If you're evaluating social media management tools that connect to your CRM, Sprout Social and Zoho Social are two names that come up quickly. But they serve fundamentally different segments. Sprout Social is an enterprise-grade platform built for large social teams, with deep Salesforce integration, social listening, and sentiment analysis — starting at $199 per seat per month. Zoho Social, on the other hand, is a mid-market tool that shines brightest when paired with Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk, starting at just $15 per month. The question isn't which one is "better" in the abstract — it's which one fits your organization's size, stack, and social media maturity.
In this comparison, we break down everything from pricing to features, review scores, and ideal use cases. If you're exploring more options beyond these two, check out our full list of social media management alternatives.
Sprout Social vs Zoho Social at a Glance
| Feature | Sprout Social | Zoho Social |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $199/seat/mo | $15/mo (Free plan available) |
| Social Profiles | 5 (Standard) to unlimited | 1 brand per plan (up to 25 channels on Premium) |
| Team Members | Per-seat pricing | 1 (Standard) to 3 (Premium) |
| Platforms Supported | 10+ | 9 |
| AI Caption Generation | Yes (AI Assist) | Basic |
| AI Image Generation | No | No |
| Social Listening | Yes (Professional+) | No |
| Unified Inbox | Smart Inbox | Basic social inbox |
| CRM Integration | Salesforce (native), HubSpot | Native Zoho CRM & Zoho Desk |
| Sentiment Analysis | Yes | No |
| Competitor Reports | Yes | Limited |
| Approval Workflows | Yes | Yes (Premium) |
| Analytics Depth | Advanced with custom reports | Standard with scheduled reports |
| G2 Rating | 4.4/5 (3,732 reviews) | 4.6/5 (2,870 reviews) |
| Trustpilot Rating | 1.2/5 (198 reviews) | 4.0/5 (~5,778 reviews) |
Sprout Social Overview
Sprout Social has positioned itself as the enterprise standard for social media management. It combines publishing, engagement, listening, and analytics into a single platform that integrates deeply with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other enterprise tools. The Smart Inbox unifies messages from all connected platforms into one stream, and the social listening capabilities (available on Professional and above) let teams track brand mentions, industry keywords, and competitor activity across the web.
Where Sprout Social truly differentiates is in its CRM-style approach to social engagement. Each interaction can be tied to a contact record, giving customer-facing teams context about who they're speaking with. The sentiment analysis tools help large teams triage incoming messages by tone, and the competitor reporting provides benchmarking data that's difficult to replicate manually. For organizations with dedicated social media teams and enterprise budgets, Sprout Social delivers a mature, polished experience. Read more in our Sprout Social reviews breakdown.
Zoho Social Overview
Zoho Social is part of the broader Zoho ecosystem — a suite of 50+ business applications that includes Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Analytics, and more. If your organization already runs on Zoho, Social slots in naturally with native integrations that let you create CRM leads from social interactions, route support requests to Zoho Desk, and pull social data into Zoho Analytics dashboards. The SmartQ feature analyzes your audience activity to suggest optimal posting times, and the zShare browser extension lets you share content from anywhere on the web.
Zoho Social covers 9 platforms and offers solid scheduling, monitoring, and basic analytics. It won't match Sprout Social's depth in listening or sentiment analysis, but it handles the day-to-day social media workflow competently at a fraction of the cost. For small-to-midsize businesses that want their social media tool to talk natively to their CRM and helpdesk without paying enterprise prices, Zoho Social is a strong contender. Learn more in our Zoho Social reviews analysis.
Pricing Comparison
Sprout Social Pricing
Sprout Social uses per-seat pricing, which means costs scale linearly with every team member you add. Here's what the plans look like at monthly billing. For a deeper dive, see 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 5-person team on Professional: $299 x 5 = $1,495/month.
Zoho Social Pricing
Zoho Social uses flat monthly pricing (not per-seat), though team member limits increase with higher plans. See our full Zoho Social pricing page for details.
| Plan | Monthly Price | Brands | Members | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 | 1 | Basic publishing, 7 channels |
| Standard | $15/mo | 1 | 1 | SmartQ, zShare, content calendar |
| Professional | $40/mo | 1 | 1 | Bulk scheduling, repeat posting, Zoho CRM integration |
| Premium | $65/mo | 1 | 3 | Custom roles, approval workflows, Zoho Desk integration |
Example cost for a 3-person team on Premium: $65/month (flat rate, all 3 members included).
Price Verdict
The pricing gap here is enormous. A single Sprout Social seat on the Standard plan costs more than three times Zoho Social's Premium plan. For a 5-person team, you're looking at $995-$1,495/month with Sprout Social versus $65/month with Zoho Social. This isn't a matter of one being overpriced — Sprout Social includes listening, sentiment analysis, and enterprise integrations that Zoho Social simply doesn't offer. The question is whether your organization needs those capabilities and has the budget to support them.
Feature Comparison
Scheduling & Publishing
| Capability | Sprout Social | Zoho Social |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Content Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk Scheduling | Yes | Yes (Professional+) |
| Optimal Time Suggestions | Yes (ViralPost) | Yes (SmartQ) |
| Queue Categories | Yes | No |
| RSS Feed Publishing | No | Yes |
| Browser Extension | No | Yes (zShare) |
| Post Approval Workflows | Yes | Yes (Premium) |
Winner: Tie. Both handle scheduling well. Sprout Social's ViralPost and Zoho Social's SmartQ take different approaches to timing optimization, and both are effective. Zoho Social's zShare extension and RSS integration are convenient touches for content curation. Sprout Social's queue system is better for teams managing high volumes.
AI Tools
| Capability | Sprout Social | Zoho Social |
|---|---|---|
| AI Caption Generation | Yes (AI Assist) | Basic suggestions |
| AI Tone Adjustment | Yes | No |
| AI Image Generation | No | No |
| AI-Powered Analytics | Yes (sentiment) | No |
| AI Listening Insights | Yes (Professional+) | No |
Winner: Sprout Social. AI Assist generates and refines captions with tone adjustment, and the AI-powered sentiment analysis adds another layer of intelligence. Zoho Social's AI capabilities are minimal by comparison.
Analytics & Reporting
| Capability | Sprout Social | Zoho Social |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Report Builder | Yes | Limited |
| Competitive Analysis | Yes | Basic |
| Sentiment Tracking | Yes | No |
| Scheduled Report Delivery | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-Platform Analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Presentation-Ready Reports | Yes (PDF) | Yes (PDF) |
| Tag Performance Reports | Yes | No |
Winner: Sprout Social. The analytics suite is significantly more advanced, with custom report building, tag-based performance tracking, and competitive intelligence. Zoho Social covers the basics but doesn't offer the same depth.
Team Collaboration
| Capability | Sprout Social | Zoho Social |
|---|---|---|
| Approval Workflows | Yes (all plans) | Yes (Premium only) |
| Task Assignment | Yes | No |
| Collision Detection | Yes | No |
| Custom User Roles | Yes | Yes (Premium) |
| Conversation History | Yes | Basic |
| Internal Notes | Yes | No |
Winner: Sprout Social. The collaboration features are built for large teams — collision detection prevents duplicate responses, task assignment keeps workflows organized, and internal notes provide context without leaving the platform. Zoho Social's collaboration tools are adequate for small teams but limited.
Platform Support
| Platform | Sprout Social | Zoho Social |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| X (Twitter) | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| TikTok | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | No | |
| Google Business Profile | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
Winner: Sprout Social. With 10+ platforms including WhatsApp and emerging networks, Sprout Social has broader coverage. Zoho Social covers 9 platforms — all the major ones — but misses some of the niche channels.
What Real Users Say
Sprout Social Reviews
On G2, Sprout Social holds a 4.4/5 rating from 3,732 reviews. Users consistently praise the unified inbox, reporting quality, and customer support. Common complaints center on the high per-seat pricing and the fact that many features are locked behind the Professional and Advanced tiers.
On Trustpilot, the picture is different: 1.2/5 from 198 reviews. The negative reviews frequently mention billing issues, difficulty cancelling contracts, and customer support responsiveness for billing-related concerns. This disconnect between G2 and Trustpilot is worth noting — the product is well-regarded, but the billing experience has frustrated some customers.
Zoho Social Reviews
On G2, Zoho Social earns a 4.6/5 rating from 2,870 reviews. Users highlight the Zoho ecosystem integration, clean interface, and strong value for the price. The most common criticism is that advanced features like listening and in-depth analytics are missing compared to more expensive tools.
On Trustpilot, Zoho as a company holds a 4.0/5 rating across approximately 5,778 reviews. This covers the entire Zoho product suite, not just Zoho Social specifically, but it reflects general satisfaction with Zoho's approach to business software.
Review Verdict
Zoho Social actually outscores Sprout Social on both review platforms. The G2 gap (4.6 vs 4.4) is modest, but the Trustpilot gap (4.0 vs 1.2) is striking. Sprout Social's product quality is not in question — the G2 reviews confirm that — but the billing and contract experience has clearly been a pain point for some users.
Who Should Use Sprout Social?
If you're considering Sprout Social, also explore alternatives to Sprout Social and see how it stacks up in our Sprout Social vs Iconosquare and Sprout Social vs Vista Social comparisons.
- Enterprise organizations with dedicated social media teams and the budget to support per-seat pricing
- Salesforce users who need native CRM integration to tie social interactions to customer records
- Brands that need social listening to track mentions, keywords, and competitor activity across the web
- Customer service teams managing high volumes of inbound messages across multiple platforms
- Agencies that need presentation-ready reporting and can justify the cost per client
- Organizations requiring sentiment analysis to understand audience tone at scale
Who Should Use Zoho Social?
If you're exploring Zoho Social, check out alternatives to Zoho Social and our broader social media tool alternatives guide.
- Zoho ecosystem users who already run Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, or Zoho Analytics
- Small-to-midsize businesses that need solid scheduling and monitoring without enterprise pricing
- Solo marketers or small teams (1-3 people) who want an integrated workflow at low cost
- Businesses that prioritize content curation and benefit from RSS feeds and the zShare browser extension
- Organizations that want a free tier to get started before committing to a paid plan
- Teams that value ecosystem consistency over best-in-class social media features
The All-in-One Alternative Worth Considering
If Sprout Social's pricing feels prohibitive but Zoho Social's feature set feels limiting, PostPlanify bridges that gap — delivering advanced capabilities like unlimited AI-powered captions, AI image generation across 7 models, and a built-in Canva integration, all without per-seat pricing that punishes growing teams.
| Feature | Sprout Social (Standard) | Zoho Social (Premium) | PostPlanify (Growth) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $199/seat | $65 | $39 |
| Social Profiles | 5 | Up to 25 channels | 6 |
| Team Members | 1 (per seat) | 3 | Unlimited |
| AI Caption Generation | AI Assist | Basic | Unlimited |
| AI Image Generation | No | No | Yes (7 models) |
| Canva Integration | No | No | Yes |
| Social Listening | No (Professional+) | No | No |
| Approval Workflows | Yes | Yes | Yes (Premium) |
| Link-in-Bio Builder | No | No | Yes |
| X (Twitter) Support | Included | Included | Included |
PostPlanify doesn't try to replace Sprout Social's enterprise listening or Zoho Social's ecosystem depth. What it does offer is a streamlined publishing and content creation workflow with AI tools that neither Sprout Social nor Zoho Social match — at a price point that works for teams of any size. Unlimited scheduling, unlimited AI captions, and AI image generation are included on every plan. Check out PostPlanify pricing or get started free.
FAQ
Is Sprout Social worth the price compared to Zoho Social?
It depends on what you need. Sprout Social's value comes from social listening, sentiment analysis, enterprise CRM integration (especially Salesforce), and advanced team collaboration. If your organization uses those features daily, the per-seat cost can be justified. If you primarily need scheduling, basic analytics, and CRM integration within the Zoho ecosystem, Zoho Social delivers far more value per dollar.
Can Zoho Social replace Sprout Social for enterprise teams?
For most enterprise use cases, no. Zoho Social lacks social listening, sentiment analysis, collision detection, and the depth of analytics that large teams rely on. However, if your enterprise runs on the Zoho stack and your social media needs are primarily publishing and basic engagement, Zoho Social can handle the workload at a fraction of the cost.
Which tool has better CRM integration?
Both are strong in their respective ecosystems. Sprout Social's Salesforce integration is best-in-class for enterprise CRM workflows, linking social conversations to contact records and support cases. Zoho Social's native integration with Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk is equally seamless if you're already in the Zoho ecosystem. The "better" integration is whichever connects to the CRM you already use.
Does Zoho Social offer social listening?
No. Social listening is not available on any Zoho Social plan. If monitoring brand mentions, competitor keywords, or industry conversations is important to your strategy, you'll need a tool like Sprout Social (Professional plan or higher), a standalone listening tool, or an alternative that includes this feature.
How do the AI features compare between Sprout Social and Zoho Social?
Sprout Social's AI Assist generates and refines captions with tone adjustment options, and the platform includes AI-powered sentiment analysis for incoming messages. Zoho Social offers basic AI-powered posting suggestions but doesn't have a full caption generation tool or sentiment analysis. Neither platform offers AI image generation — for that, you'd need a tool like PostPlanify.
Can I try both tools for free before committing?
Zoho Social offers a permanent free plan (1 brand, 1 member, 7 channels) and free trials on paid plans. Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial but no permanent free tier. Both trials give you enough time to evaluate the core features, though Sprout Social's trial may not include listening or advanced features unless you specifically request access.
Which is better for agencies managing multiple clients?
Sprout Social is built for agency workflows, with client approval processes, presentation-ready reports, and the ability to manage multiple brands. However, the per-seat pricing can get expensive quickly when multiple team members need access. Zoho Social is more budget-friendly but limits you to one brand per plan, meaning you'd need separate subscriptions for each client — which adds up and becomes difficult to manage.
What about Sprout Social vs Zoho Social for small businesses?
For small businesses, Zoho Social is almost always the better fit. The free plan lets you get started immediately, and even the Premium plan at $65/month is less than a single Sprout Social seat. Unless you specifically need Sprout Social's listening or Salesforce integration, the cost difference is too significant to ignore for a small team.
