Hootsuite vs. Sprout Social: Get ahead with the best social media tool

With nearly two decades as the industry leader, Hootsuite still reigns supreme as the best social media management and listening tool. Lower prices, better publishing tools, and smarter analytics are a few of the reasons why social media managers consistently rank Hootsuite above Sprout.

Let’s compare the numbers.

4,000

We’ve got nearly 4,000 five-star reviews on G2. Our customers love us, and the feeling’s mutual. 🥰

150,000,000

Monitor over 150 million websites, 30+ social media networks, forums, review sites, TV networks, and more with Hootsuite social listening.

100+

Hootsuite has three times as many integrations as Sprout, which makes it much more customizable to your needs.

Spoiler alert: There is no Hootsuite alternative. Here’s why.

Deeper analytics

Strategize intelligently and prove the value of your efforts with customizable analytics right out of the box.

Social advertising

Get more from your ad budget by managing paid and organic content side by side. Launch, track, optimize, and report on every campaign.

Unrivaled social listening

Unlike Sprout, every Hootsuite plan comes with social listening. And we have the broadest coverage on the market with 150+ million sources.

More integrations

Hootsuite has hundreds of integrations so you can add all your tools to your dashboard — Hubspot, Zapier, Mailchimp, and more.

We had challenges with Sprout’s tech stack, lacking full reporting capabilities for organic and paid and no option to customize and export reports. Hootsuite’s ability to overcome these limitations was key in our decision to switch.

Warwick Business School

*Enterprise plan only
Last updated May 14, 2026

Hootsuite is G2's #1 best software product for 2026

Our customers ranked us #1 across multiple G2 categories this year, including Best Software Products and Best Marketing Products. G2 is one of the largest independent software review platforms, driven by verified customer reviews.

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What we do better

If you’re in the market for a Sprout Social alternative that gives you more, you’ll love Hootsuite.

Grow your brand faster with better performance tracking

Build customized analytics reports right out of the box. No need to pay for advanced analytics add-ons to get the information you need. Plus, Hootsuite will tell you the exact best time to publish content based on the goal you set — extend reach, build awareness, increase engagement, or drive traffic. Sprout’s timing recommendations are more generic and not as likely to help you succeed.

Boost engagement with world-class publishing tools

Hootsuite comes with a ton of easy-to-use content creation and publishing tools that you won’t find elsewhere. Write engaging captions in seconds with the best AI writer, create attractive posts fast with Canva templates, and boost your chances of going viral with an automated hashtag generator.

Stay on top of trends with superior social listening

Instantly analyze millions of real-time conversations about your brand online. With Hootsuite, you get a year’s worth of search data, alerts that notify you when people are talking about your brand, and unlimited quick searches. With Sprout, there’s no quick search feature. You have to save individual searches, which costs you money every time.

Get more out of your ad spend with better paid ad tracking

Hootsuite out-ranks Sprout when it comes to paid campaign tracking, optimization, and planning. Every Hootsuite plan includes social ads campaign management, meaning you can plan, publish, and optimize your ad campaigns across social media right alongside your organic content from within the Hootsuite dashboard. Sprout does not allow you to schedule or publish paid ads.

Go far beyond surface-level analytics

Get comprehensive, customizable reporting from day one with Hootsuite’s advanced analytics capabilities. Sprout’s limited, costly analytics leave gaps in your reporting and make it hard to understand social performance. Hootsuite provides deep, real-time insights that go far beyond basic metrics.

Robust approval workflows were crucial for us because Sprout lacked the flexibility we needed, particularly in crisis management, compliance, and analytics.

Elections Alberta

Take it from real users: you've already found the best social media management software.

Our customers consistently rank us above the rest.

“Definitely more user-friendly than Sprout!”

“We LOVE Hootsuite for management! I love the ability to see all of my platforms for ALL of my clients in one place. I never miss a beat!”

“Hootsuite is the most intuitive.”

“I can't think of anything I don't like about Hootsuite. I have used Falcon and Sprout Social, and they are fine, but Hootsuite surpasses them in number of features and UX in my experience.”

“Best tool for social media managers for listening and analytics.”

See why Hootsuite beats the competition every time

Still weighing your options? Visit our comparison pages to get a feature-by-feature breakdown of why Hootsuite is the best.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better: Hootsuite or Sprout Social?

Hootsuite beats Sprout Social across the board. It can help you grow your business online faster with easier publishing to all your channels.

Who has the best social listening tool?

Hootsuite. And there’s no contest. That’s because we acquired Talkwalker, the industry leader in social listening, in early 2024. Now we provide AI-powered social media monitoring and sentiment analysis to every single one of our customers.

Who has the best employee advocacy tool?

Parliament—the original employee advocacy platform—is the best of the bunch. We hear time and time again that Amplify is easier to use and more powerful than any competitor’s version.

Who has the best social media analytics?

Hootsuite has the best social media analytics tools, period. Boost engagement by learning the best time to post based on your audience and goals.

Who has the best social media inbox?

Hootsuite’s social media inbox is better than Sprout’s for a few key reasons. Whether you simply want to respond to messages and comments across social media or you want a full-fledged customer service solution, you’ll find an option for your needs with Hootsuite.