Published by the Zolyp team, reviewed by Hammas Ali, Founder & CEO ·
Why do people look for a Sprout Social alternative?
Sprout Social is a polished suite with strong reporting. The usual reasons people look elsewhere:
- Per-seat pricing: Essentials is $79 per seat a month billed yearly, Standard $199, Professional $299 and Advanced $399, so every person adds the full price.
- Profile limits: Essentials connects up to 5 social profiles.
- Small businesses and solo owners pay for reporting depth they rarely use.
- It still schedules and analyses your posts; it doesn't plan and write them for you.
Source: Sprout Social pricing, checked 9 October 2026
Hootsuite: the closest team suite
Hootsuite has a shared inbox, approvals and listening. Standard is $99 per user a month billed yearly for up to 10 accounts (twice Sprout Essentials' 5 profiles), with a 14-day trial and no card.
Source: Hootsuite plans, checked 9 October 2026
Buffer: simple and cheap
Buffer schedules posts with a free plan (3 channels, 10 scheduled posts each) and paid plans from $5 a month per channel. Much lighter on reporting than Sprout.
Source: Buffer pricing, checked 9 October 2026
Publer: many accounts on a budget
Publer's Professional plan is $5 a month per account ($4 billed yearly), and every tenth account is free. Good for agencies with many client accounts.
Source: Publer plans, checked 9 October 2026
Metricool: analytics on a small budget
If Sprout's reports were the draw, Metricool offers analytics with a free plan (one brand, 20 posts a month, not LinkedIn or X) and paid plans from $20 a month for up to 5 brands.
Source: Metricool pricing, checked 13 October 2026
Later: for Instagram-first brands
Later's visual calendar suits Instagram-led brands. There's no free plan; Starter is $18.75 a month billed yearly for 8 profiles and 30 posts per profile.
Source: Later pricing, checked 9 October 2026
Zolyp: when making the posts is the problem
Zolyp is our product, so weigh this section with that in mind. Per-seat suites make sense when several people share the work; for a small business, the bottleneck is usually making the posts. Most tools here, like the one you're leaving, move a finished post onto a calendar. If the hard part of your week is deciding what to post and then writing and designing it, a different kind of tool fits better.
Zolyp plans the week across your content themes, writes the captions and designs the visuals against your Brand Brain (your tone, colours and rules, saved once), fits each post to its platform, and publishes to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You approve the week in minutes. Lite is $9 a month per brand for scheduling your own posts; the plans that create the posts start at $29 a month, with a 3-day free trial and no card required.
Sprout Social alternatives side by side
Prices change often. Each figure below was checked on the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown under Sources; confirm it there before you switch.
| Tool | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social | No (30-day trial, no card) | Essentials, $79/mo per seat billed yearly (5 profiles) | Larger teams wanting deep reporting |
| Hootsuite | No (14-day trial, no card) | Standard, $99/mo per user billed yearly (10 accounts) | Teams needing an inbox and approvals |
| Buffer | 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel | Essentials, from $5/mo per channel | Simple scheduling, few channels |
| Publer | 3 accounts (no X), 10 scheduled posts per account | Professional, $5/mo per account ($4 billed yearly) | Many accounts on a budget |
| Metricool | 1 brand, 20 posts/month (no LinkedIn or X) | Starter, from $20/mo billed yearly (up to 5 brands) | Free scheduling with analytics |
| Later | No (14-day trial) | Starter, $18.75/mo billed yearly (8 profiles) | Instagram-first brands |
| Zolyp | No (3-day trial, no card) | Lite, $9/mo per brand; AI plans from $29/mo | Posts planned, written and designed for you |
Sources: Sprout Social pricing, checked 9 October 2026; Hootsuite plans, checked 9 October 2026; Buffer pricing, checked 9 October 2026; Publer plans, checked 9 October 2026; Metricool pricing, checked 13 October 2026; Later pricing, checked 9 October 2026
How do you switch tools without missing a post?
A clean switch takes an afternoon:
- Export or write down everything still scheduled in your current tool, with dates and times.
- Connect the same accounts in the new tool and check each one can publish.
- Recreate the scheduled posts there, checking the time zone setting first.
- Pause or empty the old queue so nothing goes out twice.
- Watch the first few posts go live before you cancel the old plan.
Common questions
What is a cheaper alternative to Sprout Social?
Buffer and Publer start around $5 a month per channel or account and have free plans; Metricool starts at $20 a month for up to 5 brands. Sprout Social Essentials is $79 per seat a month billed yearly.
Is Hootsuite cheaper than Sprout Social?
Not per person: Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user a month billed yearly and Sprout Essentials is $79 per seat. Hootsuite Standard does manage more accounts (10 versus 5 profiles).
Is there a free alternative to Sprout Social?
Yes: Buffer, Publer and Metricool all have free plans, each with limits on accounts or posts. Sprout Social offers a 30-day trial.