyword triggers, and workflow rules for direct messages at scale.
Vista Social's approach to feature packaging is modular: social listening ($75/month addon) and employee advocacy ($199/month addon) are available but priced separately. The platform offers AI-powered caption generation through a credit system (500-unlimited depending on plan), and the profile capacity is generous — 15 profiles on the entry-level Professional plan, scaling to 70 on Scale. One notable caveat: X (Twitter) support requires a paid addon due to API costs. For the full picture, see our Vista Social reviews page.
Pricing Comparison
Sprout Social Pricing
Sprout Social's per-seat model means costs multiply with every team member. For a thorough analysis, check our Sprout Social pricing guide.
| Plan | Monthly Price | Profiles | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $199/seat/mo | 5 | Publishing, Smart Inbox, basic reporting |
| Professional | $299/seat/mo | Unlimited | Social listening, competitive reports, custom workflows |
| Advanced | $399/seat/mo | Unlimited | Chatbots, sentiment analysis, automated link tracking |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Premium consulting, SLA, custom integrations |
Example cost for a 6-person team on Professional: $299 x 6 = $1,794/month.
Vista Social Pricing
Vista Social uses flat plan pricing with included team members. Visit our Vista Social pricing page for a complete breakdown.
| Plan | Monthly Price | Profiles | Users | AI Credits | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | $79/mo | 15 | 3 | 500 | Publishing, inbox, analytics, review management |
| Advanced | $149/mo | 30 | 6 | 1,000 | Advanced analytics, custom branding, priority support |
| Scale | $379/mo | 70 | 10 | Unlimited | White-label, API access, dedicated success manager |
Common addons:
- Social Listening: +$75/month
- Employee Advocacy: +$199/month
- X (Twitter) support: Paid addon (pricing varies)
Example cost for a 6-person team on Advanced with listening and X: $149 + $75 + X addon = ~$250-$300/month.
Price Verdict
Vista Social delivers significantly more profile capacity and team access per dollar. A 6-person team on Vista Social Advanced costs roughly $149-$300/month (depending on addons), compared to $1,194-$1,794/month for the same team on Sprout Social Standard or Professional. However, Sprout Social's listening is built into the Professional plan rather than billed as an addon, and the Salesforce integration is native — not something you can simply add to Vista Social. The price difference is real, but so are the capability differences in CRM integration depth and enterprise maturity.
Feature Comparison
Scheduling & Publishing
| Capability | Sprout Social | Vista Social |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Content Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk Scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| Optimal Time Suggestions | Yes (ViralPost) | Yes |
| Queue Categories | Yes | Yes |
| Post Approval Workflows | Yes | Yes |
| Platform Coverage | 10+ | 12+ social + 5 review sites |
| Auto-Publishing | Yes | Yes |
| UTM Tracking | Yes | Yes |
Winner: Vista Social, marginally. Both are fully featured for publishing, but Vista Social covers more platforms (12+ vs 10+) and adds review site management. Sprout Social's publishing is equally polished for the platforms it supports.
AI Tools
| Capability | Sprout Social | Vista Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI Caption Generation | Yes (AI Assist, unlimited) | Yes (credit-based) |
| AI Tone Adjustment | Yes | Yes |
| AI Image Generation | No | No native |
| AI Content Suggestions | Limited | Yes |
| AI Credits System | No (unlimited) | 500-unlimited per plan |
Winner: Sprout Social, slightly. AI Assist offers unlimited caption generation without a credit system, which is simpler for high-volume teams. Vista Social's credit-based approach works but can feel limiting on the Professional plan (500 credits). Neither platform offers native AI image generation.
Analytics & Reporting
| Capability | Sprout Social | Vista Social |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Report Builder | Yes | Yes |
| Competitive Analysis | Yes (Professional+) | Yes |
| Sentiment Tracking | Yes (Advanced) | Basic |
| Scheduled Report Delivery | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-Platform Analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Review Site Analytics | No | Yes |
| White-Label Reports | No | Yes (Scale) |
| Tag Performance | Yes | Yes |
Winner: Tie. Sprout Social has deeper sentiment analysis and more mature reporting templates. Vista Social includes review site analytics and white-label reports that Sprout Social doesn't offer. The better choice depends on whether you value sentiment intelligence or reputation management analytics.
Team Collaboration
| Capability | Sprout Social | Vista Social |
|---|---|---|
| Approval Workflows | Yes | Yes |
| Task Assignment | Yes | Yes |
| Collision Detection | Yes | Yes |
| Custom User Roles | Yes | Yes |
| Internal Notes | Yes | Yes |
| DM Automations | No | Yes |
| Employee Advocacy | No | Yes ($199/mo addon) |
Winner: Vista Social. Both platforms offer enterprise-grade collaboration with collision detection, task assignment, and custom roles. Vista Social pulls ahead with DM automations — the ability to create auto-responses and keyword-triggered workflows for direct messages — and the optional employee advocacy module for amplifying brand content through team members' personal accounts.
Platform Support
| Platform | Sprout Social | Vista Social |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| X (Twitter) | Included | Paid addon |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| TikTok | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | No | |
| Google Business Profile | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Google Reviews | No | Yes |
| Yelp | No | Yes |
| TripAdvisor | No | Yes |
| Trustpilot Reviews | No | Yes |
Winner: It depends. Sprout Social includes X (Twitter) in every plan and supports WhatsApp. Vista Social supports more total platforms (12+ social plus 5 review sites) but charges extra for X. If X is critical to your strategy, Sprout Social's included access is a real advantage. If review management matters, Vista Social is the only option here.
What Real Users Say
Sprout Social Reviews
On G2, Sprout Social holds 4.4/5 from 3,732 reviews. With nearly four times the review volume of Vista Social, this is one of the most reviewed tools in the category. Users highlight the polished interface, Smart Inbox, and enterprise reliability. Complaints consistently focus on per-seat pricing and feature gating across tiers.
On Trustpilot, Sprout Social scores 1.2/5 from 198 reviews. The negative sentiment is overwhelmingly about billing and cancellation experiences, not the product itself. This pattern — strong product reviews on G2, poor billing reviews on Trustpilot — has persisted for years and is worth factoring into your decision, especially regarding contract terms.
Vista Social Reviews
On G2, Vista Social leads the category with 4.8/5 from 1,071 reviews — an exceptionally high score at meaningful volume. Users praise the breadth of features, responsive support team, and rapid feature development pace. The most common critiques are about the credit-based AI system and the paid X (Twitter) addon.
On Trustpilot, Vista Social holds 4.1/5 from 62 reviews. The smaller review count means the score is less statistically robust than Sprout Social's, but the sentiment is clearly positive. Users mention the customer support quality and feature value relative to pricing.
Review Verdict
Vista Social outperforms Sprout Social on both review platforms — 4.8 vs 4.4 on G2 and 4.1 vs 1.2 on Trustpilot. The G2 gap is notable because both have substantial review volumes (1,071 and 3,732 respectively). Sprout Social's Trustpilot issues appear to be business-process related rather than product-quality related, but they're still a factor in the overall customer experience. Vista Social's consistently positive reviews across platforms signal strong product-market fit.
Who Should Use Sprout Social?
Considering Sprout Social? Also explore alternatives to Sprout Social, Sprout Social vs Zoho Social, and Sprout Social vs Iconosquare.
- Salesforce-centric enterprises that need native CRM integration to connect social interactions with customer records
- Organizations requiring mature social listening built directly into the platform without addon pricing
- Brands that rely heavily on X (Twitter) and want it included in their plan without extra costs
- Customer service teams managing high-volume support conversations across social channels
- Companies that prioritize sentiment analysis for triaging and understanding audience tone at scale
- Risk-averse enterprises that prefer an established vendor with a long track record
Who Should Use Vista Social?
Explore further with alternatives to Vista Social and browse more social media tool comparisons.
- Agencies managing many profiles who need 15-70 profiles per plan without per-profile upcharges
- Brands that manage online reviews across Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and other review platforms alongside social media
- Teams that want DM automations to handle high-volume direct messages with triggers and auto-responses
- Organizations interested in employee advocacy to amplify brand messaging through team members' personal accounts
- Companies that prioritize platform breadth and need to manage 12+ social networks from one tool
- Teams that value high user satisfaction and want a platform with top-rated support and rapid feature iteration
A Streamlined Alternative for Content-First Teams
Sprout Social and Vista Social are built for enterprise complexity. But not every team needs social listening, DM automations, or review management. If your workflow centers on creating great content, generating AI-powered captions and images, and publishing consistently across platforms, PostPlanify delivers those capabilities without the enterprise overhead or enterprise pricing.
| Feature | Sprout Social (Standard) | Vista Social (Professional) | PostPlanify (Growth) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $199/seat | $79 | $39 |
| Social Profiles | 5 | 15 | 6 |
| Team Members | 1 (per seat) | 3 | Unlimited |
| AI Caption Generation | AI Assist | 500 credits | Unlimited |
| AI Image Generation | No | No | Yes (7 models) |
| Canva Integration | No | No | Yes |
| Google Drive Integration | No | No | Yes |
| Social Listening | No (Professional+) | $75/mo addon | No |
| Review Management | No | Yes (5 sites) | No |
| DM Automations | No | Yes | No |
| Link-in-Bio Builder | No | No | Yes |
| X (Twitter) Support | Included | Paid addon | Included |
PostPlanify is not an enterprise platform. It does not offer social listening, review management, or DM automations. What it does offer is the most complete content creation toolkit in its category — unlimited AI caption generation, AI image generation across 7 models, native Canva integration, and Google Drive connectivity — with unlimited scheduling and no per-seat pricing. For teams where the bottleneck is creating and publishing content rather than managing enterprise workflows, PostPlanify removes friction at every step. See PostPlanify pricing or sign up free.
FAQ
Is Vista Social a real competitor to Sprout Social at the enterprise level?
Yes. Vista Social's feature set — unified inbox, publishing, analytics, review management, DM automations, employee advocacy — covers enterprise requirements comprehensively. The 4.8/5 G2 rating from 1,000+ reviews confirms that large organizations are using and recommending it. Where Sprout Social still leads is in CRM integration depth (especially Salesforce), social listening maturity, and the institutional trust that comes with a longer track record.
Why does Vista Social charge extra for X (Twitter)?
X (formerly Twitter) significantly increased API pricing for third-party tools, and Vista Social chose to pass that cost through as an optional addon rather than raising prices for all users. Sprout Social absorbs the cost into its per-seat pricing. If X is a major part of your social strategy, factor the addon cost into your Vista Social total. If you rarely use X, you benefit from not subsidizing it.
Which platform has better social listening?
Sprout Social. Its listening capability is built into the Professional plan ($299/seat/month) and is one of the most mature social listening tools available within a social media management platform. Vista Social offers listening as a $75/month addon, which is more accessible from a pricing standpoint but less developed in terms of query complexity, historical data depth, and sentiment nuance.
Can Vista Social integrate with Salesforce like Sprout Social does?
Not at the same depth. Sprout Social's Salesforce integration is a native, co-developed partnership that links social conversations to CRM contacts, creates support cases from social messages, and syncs engagement data bidirectionally. Vista Social offers CRM integrations but none match the depth of Sprout Social's Salesforce connection. If Salesforce is central to your operations, this is a significant differentiator in Sprout Social's favor.
How do the review management features compare?
Sprout Social does not offer review management. Vista Social manages reviews across Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Trustpilot, and Facebook — letting you respond to reviews, track sentiment trends, and manage your online reputation alongside social media. If review management is important to your business (especially for hospitality, restaurants, or local businesses), Vista Social is the clear choice.
Which is better for large agencies?
Vista Social offers more profiles per plan (15-70) and includes white-label reports on the Scale plan, making it attractive for agencies managing many client accounts. Sprout Social offers unlimited profiles on Professional and above but charges per seat, which gets expensive for larger agency teams. Vista Social's Scale plan ($379/month for 10 users and 70 profiles) is dramatically less expensive than equivalent Sprout Social access for a 10-person agency team ($1,990-$3,990/month).
Do either of these tools offer AI image generation?
No. Neither Sprout Social nor Vista Social offers native AI image generation. Both provide AI-powered caption generation (Sprout Social via AI Assist, Vista Social via credits), but if generating images from text prompts is part of your workflow, you'll need a separate tool or a platform like PostPlanify that includes AI image generation across 7 models on every plan.
What happens if I outgrow Vista Social's profile limits?
Vista Social's plans cap at 70 profiles on the Scale plan. If you need more, you'd need to negotiate a custom arrangement or run multiple accounts. Sprout Social offers unlimited profiles on Professional and above, which removes this ceiling entirely. For very large organizations managing hundreds of profiles, Sprout Social's unlimited model provides more long-term scalability on the profile front, though the per-seat cost remains a consideration.
